HSA-13

ORIGIN STORIES

Prof. Bol’s Office Hourshave changed

• New office hours: Wednesday, 2-3:30, and further by appointment

September 19 ， 2007 Historical Study A-13/History e-1825Origin Stories

The meaning of “China” and the use of history to create meaning “China: an artwork whose medium is history”Locating origins in space

the north China plain, the Yellow River, the “loess” region A. The story according to the Confucian texts of 500 BC: the “Former Kings”

The culture heroesThe sage-kings and their big ideas

Yao Shun Yu/Yü The “Three Dynasties” of Antiquity

Xia/Hsia (2200?-1700? BC)Shang (c. 1700-1046 BC)Zhou/Chou (1045-256 BC)

The meaning of “China” according to the texts: universal kingship, linear continuity, and a single originB. The story according to late 20th century archaeologists

Traditions of archaeology in ChinaHomo erectus (Peking Man) 1 million-200,000 years agoHomo sapiens and the Holocene age (beginning 11,000 years ago)

China’s origins and the “Near East Diffusion” theoryNeolithic cultures

Early Neolithic the Yangshao/Yang-shao and contemporary cultures (5000 BC)

Map 1the Longshan/Lung-shan cultural period (3000-2000 BC) and government

Map 2The meaning of “China” according to the artifacts: multiple origins and competing centers

* When the romanization of Chinese terms in the Pinyin and Wade-Giles systems differs both spellings are given: first Pinyin/then Wade-Giles. (However “Peking” 北京 comes from neither Wade-Giles, which romanizes the city name as "Pei-ching," nor Pinyin, which spells it “Beijing.”)

Sage Kings

• Yao• Shun• Yu

– Xia dynasty (“2200-1700” BC)– Shang dynasty (1700?-1046 BC)– Zhou dynasty (1045-256 BC)

Yangshao culture

Map 1 – Early

Neolithic

cultures

Map 2 Late

Neolithic Cultures