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Abstract
The Six Dynasties, also known as the "Dark Age" of Chinese history, was a period of political disunity and conflict but also one of important developments in the arts, religion, and culture. This comprehensive and extensively illustrated book covers the material culture of the Six Dynasties, A.D. 220 to 589. Albert E. Dien, a foremost expert on the period, draws on the archaeological findings of mainland China journals as well as historical and literary sources to clarify and interpret the database of over 1,800 tombs developed for this volume. During the Six Dynasties, the influences of non-Chinese nomads, the flourishing of Buddhism, and increasing numbers of foreign merchants in the capitals brought about widespread change. The book explores what the archaeological artifacts reveal about this era of innovation and experimentation between the Han and Tang dynasties.
... The Xianbei unsuccessfully tried to incorporate hereditary leadership, which was not supported by the majority of the population (Kradin 2011). The Xianbei were a fragmented confederacy, with the western branch (Tuoba Xianbei) incorporating Chinese cultural influences over time and the eastern branch (Murong Xianbei) absorbing Korean (Koguryo) cultural influences (Dien 2007). Burial customs of the Xianbei were distinct from the previous Xiongnu. ...
... Burials face east/west with the head west and the feet east. The Xianbei have multiple family members buried together within the same tomb (Dien 2007;Jian 2003;Yang 2011). ...
... Many of these multiple burials may be married individuals buried together. This also may be evidence of the Uighur/Qidan practice where high-ranking women were required to accompany their husbands in death (Dien 2007). ...
... The Xianbei unsuccessfully tried to incorporate hereditary leadership, which was not supported by the majority of the population (Kradin 2011). The Xianbei were a fragmented confederacy, with the western branch (Tuoba Xianbei) incorporating Chinese cultural influences over time and the eastern branch (Murong Xianbei) absorbing Korean (Koguryo) cultural influences (Dien 2007). Burial customs of the Xianbei were distinct from the previous Xiongnu. ...
... Burials face east/west with the head west and the feet east. The Xianbei have multiple family members buried together within the same tomb (Dien 2007;Jian 2003;Yang 2011). ...
... Many of these multiple burials may be married individuals buried together. This also may be evidence of the Uighur/Qidan practice where high-ranking women were required to accompany their husbands in death (Dien 2007). ...
... The Xianbei unsuccessfully tried to incorporate hereditary leadership, which was not supported by the majority of the population (Kradin 2011). The Xianbei were a fragmented confederacy, with the western branch (Tuoba Xianbei) incorporating Chinese cultural influences over time and the eastern branch (Murong Xianbei) absorbing Korean (Koguryo) cultural influences (Dien 2007). Burial customs of the Xianbei were distinct from the previous Xiongnu. ...
... Burials face east/west with the head west and the feet east. The Xianbei have multiple family members buried together within the same tomb (Dien 2007;Jian 2003;Yang 2011). ...
... Many of these multiple burials may be married individuals buried together. This also may be evidence of the Uighur/Qidan practice where high-ranking women were required to accompany their husbands in death (Dien 2007). ...
... The Xianbei unsuccessfully tried to incorporate hereditary leadership, which was not supported by the majority of the population (Kradin 2011). The Xianbei were a fragmented confederacy, with the western branch (Tuoba Xianbei) incorporating Chinese cultural influences over time and the eastern branch (Murong Xianbei) absorbing Korean (Koguryo) cultural influences (Dien 2007). Burial customs of the Xianbei were distinct from the previous Xiongnu. ...
... Burials face east/west with the head west and the feet east. The Xianbei have multiple family members buried together within the same tomb (Dien 2007;Jian 2003;Yang 2011). ...
... Many of these multiple burials may be married individuals buried together. This also may be evidence of the Uighur/Qidan practice where high-ranking women were required to accompany their husbands in death (Dien 2007). ...
... The Xianbei unsuccessfully tried to incorporate hereditary leadership, which was not supported by the majority of the population (Kradin 2011). The Xianbei were a fragmented confederacy, with the western branch (Tuoba Xianbei) incorporating Chinese cultural influences over time and the eastern branch (Murong Xianbei) absorbing Korean (Koguryo) cultural influences (Dien 2007). Burial customs of the Xianbei were distinct from the previous Xiongnu. ...
