{"product_id":"china-in-the-early-bronze-age-shang-civilization-hardback-9780812239102","title":"China in the Early Bronze Age; Shang Civilization (Hardback) 9780812239102","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eChina in the Early Bronze Age\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eShang Civilization\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eRobert L. Thorp (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780812239102\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 12 December 2005\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e320 pages, 133 illus.\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.652 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"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.\" (\u003ci\u003eBulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne 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. \u003ci\u003eChina in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization\u003c\/i\u003e is the first work in twenty-five years to synthesize current knowledge of the Shang for everyone interested in the origins of Chinese civilization.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eChina in the Early Bronze Age\u003c\/i\u003e 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, \u003ci\u003eChina in the Early Bronze Age\u003c\/i\u003e also includes informative sidebars on related topics and suggested readings.\u003cbr\u003e Students of the history and archaeology of early civilizations will find \u003ci\u003eChina in the Early Bronze Age\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eList of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e A Note on Documentation\u003cbr\u003e Preface\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e —Geographical Setting: Macroregions\u003cbr\u003e —Cultural Setting: The Longshan Age\u003cbr\u003e 1. Dawn of the Bronze Age: The Erlitou Culture\u003cbr\u003e —The Erlitou Site\u003cbr\u003e —The Material World: Bronze and Jade\u003cbr\u003e —Contemporary Cultures and Interaction\u003cbr\u003e —The Search for the Xia\u003cbr\u003e 2. Foundations of the Bronze Age: The Erligang Culture\u003cbr\u003e —A Network of Sites\u003cbr\u003e —Technologies of Power and Prestige\u003cbr\u003e —Erligang Society: Material Evidence\u003cbr\u003e —Erligang and the Regions\u003cbr\u003e 3. The Shang Kings at Anyang\u003cbr\u003e —Exploration of Yinxu\u003cbr\u003e —\"Great Settlement Shang\"\u003cbr\u003e —Elite Crafts\u003cbr\u003e 4. Shang Cult: Divination and Sacrifice\u003cbr\u003e —Oracle-Bone Divination\u003cbr\u003e —Ritual Spaces and Sacrifice Ritual\u003cbr\u003e —Bronze Ritual Vessels\u003cbr\u003e —Inscriptions and Social Relations\u003cbr\u003e 5. The Late Shang World\u003cbr\u003e —The View from Yinxu\u003cbr\u003e —Exchange Relations: Resources and Products\u003cbr\u003e —Cause and Effect: Debts to Shang\u003cbr\u003e Afterword: The Invention of Chinese Civilization\u003cbr\u003e Suggested Readings\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Pennsylvania Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52734393647384,"sku":"9780812239102","price":53.89,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/china-in-the-early-bronze-age-shang-civilization-hardback-9780812239102","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}