Kaoguxuebao 2015-3

In the oracle bone inscriptions found from Yinxu, the names of “fang (chiefdom or local statelet)”s and the wars and conflicts between them and the Shang Dynasty are frequently seen. Only in the oracle bone inscriptions of the reign of King Wu Ding武丁, almost 80 fangs and regions having been involved into the wars and conflicts against the Shang Dynasty are seen. Among these records, the wars and conflicts between Shang and the “Fang” Fang are very noticeable; a preliminary statistics showed that the oracle bone inscriptions with relevant contents are as many as over 230 pieces after the rejoining. During the early phase of the reign of King Wu Ding, records about this kind of affairs have appeared in the oracle bone inscriptions of the “plump stroke” type of the “Shi  Group”; down to the mid and late phases of the reign of King Wu Ding, in the oracle bone inscriptions of the “Bin宾 Group”, the contents related to the military conflicts between Shang and Fang Fang largely increased; to the reigns of the Kings Lin Xin廪辛, Kang Ding康丁 through Wu Yi武乙, in the oracle bone inscriptions of the “He何 Group” and the “Anonymous Diviner Group”, even that of the “Huang黄 Group” during the reigns of the Kings Di Yi帝乙 and Di Xin帝辛, the records about the conflicts between the Shang Dynasty and Fang Fang are still occasionally seen. On this issue, the previous scholars, such as Chen Mengjia, Lin Xiao'an, Feng Shi, Fan Yuzhou, Wang Yuxin and Luo Kun, have published opinions; however, because those studies were done in a relatively early time, and the data were insufficient and fragmentary, their studies were not specific and systematic enough, and therefore further discussions are needed. Based on the research results of the previous scholars, this paper collected the oracle bone inscriptions relevant to the relationship between the Shang Dynasty and Fang Fang as exhaustively as possible, and fully referred to the newest results of rejoining and researches in the academic field, and made more thorough analyses and examinations to the duration of the military actions between the Shang and Fang Fang and the exact location of the Fang Fang through the trimming and the piecing together of these materials. The research results showed that the records in the oracle bone inscriptions about the wars between the Shang and Fang Fang have lasted for a rather long time, from the early phase of King Wu Ding's reign to the reigns of Kings Di Yi and Di Xin; the battles and conflicts were also very frequent and violent, especially in the mid phase of King Wu Ding's reign: about 130 cases of the oracle bone inscriptions of the “small script” type of the “Shi  Group” and the “transitional type between Shi  and Bin宾 Groups” mentioned the military actions between the Shang and Fang Fang, taking more than a half of all of the oracle bone inscriptions related to the Fang Fang. Examined by the “ganzhi-day designation” and “micro-periodization” methods, the large-scale military affairs reflected by the oracle bone inscriptions of the “small script” type of the “Shi  Group” and the “transitional type between Shi  and Bin宾 Groups” respectively have lasted longer than one year. The location of the Fang Fang could hardly be defined into an exact place; just like the Qiang羌 Fang and Qiong  Fang, it would be a nomadic tribe roaming around to the north or the northwest of the territory of the Shang Empire.

Through the systematic trimming and analysis to the remains of the archaeological cultures of the Eastern Zhou Period through the Qin Dynasty in northern China, this paper put forward that during the Eastern Zhou Period through the Qin Dynasty, there were two cultural zones (the north and south cultural zones) with clearly different cultural features and connotations and peoples bearing clearly different physical characteristics in northern China, and discussed the regional differences of the remains of the archaeological cultures in each cultural zone and their developments and changes. This paper pointed out that the cultures in the south cultural zone could not be regarded as a part of the early Iron Age cultures in the Eurasian Steppes, but a kind of culture peculiar to the transitional zone between the cultures in the Eurasian Steppes and that in the Central Plains; the development and evolution of the north cultural zone, which emerged in the mid to the late Spring-and-Autumn Period, can be divided into three clear phases: the first phase was a part of the early Iron Age cultures in the Eurasian Steppes, but since the second phase, the cultural features and connotations of this zone began to stray out of the cultures in the Eurasian Steppes, which would be closely related to the military conquering and political management of the states of the Central Plains and the powerful northward advance of the cultures of the Central Plains. Referring to the relevant historic literature, this paper made further observations to the interactions among the states of the Central Plains and the peoples in these two cultural zones and the changes of the cultural patterns in each of the two cultural zones, and revealed the processes of the Sinicization of the Rong, Di and Hu ethnic groups in northern China. This paper pointed out that the Hu ethnic group lived in northern China since the mid Spring-and-Autumn Period, and the later appearance of the Hu people in the historic literatures was related to the northward advances of the territories of the states of the Central Plains rather than the southward invasion of the nomadic tribes living in the present-day Mongolian Plateau.

