Pochan Chen's guest appearances

Pochan Chen

New Books in History

New Books in East Asian Studies

New Books Network

New Books in Archaeology

New Books in Chinese Studies

New Books in Ancient History

Exchanges: A Cambridge UP Podcast

Matt Cook

Phillipa Chong

Alberto Cairo

McKenzie Wark

J. Neuhaus

K. Linder

Brian Greene

Johns Hopkins

Kathryn Conrad

Anthony J. Barbieri-Low

Agnieszka Helman-Wazny

Rowan K. Flad

Mark Byington

Gregory Smits

Maritime Ryukyu

OwlTail

One of the most exciting approaches in the contemporary study of China is emerging from work that brings together archaeological and historical modes of reading texts and material objects to tell a story about the past. In Ancient Central China: Centers and Peripheries Along the Yangzi River (Cambridge University Press, 2013), Rowan K. Flad and Pochan Chen draw from extensive archaeological fieldwork, supplemented by careful analysis of textual accounts of early China and a thoughtful rendering of the historiography of Chinese archaeology, to trace some major transformations in Central China from the late third millennium BC through the late first millennium BC. By reading the remains of walls, oracle bones, tiger teeth, burial chambers, sacrificial pits, ceramics, saline traces, weapons, figurines, and other objects, Flad and Chen reframe how we think about the spaces of history.In the late prehistorical and early historical period, two political cores developed in Central China: the Sichuan Basin and the Middle Yangzi. At the same time peripheral regions between and around them were both developing their own trajectories and were becoming central in their own right, with the Three Gorges region as a paramount example. Arguing that a focus on “political centers” and “archaeological cultures” has dominated the way we think about the history and prehistory of China, Ancient Central China offers a different way to map Chinese history by reading environmental, historiographical, economic, ritual, and material landscapes of these three regions as part of a coherent story.  The analysis potentially has wide-ranging implications for how we understand other regions and eras of East Asian history, and how we conceptualize and study the topographies of the past. Flad was kind enough to talk with me about the book, and I hope you enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

One of the most exciting approaches in the contemporary study of China is emerging from work that brings together archaeological and historical modes of reading texts and material objects to tell a story about the past. In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0521727669/?tag=newbooinhis-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ancient Central China: Centers and Peripheries Along the Yangzi River</a> (Cambridge University Press, 2013), <a href="http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~anthro/flad/publications.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rowan K. Flad</a> and <a href="http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~anthro/english/member/faculty/chenpochan.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pochan Chen</a> draw from extensive archaeological fieldwork, supplemented by careful analysis of textual accounts of early China and a thoughtful rendering of the historiography of Chinese archaeology, to trace some major transformations in Central China from the late third millennium BC through the late first millennium BC. By reading the remains of walls, oracle bones, tiger teeth, burial chambers, sacrificial pits, ceramics, saline traces, weapons, figurines, and other objects, Flad and Chen reframe how we think about the spaces of history. In the late prehistorical and early historical period, two political cores developed in Central China: the Sichuan Basin and the Middle Yangzi. At the same time peripheral regions between and around them were both developing their own trajectories and were becoming central in their own right, with the Three Gorges region as a paramount example. Arguing that a focus on “political centers” and “archaeological cultures” has dominated the way we think about the history and prehistory of China, Ancient Central China offers a different way to map Chinese history by reading environmental, historiographical, economic, ritual, and material landscapes of these three regions as part of a coherent story.  The analysis potentially has wide-ranging implications for how we understand other regions and eras of East Asian history, and how we conceptualize and study the topographies of the past. Flad was kind enough to talk with me about the book, and I hope you enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history</a>

Rowan K. Flad and Pochan Chen, “Ancient Central China” (Cambridge UP, 2013)

One of the most exciting approaches in the contemporary study of China is emerging from work that brings together archaeological and historical modes of reading texts and material objects to tell a story about the past. In Ancient Central China: Centers and Peripheries Along the Yangzi River (Cambridge University Press, 2013), Rowan... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

One of the most exciting approaches in the contemporary study of China is emerging from work that brings together archaeological and historical modes of reading texts and material objects to tell a story about the past. In Ancient Central China: Centers and Peripheries Along the Yangzi River (Cambridge University Press, 2013), Rowan... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies</a>

One of the most exciting approaches in the contemporary study of China is emerging from work that brings together archaeological and historical modes of reading texts and material objects to tell a story about the past. In Ancient Central China: Centers and Peripheries Along the Yangzi River (Cambridge University Press, 2013), Rowan... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/archaeology

One of the most exciting approaches in the contemporary study of China is emerging from work that brings together archaeological and historical modes of reading texts and material objects to tell a story about the past. In Ancient Central China: Centers and Peripheries Along the Yangzi River (Cambridge University Press, 2013), Rowan... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/archaeology" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/archaeology</a>