Introduction and Background to The Oxford Handbook on Early China

Abstract

The volume, The Oxford Handbook on Early China, offers a rich assembly of pioneering research on pre-imperial China. The study is a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach focused on the period before the establishment of imperial rule, encompassing the whole span of time from the Neolithic through Eastern Zhou eras, ca. 5000–250 bce. Our approach is multidisciplinary in encompassing fields ranging from archaeology, anthropology, art history, architecture, metallurgy, literature, religion, paleography, cosmology, prehistory, to history. This interdisciplinary perspective of 33 authors profoundly enhances our understanding of early China and its cultural achievements in multiple directions.