... Burials face east/west with the head west and the feet east. The Xianbei have multiple family members buried together within the same tomb (Dien 2007;Jian 2003;Yang 2011). ...
... Many of these multiple burials may be married individuals buried together. This also may be evidence of the Uighur/Qidan practice where high-ranking women were required to accompany their husbands in death (Dien 2007). ...
... The Northern Wei (北魏, AD 386-534) and its descendant polities were a critical juncture in this process. In Dien's words, during this time peoples exhibiting a "wide range of regional cultural differences" (Dien, 2007) interacted in war and peace-and with frequent reconstitution of elite groups and polities. Chen Yinke (陈寅恪) argued for a counter-view of Han-ization (Han hua汉化) when trying to encapsulate the ethnic changes of this period-a non-Han, Xianbei (鲜卑) elite adopted the trappings of Han civilization, acquiring Chinese writing, administration and methods of government (Chen, 1931(Chen, , 2002. ...
... Chen Yinke (陈寅恪) argued for a counter-view of Han-ization (Han hua汉化) when trying to encapsulate the ethnic changes of this period-a non-Han, Xianbei (鲜卑) elite adopted the trappings of Han civilization, acquiring Chinese writing, administration and methods of government (Chen, 1931(Chen, , 2002. "Xianbei-ization" (Xianbei hua 鲜卑化), later emphasized by Dien (Dien, 2007), argued that Xianbei culture was for its part also consciously promoted, Xianbei surnames maintained among the elites, and Han peoples occasionally Xianbei-ized through surname adoption. Beyond defining hybridization, recent scholarship has also examined the ethnic diversity of this period from the "multicultural" perspective (Corradini, 2004). ...
Noble and commoner in the medieval China capital of Chang’an (modern-day Xi’an) engaged in an intricately intertwined agricultural and pastoral economy. The period represents the peak of the integration of nomadic and agricultural populations in early China. Here we firstly reported human collagen δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values for eight middle age nobles whose lifespans cover roughly a century (AD 503–604) and who include a Northern Zhou, Emperor Wu (北周武帝) and his consort, Empress A’shina (阿史那皇后). We also consider stable isotopic evidence from nine individuals in commoner burials in the Chang’an region, likewise dating to the sixth century. This century-long dietary profile provides direct archeological evidence for dietary variability at this core metropolitan population. Constructing a comparative model using existing historical human isotopic data (n = 1233) from northern China and its northern Steppe, we find a marked regional divergence in noble and commoner dietary patterns. We trace this back to the considerable variety of agricultural and pastoral dietary practices, likely pointing to different economic and geographic backgrounds of the individuals under study. We argue that a two-way relationship between shifting pastoral and agricultural practices was reflected to separate degrees at the elite and commoner level. This study offers an improved understanding of the multiplicity of dietary patterns and associated lifeways for the metropolitan societies of medieval northern China.
... infra), al tiempo que era uno de los instrumentos favoritos de los conjuntos de entretenimiento y de las bandas militares. De ahí que la encontremos en unas regulaciones del Estado Chen, en el 574 a.C., en las que se enumeran los instrumentos que conforman la banda imperial (Dien 2007). ...
... IA-CASS 2010); y un grupo de trece figurillas (ocho músicas y cinco bailarinas) halladas en 1959 en la tumba de Zhang Sheng (Anyang, Henan; 595 d.C.; vid. Dien 2007). ...
... A custom of identifying the name, descent and merits of a person by imperishable epitaph inscriptions on square stone plates buried inside tombs was common practice in China from the third and fourth centuries AD (e.g. Davis, 2015;Dien, 2007;Rawson, 2001). To this day, the record of patrilineal descent and place of family origin is a typical feature of Chinese kinship construction. ...
... The main building features are conventional Chinese (e.g. Dien, 2007), including (1) a sloping passageway constructed of tunnels and open shafts leading to (2) a corridor and (3) the burial chamber in which (4) a funerary platform was the most important item of furniture. Above the burial chamber (5) a soil mound (tumulus) was erected. ...
