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New discoveries in China: Encountering history through archeology (1983)

de Danielle Elisseeff, Vadime Elisseeff (Autor)

Altres autors: Marcel Berger (Cartographer)

Altres autors: Mira la secció altres autors.

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Not so long ago China's civilization and art were only known to us through artifacts preserved in Western museums and the origins of these treasures were often relatively obscure. During the past thirty years, however, systematic excavation projects have been carried out in China. Isolated and previously unexplored sites have yielded fascinating treasures; it has been possible to rediscover the tombs of emperors, aristocrats and officials in their fullest splendor with all of their mortuary furnishings. Thus, we are able to cite the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangdi, the mortuary retinue at Yangjiawan, the winged horse of Wuwei, the tombs at Mawangdui, the frescoes in Tang tombs, the silver hoard of Hejiacum, the tombs of the monarchs of Zhongshan, and the bronzes and bells from Leigudun. These discoveries are extremely valuable because it has been possible to establish dates, clarify historical information and enrich our knowledge of China's past. This book will present an overview of all recent research and an inventory of these numerous and meaningful discoveries. In order to perform this task properly, the authors, who are internationally recognized specialists, visited China several times during the past few years and they have relied upon the most recent research and publications. All of the items appearing in illustration within this book were discovered at archeological sites in China. Some of them have been exhibited during major expositions of Chinese art and others have been reproduced for the first time outside China. The appendices include a list of the principal archeological sites in China, a chronology of the principal discoveries since 1950, and a bibliography consisting of recent published sources. These are vital points of reference and resources for specialists and connoisseurs alike. -- Inside jacket flap.… (més)
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Any attempt to present archeological artifacts, drawn from a huge region through many layers of temporal Erligang, with sufficiently authenticated provenance and contextual understanding, is almost hopeless. To present material free of political predisposition and ideological idiocy is inhuman. This work by a French team is a great start.

From Introduction: Archeologists seek to aid society by restoring memory -- not for ideological purposes. Texts had official purposes. Artifacts were often associated with death or afterlife. But in 11th century, striking changes in China: Ancient bronzes discovered at Anyang, reveal Chinese thinking suddenly awakened in the routines of Buddhism. They began to inventory antiquities known at that time. By the Ming dynasty, artisans were reproducing ancient artifacts, even copying their flaws. Not until the 18th century did a truly archeological perspective emerge.

The landmark year for Chinese archeology was 1927, when Henry Maspero published a summary of earlier efforts. He wrote: "Despite recurrent affirmations to the contrary, the history of ancient China does not extend extremely far into the past, and texts originating in antiquity only possess limited merits. Instead of a continuous history, we have obtained glimpses of certain eras, separated by periods that are relatively unfamiliar." [8b]

We are provided with the lesson of humility. [11] A 4000-year Chronology appears without explanation in the middle of the Introduction, and the Index is limited. But the photographs are beautiful, the descriptions exciting, and the text is filled with appropriate questions.

I. Pre-Bronze Age.

Re-discovery of the humanization of the vast region of China began in the 1920s with the remains of a hominid who lived 600,000 years ago. "Sinanthropusu", or "Peking Man" was a predator who ate his own kind when the need arose. His remains vanished in WWII, but served to inspire Teilhard de Chardin and field anthropologists in China. [13]

In 1963, a hominid cousin was discovered. "Sinanthropus lantianensis", or "Lantian Man" lived 700,000 years ago. Fossils have been found in Shaanxi and in Henan Provinces. The earliest specimen of homo erectus in China is "Yuanmo Man" found with his tools in Guanyin Cave (Guanyindong) in Guizhou, south of the Yangtze, in 1964. Current estimate is that he lived 1,700,000 years ago.

For Middle Paleolithic times, we are back to central China, for a Neandertal type, "Changyang Man", who lived 300,000 years ago. "Maba Man", inhabiting the Guangdong region, lived 100,000 years ago. Numerous other specimens are now filling in the gaps. The earliest homo sapiens have been discovered living 40,000 years ago at Liujiang in Guizhou Province (Himalayan portion). They have Mongolian racial features.

