Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC) is a book written by Lothar von Falkenhausen
Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC)
Photo Credit: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology (c) 2006
on the Zhou Dynasty of China, and published in 2006 by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. I enjoyed it thoroughly, despite the fact that I was never the intended audience. When possible, I choose books to review on the basis of my complete ignorance of the topic. That might sound a little counterintuitive, but I like learning new things, and there aren't a lot of specialists who read my columns anyway.
I know Falkenhausen's book wasn't intended for me, because there is some technical jargon bandied about I'm unfamiliar with and which doesn't get defined until late in the text. For example--waist tomb. A waist tomb is an animal burial that is placed beneath the waist area of a main interment. And mingqi--a mingqi is a funerary vessel that was purposefully made of miniature size or from inferior materials. The reason I now know these interesting terms is because Falkenhausen's book has a fabulous index, one that includes definitions. I approve, mightily.
So, no doubt despite their misgivings, thanks to the Cotsen Institute, I got exposed to some fascinating bits of Chinese history, and I got treated to an intriguing archaeological text that provides depth and context to ideas and events that were not recorded in histories of the day. So, go on, read the review already.
Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC)
Photo Credit: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology (c) 2006
I know Falkenhausen's book wasn't intended for me, because there is some technical jargon bandied about I'm unfamiliar with and which doesn't get defined until late in the text. For example--waist tomb. A waist tomb is an animal burial that is placed beneath the waist area of a main interment. And mingqi--a mingqi is a funerary vessel that was purposefully made of miniature size or from inferior materials. The reason I now know these interesting terms is because Falkenhausen's book has a fabulous index, one that includes definitions. I approve, mightily.
So, no doubt despite their misgivings, thanks to the Cotsen Institute, I got exposed to some fascinating bits of Chinese history, and I got treated to an intriguing archaeological text that provides depth and context to ideas and events that were not recorded in histories of the day. So, go on, read the review already.
- Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC), my review
- The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, where you can read other reviews or buy the book
- Comparison shop for a good price at Pricegrabber
Comments