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Ancient China: A History
Ancient A History surveys the East Asian Heartland Region – the geographical area that eventually became known as China – from the Neolithic period through the Bronze Age, to the early imperial era of Qin and Han, up to the threshold of the medieval period in the third century CE. For most of that long span of time there was no such place as "China"; the vast and varied territory of the Heartland Region was home to many diverse cultures that only slowly coalesced, culturally, linguistically, and politically, to form the first recognizably Chinese empires. The field of Early China Studies is being revolutionized in our time by a wealth of archaeologically recovered texts and artefacts. Major and Cook draw on this exciting new evidence and a rich harvest of contemporary scholarship to present a leading-edge account of ancient China and its antecedents. With handy pedagogical features such as maps and illustrations, as well as an extensive list of recommendations for further reading, Ancient A History is an important resource for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on Chinese History, and those studuing Chinese Culture and Society more generally.
300 pages, Hardcover
Published September 16, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 30, 2024
If only all introductions to periods of history were this excellent! Major and Cook (both experts in ancient Chinese history) provide a concise, but very insightful and, above all, up-to-date overview of the earliest Chinese history, from about 7,000 BCE to about 300 CE. Their approach is very nuanced, in an attractive presentation, with general outlooks followed by 'focuses’ in which some points are briefly explored. Rating 3.5 stars. More in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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October 21, 2024I am very pleased with this book (3.5 stars!). If you want a useful, up-to-date introduction to early Chinese history, this comes highly recommended. Major and Cook's story is nuanced and to-the-point, they clearly take a stand on the tricky points of China's historiography, but are also open to other views. For example, a well-known issue from earliest Chinese history is the question of the historicity of the very first dynasty, the Xia, which is situated around the end of the third millennium and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE. We actually only know Xia from writings from millennia later, and the archaeological finds make no reference to those first emperors. Nevertheless, official Chinese historiography, both that of the communist regime and academics affiliated with official institutions, presents the Xia as a historical reality. It connects this with the Erlitou culture, the first clear Bronze culture that was present in the (large) area of the Yellow River around 2,000 BCE. Major and Cook call the stories about the Xia downright 'mythical', although they do not completely rule out a correspondence with the Erlitou culture. They dryly list the arguments for and against, do not really take sides, but maintain a cautious agnosticism. It is of course possible that between now and 20 years a truckload of material will emerge that does indeed refer to the Xia emperors.
What I missed in this book was information from archaeo-genetics: DNA research based on (very) old human remains. This has yielded an avalanche of new insights worldwide over the last 10 years (and continues to do so), especially about migration flows. This book was published in 2016, so in theory Major and Cook could have included results from archaeogenetics, but they don't. My suspicion, but I am of course no expert, is that these results simply do not exist for earliest China, I cannot find any reference to them anywhere in more recent works. Some speculation: official Chinese historiography is rather reluctant to focus on migration movements; it focuses on static cultures that were subsequently spread further through diffusionism or conquest. It is a model that fits into the official discourse that an authentic Chinese civilization arose almost entirely on an endogenous basis (i.e. in the Central Plain, the broad area of the Yellow River and the Yangtse), and was then spread by spontaneous takeover to surrounding areas. Major migration movements (as has now been substantiated by archaeogenetics especially for Europe, the Near East and the Americas) are at odds with this model. It could therefore be that the Chinese government simply does not allow this type of research or does not consider it suitable. Again, this is speculation, but it seems to me a plausible explanation for the lack of archaeogenetic material for ancient China. This also means that there still is a wide area of research lying fallow here, waiting for the regime in Beijing to revise its opinion. Faulkner was right: the past is never dead, it isn't even past yet!