Six tombs attributed to the Shi family were excavated in Guyuan (China) between 1982 and 1996. The seven epitaph inscriptions (representing seven patrilineal generations) make it possible to reconstruct the life histories of the family members buried between AD 609 and AD 678. The comparative analysis of the epitaph inscriptions suggests links between individual biographies of the Shi men and known historical events. It indicates that the family, involved in the political changes taking place throughout the Northern Wei, Western Wei and Northern Zhou to Sui and early Tang dynasties, successfully survived these turbulent and glorious times of Chinese history. The present paper also discusses the biculturalism and Sogdian ancestry of the Guyuan Shi family. All six Shi men were born in northern China. Their immediate forefathers likely originated from oases-states in Xinjiang, but not from Sogdiana directly, though more distant roots may lead to the Shi (Kesh) state (in present-day Uzbekistan). The Shi family case demonstrates that middle-class Sogdians during Sui and early Tang dynasty times served as cavalry officers and civil officials. However, horse acquisition and breeding on imperial ranches north of the capital was perhaps their main business, which contributed to their wealth and to the consolidation and expansion of the Chinese state.
... From 220 to 263 AD their relations were relatively stable, but in 263 Wei conquered Shu and in 266 Wei was defeated by a new state, Jin. Jin defeated Wei in 280 (Dien andKnapp 2019: xviii, Holcombe 2001)). ...
This is an archaeological study of the long term history of Zhejiang and the Hangzhou Bay region centering around the modern city of Ningbo, an area that lies outside the Yellow River heartland and the Central Plain. I provide overviews of some studies of geomorphology and environment, ceramic production, urban archaeology, maritime trade, and Buddhist artifacts. The time period covered extends from around 11,400 BP to 1500 AD. The assets of the region, coastal and marine location, alluvial soil, and abundant fresh water were balanced by the deficits of typhoons, invasive tides, poor drainage and silting. However, a long sequence of innovations in agriculture, hydraulic engineering, ceramic and metallurgical technology, navigation, and ship building, as well as economic, religious, and cultural advances led to the rise of an international cultural center. Commercial and cultural contacts with Korea and Japan are also introduced. Unique economic structures featured hydrological engineering and commercialization. The neolithic Liangzhu Culture and mediaeval Wuyue systems of belief and prestige are distinctive characteristics of the region.
... During the period when the Liu Song imperial family of the Southern Dynasties was in power, to suppress the power of aristocratic clans, the emperor Liu Yilong equipped Crown Prince Liu Shao with armies and military officials (Dien & Knapp, 2019). As another example, during the reign of Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of the Southern Dynasties, Crown Prince Xiao Tong, held real power and made decisions on all military and state affairs (Dien, 2007). 20 ...
This paper studies the succession of power between emperor and crown prince in imperial China as a political game. We begin by developing a model of the succession game that defines the probability of a crown prince being deposed as a function of the strength of the ruling emperor. The model predicts an inverted U-shaped relationship between the probability of crown prince-deposition and the strength of the ruler. We then test the model’s implication against the historical evidence. We find that from the Western Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty (206 BC–1644 AD), the power of crown princes first increased, then fluctuated and finally decreased. This trend was linearly correlated to changes in relative imperial power.
... Это время довольно кратко характеризуется в нескольких обобщающих трудах по истории китайского костюма (например, см.: Hua Mei, 2004). Отдельные замечания можно найти в трудах по истории и культуре данного периода (Jenner, 1981;Dien, 2007;Lewis, 2009;Liu Puning, 2020). ...
