the yellow river:the shang and zhou dynasties(jiliane's report)

8/8/2019 The Yellow River:The Shang and Zhou Dynasties(Jiliane's report)

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THE YELLOW RIVER

VALLEYThe Neolithic Age; the Shang and

Zhou Dynasty


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OLD STONE AGE( PALEOLITHIC, ca. 500,000-ca. 5000 B.C)

Ancient humans appeared in China in the PaleolithicAge.

They used roughly broken stone as tools and

weapons; they hunted and fishes but did not farm ormake pottery, weave cloth or built houses.Since the discovery of Peking man (the name givento the first ancient human remains to be discovered

in China, found in the Zhou Koudian Cave, nearPeking now Beijing)


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Lan Tien man was an earlier relative discovered in1963, and somewhat later and more highly evolvedform of human was discovered in Anhui Province in1982.The old Stone Age a period in which mere survival

probably consumed all of the time and efforts of

these ancient peoples.There was no time for embellishment; there was

scarcely time to maintain adequate protection fromenemies and to hunt food.

Modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) appearedaround twenty-five thousand years ago.


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NEW STONE AGE( PALEOLITHIC, ca. 5000-1600 B.C )

Chinas ancient tradition reports that the firstdynasty was that of Xia. Chinese archeologist placethe time of Xia dynasty between 2100 and 1600

B.C. Some Chinese archeologists tend to believedthat the site of Erlitou ( which will be furtherdiscussed under the Shang dynasty, successor tothe Xia ), was probably capital of the Xia dynasty as

well. In any event, it seems likely that one oranother of the Neolithic cultures will eventually beidentified as that of the Xia people.


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Particularly in the West, the very existenceof the Xia dynasty is questioned by some

scholars. But it should be remembered thatthis same skepticism was characteristic ofWesterners views of the Shang dynasty

until the excavation of Anyang corroboratedthe tradition evidence.

In the third decade of the twentieth centuryWestern scholars finally accepted the Shang

dynasty as a fact.


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The Chinese have traditionally called their country theMiddle Kingdom. This concept may have arisen during

the Neolithic Age, perhaps at the time of Xia dynasty.One of the most distinguishing and enduring

characteristics of the Chinese people as a cultural entityhas been the sense of a need to protect themselves from

outsiders.

Xia was the epoch of the great emperors of legend.Later Chinese looked back with admiration and gratitude.The inhabitants of Xia communities lived in small huntswith a central hearth and a smoke-hole in the roof. As

time went on, the buildings became more substantial.


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Neolithic architecture

Neolithic houses weresimple but sufficient Thehouses were small and

the floors were usuallysunk into the earth from

three to six feet;House plans varied from

round to rectangular


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The people were settledfarmers who supplementedtheir food supply by huntingwith bows and arrows and

by fishing.They preferred the harder

stones such as jadebecause of their superiority

in holding an edge.


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NEOLITHIC POTTERYNeolithic Age produced stone well-made and

handsomely designed pottery vessels.

They are of three basic types :

1.painted, with designs in red, black, andsometimes white, on a rust or buff-colored ware;

2.black, burnished, but unpainted; and3. Gray corded, neither painted nor burnished ware,

while the gray corded pottery followed it.


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THE PAINTED POTTERY CULTURE

The people who made painted pottery livedin the valley of the Yellow River and its

tributaries, that is, in North China GansuProvince in the west to shandong province

in the east.


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Common characteristics

Since painted pottery was discovered at Yangshaovillage in Henan province,Yangshao has remained as a general term for all

the painted pottery cultures.

It is handmade without a potters wheel, and thedesigns were painted in mineral colors, which weremade durable when the pots were fired bonfires.

The porosity of the vessel walls automaticallyregulated the temperature and humidity of the

contents through heat ang humidity exchange withthe outside air.


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Cemetery vessels

Painted vessels found in thecemetery sites of the

Banshan hills of GansuProvince are considered the

finest examples of suchpottery. Although they

similar in shape, with a smallbase wide, rounded

shoulders,

These jar were placed inshadow graves, where theyheld food for the dead.


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Pottery Shapes

a. Yangshao paintedpottery from Banpo

village.

It is likely that a smallwoven reed or split

bamboo mats was used

as a upon which to beginthe coiled clay pot.


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Black Burnished Pottery (ca. 2500 B.C- into

the Bronze Age; terminus uncertain )

Major sites of excavation ofBlack burnished pottery.Longshan pottery is differentfrom the earlier paintedpottery as cultures.


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Xia dynasty ( ca. 2100-1600 B.C. )

The forms and techniquesbegan to change radicallyfrom flat bottomed, thick-

walled simple jars andbowls.

The handle is on an axiswith the spout. Spout,

handle, and three feet arecharacteristic of the jue ofthe succeeding Bronze Age.


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Gray corded pottery ( before ca. 5000 B.C.-Shang Dynasty or later )

This pattern result frombeating the surface with

cord-covered. Two

technical feuturesdistinguish this pottery

from the earliercategories:

Its surface is roughbecause the clay issandy.


