China’s Periphery and Beyond: Perspectives from Art and Archaeology
Abstracts (in order of appearance)
The Origins of Chinese Agriculture: A View from the Northern Periphery, Gideon Shelach
The development of agriculture and a sedentary way of life are processes of fundamental importance for the understanding of the development of human society. North China is one of only a handful of centers world-wide that witnessed the independent development of agriculture. In contrast to other centers, however, it is still impossible to trace in north China the gradual evolutionary trajectory from hunter-gatherer to sedentary agricultural societies. This paper focuses on new discoveries from northeast China and presents models that link the origins of agriculture to the unique ecological conditions and cultural traditions of this region.
Continuity and Change in Mongolia’s Bronze and Iron Age Domestic Landscape, Jean-Luc Houle
Archaeology is uniquely suited to examining social change over time from varying perspectives. To date, however, the diachronic study of prehistoric mobile pastoralist societies in the Eurasian Steppes has been mostly limited to documenting change at the macro-level. Since ‘households’ are constituent parts of overarching sociopolitical, economic, and ideological systems, then examining their history is essential to a balanced understanding of the larger system. This paper evaluates the effects of large-scale economic and political processes on domestic units in north-central Mongolia as the region is incorporated into the Xiongnu polity.
Discussing the “Bow-shaped Objects” and Related Questions, TENG Mingyu
The so-called “bow-shaped” bronze objects of the Shang and Zhou period can be divided into two sub-types: objects with a narrow back and objects with a wide back. Of these, the ones with the wide back (or at least some of them) were probably attached to the front part of chariots and used to hang the horse bridle. This fashion of attaching the bridle was probably brought to the Central Plains of China, along with the chariots, from central Asia.
Eagle Worship in Neolithic Northeastern China, as Revealed by Eagle-shaped Jades of the Hongshan Culture, HUANG Tsuimei
Among various Hongshan jades, the most impressive are those in the shape of a diving eagle or a hawk beak, such as the hook-cloud-shaped jade and the hook-shaped jade. These jades were all placed above the chest, abdomen, or beside the head of the corpses in high status Hongshan burials. Similarly, eagle images were also found in bone carvings and pottery figures. Their frequent occurrence is believed to have stemmed from Neolithic Northeast China’s unique ecological environment, as well as its fishing and hunting economic structure. As to the function of these Hongshan jades, they likely were used in the shamanistic worship of the eagle.
The Stag from Zoldhalompuszta, Hungary: Book-ending Steppeland Animal-Style Art, Mrea Csorba
Archeologists have uncovered assemblages with animal-style art that stretch across the Eurasian steppe. Many of these 1st millennium BCE inventories feature a stag motif, ornamented by a playbook of secondary design elements. Attempts by Hungarian scholars to identify the Zoldhalompuszta stag from a Carpathian burial with an eastern source have been stymied by the commonality of the motif across Eurasia. This author argues that the kaleidoscopic spread of the stag image reflects the nature of movement and contact among shifting populations on the steppe. The stag as the central motif in the Zoldhalompuszta burial elucidates a constructed identity that geographically book-ends an ephemeral cultural history.
Cultural Hybridity and Social Status on China’s Northern Frontier: Recently Discovered Late Warring States Period Elite Tombs at the Site of Majiayuan, Gansu Province, WU Xiaolong
This paper analyzes the burial practices and mortuary artifacts from the newly discovered late Warring States Period cemetery at Majiayuan, Gansu Province. These remains, probably belonging to a group of the Rong pastoralist peoples living under the rule of the Qin, are compared with those from burial M30 at Xinzhuangtou, Hebei Province, which is the tomb of an aristocratic member in the state of Yan. This paper further argues that the social elite on China’s northern frontier during the 3rd century BCE emphasized cultural hybridity in their funeral ceremonies to bolster their status as intermediaries between different cultural, political, and economic entities.