The specificity of costume of the originally nomadic Tuoba / 拓拔 peoples was studied. In 386-535 they created the Northern Wei Empire in the Northern China. The elements of the Tuoba costume on the territory of this state (which was dominated by Han population) and the consequences of the ban on the national costume in summer 495 CE by Xiaowen emperor are considered. Despite the ban and the rapid assimilation, the influence of the Tuoba costume was still felt at the beg. of the 7th c. CE. 12 probable elements of their costume are considered. 1. The way to wrap your clothes to the left. 2. Long caftans-clocks c with narrow long sleeves and a collar in the form of a roller, they were worn in a cape. 3. Other types of long caftans with long, narrow sleeves that were worn by men and women. 4. Caftans with right lapel. 12 alleged elements of their costume are considered. 1. The way to wrap your clothes to the left. 2. Long caftans-clocks c with narrow long sleeves and a collar in the form of a roller, they were worn in a cape. 3. Other types of long caftans with long, narrow sleeves that were worn by men and women. 4. Caftans with right lapel. 5. Women's dresses with a short train. 6. Men's caftans with 8 triangular projections at the hem edge. 7. Shirts as gala clothing. 8. The main headdress of “Xianbei mao” type and conical hats. 9. Cylindrical headdress of women with a thin braid. 10. The special leggings to protect of trousers and shoes. 11. Boots and shoes in black or white. 12. Pectorals in the form of an arc with a sharp protrusion on the lower edge. The reasons for the proximity of some rare costume elements in Touba and Hephthalites, which became stronger later, are also considered. Probably the mutual influence and the traditions influence of intermediate centers (such as the oases of Khotan and Kucha) were the main factors.
... The Eastern Jin Dynasty period and the century preceding it are often regarded as a ''dark age'' in imperial China (Cai, 2004;Dien, 2007) because of frequent wars, deterioration of politics, natural disasters and plague. However, the period was not as dark as generally imagined, for, to a large extent, the term applied more to northern China than to the south where southern China continued to enjoy economic prosperity and cultural development (Jian & Ge, 1996;Liu, 1994). ...
Leisure travel has a long history in imperial China that was oriented primarily around landscape encounters. This history is largely unknown in the West. This paper illustrates how the Chinese travel culture of landscape appreciation emerged in the Eastern Jin Dynasty period (AD 317–420), an era often referred to as China’s Dark Ages, through an analysis of travel writings and biographies of literati written during that period.
China’s Northern and Southern Dynasties period (3rd-6th centuries AD) marked a significant era of ethnic integration in northern China. However, previous ancient DNA studies have primarily focused on northern ethnic groups, with limited research on the genetic formation of the hereditary elite family, especially considering their abundant archaeological record and clear material identity. In this study, we obtained the ancient genome of a hereditary elite family, Gao Bin (高宾, 503-572 AD), at 0.6473-fold coverage with 475132 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on the 1240k panel. His mitochondrial haplogroup belonged to Z4 and Y-haplogroup to O1a1a2b-F2444*. The genetic profile of Gao Bin was most similar to that of the northern Han Chinese. He could be modelled as deriving all his ancestry from Late Neolithic to Iron Age Yellow River farmers without influence from Northeast Asia, Korea, or the Mongolian Plateau. Our study sheds light on the genetic formation of hereditary elite families in the context of the Southern and Northern Dynasties ethnic integration.
Parasites have been infecting humans throughout our evolution. When complex societies developed, the greater population density provided new opportunities for parasites to spread. In this interdisciplinary volume, the author brings his expertise in medicine, archaeology and history to explore the contribution of parasites in causing flourishing past civilizations to falter and decline. By using cutting edge methods, Mitchell presents the evidence for parasites that infected the peoples of key ancient civilizations across the world in order to understand their impact upon those populations. This new understanding of the archaeological and historical evidence for intestinal worms, ectoparasites, and protozoa shows how different cultures were burdened by contrasting types of diseases depending upon their geographical location, endemic insects, food preferences and cultural beliefs.
This analysis of the fabricated worlds in tombs and cave temples of China’s Hexi Corridor shows that animals are integral to concepts of earthly and heavenly realms. Changes in animal imagery from the third through sixth centuries connect to the region’s social, cultural, and demographic transformations, including an embrace of pastoralism followed by increasing cosmopolitanism with the spread of Buddhism. A profusion of domestic animals in Wei-Jin tombs establish microcosms, while otherworldly creatures on entrances and coffins play supernatural roles. Western Jin tombs emphasize fantastic beasts over familiar ones and fuel the mysticism of this era. A Sixteen Kingdoms tomb represents the synthesis of the celestial and terrestrial, setting the stage for Buddhist cave temples. In these, real-world animals are all but expunged while imaginary beasts adapt easily to the new habitat. The proliferation of human figures in the form of buddhas and bodhisattvas not only crowd out animals but indicates that the introduction of Buddhism ushers in an anthropocentric view of earthly life and paradise.
