Seminars

  • Founded
    2002
  • Seminar Number
    691

The seminar focuses on early Chinese civilization from the Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty and brings together scholars from all Early China related fields: history, archaeology, art history, literature and language, religion and philosophy. The seminar will facilitate interregional exchanges by inviting distinguished Sinologists from other parts of the country, and will publicize new archaeological discoveries.

Seminar Website


Co-Chairs
Glenda Chao
gchao@ursinus.edu

Ethan Harkness
harkness@nyu.edu

Rapporteur
Yong-ha Kim
yk2727@columbia.edu

Meeting Schedule

09/29/2023 Faculty House, Columbia University
4:30 PM
CANCELLED--Stirrings of the Heart, Stirrings of the Cosmos: The Worlds of Classical Chinese Aesthetics
Paul R. Goldin, University of Pennsylvania




10/20/2023 Faculty House, Columbia University
4:30 PM
Hunting and Warfare: History of Shi 勢 in Early China
Boqun Zhou, University of Hong Kong




11/10/2023 Faculty House, Columbia University
4:30 PM
Hepu and the Maritime Silk Road
Francis Allard, Indiana University of Pennsylvania




12/08/2023 Faculty House, Columbia University
4:30 PM
On the Newly Identified Phrase ‘Worry is gone’ yōu wáng 憂亡, in the Shāng Oracle Bone Inscriptions”
Adam Schwartz, Hong Kong Baptist University




02/02/2024 Faculty House, Columbia University
4:30 PM
Tracing the Origins and Evolution of the Signature System in Early Imperial China
Hsinning Liu, Academia Sinica




03/29/2024 Faculty House, Columbia University
4:30 PM
Local Administrative Centers and their Transitions during the Warring States and Qin-Han Period
Tao Guo, Central China Normal University (China)
Abstract

Abstract

The Warring States and Qin-Han period marked the establishment of the county and commandery system, during which the local administrative centers gradually shifted from counties to commanderies, moving from decentralization to centralization. This talk will examine the changes in the relationship between the central and local authorities and within the regional administration during different stages from the Warring States to the early Han dynasty. It will reveal the time points and political mechanisms behind the formation of phenomena such as the dominance of commanderies, the concentration of power to the county court, the division of county magistrates and prefects, and the allocating of specific duties to officials during the Han dynasty.





04/19/2024 Faculty House, Columbia University
4:30 PM
Remembrance in Clay and Stone: Early Memorial and Funerary Art of Southwest China
Hajni Elias, University of Cambridge