Hu or Han: The Patrons of Eastern Han Tomb Reliefs from Shaanxi and Shanxi, Leslie Wallace
In the first and second centuries CE, individuals constructed brick tombs with decorated stone reliefs in the northern portions of Shaanxi and Shanxi. Although substantial scholarship exists regarding the patronage of Eastern Han tomb reliefs in other areas, few scholars have discussed the patrons of these tombs. Based on tomb inscriptions, historical and geographic information recorded in the standard histories, and the layout and decoration of the tombs themselves, this paper argues that the patrons of these tombs were the descendants of Chinese settlers and/or nomadic peoples living in - or displaced to - the region by the Qin and Han governments.
Socketed Battle-Axes from Xinjiang: Interaction Between Xinjiang and the Eurasian Steppes, YANG Jianhua
This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the socketed battle-axes widely used on the Eurasian steppe as a way to reveal the cultural connections between Xinjiang and other parts of the steppe between the third and first millennia BCE. Xinjiang’s battle axes, which can be divided into four types, originated from the area north of the Black Sea, China’s northern zone, and Southern Siberia. The spread of battle-axes from those areas to Xinjiang suggests the existence of an earlier “metal road” across the Eurasian steppe and demonstrates the significance of Xinjiang in this east-west cultural exchange.
Yearning for Things Chinese: Appropriating a Chinese Scroll as a Case-Study of Sino-Japanese Cultural Transmission, Shalmit Bejarano
It is believed that the scroll Paintings of Rice Agriculture was produced at the Chinese imperial workshops and presented to Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori after his renewal of trade relations with the Ming dynasty. It was soon canonized as part of the shogunal collection, and turned into a model for new palace and temple decoration. Contextualizing the repetitive reproductions of the scroll in Japan suggests that the Japanese artists were not unaware of the political and cultural baggage of Paintings of Rice Agriculture in China, which led to the modifications of the scroll’s motifs in the process of its Japanization.
Capturing Essence: Shared “Likeness” in Pre-Modern Chinese and Japanese Portraiture, Yuki Morishima
While Chinese and Japanese in the pre-modern periods valued capturing likeness in figural representation, they did not consider life-like depiction as their ultimate goal. Although Chinese artists tried to replicate each sitter’s physical likeness in mortuary portraiture, they mostly focused on expressing the inner elements of their sitters. I first investigate the Chinese approach toward realism and verisimilitude reflected in theoretical writings on Chinese paintings. I then compare and contrast the development of portraiture in China and Japan. This paper suggests that the Japanese people adjusted the Chinese concept of likeness in human representation to suit their culture.
Royal Hunting on the Shang Border--The Shang and its Northwest Relatives, WANG Ying
The Shang royal army’s long standing conflict with the Qiang people in the region of the Taihang mountain range was very likely a scramble for the salt lake of Xiechi in Yuncheng, Shanxi. Although many different peoples had abandoned their lands as a result of the Shang attack, the Qiang had not given up the salt lake pass by the time of the last Shang king. This study attempts to identify the ethnicity of the Qiang people, their migration roads, and to investigate the importance that the salt lake held for them.
Ritual Art and Agency: The Bronze Ding and Minority Groups During the Western Zhou, JIANG Yu
This paper examines the use of bronze ding vessels by both the central court and minority groups during the early Zhou (11th to 8th century BCE). The ding, one of the most important ritual objects in early China, also played a role as a key political symbol. For the central court, it symbolized dominance and hegemony of power. Yet such symbols of authority were also used by some of the minority groups who lived under Zhou rule. This ready acceptance of ding by minority groups reflects their owners’ mindset at identifying with - or submitting to - the rule of the central court.
Material Culture, Mortuary Practice and Identities in the Northern Frontier of the Western Zhou: A Case Study of the Yu and Peng Lineages, SUN Yan
This paper investigates how the cultural and gender identities of male leaders of the Yu and Peng, two non-Ji lineages in the northern frontier, and of their counterparts, the Ji noblewomen who were married in, were constructed and “assembled” through bronze inscriptions and display of artifacts in mortuary practice. This research is conducted within the context of recent theoretical discussions on diversity, complexity, and plurality of cultural identities in ancient societies in other areas of the world. It aims to reveal the multifaceted and dynamic nature of individual and group identities during Zhou’s cultural and political expansion from the mid-11th c. to the 10th c. BCE.
