Earliest China

Hong Xu, is the original author, a second-grade researcher of the Institute of Archaeology (Beijing), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the professor of the Graduate School of CASS. He is one of the top scholars who is engaged in the archaeological research of early cities, early states, and early civilization in China. Most noteworthy is that he continuously conducted archaeological field-work and presided over the excavation of Erlitou site in the Central Plain, Luoyang, for over 20 years from 1999 to 2019. He is the author of “The Archaeology of Enclosure Settlements in Pre-Qin Period (7000-221BC)”, and wrote a series of popular science books on the interpretation of Early China including “The Earliest China” (2009), “How China Was” (2014), and “The Archaeology of Enclosure Settlements in Pre-Qin Period” (2017). He also edited large- scale archaeological reports such as “Erlitou (1999-2006)”, and published hundreds of related academic articles.Li Sang, the translation author of this book, received her Ph.D. degree in archaeology from the University of Tübingen in Germany. She is now working as an associate professor and a full-time researcher in the International Research Center of He-Luo Culture at  Luoyang Normal  University. She has studied both Chinese and Western archaeology, and is mainly engaged in the teaching and research on the process of pluralistic integration of the Hua-Xia civilization, formation of early states, and comparative study between Chinese and Near Eastern civilizations. Her English monograph “Burial Practices of the Third Millennium BCE in the Middle Euphrates Region” (2015) was published by BAR in the UK, and she also published many original and comprehensive archaeological papers.

• Chapter 1: Explanation for the Theme.- Chapter 2: Creating a New Era.- Chapter 3: Global Perspective.- Chapter 4: Dream-seeking Journey.- Chapter 5: Mystifying Scene.- Chapter 6: Genius of the Central Plain.- Chapter 7: The Imposing Manner of the Royal Capital.- Chapter 8: Building in the Middle and Erecting in the North.- Chapter 9: Affairs of the State.- Chapter 10: The Society of the Capital City.- Chapter 11: Atmosphere of the Civilization.- Chapter 12: Wonderful Workmanship Excelling Nature.- Chapter 13: People’s Livelihood of the City.- Chapter 14: All the Rivers Running into the Sea.- Chapter 15: Powerful Radiation.