What I missed in this book was information from archaeo-genetics: DNA research based on (very) old human remains. This has yielded an avalanche of new insights worldwide over the last 10 years (and continues to do so), especially about migration flows. This book was published in 2016, so in theory Major and Cook could have included results from archaeogenetics, but they don't. My suspicion, but I am of course no expert, is that these results simply do not exist for earliest China, I cannot find any reference to them anywhere in more recent works. Some speculation: official Chinese historiography is rather reluctant to focus on migration movements; it focuses on static cultures that were subsequently spread further through diffusionism or conquest. It is a model that fits into the official discourse that an authentic Chinese civilization arose almost entirely on an endogenous basis (i.e. in the Central Plain, the broad area of the Yellow River and the Yangtse), and was then spread by spontaneous takeover to surrounding areas. Major migration movements (as has now been substantiated by archaeogenetics especially for Europe, the Near East and the Americas) are at odds with this model. It could therefore be that the Chinese government simply does not allow this type of research or does not consider it suitable. Again, this is speculation, but it seems to me a plausible explanation for the lack of archaeogenetic material for ancient China. This also means that there still is a wide area of research lying fallow here, waiting for the regime in Beijing to revise its opinion. Faulkner was right: the past is never dead, it isn't even past yet!
July 30, 2023
I thought this was much better than the first volume of the Harvard history of China which I read last year. That started with the Qin dynasty, which was annoying, because there is a lot that can be said about China before the Qin. Also, it was not a linear narrative, which was even more annoying. So here we have a history of China from Neolithic times to the Han, and it is all arranged in proper chronological order. This pleased me greatly.
Traditionally, the Xia dynasty is the first (2070-1600BC). Many scholars think it is so full of legendary and mythological detail that it may be entirely invented. This book persuaded me that the Xia Dynasty is to be identified with the Erlitou culture of Bronze Age China, which flourished in the Yellow River valley at the same time. We are dealing here with almost impossibly remote time periods, with no written records. Nevertheless the archaeological remains show cities with tens of thousands of inhabitants, sophisticated bronze artefacts, curious proto-writing symbols, and wonderful carved jade objects. If you encountered any of these things divorced from their context you would have no trouble in instantly identifying them as “Chinese”: this alone is remarkable testimony to thousands of years of some kind of cultural continuity.
This book took many hours to read and absorb and it demands and repays close attention. I found it all fascinating and learned a great deal. To pluck out just a few of the plums which particularly interested me: the discussion of the Cong and Bi ritual objects (standing for earth and heaven?); the orientation of tombs on the Pole Star (showing meticulous observation of the night sky), the turquoise mosaic dragon plaques placed on the chests of the elite dead (did the dragon have a protective function?), Emperor Yu’s response to the Great Flood (“go with the flow” – the origin of Taoism? A historical memory of the melting of Ice Age glaciers 12-18000 years ago?); the evidence of planetary alignments legitimising the start of new dynasties...and so on.
When the Chinese records tell us that the first Shang Emperor “hatched from a blackbird egg”, what does that mean? That he was entirely legendary, or that he came from an obscure lineage, or that he became conflated with a mythological being, or maybe a combination of all these and other meanings? I don’t know – but thinking about it fascinates me. Now excuse me while I go and find some oracle bones.
Traditionally, the Xia dynasty is the first (2070-1600BC). Many scholars think it is so full of legendary and mythological detail that it may be entirely invented. This book persuaded me that the Xia Dynasty is to be identified with the Erlitou culture of Bronze Age China, which flourished in the Yellow River valley at the same time. We are dealing here with almost impossibly remote time periods, with no written records. Nevertheless the archaeological remains show cities with tens of thousands of inhabitants, sophisticated bronze artefacts, curious proto-writing symbols, and wonderful carved jade objects. If you encountered any of these things divorced from their context you would have no trouble in instantly identifying them as “Chinese”: this alone is remarkable testimony to thousands of years of some kind of cultural continuity.
