Liangzhu Culture

<p>The Liangzhu Culture (3,300-2,300 BC) represented the peak of prehistoric cultural and social development in the Yangtze Delta. With a wide sphere of influence centred near present-day Hangzhou City, Liangzhu City is considered one of the earliest urban centres in prehistoric China. Although it remains a mystery for many in the West, Liangzhu is well known in China for its fine jade-crafting industry; its enormous, well-structured earthen palatial compound and recently discovered hydraulic system; and its far-flung impact on contemporary and succeeding cultures. The archaeological ruins of Liangzhu City were added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in July 2019.</p><p>Liangzhu Culture contextualises Liangzhu in broad socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and provides new, first-hand data to help explain the development and structure of this early urban centre. Among its many insights, the volume reveals how elites used jade as a means of acquiring social power, and how Liangzhu and its centre stand in comparison to other prehistoric urban centres in the world. </p><p>This book, the first of its kind published in the English language, will be a useful guide to students at all levels interested in the material culture and social structures of prehistoric China and beyond. </p> <p>Figures; Contributors; Acknowledgments; Preface; Chapter One: Situating the Liangzhu Culture in Late Neolithic China: An Introduction; Chapter Two: The Liangzhu City: New Discoveries and Research; Chapter Three: Power and Belief: Reading the Liangzhu Jade and Society; Chapter Four: A Controlled Fine Craft: Jade Production Techniques in the Liangzhu Culture; Chapter Five: From the ‘Songze Style’ to the ‘Liangzhu Mode’; Chapter Six: Shamanistic, Historic and Virtuous Jade: Continuity and Change in Early Chinese Jade Traditions; Glossary; List of Historical Records; Bibliography; Index</p>