Bulletin Number Three 1983

Woodwork during the Warring States (戰國細木工 榫接合工藝硏究 ) appeared first in the Monograph Series. It was followed by Mr. Lin's The Neolithic Site o f Pan-po ( 半坡遺址綜述） and Jao Tsung-i's Studies on Yun-meng Astrology Book o f the Ch 'in Dynasty ( 雲夢秦簡日書研究) . The World o f the Chinese: A Struggle for Human Unity by Cheng Te- k'un came in the Publication Series. There were three items in the Studies Series, namely, Studies in Chinese Historical Geography ( 中國歷史地理論文集） and Studies in Chinese Archaeology by Cheng Te-k'un and Bronze Age in China ( 中國靑銅器時代） by Chang Kwang-chih. The Bibliographical Series is launched by the Publications on Antique Jades ( 中國古玉書目） by Yang Chien-fang, which lists a total o f 2,066 items. This work is unique because for each archaeological report the types and number of the jade objects unearthed are also given, therefore very useful to students on this subject. Symposium on Hsia Culture The Centre has also taken active parts in the symposiums and conferences sponsored by the Institute o f Chinese Studies. The most recent one on the Hsia Culture ( 夏文化 ) was held at the end o f April last year. A highly controversial topic usually untouched by scholars in the West, the subject has been seriously discussed in recent years by students o f ancient Chinese history in China. So far more than one hundred articles and books have been published in the Mainland itself. The archaeological data provided by the discovery o f the Erh-li-t'ou (二 里頭） culture in the last few years have been compared and coordinated w ith the literary sources which have come down to us from the ancient times. The result seems clear that the former may be identified w ith the latter and to most students in this field, the Erh- li-t'ou culture is equivalent now to the Hsia culture. The conclusion is built upon a three-dimensional foundation. First, the distribution o f the Erh-li-t'ou remains coincides w ith the domain o f the Hsia activities in history, covering the southern Shansi and northeastern Honan. Secondly, stratigraphically, the Erh-li-t'ou remains lie invariably between the prehistoric Honan Lung-shan ( 龍山） level and the Erh-li-kang ( 二里崗) deposit o f the Middle Shang. Hence, the culture existed in the same period, traditionally about 450 years before the Shang dynasty or archaeologically around 2200-1750 B.C. It was a stage when the Hsia tribal group and the Pre-dynastic Shang group co existed in the Central Plain (Chung-yuan 中原 ). Thirdly, from the cultural point o f view the Erh-li-t'ou culture was the descendant o f the Late Neolithic Lung-shan phase on the one hand and the forerunner o f the Shang phase on the other. They succeeded one another in a continuous line. The important characteristics o f the Erh-li- t'ou-Hsia phase may be noted from the material, the social and the intellectual points o f view: First, materially, it was a culture w ith an advanced agriculture and animal domestication, skilful handicrafts and bronze technology, a distinctive type o f pottery w ith specific forms and modes o f decoration, and a stamped earth (hang-t'u 桁土 ) technique in architecture and wall-building. Secondly, in social organization, the Erh-li- t'ou-Hsia culture was a highly stratified ， complex society based on a family or clan system. The power­ ful and wealthy lived in palatial buildings, practised some ceremonial rites, carried a clan and personal names, which used sometimes the celestial stems, Chia (甲 ）， Yi ( 乙 ),P ing ( 丙 )，Ti n g ( 丁) ...andso forth. Succession followed the father-to-son system, but brother-to-brother was sometimes practised. They were buried in grave-pits w ith an assortment o f mortuary furniture. Common burials existed without any grave goods indicating that the owners were probably sacrificial victims. Thirdly, the Erh-li-t'ou—Hsia people practised ancestral worship. Enquiries were directed to their deseased ancestors for advice by divination w ith the cracking o f the shoulder blades o f oxen and sheep. In the intellectual realm the incision o f some complex symbols on pottery vessels indicates that a rudimentary form o f writing was in use. It is therefore quite possible that remains o f some Hsia documents and writings may yet be unearthed in future excavations. The symposium on Hsia culture was enthusiasti cally attended by members o f the History and Fine Arts Departments in the University as well as students and scholars from the University o f Hong Kong. It seems clear that all the available data o f the Erh-li-t 'ou phase reveal a stage o f cultural development inter­ mediate to the Honan Lung-shan culture and the more advanced Shang civilization. The Hsia civilization may now be established in archaeology. The study o f Chinese art and archaeology in The Chinese University is founded on a solid foundation. Its development is characterized by team work and group action. Most o f the research activities and symposiums have been sponsored by the Institute o f Chinese Studies and supported by the Departments o f History and Fine Arts. Cooperation among them and scholars and collectors in Hong Kong and abroad have produced satisfactory results in many respects. - Cheng Te-k'un RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 13