The Oxford Handbook of Early China

The Oxford Handbook of Early China brings 30 scholars together to cover early China from the Neolithic through Warring States periods (ca 5000-500BCE). The study is chronological and incorporates a multidisciplinary approach, covering topics from archaeology, anthropology, art history, architecture, music, and metallurgy, to literature, religion, paleography, cosmology, religion, prehistory, and history.

Elizabeth Childs-Johnson works on early Chinese art, archaeology, and paleography. Her major research interests include mapping a Jade Age and Shang Bronze Age in early China.

- List of Contributors
- SECTION I INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
- Introduction and Background to The Oxford Handbook on Early China
- Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Old Dominion University
- SECTION II NEOLITHIC FARMERS, CERAMICS, AND JADE
- 1. The Neolithic Revolution in the North ca. 7/6000-2000 bce: Xinglongwa, Xinlei, Yangshao, Hongshan, and Related Cultures (Inequality/Social Complexity) in Neolithic Northern China
- Andrew Womack, Yale University
- 2. The Neolithic Revolution in the South, ca. 7/6000-2000 bce, Majiabang, Hemudu, Daxi, and Songze Cultures
- Xiangming Fang, Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
- 3. The Neolithic Jade Revolution in Northeast China
- Chung Tang, Shandong University, Mana Hayashi Tang, Washington University in St. Louis, Guoxiang Liu, Institute of Archaeology, CASS and Yadi Wen, Southern University of Science and Technology
- 4. The Jade Age Revisited, ca. 3500-2000 bce
- Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Old Dominion University
- 5. Liangzhu Culture and the Ancient City of Liangzhu
- Bin Liu, Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
- 6. Longshan Culture Issues: Taosi and Cosmology
- Nu He, Institute of Archaeology, CASS
- SECTION III FIRST DYNASTY OF THE BRONZE AGE: XIA PERIOD
- 7. Introduction to the Xia Period: Definitions, Themes, and Debate
- Hong Xu, Institute of Archaeology, CASS
- 8. Settlements, Buildings, and Society of the Erlitou Culture
- Hong Xu, Institute of Archaeology, CASS, and Xiang Li, University of Pittsburgh
- 9. The Bronze-Casting Revolution and the Ritual Vessel Set
- Hong Xu, Institute of Archaeology, CASS, and Xiang Li, University of Pittsburgh
- 10. The Spread of Erlitou yazhang to South China and the Origin and Dispersal of Early Political States
- Chung Tang, Shandong University and Fang Wang, Jinsha Site Museum
- SECTION IV THE FIRST HEIGHT OF THE BRONZE AGE: THE SHANG PERIOD
- 11. The Cultural and Historical Setting of the Shang
- Jonathan Smith, Christopher Newport University, with Yuzhou Fan, Nanjing University
- 12. Early and Middle Shang Periods
- Guoding Song, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 13. Shang Belief and Art
- Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Old Dominion University
- 14. Shang Bronze-Casting Technology and Metallurgy Issues
- Changping Zhang, Wuhan University
- 15. Late Shang Ritual and Residential Architecture at Great City Shang, Yinxu in Anyang, Henan
- Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Old Dominion University
- 16. Late Shang: Fu Zi [Fu Hao] and M5 at Xiaotun
- Dingyun Cao, Institute of Archaeology, CASS
- SECTION V THE SECOND HEIGHT OF THE BRONZE AGE: THE WESTERN ZHOU PERIOD
- 17. Western Zhou Cultural and Historic Setting
- Maria Khayutina, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich
- 18. Western Zhou Government and Society
- Paul Nicholas Vogt, Indiana University
- 19. Western Zhou Rites and Mortuary Practice (Inscriptions and Texts)
- Constance A. Cook, Lehigh University
- 20. Bronze Vessels: Style, Assemblages, and Innovations of the Western Zhou Period
- Yan Sun, Gettysburg College
- 21. Bells and Music in the Zhou
- Scott Cook, Yale-NUS College
- SECTION VI THE THIRD HEIGHT OF THE BRONZE AGE: SPRINGS AND AUTUMNS PERIOD
- 22. Historical Background during the Springs and Autumns Period
- Yuri Pines, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- 23. Historiography, Thought, and Intellectual Development during the Springs and Autumns Period
- Yuri Pines, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- 24. Cultures and Styles of Art during the Springs and Autumns Period
- Xiaolong Wu, Hanover College
- SECTION VII THE IRON AGE-WARRING STATES PERIOD
- 25. The Warring States Period: Historical Background
- Yuri Pines, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- 26. Iron Technology and Its Regional Development during the Eastern Zhou Period
- Wengcheong Lam, Chinese University of Hong Kong
- 27. Institutional Reforms and Reformers during the Warring States Period
- Yuri Pines, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- 28. Change and Continuity at the Intersection of Received History and the Material Record during the Warring States Period
- Charles Sanft, University of Tennessee
- 29. The Army, Wars, and Military Arts during the Warring States Period
- Albert Galvany, The University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU
- 30. The Shi, Diplomats, and Urban Expansion during the Warring States Period
- Andrew Meyer, Brooklyn College
- 31. Confucius, Mencius, and Their Daoist-Legalist Critics
- Moss Roberts, New York University
- 32. Mozi
- Vincent S. Leung, Lingnan University
- 33. Mohism and the Evolving Notion of Jian Ai
- Carine Defoort, University of Leuven
- 34. Chu Religion and Art
- John S. Major, Independent Scholar, and Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Old Dominion University
- 35. The Artistic Revolution in the Warring States Period
- Jie Shi, Bryn Mawr College
- Index