China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization (Encounters with Asia) [Hardcover]

Robert L. Thorp (Author)

Book Description

Series: Encounters with Asia | Publication Date: November 14, 2005

One of the great breakthroughs in Chinese studies in the early twentieth century was the archaeological identification of the earliest, fully historical dynasty of kings, the Shang (ca. 1300-1050 B.C.E.). The last fifty years have seen major advances in all areas of Chinese archaeology, but recent studies of the Shang, their ancestors, and their contemporaries have been especially rich. Since the last English-language overview of Shang civilization appeared in 1980, the pace of discovery has quickened. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization is the first work in twenty-five years to synthesize current knowledge of the Shang for everyone interested in the origins of Chinese civilization.

China in the Early Bronze Age traces the development of early Bronze Age cultures in North and Northwestern China from about 2000 B.C.E., including the Erlitou culture (often identified with the Xia) and the Erligang culture. Robert L. Thorp introduces major sites, their architectural remains, burials, and material culture, with special attention to jades and bronze. He reviews the many discoveries near Anyang, site of two capitals of the Shang kings. In addition to the topography of these sites, Thorp discusses elite crafts and devotes a chapter to the Shang cult, its divination practices, and its rituals. The volume concludes with a survey of the late Shang world, cultures contemporary with Anyang during the late second millennium B.C.E. Fully documented with references to Chinese archaeological sources and illustrated with more than one hundred line drawings, China in the Early Bronze Age also includes informative sidebars on related topics and suggested readings.

Students of the history and archaeology of early civilizations will find China in the Early Bronze Age the most up-to-date and wide-ranging introduction to its topic now in print. Scholars in Chinese studies will use this work as a handbook and research guide. This volume makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the formative stages of Chinese culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thorp has packed a massive amount of information in a concise and easily accessible way into well organized chapters. . . . This book is clearly the result of many years of intensive research but appears to the reader to be an effortless achievement."—Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

From the Publisher

Robert L. Thorp is Professor Emeritus of Chinese Art History and Archaeology at Washington University, St. Louis. He is the author of Chinese Art and Culture.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (November 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812239105
• ISBN-13: 978-0812239102
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important synthesis of the Shang period in China, February 16, 2008

By 

usabear "eclectic one" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization (Encounters with Asia) (Hardcover)

"China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization" is a carefully constructed tome synthesizing up-to-date archeological findings in China to postulate the construction of space over time during the periods surrounding the Shang Dynasty. Purposely passing on specific conclusions as to the finality of such spacial organization, and reminding us that the "dynasties" prior to the unifying Qin were only elements of a larger, complex whole, Thorp, nonetheless has produced an important addition to the literature pertaining to this period of Chinese history. Beginning with Erlitou Culture, and passing through Erligang Culture, Thorp brings us into the Shang period at Anyang, explicating the various aspects of technology, ritual and culture of the various periods. Included in this, relatively short, tightly organized book are numerous boxed features and references to ongoing research. As good an introduction to the formative period of Chinese society and culture as one is likely to find, and written in immensely readable form.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but too Skeptical, July 10, 2008

By 

Louis Petrillo (West Haven, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization (Encounters with Asia) (Hardcover)

A standard joke is that the Iliad wasn't written by Homer but another Greek with the same name. This author takes the standard Western skeptical view that the Xia dynasty is purely fictitious, a product of later Chinese myth. What can I say but that they knew that somebody preceded the Shang, even if they didn't have many hard facts about them. The Erlitou culture fits the bill. Why not just call them the Xia?
But he does give a good description of late Shang culture as we now know it. Obviously this isn't the last word because there remains so much yet to be uncovered.