Increasing attention has been given to geographical contributions to cultural heritage in religion. However, comparative quantitative research remains scarce. As a first attempt, this study presents findings from comparative spatial and statistical analyses of the geographical distribution and features of mountains in China sacred in Taoism and Buddhism. Because both have strong orientations to natural environments, we find more similarities than differences between them, even though the two religions have different origins, philosophies, and doctrines. The results empirically support the influences of Taoism on Buddhism in China, findings that supplement current understandings of Buddhism in China in terms of the geographical dynamics of integration and sinicisation of Chinese culture. The findings also enrich current debates, including in this journal, emphasising the importance of environmental symbols in studies on geography and religion. Connecting humanity with physical geography in light of the changes, including grief, being wrought in the Anthropocene, we hope to inspire more geographically grounded and methodologically eclectic studies on religions. Quantitative comparative analysis of the geographical distribution and features of mountains in Chin that are sacred in Taoism and Buddhism reveals similarities that point to the importance of natural environments in religious practice over time and that invite more work on environmental symbols in studies on geography and religion.
This chapter reviews textual, cartographic, and material evidence for contact between China and Byzantium from the fifth to the mid-eighth century. Objects from ‘Fulin’ found in tombs indicate that Byzantine goods, especially gold coins, reached China via Turkic and Sogdian intermediaries, where they inspired imitations. They seem to have been valued not only for their material but also for their positive associations with the West, associated with immortality and divinity. Evidence for transcultural flow westward is more limited and later in date, but ties with faraway China support the conclusion that Byzantium was a ‘global’ civilisation in the early Byzantine centuries.
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The uniqueness in Chinese decorative and painted ceramic wares is aesthetically outstanding. The wares serve both utilitarian and aesthetic functions but the study is focusing on the aesthetic aspect of the wares. Chinese ceramic wares are referred to as artistic or aesthetic, since the creative application of elements and principles of design cut across the forms, shapes and general surfaces of the wares. The decorations and plantings on the wares attract the consumers and passers-by as well as affect the environment positively. Chinese ceramics wares are enjoyed mostly because of the decorations and paintings on the wares which enhance aesthetic aspect of the wares, as they depict the Chinese cultural environment. Description research design was used in the study, while facts were collected through primary and secondary sources such as internet, books, observation and discussion. It worths noting that the making of decorative and painted Chinese wares involves hardware, diligence, creativity and constant practice to yield a high level of aesthetics. In this research ten (10) visional images of Chinese ceramics wares were selected and evaluated with a focus on aesthetic values of the wares. Assessment of the state of beauty of the Chinese wares in consonance with their ability to reflect on the purpose of the subject matter was given attention. The motif such as dragon, sea, design, tiger gold fish and camel are features found in potters cultural environment as they are used in embellishing of the ceramic wares. The cultural influence of the Chinese people has been a boost to the aesthetic implication of decorative and painted Chinese ceramics wares
The Heritage Turn in China: The Reinvention, Dissemination and Consumption of Heritage focuses on heritage discourse and practice in China today as it has evolved from the ‘heritage turn’ that can be dated to the 1990s. Using a variety of disciplinary approaches to regionally and topically diverse case studies, the contributors to this edited volume show how particular versions of the past are selected, (re)invented, disseminated and consumed for contemporary purposes. These studies explore how the Chinese state utilises heritage not only for tourism, entertainment, educational and commercial purposes, but also as part of broader political strategies on both the national and international stage. Together, they argue that the Chinese state deploys modes of heritage governance to construct new modernities while strengthening collective national identity in support of both its political legitimacy and its claim to status as an international superpower. The authors also consider ways in which state management of heritage is contested by some stakeholders whose embrace of heritage has a different purpose and meaning.
The Qin Empire united China but soon fell, being replaced by the Han Empire, which lasted over 400 years to become China’s longest-lived dynasty. Han consolidated Chinese governmental strategy, uniting Ru (Confucian) and Legalist ideas, with some Daoist influence. The Xiongnu Empire rose as a competitor and was largely defeated, but at enormous cost. This set a pattern for later wars on the northern Central Asian frontiers. Meanwhile, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan moved toward civilization, but were still isolated, small powers. This took place in a time of warm, moist climate, which greatly helped both China and the Xiongnu, but did not deeply affect the other regions. The Roman Empire was also benefited; Han and Rome had enough distant and indirect contact to give the Romans some idea of the “silk people” (the Chinese).
