Working for His Majesty
eBook - PDF

Working for His Majesty

Research Notes on Labor Mobilization in Late Shang China (ca. 1200–1045 B.C.), as Seen in the Oracle-Bone Inscriptions, with Particular Attention to Handicraft Industries, Agriculture, Warfare, Hunting, Construction, and the Shang's Legacies

  1. 536 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Working for His Majesty

Research Notes on Labor Mobilization in Late Shang China (ca. 1200–1045 B.C.), as Seen in the Oracle-Bone Inscriptions, with Particular Attention to Handicraft Industries, Agriculture, Warfare, Hunting, Construction, and the Shang's Legacies

About this book

This volume deals with the Shang dynasty (ca. 1200–1045 B.C.) in North China, the first to leave written records, and its efforts—evidently with great success—which focused on the artisan corps, labor mobilization, farming, warfare, hunting, building, leadership, and culture that made it all possible. Keightley looks at oracle-bone inscriptions of the Late Shang dynasty, covering the period from Wu Ding (ca. ?–1189 B.C.) to Di Xin (ca. 1086–1045 B.C.). His account of Late Shang labor mobilization is based primarily upon information that can be gleaned from the oracle-bone inscriptions, whose dynastic biases and divinatory impulses must be taken into account. The complexity and belief systems of the rest of Shang life must never be ignored. The author had translated 102 Shang oracle bones in his dissertation; the present work has 341 of them, often with several charges on the bone or shell. The volume includes a glossary of Shang terms and phrases.

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Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Notes to this edition
  3. Dedication Page
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Contents
  7. Preface
  8. Notes about the Sources, Citation, and Transcription Conventions
  9. 1. Introduction: The Setting
  10. 2. The Work and the Workshops
  11. 3. The Artisan Corps
  12. 4. The Zhong 眾 and the Ren 人
  13. 5. Punishments, Human Sacrifice, and Accompanying-in-Death
  14. 6. Labor Mobilization
  15. 7. Who Was Mobilized
  16. 8. The Occupational Lineages
  17. 9. Numbers
  18. 10. Work Schedule of the Diviners
  19. 11. Leadership
  20. 12. The Work: Agriculture
  21. 13. The Work: Warfare
  22. 14. The Work: Hunting
  23. 15. The Work: Construction
  24. 16. Some Elements of Ritual Concern
  25. 17. The Role of Geopolitics and Culture
  26. 18. The Legacies
  27. Figure
  28. Tables
  29. Appendix 1. Inscription Glosses
  30. Appendix 2. Glossary of Shang Terms and Phrases
  31. Bibliography A. Abbreviations for the Oracle-Bone Collections and Other Reference Works
  32. Bibliography B. Other Works Cited
  33. Key to the Inscriptions Translated
  34. Index
  35. Back Cover

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