Implications of Large Burial Sites of Songze Culture

摘要

, , , “ ” 1 1 “” (guguo), a concept put forward by Su Bingqi, literally means “ancient state.” This literal translation is adopted in this paper. However, the author believes that in Su’s theory, guguo is roughly equivalent to “chiefdom” in the West. View all notes, , , , , “” , , , : The discovery of large burial sites belonging to the early and middle stages of Songze Culture at Dongshan Village, Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province, shows that distinct social polarization had already emerged in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River 5,700 or 5,800 years ago, when the initial stage of kingly power had taken shape and society had entered the stage of the “ancient states.” In the course of the evolution of ancient Chinese civilization, this area—rather than the Central Plains in the middle reaches of the Yellow River or the northern area centered around the ancient Great Wall—was the first to experience significant social transformation. This discovery also indicates that when the “ancient states” first appeared, they varied in form and character: some took the form of theocracies while others were dominated by kingly power. These differences meant that they developed in different directions and had different outcomes.View full textDownload full textKeyword s: Songze Culture, social polarization, kingshipRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02529203.2012.677283