Ancestral Landscape: Time, Space, and Community in Late Shang China, Ca. 1200-1045 B.C (China Research Monograph 53) [Paperback]

David N. Keightley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a work of extraordinary maturity--a well-considered, incisive, careful, yet bold and highly original summation of insights..." --Lothar von Falkenhausen

Product Details

• Paperback: 209 pages
• Publisher: Institute of East Asian Studies (July 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557290709
• ISBN-13: 978-1557290700
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What the oracle bones tell us about the Shang world, October 12, 2004

By 

Kent M. Suarez (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancestral Landscape: Time, Space, and Community in Late Shang China, Ca. 1200-1045 B.C (China Research Monograph 53) (Paperback)

Keightley, one of the top Western scholars in this field, has produced a must-read with this exploration of everything the oracle bone divination contents can tell us about the lives and environment of the Shang world, including agriculture, time and the calendar, the Shang territory, capital and its environs, foreign relations, and religious life. On each topic, Keightley presents phrases found in the oracle bone inscriptions, directly translated graph for graph into modern Chinese characters, then presents his translation into English, and a discussion. His style is lucid, his scholarship keen. There are eight figures with rubbings of actual oracle bones in the rear, but other than this, all the contents of the divinations are presented only in modern, traditional graphs, which is a bit disappointing for those like me who would very much like to see the oracle bone versions of the graphs for each phrase. Nevertheless, highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Window into the Past, May 28, 2010

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Daniel Scallon "Saranin" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancestral Landscape: Time, Space, and Community in Late Shang China, Ca. 1200-1045 B.C (China Research Monograph 53) (Paperback)

Kneightly does a VERY impressive job showing you what the Shang Dynasty was like. He extrapolates what the soceity's daily lfe, crops, religion, government and even what they ate from their jiaguwen (oracle bones).

A little dry in places, but the vast cites sources and footnotes help add more perspective and understanding to the overall work. If you're a history buff interested in ancient ancient Chinese history THIS IS FOR YOU!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Expert's Book on Ancient China 3,000 Years Ago, March 4, 2011

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W. Houghton (Sequim, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ancestral Landscape: Time, Space, and Community in Late Shang China, Ca. 1200-1045 B.C (China Research Monograph 53) (Paperback)

If you want to really know about the earliest Chinese writing during the Shang Dynasty (1200-1045 BC), then this book is a must read for you. It is NOT for the casual reader, but rather is another book from an author who is perhaps the leading expert on translating and understanding ancient Chinese characters. They say that the truth is in the details and if so, then this scholarly book by Dr. Keightly is certainly the truth about life in early China. On a personal note, I have used this book to help me translate some of the early Chinese writing on oracle bones, jade, and bronze Chinese artifacts in my collection. This short book of only 200 pages contains an extensive Bibliography for those experts who what to dive even further into the Shang Community.