This book took many hours to read and absorb and it demands and repays close attention. I found it all fascinating and learned a great deal. To pluck out just a few of the plums which particularly interested me: the discussion of the Cong and Bi ritual objects (standing for earth and heaven?); the orientation of tombs on the Pole Star (showing meticulous observation of the night sky), the turquoise mosaic dragon plaques placed on the chests of the elite dead (did the dragon have a protective function?), Emperor Yu’s response to the Great Flood (“go with the flow” – the origin of Taoism? A historical memory of the melting of Ice Age glaciers 12-18000 years ago?); the evidence of planetary alignments legitimising the start of new dynasties...and so on.
When the Chinese records tell us that the first Shang Emperor “hatched from a blackbird egg”, what does that mean? That he was entirely legendary, or that he came from an obscure lineage, or that he became conflated with a mythological being, or maybe a combination of all these and other meanings? I don’t know – but thinking about it fascinates me. Now excuse me while I go and find some oracle bones.
March 4, 2019
Major manages to make this as clear as is possible for a beginner in the subject. I think it would still be confusing because of all the states, especially the dominance of single syllable names. I like that he keeps the chapters focused by using his "focus" sections at the end of each chapter to cover individual topics that don't fit in the general narrative. Many writers would detour out of the narrative which can lead to confusion. Overall an excellent book.
May 21, 2017
"During China's first imperial period, the Qin-Han era lasting from 221 BCE to 220 BCE, the empire struggled to define its relationship with the many non-Sinitic peoples within and along its borders. Substantial populations of ethnically non-Chinese people remain in the southern, western, and northern highlands to this day. In the early twenty-first century at least fifty-five languages are still spoken with in the borders of the People's Republic of China. It is reasonable to assume that in the ancient times there was far greater ethnolinguistic diversity with in the Heartland Region. On the other hand it is equally true that a strong thread of cultural continuity runs through the Heartland Region's range of cultural diversity. To that extent the oft-repeated claim that china has "the world's oldest continuous civilization" can be taken as valid. The mask-like décor found on jade ritual objects of the Liangzhu Culture that flourished in the Yangzi River delta in the late fourth and early- to mid-third millennia BCE are clearly ancestral to the mask-like décor of bronze ritual objects of the Shang dynasty, 2,000 years later."
"In the eighth century BCE the Qin state expanded into the Wei River Valley, which had lately been overrun by another northern nomadic group, the Rong. This Rong invasion forced the Zhou kings to move their capital eastward to the Yellow River Plan in 771 BCE. In the Wei River Valley, meanwhile, the expanding Qin state evicted the Rong and reclaimed for themselves the area 'within the passes'. There, making the most of the region's important geopolitical advantages, they established a thoroughly Sinitic capitcal city. The Qin rulers then pursued a policy of expansion eastward and southward from their Wei River Valley stronghold, in the process becoming one of the most powerful of all the Zhou-era states, while the royal Zhou domain itself diminished to relative insignificance."
"The Silk Road ... was a potent carrier of both goods and ideas in both directions for many centuries, beginning during Han dynasty. Roman glass has been found in China, and Chinese silk in Rome. Buddhism came from India to China along the Silk Road, with enormous consequences for Chinese religion and philosophy."
"The Shang dynasty and the Han dynasty demonstrate cultural continuity in many important aspects, such as the written Chinese language, an ancestor-centered religion, hereditary monarchy, and the high cultural value placed on jade and bronze. On the other hand, if a member of the late Shang elite could have been magically transported a thousand years ahead in time to the court of Emperor Wu of the Han he would have found his new world unrecognizable in virtually every way ... Exactly the same argument can be made for a hypothetical official of the Han magically transported to the capital of the Ming dynasty (1368 BCE-1644 BCE). Given enough time, our visitors from the past would no doubt have been relieved and reassured to identify many familiar basic cultural continuities, but they probably would never have lost their sense of amazement at how much had changed."
"Texts of the early imperial era take the smooth polished surface of jade to represent the gentleman's laboriously acquired moral education, while the fact that jade will break but not bend symbolized incorruptibility."
"The modern word for 'revolution,' ge ming, literally means 'changing the mandate.'"