Issue as to the origins of Chinese culture. We have evidence of migration -- trade and the spread of lithic techniques. And we find ancient habitation which can support endogenous origins. The point here is that "racial characteristics did not originate at the same time as the human species". [15] They emerged later, after we were human, and already had an advanced level of culture.

As agrarian societies emerged, resources were increasingly devoted to veneration of the dead, or at least that is the activity which remains for archeology. Although gaps remain, it appears that the Neolithic way of life with vestiges of a farming economy, polished and painted ceramics, and domestic animals (pigs) is established in what is called the Yangshao Culture. These sites are located in four regions -- the loess plateau, the plans, Shandong Province, and the upper valley of the Yellow River. The inhabitants are sedentary, living in permanent towns. [16]

None of the adults found in hundreds of Neolithic burials lived past the age of 30. Thus the placement of the "Golden Age" in the past, by Confucian scholars, appears to be error.[19a]

Evidence of matriarchy -- plenty: The Yangshao Culture is also the height of the Age of Matriarchy in c 4000 BC. The earliest stone coffin discovered in China is of a young girl. "Primitive Chinese society was predominantly matriarchal"--as evidenced by lavish funerary accouterments [19a] provided only for women [21a]. This is corroborated by the emphasis on kitchen chemistry (cooking and medicine), ceramics (potters wheels, oven/kilns), and the absence of emphasis on weapons and war. A warrior-queen-sorceress was venerated by her devoted husband/King even in the Shang period. [Fu Hao 40].

Hemp appears early and often. [40]

III. The Era of Kings.

After discussing paleolithic and neolithic discoveries, this work launches into a chronological presentation of the dynasties. Although the Qin emperors ruled only for a decade, after they unified all of China in 221 BC, the concept of unification under central authority remained in the psyche for the next 2000 years. [105] Of course, the first emperor ordered all the ancient texts burned. (!) And the discontinuities within the 2000 years of Imperial rule even extended to the loss of games played for amusement. For example, artifacts depict game boards of liubo, with many literary references, yet the rules and manner of the game have long been lost. [150]

Human sacrifices throughout the world appear to originate in the Bronze Age. Anyway, in China they do. [28] Although gaps in the Neolithic settlements may have been the result of genocidal invasions, institutionalized and deliberate cruelty as part of stratified social structure emerges in the next layer of "civilization" -- the Bronze, coincident with the rise of male Kings and Priests, although disenfranchised women often play leading roles in the forms of cruelty.

China's entry into "history" arrives with the Shang clan's system of notation consisting of more than mnemotechnical or numerical references on Neolithic pottery.

The Shang established a dynasty in the Lower Basin of the Yellow River. The period was marked by instabilities -- shifts of power, locations, capitals -- and an obsession with dogs. [32] 1600-1300 BC. Large royal tombs have been discovered, surrounded by what must be thousands yet unexcavated. []31] Their conquerors, the Zhou, continued to venerate their Shang ancestors.

IV. Creation of Empire.

In 221 BC all of China was unified by conquest. [105] The Qin adopted the term "huang-ti" [tr. Emperor] which was thereafter used by China's rulers until the Revolution of 1911.

Archaeology is now emancipating history from the "authority" of countless texts and misunderstandings. Even the First Emperor had tried to do this! He sought to replace the authority of the Confucian schooled bureaucrats by erecting stelae within every district. These monuments have never been found, however, in 1975 at Xiaogan, a Qin text was found which confirms the effort. [105]

One observation is inescapable: Over 2000 years ago, in unifying and centralizing authority, the Qin sought to eradicate Confucian teachings and directly regulate all commercial activity. [106]

The First Emperor also built, the vast life-size terra cotta horses discovered in 1974, and Burial Armies discovered in a tomb in Xianyang, and Tanjiawan. [107] The founder of the Chinese Empire/ Han Dynasty, has not yet been located. The texts describe the sacrifice of all the concubines, wives, artisans and laborers sealed in the tomb.[114] The complex itself was profaned only a few years after its completion, by Xiang Yu, a discontented, clever, and vainglorious southern rival.

The Burial site is allegedly protected by arbalest [stone-releasing machines 110] and hidden pits. The excavated trenches are filled with warriors wearing cuirasses (body armor), holding weapons. Horsemen, chariots, military formations.

