The Cultural Heritage of Xiongnu Empire

Author:
Diimaajav Erdenebaatar (Ulaanbaatar State University)

Publisher:
Munkhiin Useg Publishing House

Publisher:
January 1, 2018

Abstract:

This book is a representation of a small part of the boundlessly prosperous heritage of intellectual and material culture of the great Xiongnu Empire, which once existed on the territory of present Mongolia and this catalogue is the true evidence that the Xiongnu’s were not "barbarians" of the steppe, but Xiongnu empire was a leading state in their level of development, both intellectual and economical that reached such a high level of development. The archeological finds excavated from the renowned Noin-Ula Mountain in the early 20th century did prove that the Xiongnu Empire did exist in the past; then now our archeological expedition and research prove that the Xiongnu Empire was a powerful state in Eurasia that served as the economical and cultural bridge between the East and the West and the founder of the traditions of political ethics of the succeeding states that existed on the territory of Mongolia. This will definitely rejoice your eyes and delight your mind. The unicorn creature as a classical form of Central Asian zoomorphic arts clearly demonstrates, through the figures of powerful beast, antelope and goat, the unity and power of an entire nation ordained from Heaven. You will enjoy incomparably luxurious artifacts of Xiongnu material culture such as ancient Roman glass cup and the jade disk with motifs of mysterious powerful creatures created upon the influence of ancient Han Dynasty, which are the proof that the Xiongnu Empire wasn`t only powerful, but also had a close political and economical relationship with other powerful states in Eurasia. This catalogue of ‹Cultural Heritage of Xiongnu Empire› was born in the world of book upon the merits and sincere efforts of many fellows who love, study and admire the ancient history of Mongolia.

Chinese Architecture: A History

Author:
Nancy Steinhardt

Publisher: 
Princeton University Press

Publication date:
May, 2019

Abstract:

Throughout history, China has maintained one of the world's richest built civilizations. The nation's architectural achievements range from its earliest walled cities and the First Emperor's vision of city and empire, to bridges, pagodas, and the twentieth-century constructions of the Socialist state. In this beautifully illustrated book, Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt presents the first fully comprehensive survey of Chinese architecture in any language. With rich political and historical context, Steinhardt covers forty centuries of architecture, from the genesis of Chinese building through to the twenty-first century and the challenges of urban expansion and globalism.

Steinhardt follows the extraordinary breadth of China's architectural legacy--including excavation sites, gardens, guild halls, and relief sculpture--and considers the influence of Chinese architecture on Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Tibet. Architectural examples from Chinese ethnic populations and various religions are examined, such as monasteries, mosques, observatories, and tombs. Steinhardt also shows that Chinese architecture is united by a standardized system of construction, applicable whether buildings are temples, imperial palaces, or shrines. Every architectural type is based on the models that came before it, and principles established centuries earlier dictate building practices. China's unique system has allowed its built environment to stand as a profound symbol of Chinese culture.

With unprecedented breadth united by a continuous chronological narrative, Chinese Architecture offers the best scholarship available on this remarkable subject for scholars, students, and general readers.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Beyond the Forbidden City

Chapter 1: Genesis of Chinese Buildings and Cities

Chapter 2: Architecture of the First Emperor and His Predecessors

Chapter 3: Han Architecture

Chapter 4: An Age of Turmoil: Three Kingdoms, Two Jins, Sixteen States

Chapter 5: Northern Dynasties and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 6: Sui and Tang: Architecture for Empires

Chapter 7: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 8: Grandeur and Magnificence under Liao and Western Xia

Chapter 9: The Chinese Building Standards

Chapter 10: Song Elegance and Jin Opulence

Chapter 11: The Chinese City between Tang and Ming

Chapter 12: The Mongol Century

Chapter 13: The Chinese Imperial City and Its Architecture, Ming and Qing

Chapter 14: Late Imperial Architecture in Chinese Style

Chapter 15: Convergences: Lamaist, Dai, Islamic

Chapter 16: Gardens and House

Chapter 17: China comes to Europe, Europe comes to China, Chinese students come to the United States