The “Jin System” of the funeral systems included the ideas, customs, rites and ceremonies and rules. The “funeral ideas” were the understanding and knowledge about the death; the “funeral customs” were the widely accepted ways and procedures of entombing and mourning the dead; “funeral rites and ceremonies” were the rational expressions and systematic action patterns of the funeral ideas and customs. The “funeral rules” were the mandatory rules and systems which must be followed in the funerals. They had cause-result relationships and were also usually seen as a whole. The so-called “systematic evolutions” were the dynamic formations of them four. The Western Jin Dynasty inherited and intensified the “decree for austere burial” of the Wei Kingdom in the Three-Kingdoms Period requiring the burials “not to be mounded and monumentalized”, which was archaeologically reflected as the sacrificial altar, pottery seat, pottery tray, armrest and epitaph appearing in the tomb chambers, and the new grave good assemblage of pottery figurines and oxcarts. All of these showed that the new funeral customs were formed when the new funeral ideas were accepted by the society. The argument on the funeral rites and ceremonies in the Western Jin Dynasty simplified the funeral procedure; the interference of the political powers promoted the new funeral procedure as legal obligation could not be violated. The funeral reforms of the Three-Kingdoms Period through the Jin Dynasty started by the “decree for austere burial” introduced new funeral ideas and customs; having got ritual supports, the new funeral customs had systematic and political guarantees. Compared with the burials of the “Han System”, the reformed burials had three key changes: first, the shrine or memorial hall, stone tablet, stone pillars and stone sculptures on the ground were omitted; second, the multi-chamber burial structures resembling the front hall, rear rooms, kitchen, granary and so on declined and the single-chamber structure decorated with simulated windows and lamp recesses became the most popular burial type, which was still built as the residence in the afterlife; third, in the grave good assemblages, the models reflecting the rural manor life declined and the procession lines consisting of the oxcarts and figurines became the core of the assemblage. The evolution of the burial system in ancient China had a new appearance since this period.

In 2010, Research Institute for Histories and Cultures of Xiangyang and the Three-Kingdoms of Hubei University of Arts and Science was trusted to conduct investigation and excavation to the Ligou Cemetery at Houjia Village in Cangfang Town, Xichuan County, Henan Province. The excavation recovered 57 tombs of the Han Dynasty in total, which could be classified into the earthen pit tombs and brick-chamber tombs. The earthen pit tombs could be again classified into the rectangular, 凸-shaped, P-shaped and L-shaped by the shape of the plan, and the brick-chamber tombs could be classified into the rectangular and凸-shaped, and the single-chambered and double-chambered ones. 44 of the tombs yielded grave goods, including potteries, bronzes, iron objects, and so on. Among them, the potteries included the bronze-simulating ritual vessels such as ding-tripods, yan-steamers, boxes and vases; utensils for daily use, such as the zeng-steamers, fu-cauldrons, bowls, plates, trays, eared cups, basins, jars, vats, lian-cosmetic cases, censers, lamps, braziers, lids, etc.; funeral models such as stoves, barns, wells, water-drawing pots, millstones, animal pens, figurines of dogs, chickens, etc.; building parts such as cylindrical tiles, etc., and seals. The bronzes included ritual vessels such as ding-tripods, yan-steamers, vases, fang-square wine jars, vases with swing handles, plates and ladles; musical instruments such as bells, utensils for daily use such as zeng-steamers, juan-basins, basins, jian-basins, ovens, zun-wine vessels, mirrors, belt hooks, seals, censers, lamps, mat weights, etc.; weapons such as crossbow triggers, ji-halberds, ferrules, etc.; chariot and horse fittings such as axle caps, canopy ferrules, canopy rib finials, yoke ornaments, weapon rack ornaments, horse bits, shield-shaped horse frontlets (danglu), rein joints, tubes, chain beads, rings, capped nails, animal mask-shaped ornaments, and bronze coins. The iron objects included weapons such as spearheads, swords and knives; tools such as axes, cutters, sickles, hooks and weights and utensils for daily use, such as lamps, nails, loops, stands, etc. The other grave goods included inkstones, jade bi-discs, rings, beads, lacquered fang-square wine jars, eared cups, lian-cosmetic cases, se-zithers, etc. This cemetery belonged to the Han Dynasty and can be divided into four phases which are the mid Western Han, late Western Han, Xin (Wang Mang Interregnum) through the beginning of the Eastern Han and the early Eastern Han. The excavation of this cemetery provided important evidences for the researches on the layouts and chronological sequence of the cemeteries of the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties in Xichuan area and the evolution of the Han Culture in Nanyang Prefecture.