V. The Han Dynasty. (210 BC - 220 AD)

The Han held onto power for four centuries in spite of constant upheaval and constant changes of capital location. Vestiges of the Han period are abundant throughout China, as they were the first to achieve unity throughout the Empire.

Burials became "social obligations governed by ceremonial rituals" which underwent significant changes in 2000 years of Imperial Rule.

Texts. Manuscripts unearthed from burial sites have been recovered. Tombs at Mawangdui near Changsha included medical manuals, gymnastic poses, formulas, celestial notes, maps, historical texts, poetry, almanacs, and rule books. We have a complete copy of the works of Mo Zi. Also, of great importance for military historians: Six Tactics (Liu tao), Master Sun's Art of Warfare (Sunzi bingfa), and Sun Bin's Art of Warfare (Sun Bin bingfa). These treatises had disappeared long ago, although copies had been made of portions.[147] (Time and again, we discover that the Chinese were indifferent to preservation outside of funerary ritual.) These manuscripts reflect the rise of land-owning classes and valued scribes and artisans of a nascent "middle class". [148; see also statue of Li Bing, an engineer who developed a vast irrigation system 154].

The Buddhist figures found in the Eastern Han -- a paranirvana scene carved in a rupestral cliff in northern Jiangsu, near Mount Kongwang -- confirms the early arrival of Buddhism during the 1st or 2d century. Perhaps by sea. [155]

VI. Collapse of the Han

Chinese civilization was caught up in a moral and economic crisis that would last several centuries, from the beginning of the third century AD. Interestingly, although the central authority was overrun by barbarians and collapsed, this period is now recognized as one of the most constructive. New ideas came in from Europe, India, and Turkestan, and the culture of the central plains spread more vigorously than ever to outlying areas. [157]

Here again, the texts and the artifacts diverge: The chronicles of the age grimly recount the carnage, the tribal migrations, and the "Three Kingdoms" of Wei,Wu and Shu with standing armies locked in combat. The artifacts, however, show the invention of the waterwheel, celadon, gunpowder, the compass, and agricultural exchanges. Tea was cultivated and silkworms and mulberry trees were distributed. Glass, a Roman idea (used for windows in Pompei in 1st century AD), was introduced.

VII. Sui and Tang

The Sui Dynasty was established in 581 AD by military subjugation. Archaeologically, we find the appearance of successful public works programs -- the Grand Canal (which continues to link northern and southern portions of the mainland), and large granaries distributed throughout the land.

The brilliance of the Tang period is presented with many funerary artifacts. For a century -- the Golden Age of "three colored wares" (sancai) specifically made for the afterlife -- tombs were provided with pieces intended solely for funerary purposes. {It seems inexplicable to go to such effort to place such beautiful objects under the ground; I think they wanted US to find these materials -- a kind of gift to the hope of a future.} The Tang guided the dynamic explosion of porcelain technology into standardized and flawless production. [191b] This outcome contradicts the vector of craftsmanship in the West. Items of gold and silver were also wrought into unprecedented and extravagant forms. [192].

One Tang emperor built a mausoleum to express his guilt for failing to save his children from the vengeance (!) of his wife. [168]

The archaeology also points to another vivid reality about the past: Buddhism did not just spread along the caravan routes. Rupestrian shrines and temples covered every accessible portion of China, from Central Asia to the coasts. Indeed it was a Chinese monk who took Buddhism to Japan, where Yangzhou artistic splendor was planted and then continued to survive long after China banned "foreign" religion and the Tang dynasty declined. [190]

VIII The Song Dynasty. [197]

Let me just say at the outset that but for the Song, the brilliance of Chinese civilization--with so much before and after -- would simply be considered decoration. Between 916 - 1279 "civilization", not just cleverness and fraud, or force and power, started taking place and prevailed.