Conclusion  

Chinese Lexicography on Matters of the Heart: An Exploratory Commentary on the Heart Radical in Shuō wén jiě zì

Authors:
Françoise Bottéro & Christoph Harbsmeier

Publication date:
2016

Publisher:
EHESS, Centre de recherches linguistiques sur l'Asie orientale

Abstract:

“The Chinese Shuōwén Dictionary (AD 100) by Xǔ Shèn is the most famous book in the history of Chinese philology, and it is one of the most important documents in the history of linguistics and lexicography of the world. This stunningly ambitious dictionary explains systematically why 9,353 Chinese characters including nearly all the common characters of the time were written exactly the way they came to be written. Thus the Shuōwén is a vast systematised encyclopaedia of the principles of literacy in one of the most literate civilisations of the ancient world.

This book sets out to explain Xǔ Shèn’s scientific principles as well as the details of their implementation in his Dictionary by providing an extensive introduction to the whole work, followed by a detailed annotated “thick” reading of the section of the Shuōwén that focusses mainly on the ancient Chinese psychological vocabulary.”

Table of Contents:                                                                                

1. Introduction                                                                                                     
       1.1. The Shuōwén is not a Dictionary of Basic Meanings of Words       

       1.2. The Composition of the Lexical Entries in Shuōwén                       

       1.3. Taboos and Omissions              
                                                               
       1.4. The Significance of the Style of the Head Graph                       

       1.5. Graphemic Versus Graphic Analysis                                       

       1.6. The Significance of the Number of Radicals                         

       1.7. The Nature of the Radicals                                                 

       1.8. The Assignment of Radicals Versus the Designation of Semantic

            Constituents                                                                         

       1.9. The Shuōwén Entries on Radicals                                               

       1.10.Semantic Classification Versus Subsumption Under Radicals           

       1.11. The Hermeneutics of Xǔ Shèn's Glosses                                 

       1.12. The "Six Ways of Writing Down (Words)"liù shū 六書                       

       1.13. Problems with the Use of huì yì 會意                                                   
       1.14. Phonetics                                                                                 

       1.15. The Vicious Circle of Reconstruction on the Basis of Phonetic
                Series 

       1.16. Observations-Based Versus Conjectural Reconstructions         

       1.17. The Dú ruò 讀若"to be Pronounced Like" Problem                         

       1.18. A Caveat on our Translation of Shuōwén                               

       1.19. A Note on our Use of Sources                                                             

2. Chinese Lexicography on Matters of the Heart                                             

       2.1. Preliminary Remarks on the Heart Radical                                         

       2.2. The Heart Constituent is Never Taken as Phonetic                       

       2.3. Disused Archaic Heart Radicals                                                           

3. Annotated Translation of Shuō wén jiě zì, Xīn Bù 心部                   

4. Appendix: Radicals Containing the Grapheme 心not Classified

       under the Heart Radical                                                                   

5. Conclusion                                                                                           
              

Art in a Time of Chaos: Masterworks from Six Dynasties China

Publisher:
New York : China Institute in America

Publication date:
2016

Abstract:
Art in a Time of Chaos: Masterworks from Six Dynasties China provides the first major survey of Chinese culture and its international influences during the Six Dynasties period, as well as the relationship between the two dominant political centers in the North and South. This bilingual catalogue of the exhibition presents more than 100 ceramics, sculpture, calligraphy, and paintings, many only recently unearthed. 12 essays by leading scholars explore the works and artistic achievements of the period in greater depth, and the informative appendix features renowned Six Dynasties artistic subjects and a glossary of characters and terminology.