This dissertation explores Buddhist chanting practices in mainly the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), showing that they were more than just one part of ritual practice: chanting could also be a type of music, an educational tool, a means for manipulating the supernatural, and a cure and cause of illness. Previous studies of chanting practices in Chinese Buddhism have addressed histories of transmission, doctrinal approaches, and made efforts to preserve melodies through notation. However, they do not necessarily capture how individuals who engaged in chanting experienced this practice. Therefore this dissertation aims to investigate this experience through accounts found in hagiography, miracle tales, and other Buddhist materials. In studying chanting from this perspective, we can see how local and individual experiences, goals, and needs interacted with practices, and how these practices operated within Chinese Buddhist communities. Furthermore, we can understand how and when these understandings and practices were informed by scripture, and when they were not, through how individuals performed, listened to, and promoted them.
Daily life is naturally intertwined with objects and practices that establish routine
and therefore give a sense of continuity. This is equally true for members of the Buddhist
monastic community. Objects and practices form part of the living environment
of monks and nuns, and are part of their daily routine, so they naturally evoke
ideas and attitudes. Superficially, these objects and practices may be the same or at
least similar for everyone, but their use, and particularly the reactions provoked by
them, can vary considerably with context, space or time.
This book aims to study some of the most essential, but often overlooked, objects and
practices of daily life: namely, those relating to bodily care. As with all topics, these
need to be seen in a well-defined context, taking historical and geographical data into
account. The context chosen for this study is the relatively well-documented environment
of the early Buddhist monasteries. Over time, Buddhist monks and nuns
have put painstaking effort into regulating all aspects of their daily life, thereby defining
the identity of the Buddhist samgha.
The Chinese government’s expansion of infrastructure in Gansu province has led to the discovery of a number of important ancient tombs in the Hexi Corridor, a thousand kilometer stretch of the Silk Roads linking China to Central Asia. This study investigates recent finds in the context of older excavations to draw a more cohesive picture of the dramatic cultural and political changes on China’s western frontier in the Wei-Jin period (220–317 CE). A survey of archaeological reports and an analysis of tomb distribution along with structural and decorative complexity indicate that after the fall of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), the nexus of regional power shifted from the eastern Hexi Corridor to Jiuquan and Dunhuang in the west. This phenomenon was related in the rise of magnate families, who emerged from Han dynasty soldier-farmer colonies and helped catalyze the region’s transformation from a military outpost to a semi-autonomous, prosperous haven that absorbed cultural influences from multiple directions. This dynamism, in turn, set the stage for the Hexi Corridor’s ascent as a center of Buddhist art in the fifth and sixth centuries.
After the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 ce, the Chinese world started a period of political fragmentation which lasted until the Sui dynasty unified the territory in 589. This period was characterized by two main transformations. On the one hand, there was an overhaul of the ruling elites: they came to be identified with a limited number of eminent families (shizu) who controlled the imperial power. On the other hand, new populations entered into the social and institutional landscape of the empire, and some of them even established their rule on large parts of the former Han territory. These populations brought new customs, doctrines, and forms of rulership that left a deep mark in imperial institutions. Without understanding the radical transformations that took place between the Han and the Sui dynasties, it would be impossible to grasp the political, social, and intellectual landscape of later times in Chinese imperial history.
After the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 CE, China experienced its most prolonged period of political division in two thousand years of imperial history. These centuries of division became a pivotal age of exceptional cultural openness, ethnic mixing, and creative innovation, which notably witnessed both the spread of Buddhism and the absorption and development of the Yangzi drainage basin in the south. In 589 China was then more or less permanently reunified, and under the Sui and Tang dynasties achieved a peak of regional influence and cultural splendor. The late Tang dynasty, however, after about 750, witnessed the beginning of profound changes that may have marked the end of an era. What to call this post-Han through mid-Tang era, and whether or not it should be considered ‘medieval,’ remains uncertain, however. This chapter argues that ‘medieval’—at least as narrowly defined in terms of European-style feudalism—is not a very appropriate description.