"Thus when Confucius says in the Analects "let the 'father' act like a father, and the 'son' a son," he is affirming the key confucian value of proper behavior within a traditional hierarchy. When 'father' and 'son' truly live up to the words that name them, their loyalty to each other will trump any externally imposed legal framework."
"Another reform (of the Qin emperor), perhaps more surprised, established a standard gauge for the spacing of wheels on chariots and other wheeled vehicles; in other words, a standard for the length of axles. This practical measure made for better travel by road. The soil in many parts of northern China is powdery and easily eroded, so that wheeled vehicles quickly make ruts in unpaved roads. Without a standard gauge the road would be worn into several incompatible sets of ruts, making travel rough and slow. With wheels spaced a uniform distance apart, all vehicles rode in the same ruts and travel was smooth and swift."
"In the fifth Han sovereign, Emperor Wu, inflicted a decisive defeat on the Xiongnu, paving the way for the opening of the Silk Road to Central Asia and beyond. An era of domestic peace, new administrative efficiency, good communication networks, and a rising merchant class created spectacular wealth, visible in an umber of excavated Han imperial or elite tombs."
"One of the Music Bureau's most important functions was to collect popular songs from all over the empire; these were not just for literary enjoyment but were also a way of taking the political pulse of the populace and staying alert to any signs of discontent or criticism."
"Zhang Qian used his time in Central Asia wisely, spending nearly a year with the Yuexhi and visiting the Ferghana Valley and the oasis kingdom of Bactria. He came in contact with the Sogdian and Parthian merchants from further west, and heard stories about the world of the eastern Mediterranean."
"Within a short time Chinese silk was showing up in the trading cities of the Eastern Mediterranean and the expanding Roman Empire, prompting a lively discussion there of what silk was made of and where it came from."
"In the eighth century BCE the Qin state expanded into the Wei River Valley, which had lately been overrun by another northern nomadic group, the Rong. This Rong invasion forced the Zhou kings to move their capital eastward to the Yellow River Plan in 771 BCE. In the Wei River Valley, meanwhile, the expanding Qin state evicted the Rong and reclaimed for themselves the area 'within the passes'. There, making the most of the region's important geopolitical advantages, they established a thoroughly Sinitic capitcal city. The Qin rulers then pursued a policy of expansion eastward and southward from their Wei River Valley stronghold, in the process becoming one of the most powerful of all the Zhou-era states, while the royal Zhou domain itself diminished to relative insignificance."
"The Silk Road ... was a potent carrier of both goods and ideas in both directions for many centuries, beginning during Han dynasty. Roman glass has been found in China, and Chinese silk in Rome. Buddhism came from India to China along the Silk Road, with enormous consequences for Chinese religion and philosophy."
"The Shang dynasty and the Han dynasty demonstrate cultural continuity in many important aspects, such as the written Chinese language, an ancestor-centered religion, hereditary monarchy, and the high cultural value placed on jade and bronze. On the other hand, if a member of the late Shang elite could have been magically transported a thousand years ahead in time to the court of Emperor Wu of the Han he would have found his new world unrecognizable in virtually every way ... Exactly the same argument can be made for a hypothetical official of the Han magically transported to the capital of the Ming dynasty (1368 BCE-1644 BCE). Given enough time, our visitors from the past would no doubt have been relieved and reassured to identify many familiar basic cultural continuities, but they probably would never have lost their sense of amazement at how much had changed."
"Texts of the early imperial era take the smooth polished surface of jade to represent the gentleman's laboriously acquired moral education, while the fact that jade will break but not bend symbolized incorruptibility."
"The modern word for 'revolution,' ge ming, literally means 'changing the mandate.'"
"Thus when Confucius says in the Analects "let the 'father' act like a father, and the 'son' a son," he is affirming the key confucian value of proper behavior within a traditional hierarchy. When 'father' and 'son' truly live up to the words that name them, their loyalty to each other will trump any externally imposed legal framework."