Table of contents:

Forword / Gong Liang

Preface / Willow Weilan Hai

Six Dynasties: Seeking the Origin of Chinese Art / Willow Weilan Hai

Important Archaeological Findings of the Six Dynasties (in the South) / Gong Liang

Jiankang : The Southern Capital and Metropolitan Life / Bai Ning

The Northern Dynasties and Major Archaeological Discoveries / Shi Jinming

Celadon and Customs of the Six Dynasties / Willow Weilan Hai

Buddhist Sculpture: Innovation, Invention and Imagination / Annette L. Juliano

Negotiating the Afterlife in the Tombs of the Northern and Southern Dynasties / Susan L. Beningson 

Calligraphy of the Six Dynasties / Xue Longchun

An Overview of Seals from the Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties / Zhou Xiaolu and Zhu Bang

The Admonition of the Instructress to the Court Ladies and the Six Dynasties / Clarissa von Spee

After the "Five Barbarians Brought Disorder to China" : Painting in north China in the Sixth Century / David Ake Sensabaugh

Key events in the history of art in the Six Dynasties period / Li Xiujian

Appendices

Table of Six Dynasties artists by period / Li Xiujian

Popular Six Dynasties literary subjects in art through the ages / Willow Weilan Hai and Shawn Eichman

Selected reference paintings / Willow Weilan Hai

[Dissertation] The Origins of Horse Herding and Transport in the Eastern Steppe

Author:
William Taylor

Date:
2017

School:
The University of New Mexico

Abstract:

In the dry steppes of eastern Eurasia, domestic horses (E. caballus) provide the economic and cultural foundations of nomadic life. With no written records and sparse archaeological data from early nomadic societies, however, the ecological context of the first horse herding and transport, and its role in the formation of herding societies is poorly understood. Some of the earliest evidence for domestic horses in the region come from small ritual horse burials at sites belonging to the Deer Stone-Khirigsuur (DSK) culture, a late Bronze Age cultural often linked with the first mobile pastoral societies in Mongolia. This dissertation employs archaeological and archaeozoological techniques to assess how DSK people used domestic horses, and evaluates the role of horse herding and transport in the emergence of mobile herding in eastern Eurasia. I present results in five discrete published studies. The first study identifies evidence for selective culling of young and old animals as part of maintaining a breeding herd, with the selective burial of adult male transport horses in prominent ritual mounds along the eastern perimeter of DSK monument sites. A second set of three closely related studies investigates the skulls of contemporary wild and domestic horses, identifying anthropogenic changes to the equine skull caused by exertion, bridling, and pressures related to horseback riding. Applying these criteria to the late Bronze Age DSK archaeological record indicates that DSK people bridled and used horses for transport, and may have engaged in early mounted horseback riding. Finally, a precision radiocarbon model suggests a rapid expansion of DSK horse use around ca. 1200 BCE–during a period of climate amelioration and increased rainfall, and concurrent with major changes in ritual practice and the spread of horses to new parts of the continent. These results provide compelling links between the adoption of horseback riding, new ecological opportunities, and the development of mobile pastoralism in eastern Eurasia.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2: Horse demography and use in Bronze Age Mongolia

Chapter 3: Equine cranial morphology and the archaeological identification of riding and chariotry in Bronze Age Mongolia

Chapter 4: Reconstructing equine bridles in the Mongolian Bronze Age

Chapter 5: Horseback riding, asymmetry, and anthropogenic changes to the equine skull: evidence for mounted riding in Mongolia’s late Bronze Age

Chapter 6: A Bayesian chronology for early domestic horse use in the Eurasian Steppe

Chapter 7: Conclusions

[Dissertation] Crafting Community: Exploring Identity and Interaction through Ceramics in Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Northwestern China

Author:
Andrew Womack

Publication Year:
2017

School:
Yale

Abstract:

This dissertation addresses questions related to craft production, social identity, and interaction through a multifaceted analysis of ceramic production and use during the Majiayao (3200-2000BC) and Qijia (2300-1500BC) periods in the Tao River Valley of northwestern China’s Gansu Province. Situated between the Gobi Desert to the north and the foothills of the Tibetan Plateau to the south, for millennia this area acted as a key conduit for interaction between groups in central China and the Eurasian steppe. Majiayao and Qijia communities played a vital role in adopting, adapting, and retransmitting new domesticates, technologies, and ideas in both directions, helping shape the course of both Chinese and steppe civilization.