Most of what we know of religion in early medieval China concerns religious virtuosi, the spiritual and intellectual elite. But often, in texts focused on them, we glimpse the activities of some of the surrounding laypersons whose responses to virtuosi are in many cases the reason we have the texts in the first place. We possess normative writings of various kinds prescribing how laypeople should or should not practice religion. Evidence of how they actually did practice religion is harder to find. This modest article attempts to fill a very small part of this gap. I argue that, from at least the late third century, some households in China were furnished with a special room reserved for Buddhist observances, in effect a domestic shrine. I will show what these rooms were used for and something of the significance they were thought to have.
Literature of the fourth century. The Eastern Jin (317-420): an overview. In 317, Sima Rui (276-322), a member of the Jin royal family, assumed the title of the king of Jin in the old Wu capital, Jiankang, and acted as the new regent of the Jin regime. In the following year Sima Rui formally took the throne as the Jin emperor and would be known to posterity as Emperor Yuan. Jiankang was to the southeast of the former Jin capital, Luoyang; hence, in the tradition of the Zhou and Han dynasties, the regime founded by Sima Rui was designated the Eastern Jin. The territory of the Eastern Jin was much diminished, with the North fallen under the rule of rival states, and the southwest (modern Sichuan) dominated by the Cheng-Han kingdom until 347; but territorial reduction is not necessarily proportionate to intellectual vigor and cultural splendor. The Eastern Jin and the ensuing four dynasties in the South - Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen - represent a richness of cultural accomplishment on a scale unparalleled in pre-Tang China. Jiankang was to grow into a thriving metropolis, the world’s most populated city in the early sixth century, with a population twice that of Constantinople, and, above all, a dazzling cultural and intellectual center that lasted until a northern dynasty, the Sui, united China in 589 and ordered the city razed to the ground. During this period of division commonly referred to as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the south, for the first time in Chinese history, ceased being a periphery to the Chinese heartland in the Yellow River valley.
Because of advances in methods and theory, archaeology now addresses issues central to debates in the social sciences in a far more sophisticated manner than ever before. Coupled with methodological innovations, multiscalar archaeological studies around the world have produced a wealth of new data that provide a unique perspective on long-term changes in human societies, as they document variation in human behavior and institutions before the modern era. We illustrate these points with three examples: changes in human settlements, the roles of markets and states in deep history, and changes in standards of living. Alternative pathways toward complexity suggest how common processes may operate under contrasting ecologies, populations, and economic integration.
H. T. Huang's book on Chinese food science and culinary history is the most detailed account in any language on the history of fermentation, food processing, production, preservation, and utilization in China. The work is especially notable for its accounts of the fermentation of alcohol, soybean processing and fermentation, the processing of wheat flour, and tea processing.
The presidential address of 1995, constituting an examination of the favorite or distinctive food-stuffs and beverages of early medieval China as revealed in texts practical and literary from that period.
This chapter examines the Monthly Instructions , paying attention especially to the ways it can supplement other works, such as the standard histories, as a source for Later Han social history. Since the growth of the great families after the Later Han is one of the major social transitions of early Chinese History, it is important to examine the stages and processes of its development. The Monthly Instructions for the Four Classes of People has attracted the interest of many scholars. Ts'ui Shih's Monthly Instructions shows clan activities from a different, less political perspective. The Monthly Instructions offers advice on maintaining health in two distinct ways. One is the preparation of medicines, and the other is certain procedures which if followed will keep one in good health. From the information in Ts'ui Shih's Monthly Instructions it is possible to reconstruct many aspects of estate and family management in the Later Han. Keywords: early Chinese Hisrory; estate management; family management; Later Han; Monthly Instructions ; Ts'ui Shih
The stirrup helped a more heavily armoured rider to mount a bigger horse; it is considered to have permitted the shock encounter with couched lance and, by offering lateral support, to have encouraged the development of the sabre; it provided a top-heavy armoured warrior with more stability in the saddle, and it gave archers the possibility to rise and turn in the saddle, as well as furnishing them with a firmer base from which to shoot.
A new look at the Xianbei and their impact on Chinese culture