Writing and Literacy in Early China examines a topic of international importance: the emergence and spread of literacy in ancient human society. Writing arose separately in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Mesoamerica, and China. Modern Chinese orthography preserves logographic principles shared by its most ancient forms three thousand years ago, making it unique among all present-day writi...(展开全部)

This book traces the evolving uses of writing to command assent and obedience in early China, an evolution that culminated in the establishment of a textual canon as the foundation of imperial authority. Its central theme is the emergence of this body of writings as the textual double of the state, and of the text-based sage as the double of the ruler. The book examines the ful...(展开全部)

A study that makes use of an interdisciplinary approach to challenge traditional theories of state formation in China and promote debate on early Chinese history. Analyzing data from archaeology, geology, cultural geography, ethnohistory and ancient texts, the authors show how the procurement of key external resources - especially metal and salt - drove the dynamics of state fo...(展开全部)

Writing and the Ancient State explores the early development of writing and its relationship to the growth of political structures. The first part of the book focuses on the contribution of writing to the state's legitimating project. The second part deals with the state's use of writing in administration, analyzing both textual and archaeological evidence to reconstruct how th...(展开全部)

Leading scholars of ancient Chinese history, literature, religion, and archaeology consider the presence and use of texts in religious and political ritual. Through balanced attention to both the received literary tradition and the wide range of recently excavated artefacts, manuscripts, and inscriptions, their combined efforts reveal the rich and multilayered interplay of text...(展开全部)

胡司德（Roel Sterckx），剑桥大学“中国历史、科学与文明”李约瑟讲座教授，克莱尔学院院士。著作有《早期中国食物、祭品与圣贤》（Food, Sacrifice, and Sagehood in Early China），纽约剑桥大学出版社（New York: Cambridge University Press）2011年出版；主编《论鼎与品味：古代中国宗教与饮食文化》（Of Tripod and Palate: Food, Politics and Religion in Traditional China），纽约帕尔格雷夫·麦克米兰出版社（New York: Palgrave MacMillan）2005年出版。撰有古代中国文化史及思想、宗教等方面论文及专著章节多种。2013年当选为英国国家学术院院士。

Summary Read First Chapter image missing Explores early Chinese beliefs regarding the animal world and how these informed ideals of sagehood and political authority. Exploring the cultural perception of animals in early Chinese thought, this careful reading of Warring States and Han dynasty writings analyzes how views of animals were linked to human self perception and investig...(展开全部)

Why would an inkstone have a poem inscribed on it? Early modern Chinese writers did not limit themselves to working with brushes and ink, and their texts were not confined to woodblock-printed books or the boundaries of the paper page. Poets carved lines of verse onto cups, ladles, animal horns, seashells, walking sticks, boxes, fans, daggers, teapots, and musical instruments. ...(展开全部)