Describes and interprets the spectacular works of art presented in the exhibition lent to 5 American museums by China. Not only describes some of the most important recent archaeological discoveries in China, but provides information about 1500 year Chinese.

Describes the Chinese Bronze Age, including the development of the Chinese state, writing, religion and architecture.

“Style” in Chinese art and archaeology encompass complex meanings that beyond studies of decorative motifs, design and traditional sense on artistic style. This anthology considers function, behavior, manufacture, usage, design, material and context are expanded definition of “style”. Examine style in a larger context assists in investigating the aspects of life-style, gender, social structure, labor division, and craft specialization in a society, explains the social strata, rituals, and technical traditions. Scholars of this volume come from varied backgrounds, intends to achieve an understanding of the concept of material and style of Bronze Age while current excavated data are updated everyday in this particular field.

In contrast to the West, where diamonds, gold and silver have usually been highly valued, in China bronzes and jades were chosen early on for the societyâe(tm)s most valued artefacts, and retained this very high status over millennia. Bronze and jades were used in China for ritual and burial, and were thus associated with the sacred worlds of the ancestors and spirits. In later China, these precious relics of the past were collected by rulers and scholars as routes to understanding a distant golden age. These ancient objects, some dating from the neolithic period, set the artistic standard for all time; this is where Chinese art begins. Chinese bronzes, in particular, are one of the worldâe(tm)s major art forms. Few if any other ancient cultures achieved the artistic excellence and technical virtuosity in bronze attained in China. Using a unique casting method involving multiple ceramic section moulds, the Chinese cast vessels, weapons and ornaments of great beauty and elegance. Jade, too, is central to Chinaâe(tm)s culture. This tough translucent stone has been worked to produce the most prized ornaments and ceremonial implements from the Neolithic period to the present day. The jades featured in this catalogue, carved by some of the groups of ancient inhabitants in the Shanghai area. They include wonderful, decorated ritual jades, cong, bi discs, weapons and ornaments. This catalogue not only celebrates an important collection, but highlights the extraordinary skills of the craftsmen of very early cultures, placing the objects in their historical and archaeological context. Here are exquisite objects made for the ancient Chinese elite and subsequently revered by emperors and collectors alike.