Despite these contributions to the development and spread of Chinese civilization, however, this region of northwest China is often pigeonholed into the trope of cultural devolution, with climatic shifts forcing a change from sophisticated Majiayao farmers to the small-scale, possibly pastoral societies of the Qijia.  This conclusion is based almost entirely on shifts in pottery form and decoration, with the large, elaborately painted urns of the Majiayao period being replaced by the smaller, mostly undecorated pottery that defines the Qijia period. This dissertation challenges these conclusions by investigating the relationship between craft production, consumer and producer identity, and social interaction in order to provide a more nuanced understanding of the continuities and changes occurring between the two periods.

Taking a communities of practice based approach to ceramic production, this research focuses first on identifying potential groups of producers through assessment of paste recipes and forming techniques. In order to identify these groups, sherds from four Majiayao and Qijia habitation and mortuary contexts were sampled and analyzed using petrographic analysis. This technique provides information not only on the mineralogical makeup of a vessel, but also can provide insight into specific paste recipes and production techniques. This study revealed striking differences between vessels from mortuary and habitation contexts during the Majiayao period, pointing to the potential use of mortuary rituals for the negotiation and construction of relationships with other communities. It also demonstrated surprising continuity in production knowledge and techniques between the two periods, showing that changes in pottery form and decoration are not necessarily accurate reflections of underlying shifts in social identity.

In addition to petrographic analysis, whole vessels from mortuary contexts were also examined in order to assess how they were produced and used. Use-wear analysis was employed in order to understand the use histories of individual vessels, revealing that the majority of pots placed in graves during both periods were well used before interment. Standardization analysis was also carried out in order to explore potential production differences between various vessel types. It was demonstrated that while production does appear to vary between vessel types, there is impressive continuity in degree of vessel uniformity between the Majiayao and Qijia periods.

Combining the results of these three techniques, this research is able to address not only the communities of practice who were making these vessels, but also the potential roles they played in building and mediating relationships between groups. Specifically, for the northern Tao River Valley, it appears that despite significant shifts in pottery form, mortuary rituals, and the relationships that were mediated by these items and events, underlying communities of practice persisted over the course of more than 600 years.

[Dissertation] Biological Classification in Early Chinese Dictionaries and Glossaries: from Fish to Invertebrates and Vice Versa

Author:
Federico Valenti

School:
Università degli Studi di Sassari

Defended:
2018

Abstract:
This dissertation problematises the classification of chong 蟲 (invertebrates) and yu 魚 (fish) in Early Chinese texts. The loci classici analysed will range from the Warring States (ca. 453 – 221 BCE) to the Eastern Han period (dong Han 東漢, 25 – 220 CE). The focus is on the lexical ambiguity between these two zoological categories: despite being perceived as different, they include a more or less loose set of “dynamic” words that shift from one category to the other.

The project concentrates on two early Chinese texts: the Erya 爾雅 (III century BCE) and the Shuowen jiezi 説文解字 (100 CE). These works had a pivotal role during the development of Chinese lexicography and gave the lexical basis of later texts. They are also the first texts that deal with the problem of taxonomical classification in Early China.

By systematically applying a philological approach (Coblin 1972, Carr 1979) to a selection of zoological glosses preserved in these sources, this study aims at reformulating the way in which early Chinese “proto-zoological categories” are organised (Needham 1986, Sterckx 2002). Through the analysis of selected case studies, it aims at showing that even if there are fairly well attested categories that constitute a dichotomous system (such as “quadrupeds” versus “winged creatures” or “wild beasts” versus “domestic animals”), Early Chinese taxonomies represent a dynamic and unstable attempt at zoological classification for what we call today “fish” and “invertebrates”.

『華陽国志』の世界：巴、蜀、そして南方へのまなざし

Editors:
竹内洋介 TAKEUCHI Yosuke
大室智人 Omuro Tomohito

Publisher: 
東洋大学アジア文化研究所

Publication date:
2018

Table of Contents:

津田資久   『華陽国志』に見える蜀漢叙述
菊地大   孫呉の南方展開とその影響
飯塚 勝重   『華陽国志』に見る巴郡の世界

「華陽国志訳注稿」人名・地名・官職名索引

Editors:
竹内洋介 Yosuke Takeuchi
大室智人 Ōmuro Tomohito
飯塚勝重 Katsushige Iizuka

Publisher:
東洋大学アジア文化研究所

Publication date:
2017

Table of Contents:

華陽国志訳注稿人名地名官職名索引: p1-92
『華陽国志』関係文献目録稿: p93-118

[Dissertation] Towards a Human Ecology of the North China Plain: Geoarchaeological Perspectives on Holocene Landscape Evolution

Author:
Michael Storozum

School:
Washington University in St. Louis

Defended:
2017

Abstract:
Archaeologists have traditionally called the North China Plain the heartland of Chinese civilization and focused much of their investigations on the progression of archaeological culture groups. However, this focus on culture history has often come at the expense of simplifying the complex interactions societies have had with their environments. In this dissertation, I discuss the ways in which archaeologists can use geological concepts and methods to better understand human-environmental interactions. I support this argument with two case studies of archaeological significance along the course of the Yellow River. One study focuses on a sediment source, the Luoyang Basin in western Henan Province, the other, a sediment sink in Neihuang County, Henan Province. These studies demonstrate that humans played a large role in shaping the hydrology of the Yellow River and smaller tributary streams since the late Bronze Age around three thousand years ago. Human influence on sedimentary and fluvial systems becomes increasingly apparent during China’s Imperial Age (ca. AD 200–1200). By using geological methods and concepts, scientists can understand how humans have shaped the much of the North China Plain.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Geoarchaeology in China
Chapter 3 The Luoyang Basin: A Sediment Source
Chapter 4 Anshang: A Sediment Sink
Chapter 5 Conclusions

The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Early Chinese Ethics and Political Philosophy

Editor: 
Alexus McLeod

Publication date:
21-02-2019

Publisher:
Bloomsbury Academic

Abstract:

Focusing on early Chinese ethical and political thought across multiple schools and thinkers, this book presents a comprehensive overview of the research being done in Chinese comparative ethics and political philosophy. 

In addition to chapters on Chinese comparative and interpretative thought, The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Early Chinese Ethics and Political Philosophy brings early Chinese ethics and political philosophy into conversation with Western and Indian Philosophy, as well as Western Theology. Contributors discuss numerous texts and schools in Pre-Qin and Han Philosophy, including Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, the Xunzi, the Liyun, and the Zhuangzi. The volume also shows how early Chinese ethical and political theories can be used to contextualise contemporary philosophical issues, such as metaethics, human rights, emotions, and the connection between ethics and metaphysics.

Table of Contents:

Introduction (Alexus McLeod, University of Connecticut, USA)

Part I: Historical Approaches

1. Confucian Role Ethics: Issues of Naming, Translation, and Interpretation, Sarah Mattice, University of North Florida, USA

2. From Patterning to Governing: A Constructivist Interpretation of the Xunzi, Kurtis Hagen, SUNY Plattsburgh, USA

3. Some Considerations in Defense of a Radical Reading of the Mohist Jian Ai, Alexus McLeod (University of Connecticut, USA

4. Ritual and Vulnerability of a Prosperous World: A Reading of the Liyun, Michael D. K. Ing, Indiana University, USA

5. Morality Without Moral Reasoning: The Case of Heshanggong, 
Misha Tadd, Peking University, Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, China

6. Nothingness and Selfhood in the Zhuangzi, 
David Chai, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

7. Han Fei's Rule of Law and Its Limits, 
Alejandro Barcenas, Texas State University, USA

Part Two: Comparative Approaches

8. Non-Impositional Rule in Confucius and Aristotle, Matthew D. Walker, Yale-NUS College, Singapore

9. Other People Die and That is the Problem, Amy Olberding, University of Oklahoma, USA

10. The Problem of Anxiety in the Zhuangzi, Indian, and Hellenistic Philosophy, Alexus McLeod, University of Connecticut, USA

11. Son of Heaven: Developing the Theological Aspects of Mengzi's Philosophy of the Ruler, Joshua Brown, University of Dayton, USA

12. Justifying Human Rights in Confucianism, May Sim, College of the Holy Cross, USA

Annotated Bibliography in Early Chinese Ethics and Political Philosophy, Alexus McLeod, University of Connecticut, USA