Debatable Paradise: The Adoption of Enemy Customs and Trappings in Tombs of the Zhao State During the Eastern Zhou Period (771-221 BCE), HAN Jiayao
This article examines 8th through 3rd century BCE bronze artifacts found in Zhao elite tombs whose decoration contains both Chinese and Eurasian prototypes, and explores why this visual convergence occurred at a time when Chinese states engaged in frequent wars with pastoral rivals. Arguing against the conventional diffusionist model of stylistic transmission, the paper argues for the need to consider “hybridity” and “human agency” in explorations of culture change and continuity in contact situations. The adoption of alien aesthetics reveals the effort of Zhao elites to create a fluid identity at the time of their death, one which was well suited to their political position in the Northern Frontier’s militarized area.
Constructing Identity and Legitimating Authority: Mortuary Art in the Imperial Tombs of Northern Zhou, Mandy Jui-man WU
It has been suggested that the modest burials of the Northern Zhou elite were determined by burial edicts enacted by the Northern Zhou Emperors Ming and Wu. Evidence recovered from Emperor Wu’s Xianbei tomb has challenged this idea. This paper argues that Northern Zhou’s non-Han Xianbei rulers established their political authority to rule multiple-ethnic groups by creating a public image which referenced both dynastic Chinese and steppic royal symbols. In contrast, their private image emphasized their “ethnic sovereignty”, one which was derived from their native steppic tradition.
The Han Empire’s Southern Borderlands: Perspectives from History and Anthropology, Francis Allard
Over the span of three years (113 – 110 BCE), Han Wudi’s military campaigns resulted in the dramatic expansion of the Han empire, whose southern arc extended from present-day Yunnan to northern Vietnam and Fujian. Challenging the image of a southern border region whose allegedly successful early sinicization explains its stability over the following two thousand years, various sources reveal the fundamental (and perpetual) complexity and instability of this region. These include early texts, more recent historical accounts of the southern borderlands, as well as a growing anthropological (including archaeological) literature that recognizes the importance of ‘agency’ and distinguishes between political, cultural and administrative boundaries.
Metals of Ancient Yunnan: An Archeometallurgical View, TzeHuey CHIOU-PENG
This work examines the technical aspects of metal materials from Bronze Age sites in Yunnan (circa 1300 BCE to 100 CE) to explain their production and use in the region’s complex societies, and explore the mechanisms that propelled communication between Yunnan’s metal-using communities and their counterparts in surrounding regions. An investigation of datable Yunnan materials helps us chart the evolution of metallurgy in Yunnan. The study also invites comparative data that can be used in research on the emergence of metallurgical centers in different areas of southwest China and mainland Southeast Asia.
Grave Nineteen at Yangfutou: Another “Dian” King?, Penny Rode
Historical archaeology in China has traditionally been more history than archaeology. While scholars have noted the general weaknesses inherent in this approach, its limitations are particularly egregious when applied to nonliterate cultures on the periphery of Chinese civilization, about which little was written. Yet the few relevant passages in ancient texts continue to steer the interpretation of Metal Age sites in central Yunnan. Mounting data, however, such as the rich discoveries at Yangfutou, support the argument for a multicentric model of regional developments, challenging the historical account of a singular powerful polity identified as the kingdom of the Dian ruler.
Toiletry Sets in Burials of China and Her Northern Neighbors: 3rd c. BCE - 3rd c. CE, Sheri Lullo
This paper presents preliminary research that compares toiletry sets recovered from burials located within the political boundaries of Han dynasty China to those found at contemporaneous sites to the north and northwest. Following an introductory description of toiletry boxes within China’s borders and a discussion of certain regional patterns in form and decor, the analysis expands its geographic scope to consider toiletry sets unearthed from sites in Inner Mongolia, Mongolia, and Xinjiang. The goal of this project is to add the ideals and necessities of personal adornment to our understanding of cultural exchange between China and her northern neighbors.
Sponsored by the Asian Studies Center, School of Arts and Sciences, Office of the Provost, Confucius Institute, Department of Anthropology, China Council, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Korean Endowment, Japan Iron and Steel Federation and Mitsubishi Endowments at the University of Pittsburgh.
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