The Earliest China

Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
1 Explanation for the Theme
	1.1 What is “China”?
	1.2 Seeing What the Literature Can Tell
	1.3 The Bronze Inscriptions of Western Zhou Dynasty Pointing the Earliest “China” to the Luoyang Basin
	References
2 Creating a New Era
	2.1 The Heroic Age “Full of Stars in the Sky”
	2.2 Three Steps of Civilization: State, Dynasty and Empire
	2.3 The Birth of “China” in the Erlitou Era
	2.4 One Point and One Plane: Two Characteristics of the Earliest “China”
	References
3 Global Perspective
	3.1 Six Major Civilizations, Two Systems of Impacting on the World History
	3.2 River Civilizations in the “Old World”
	3.3 Some Scholars Think that the Aegean Sea is Also a Great Birthplace
	3.4 Views on Similarity and Difference of Ancient Civilization
	3.5 Chinese Civilization in the History of Global Civilization
	3.6 Clarity of History: The Comparison from Another Perspective
	3.7 Why is the Chronology of Early China Inexplicit?
	References
4 Dream-Seeking Journey
	4.1 Exploration from the Known to the Unknown
	4.2 Xu Xusheng Who Discovered Erlitou Searching for the “Ruins of Xia Dynasty”
	4.3 Tremendous Achievements for Half a Century
	References
5 Mystifying Scene
	5.1 Is the Early Dynastic History Recorded in the Literature Credible?
	5.2 Suspicions of the Royal Lineage
	5.3 “Debate on Ancient History” Sweeping the Traditional Ancient History
	5.4 Modern Archaeology Emerging at the Right Moment in China
	5.5 Erlitou: Did It Belong to Xia Dynasty or Shang Dynasty?
	5.6 The Enlightenment of the Research History
	References
6 Genius of the Central Plains
	6.1 The Oriental “Two River Valleys”: Seedbed of Agricultural Origin
	6.2 The Central Plains: The Center of a Double Flower
	6.3 Converging on the Strategic Transportation Area from All Directions
	6.4 Convergence Zone of the Two Agricultural Areas
	6.5 Junction of Two Geographical and Cultural Plates
	6.6 Luoyang Basin: The “Geographical Kingdom” with the Best Topographical Advantages in the World
	6.7 Erlitou: The Great Achievement of “Cultural Hybridization”
	References
7 The Imposing Manner of the Royal Capital
	7.1 Excellent Location of the Capital
	7.2 The Past and Present of Erlitou: Scanning the General Trend of Settlement Evolution
	7.3 Super Large-Scale Capital City with Highly Concentrated Population
	7.4 Complexity and Functional Division of the Capital
	7.5 Road Network System in the Central Area
	7.6 Discovery of the Big “Crossroad”
	7.7 Unprecedented City Planning
	References
8 Building in the Middle and Erecting in the North
	8.1 The Earliest “Forbidden City” in China
	8.2 The Palace City To Be “Thought” Out
	8.3 Palace Architectural Complexes with Central Axis Planning
	8.4 Court Hall with the Atrium that can Accommodate Tens of Thousands of People
	8.5 The Massive “Cohesion Project”
	8.6 Magnificent South Gate of the Palace City
	8.7 Architectural Complex East: A Temple or a Place for Ancestral Veneration?
	8.8 “Construction Methods” of the Palace Architecture
	8.9 The Tip of the Iceberg of Early Palaces
	8.10 The Formation of “Court” and “Ritual System”
	References
9 Affairs of the State
	9.1 Discovery of the Sacrificial Remain Area
	9.2 Ritual Items: Logo of Chinese Bronze Age
	9.3 From Pottery Drinking Vessels to Bronze Drinking Vessels
	9.4 Pottery Gui (鬶) and “Cock-Shaped Pot (鸡彝)”
	9.5 Invention of the First Bronze Drinking Vessel, Jue (爵)
	9.6 From the “Jade of Worship” to the “Ritual Jade”
