One of the great breakthroughs in Chinese studies in the early twentieth century was the archaeological identification of the earliest; fully historical dynasty of kings; the Shang (ca. 1300-1050 B.C.E.). The last fifty years have seen major advances in all areas of Chinese archaeology; but recent studies of the Shang; their ancestors; and their contemporaries have been especially rich. Since the last English-language overview of Shang civilization appeared in 1980; the pace of discovery has quickened. China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization is the first work in twenty-five years to synthesize current knowledge of the Shang for everyone interested in the origins of Chinese civilization.China in the Early Bronze Age traces the development of early Bronze Age cultures in North and Northwestern China from about 2000 B.C.E.; including the Erlitou culture (often identified with the Xia) and the Erligang culture. Robert L. Thorp introduces major sites; their architectural remains; burials; and material culture; with special attention to jades and bronze. He reviews the many discoveries near Anyang; site of two capitals of the Shang kings. In addition to the topography of these sites; Thorp discusses elite crafts and devotes a chapter to the Shang cult; its divination practices; and its rituals. The volume concludes with a survey of the late Shang world; cultures contemporary with Anyang during the late second millennium B.C.E. Fully documented with references to Chinese archaeological sources and illustrated with more than one hundred line drawings; China in the Early Bronze Age also includes informative sidebars on related topics and suggested readings.Students of the history and archaeology of early civilizations will find China in the Early Bronze Age the most up-to-date and wide-ranging introduction to its topic now in print. Scholars in Chinese studies will use this work as a handbook and research guide. This volume makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the formative stages of Chinese culture.
#3319579 in eBooks 2014-10-16 2014-10-16File Name: B00PG00M48
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy RhadamanthusFascinating on Wagners eroticism and anti-semitism.6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Wagner comes aliveBy Jonathan ArnowitzBravo Laurence Dreyfus! It is all to easy to pigeonhole the life of a man as controversial and complex as Richard Wagner. Weve heard all the stereotypes and all the ugly truths...or have we? Has musicology been again guilty of censorship through silence? Prof. Dreyfuss via straightforward scholarship reveals the sensual sexual side of Wagners music. while also revealing Wagners own form of kink sexuality. This is not done for pure gratifications sake. Its only purpose is to help us enjoy and understand Wagners amazing and complex music through understanding Wagners own amazing and complex life.This book assumes you have already heard about Wagners many appalling personality traits; including his pathological anti-semitism. This frees up Dreyfus to look at a single issue: sexuality and allow for once a picture of a human Wagner to emerge.Wagners bad traits shine through all right: like his nasty letter to Nietzsches doctor accusing him of homosexuality. So nothing is sugar coated or glossed over. But one also sees a human side. One that harkens back to his troubled childhood; Wagners own frailty. Finally we can look at Wagner with not just condemnation but also human understanding. Personally; I also discovered why I enjoy Wagners music so much. Why it had always spoken so deeply to me. The book is written in a way that it invites rediscovery of Wagners operas.I Thank Laurence Dreyfus for taking the time to unravel this mystery. I feel I can now go and enjoy Wagners operas without feeling guilty about it.20 of 24 people found the following review helpful. a great achievement!By Strum N. DrangBuy this book - no; actually buy multiple copies of it and distribute to friends as a late Christmas/Chanukah gift. This work is so full of incredible insight; I barely know where to begin to describe its pleasures. Rich in historical context; the author provides a look into how initial audiences grappled with hearing Wagners revolutionary art for the first time. For example; I just read a section on how Berlioz - himself no slouch in terms of musical innovation - heard the Prelude to Tristan; how he scoured the score; over and over; not fully able to come to grip with the amazing music before him. He couldnt decode such and experience in conventional musical analysis; and one gets the sense of his trying to fully digest a musical feast the likes of which he never encountered before; and did not even possess the palate to fully taste its richness; in short; he knew something profound had transpired with this piece; but was not quite sure exactly what it was. At any rate; Wagner and the Erotic Impulse is full of such treasures and the author surpasses all others who have written on Wagner; excepting possibly the early work of Bryan Magee; which was equally brilliant. Buy it; you will not be disappointed. Kudos to Lawrence Dreyfus for his great accomplishment here!
