Page 140 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

The Epic of the Three Dynasties

B R O N Z E A C E C H I N A ( C . 2 0 0 0 - 7 / 1 B C E )

According to traditonal historiography, the first three successive dynasties — the Xia, Shang,
and Zhou — ruled parts of northern China during the period to which the archaeological finds
described in this section can be dated. While various ancient texts document the deeds of the
Three Dynasties' kings (including King Yu, the first king of the Xia dynasty, and by extension,
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the first king of China, who directed his people to build irrigation systems to prevent floods ),
there was no physical evidence to verify such legends. The early writings situate the capitals of
the Three Dynasties in the present-day provinces of Henan and Shaanxi — the region long
believed to be the cradle of Chinese civilization; locating the remains of the Three Dynasties
has been a consistent priority of Chinese archaeologists. As a result of the efforts of several
generations of archaeologists, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties have begun to emerge from
their cloud of mystery; the progress of these investigations itself comprises a trilogy of sorts.
The first episode was the 1928-1937 Anyang excavations, which proved the existence of
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the Shang dynasty and identified Anyang as the area of the Late Shang capital. The Anyang
project continues to this day; one of the most unexpected recent discoveries has been the
undisturbed tomb of Fu Hao. The Shang dynastic culture is represented by highly advanced
objects and writing — ritual bronzes, jades, oracle-bone inscriptions — as well as the founda-
tions of palaces, cities, and large royal mausoleums. Exhibits from the Anyang area, including
items from the Fu Hao tomb, exemplify the dynasty's artistic achievements (cats. 46-56).
The Anyang excavations, moreover, have demonstrated that some accounts of early China in
ancient Chinese historiographical works are in fact reliable and helpful in the planning of

archaeological projects.
The second episode in the investigation of the Three Dynasties was the search for the
Xia in western Henan, which ancient texts identified as the dynasty's seat. Since the 19508,
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archaeologists have conducted field work at the Erlitou site, Yanshi, Henan province. These
excavations brought to light the earliest bronze culture in China (see cats. 37-40). The
^Erlitou culture's temporal and geographic range falls within the parameters of the Xia dynasty
described in texts. While the Erlitou excavations were underway, a Shang city at Zhengzhou was
discovered and identified as earlier than the Anyang Shang culture and later than the Erlitou
4
culture. The prevalent view identifies the Erlitou relics with the Xia culture — a position ar-
gued herein by Professor Zou Heng — but no writings have been discovered that definitively
confirm this hypothesis. While the nature of the Erlitou culture remains the subject of some
debate, there is consensus that the Erlitou culture was a state-organized society that appeared
earlier than the Zhengzhou and Anyang Shang cultures.
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Investigations of the Western Zhou dynasty were performed contemporaneously in the
Shaanxi area. Excavated ritual bronzes, especially those with long inscriptions, have greatly
benefited our understanding of the ritual and lineage system of that period (see cat. 81). The
Zhou people had close ties to the Shang culture, from whom they inherited the major elements
Cat. 82, detail of their culture, to the point that many Late Shang and Early Western Zhou bronzes are so

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