	9.7 The East Wind Spreading to the West: Large-Sized Bladed Jade Ritual Assemblage
	9.8 Mystery of the Handle-Shaped Item
	9.9 Jade Items Indicating the Hierarchical Order
	9.10 No Music, No Ceremony: A Glimpse of Musical Instruments
	9.11 Divination Custom with Animal Bones and Without Tortoise Shells
	9.12 The Earliest Ritual Weapons in China
	9.13 Yue, Power of Military Commanding, Monarchy Power
	9.14 Big Enlightenment of Small Arrowheads
	References
10 The Society of the Capital City
	10.1 Large-Scale Population Mobilization
	10.2 Complexity of Ethnicity: The Earliest Immigrant City in China
	10.3 From Palace to Semi-subterraneous “Shack”
	10.4 Pyramid-Like Funerary Hierarchy
	10.5 A Myriad of Stars Surrounding the Moon: A Bird’s Eye View of Settlement Distribution Pattern
	Reference
11 Atmosphere of Civilization
	11.1 Was There Any Writing in Erlitou?
	11.2 Traces: Early Artifacts in Oracles and Bronze Inscriptions
	11.3 Bluish Green Dragon Suddenly Appearing in “The First Capital”
	11.4 Super National Treasure that is Hard to Came Out
	11.5 Dragon Plaque, Dragon Mace or Dragon Flag?
	11.6 Exploration on the Prototype of Turquoise Dragon
	11.7 Strange Bronze Plate Decoration with Animal Facial Pattern
	11.8 Dragon Images on Pottery
	11.9 From Many Dragons Placed Together to the Normalization of “Taotie”
	References
12 Wonderful Workmanship Excelling Nature
	12.1 Industrial City Beside Palace City: “National High-Tech Industrial Base”
	12.2 The Earliest Workshop for Bronze Casting
	12.3 Ritual System Demand Stimulating Smelting and Casting Industry as “Dark Horse” to Leap
	12.4 Distinctive and Complicated Bronze Technology
	12.5 Amazing Information Revealed by Pottery Quadripod (Ding)
	12.6 Jade Treatment Technology Connecting the Preceding and the Following
	12.7 Discovery of Turquoise Artifacts and Workshop
	12.8 Sophisticated Inlaying Technology of Turquoise
	12.9 Lacquerware: Another Important Category of Ritual Items
	12.10 Fine Pottery, White Pottery and Proto-Porcelain
	12.11 Brilliant Silk and Linen: Discovery of Textiles
	References
13 People’s Livelihood of the City
	13.1 “Five Grains” that Were All Complete
	13.2 Raising of Domestic Animals, Fishing and Hunting
	13.3 With Cooking Utensils to See the Kitchen
	13.4 With Food Serving Utensils to See How to Eat
	13.5 Erlitou People Who Enjoyed “Barbeque”
	13.6 Mystery of the Origin of the Earliest Two Wheeled Carts and Horse-drawn Chariots
14 All the Rivers Running into the Sea
	14.1 Warm Breeze from the South Area of the Yangtze River: Hard Pottery, Cloudscape Pattern and Duck-Shaped Vessel
	14.2 Tropical Seashells of Unknown Origin
	14.3 Impact Wave from the Eurasian Steppe Culture
	14.4 Message of Nomadic Civilization: Battle-Axe and Ring Head Knife
	14.5 Convergence of Adjacent Cultural Factors
	14.6 Mystery of the Source of Bronze Raw Materials
	14.7 “Metal Road and Tin Line”: A Study About the Transportation Network
	References
15 Powerful Radiation
	15.1 Historical Background of the Spread of Drinking Vessels
	15.2 “Drinking Rituals” Suddenly Appearing Outside the Great Wall
	15.3 The Wind of Erlitou Culture Blowing in the Upper, Middle and Lower Yangtze River Valley
	15.4 The Spread of Jade Items Led by the Jade Tablet (Zhang)
	15.5 Bronze Plate Decoration with Animal Facial Pattern Except Erlitou
	15.6 From Erlitou to Erligang
	15.7 The “China” World in an Embryonic Form
	15.8 The Last Question: Why “China”?
	References
Appendix (Translation between English and Chinese)