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THE BRONZE AGE IN CHINA

The Shang and Zhou Dynasties


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THE SHANG DYNASTY

(ca. SEVENTEENTH-ELEVENTHCENTURY B.C)

The Shang was one of the severalcoexisting groups in ancient china.

Erlitou may have been the site of the firstShang capital.


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Early shang (ca. seventeenth-fifteenth century B.C.)

The earliest bronze vessels thus far discovered in chinahave come from the erlitou culture, so that it is possible thatbronze was an invention not of the Shang ( which has been

the prevalent view for view for over fifty years ) but of the

Xia people. Four phases of occupation have been identifiedat Erlitou. The first two may have been within the NeolithicAge. The third and fourth phases contained elements of

culture that relate to the Shang cultural phase.Erlitou was a walled city walled city with a large central

building on a raised base of rammed earth.


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Erlitou Model of palace. Luoyang municipalmuseum

This must have been a major structure and is referred to asthe palace, although archeologists point out there is nospecific evidence, other than size, to support thisdesignation.


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Centralized Power

The Centralized Power, walled cities, architectural types,and unbridgeable social and political abyss between therulers and the ruled were all present.Centralization of Power made possible the conscription andmaintenance of the large work force required in mining and

smelting the ore,The benefits of the new age were reserve executively forthe rulers and their relatives. The land, The technology andthe all workers all belonged to the rulers.The mass of people continued living in the Stone Age life-

style, even while using the most advanced technology theirworld had ever seen to produced objects of preciousbronze.


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Use of Metal Objects

The Discovery that metal could be worked into usefulproducts was made in China, probably just preceding 2000B.C. Future excavation will probably reveal earlierexamples than those thus far known from Erlitou, which arethe oldest yet discovered.One type has three legs, and handle, and a spout.Perhaps it was used to produce a trancelike state for theking or his shaman (religio-magical practitioner who fulfilleda role very similar to that of the medicine man in native

American cultures), making it possible to contact the spiritworld.


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Bronze Technology

Shang bronze vessels were cast by the piece-moldmethod.These earliest bronze vessels are the most thinly cast; theyare also the smallest. Their discovery has led to areassessment of the evolution of bronze technology inChina. Thus, while these earliest pieces may be neitherdramatic nor especially attractive, they have caused a flurryof excitement among scholarly disciplines.

The bronzes derived their functions from the earlier potterycultures.


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Burial PracticesIn 1974 three test pits were dug in the palace area.From them two bronze vessels, three weapons,and four circular metal discs were recovered.The vessels are three-legged and have handles set atninety degrees to a narrow spout. At the possible side thelip is a point


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Jue ceremonial vesselsEarly Shang dynasty

(ca. 17th century B.C.)

H. 10 1/8


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Rectangular cauldron(fang ding).

Middle Shang ( 5th century B.C.)H. 39 Weight 181 lb.


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These vessels were usually round with three legs, but thisis a four-cornered version an it is called a fang(square)

ding.The simple designs were cut and pressed into the interiorof the clay mold so that they would come out in relief on thefinished bronze vessels.

Only two simple tools were used:1. a blunted round point2. Needlelike point

This is the largest bronze of the Middle Shang period so

far discovered. It was found in 1974 at Zhengzhou.


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Zun. Bronze.Late Shang

H.14


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These tomb chambers held the coffin,and around it were arranged the large

quantities of grave goods the deceasedwould need in the next life. Not onlyvarious useful and ritual objects but also

clothes and food as well as slaves, andsometimes even relatives, were buriedwith a high-ranking noble.


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Surviving Objects

A great many objects of the Shang dynasty were to delicateto survive the rigors of time. Metal and stone objects arebetter preserved than fragile materials such as wood andcloth. However, we know that Shang used silk and that at

least the ceremonial buildings and the great tombchambers were of wood construction.The bronze vessels that preserve for us the high style ofthe Shang dynasty, but there were many other objects ofbronze as well; implements and weapons as well chariotfittings and other paraphernalia of both ceremony and wall.


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Dagger-axeIvory-color jade

Shang


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The Early Shang vessels from Erlitou aresmall, thin, and minimally decorated.

The Middle Shang bronzes from Zhengzhouare larger and thus exhibit larger areas of

design, but most of the surface of thesepieces are without surface designs.


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Zun, in form of owl. BronzeLate Shang


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Zun, wine vessels in shape of bird. Bronze.Late Shang dynasty

H. 18


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Detail of Gui Bronze


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THE ZHOU DYNASTY

The Chinese conceder the Zhou dynastytheir classical age. IIt was the longest dynasty in their history.During this era elements of the precedingNeolithic and Shang cultures were refined,while some new concepts were added that,taken together, formed the fundamentals of

Chinese civilization.


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Gui. BronzeEarly Zhou (eleventh century B.C.)

H. 9 1/8


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Gui. BronzeEarly Zhou

(tenth century B.C.)H. 8


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Ding. Bronze; silver inlayJin Cun style

Late Zhou


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Ding. Bronze.Liyou styleLate Zhou


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Hu. Bronze.H. 47

the yellow river:the shang and zhou dynasties(jiliane's report)

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