"Another reform (of the Qin emperor), perhaps more surprised, established a standard gauge for the spacing of wheels on chariots and other wheeled vehicles; in other words, a standard for the length of axles. This practical measure made for better travel by road. The soil in many parts of northern China is powdery and easily eroded, so that wheeled vehicles quickly make ruts in unpaved roads. Without a standard gauge the road would be worn into several incompatible sets of ruts, making travel rough and slow. With wheels spaced a uniform distance apart, all vehicles rode in the same ruts and travel was smooth and swift."
"In the fifth Han sovereign, Emperor Wu, inflicted a decisive defeat on the Xiongnu, paving the way for the opening of the Silk Road to Central Asia and beyond. An era of domestic peace, new administrative efficiency, good communication networks, and a rising merchant class created spectacular wealth, visible in an umber of excavated Han imperial or elite tombs."
"One of the Music Bureau's most important functions was to collect popular songs from all over the empire; these were not just for literary enjoyment but were also a way of taking the political pulse of the populace and staying alert to any signs of discontent or criticism."
"Zhang Qian used his time in Central Asia wisely, spending nearly a year with the Yuexhi and visiting the Ferghana Valley and the oasis kingdom of Bactria. He came in contact with the Sogdian and Parthian merchants from further west, and heard stories about the world of the eastern Mediterranean."
"Within a short time Chinese silk was showing up in the trading cities of the Eastern Mediterranean and the expanding Roman Empire, prompting a lively discussion there of what silk was made of and where it came from."
December 18, 2025
It’s exactly what I wanted from a comprehensive history of ancient China. The search for an English telling that is approachable, rigorous and specialised had been basically impossible until I stumbled across this. Wikipedia truly can't compare.
I came to it looking for an organised history of the Warring States era. I found it and more. Reading on the Zhou period, the hegemon system, the fall of the Qin, the Western and Eastern Hank, and into the formation of the Three Kingdoms stuck. It's absolutely an academic piece, and stylistically matches those expectations but not at all a difficult test.
It's structure is chapters, demarcated by politically significant periods. Within each is a broad introduction, and deeper accounts of events/people/prominent ideas. It's well done and informationally dense. The focuses were a little hit and miss based on my interests. The focuses on archaeological evidence can be engaging like the Mawangdui tomb, which is visually interesting and incredible trove of information. But I wasn't so into the analysis on art and symbolic representation found on the likes of vases/bronze mirrors.
My interest comes from the likes of the Kingdom manga and wuxia/xianxia stories and it's influences are found throughout the book and the periods covered. Special highlight to the five phase theory and imperial occultism/ritualism, it was taken seriously and real world impact obvious beyond pragmatic considerations. I don't believe this book was written for the general history reader or a hyper niche academic but it's perfect for an enthusiast.
I came to it looking for an organised history of the Warring States era. I found it and more. Reading on the Zhou period, the hegemon system, the fall of the Qin, the Western and Eastern Hank, and into the formation of the Three Kingdoms stuck. It's absolutely an academic piece, and stylistically matches those expectations but not at all a difficult test.
It's structure is chapters, demarcated by politically significant periods. Within each is a broad introduction, and deeper accounts of events/people/prominent ideas. It's well done and informationally dense. The focuses were a little hit and miss based on my interests. The focuses on archaeological evidence can be engaging like the Mawangdui tomb, which is visually interesting and incredible trove of information. But I wasn't so into the analysis on art and symbolic representation found on the likes of vases/bronze mirrors.
My interest comes from the likes of the Kingdom manga and wuxia/xianxia stories and it's influences are found throughout the book and the periods covered. Special highlight to the five phase theory and imperial occultism/ritualism, it was taken seriously and real world impact obvious beyond pragmatic considerations. I don't believe this book was written for the general history reader or a hyper niche academic but it's perfect for an enthusiast.
January 23, 2025
A general, thorough but undetailed introductory history of ancient China to the end of the Eastern Han. It is particularly good in the earlier periods.
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