This book presents an archeological interpretation of the history of Chinese civilization. Tracing back from recent history to the distant past, it explores the breadth of Chinese civilization. Using archeological remains and cultural relics as starting points and approaching the cultural dimension from material perspectives, it presents a panoramic view of China’s civilizational continuity, together with its ideological and cultural characteristics. Featuring a wealth of illustrations (including photos of cultural relics and sites, archeological surveys, etc.) and texts written in easy-to-understand language, it offers an engaging read without sacrificing academic quality. The main components of “civilization” are addressed: capital archeology, mausoleum archeology, ritual wares and architecture archeology, as well as written language. The book offers a unique resource for archeology scholars and majors, as well as general readers who are interested in Chinese archeology and history.
Author(s): Qingzhu Liu
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 547
City: Singapore
Preface
Contents
1 Introduction: Interpreting “China’s Un-fractured Civilization of 5000 Years”
1.1 Interpretation of “wen ming”
1.2 Interpretation of “The Starting Point”
1.2.1 Historical Documentation
1.2.2 Archaeological Discoveries
1.3 The Interpretation of “Un-fractured”
1.3.1 Genetic Heritage
1.3.2 The Development of Chinese Family Names
1.3.3 Worship Rituals of Huang Di
1.3.4 Societal Dominant Culture and National Culture
1.3.5 The Continuance of the Chinese Characters
1.4 The Interpretation of “The Carrier of Materialization”
1.4.1 The Capital
1.4.2 The Mausoleum
1.4.3 Ritual and Ceremonious Buildings and Sacrificial Vessels
1.4.4 Text—Chinese Characters
1.5 Core Philosophy—The Ideology of “zhong he”
References
2 Archaeological Discoveries and Studies About the Ancient Capitals
2.1 Synopsis
2.1.1 The Symbiosis of the Capital City and Civilization
2.1.2 Constituent Elements of a Capital City
2.1.3 Track History of the Development of Ancient Capitals
2.2 From the Forbidden City in Beijing to Ancient Capital of the Era of the Five Emperors
2.2.1 Beijing City of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
2.2.2 The Capital of the Yuan Dynasty
2.2.3 Capital Cities of the Liao and Jin Dynasties
2.2.4 Dongjing City of the Song Dynasty
2.2.5 Luoyang City of the Sui and Tang Dynasties
2.2.6 Daxing City of the Sui Dynasty
2.2.7 Chang’an City of the Tang Dynasty
2.2.8 Ye and Jiankang Cities
2.2.9 Luoyang City of the Han and Wei Dynasties
2.2.10 Chang’an City of the Han Dynasty
2.2.11 Xianyang City of the Qin Dynasty
2.2.12 Capital Cities in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty
2.2.13 Capital Cities in the Western Zhou Dynasty
2.2.14 Capital Cities in the Shang Dynasty
2.2.15 Capital Cities in the Xia Dynasty
2.2.16 Ancient Cities in the Era of the Five Emperors
2.3 Core Philosophy: Evidence of “zhong” and “he”
2.3.1 Philosophy of “zhong”
2.3.2 Philosophy of “he”
References
3 Archaeological Discovery and Research of Imperial Mausoleums
3.1 Synopsis
3.1.1 Civilization through the Perspective of Ancient Mausoleums
3.1.2 Location Selection, Layout, and Arrangement of Mausoleums
3.1.3 Major Component Factors in Imperial Mausoleum
3.2 Archaeological Findings in the Imperial Mausoleums
3.2.1 Imperial Mausoleums of the Qing Dynasty
3.2.2 Imperial Mausoleums of the Ming Dynasty
3.2.3 Imperial Mausoleums of Liao, Jin and Western Xia Dynasties
3.2.4 Mausoleums of the Song Dynasty
3.2.5 Imperial Mausoleums of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties
3.2.6 Imperial Mausoleums of the Wei-Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties
3.2.7 Imperial Mausoleums of the Eastern Han Dynasty
3.2.8 Imperial Mausoleums of the Western Han Dynasty
3.2.9 Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang
3.2.10 Imperial Mausoleums in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (Spring and Autumn, Warring States Period)
3.3 Explanation of “Building Mausoleums as Capital Cities”
4 Ritual Architecture, Sacrificial Vessels, and Characters
4.1 The Development and Continuation of Ceremonial Buildings
4.1.1 Ancestral Temples and the State
4.1.2 Mingtang, Biyong, the Lingtai, and the Taixue
4.1.3 Temple of Heaven and Temple of Earth
4.1.4 Temple of Ancient Monarchs
4.2 Ceremonial Objects
4.2.1 Bronze Sacrificial Vessels
4.2.2 Jade Sacrificial Vessels
4.3 Writing
4.3.1 Writing and the Formation of Civilization
4.3.2 The Inheritance of Chinese Characters for 5000 Years
4.3.3 The Inheritance of Historical Documents About Chinese Characters
4.3.4 Chinese Characters Maintain the Contiguous Development of a United Multiethnic Country and China’s Un-fractured Civilization of 5000 Years
References
5 The Concept of “zhong he” and National Identity
5.1 Materialized Carrier of the “zhong he” Concept: Capital City and Mausoleum
5.2 Family-Country Unity and National Identity
5.2.1 Family-Country Unity
5.2.2 National Identity
Reference
Epilog