"One of the singular merits of archaeology is to contribute artifacts when historical texts are deficient: at times, the written word is untrue, but an artifact never is." [203]

The Song built ocean-going ships, revolutionized food preparation with kitchenware and ceramics, and the funerary figures (mingqi) now include musicians, comedians, dancers and artisans. [203]

X. Ming Dynasty

While the 15th and 16th centuries in Europe saw the emergence of the Renaissance, the Ming Dynasty "is accurately perceived as an immediate prelude to the Qing dynasty, which is associated with the political, moral and economic collapse of the empire". [215]

In 1970, while the Cultural Revolution was taking place, archeologists began investigating the tomb of Zhu Dan, who founded the Ming dynasty. He died at age 19, and was laid in a vast underground catacomb dug into the side of a mountain, along with thousands of objects, paintings and calligraphy. Thirteen other Ming tombs are nearby, 40 kilometers northwest of Beijing, and are open to the public eager to appreciate the quality of materials and workmanship, and the ostentation, of another era.

Interestingly, in this entire collection, I do not see a single depiction of a human "lotus foot" or foot binding.

{Foot binding began late in the T'ang Dynasty (618-906) and it gradually spread through the upper class during the Song Dynasty (960-1297). As the status of women deteriorated in the Ming period (1368-1644) and the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911), foot binding spread through the overwhelming majority of the Chinese population. It was finally outlawed, along with the Opium trade, in the 1911 Revolution of Sun Yat-Sen. The only Chinese groups who resisted this custom were the ones who respected women and valued girl babies -- the Manchu conquerors, the Hakka Chinese migrant groups in south China, and the lower classes of people whose daughters were rarely sought for sex by the upper classes. For one thousand years, little girls were systematically tortured, and women were crippled. Over time, one billion women had their feet bound.}

Conclusion

Archaeology is one of the most effective ways to acquaint people with culture. [221] In China, it is a bountiful dream. ( )
  keylawk | Jun 13, 2010 |
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Nom de l'autorCàrrecTipus d'autorObra?Estat
Danielle Elisseeffautor primaritotes les edicionscalculat
Elisseeff, VadimeAutorautor principaltotes les edicionsconfirmat
Berger, MarcelCartographerautor secundaritotes les edicionsconfirmat
Brandt, Klaus K.Traductorautor secundarialgunes edicionsconfirmat
Gemmingen, Hubertus vonEditorial Staffautor secundarialgunes edicionsconfirmat
Stadelmann, FranzDissenyadorautor secundarialgunes edicionsconfirmat
Zeppelzauer, RitaTraductorautor secundarialgunes edicionsconfirmat
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Homage to the discoverer of ancient China, To Henri Maspero (1883-1945) On his one hundredth anniversary.
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It is said that China is changing as it responds to the temptations and attractions of the outside world.
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One of the singular merits of archeology is to contribute artifacts when historical texts are deficient: at times, the written word is untrue, but an artifact never is. [203]

Quoting Henri Maspero: "Despite recurrent affirmations to the contrary, the history of ancient China does not extend extremely far into the past, and texts originating in antiquity only possess limited merits. Instead of a continuous history, we have obtained glimpses of certain eras, separated by periods that are relatively unfamiliar." Page 8b.
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Not so long ago China's civilization and art were only known to us through artifacts preserved in Western museums and the origins of these treasures were often relatively obscure. During the past thirty years, however, systematic excavation projects have been carried out in China. Isolated and previously unexplored sites have yielded fascinating treasures; it has been possible to rediscover the tombs of emperors, aristocrats and officials in their fullest splendor with all of their mortuary furnishings. Thus, we are able to cite the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huangdi, the mortuary retinue at Yangjiawan, the winged horse of Wuwei, the tombs at Mawangdui, the frescoes in Tang tombs, the silver hoard of Hejiacum, the tombs of the monarchs of Zhongshan, and the bronzes and bells from Leigudun. These discoveries are extremely valuable because it has been possible to establish dates, clarify historical information and enrich our knowledge of China's past. This book will present an overview of all recent research and an inventory of these numerous and meaningful discoveries. In order to perform this task properly, the authors, who are internationally recognized specialists, visited China several times during the past few years and they have relied upon the most recent research and publications. All of the items appearing in illustration within this book were discovered at archeological sites in China. Some of them have been exhibited during major expositions of Chinese art and others have been reproduced for the first time outside China. The appendices include a list of the principal archeological sites in China, a chronology of the principal discoveries since 1950, and a bibliography consisting of recent published sources. These are vital points of reference and resources for specialists and connoisseurs alike. -- Inside jacket flap.

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