Weapons in Late Shang (c.1250-1050 BCE) China: Beyond Typology and Ritual
The late Shang at Yinxu is a major period, foundational to the forming of Chinese civilization and renowned for its magnificent bronze vessels. However, the even larger quantities of weapons in bronze and other materials have attracted less scholarly attention. Do they simply represent the status and military role of the deceased? Were they merely ritual implements? In this lecture, Qin explores the significance of weapons to early Chinese civilization, moving beyond perceptions of them being primarily symbols of power and rank.
This lecture is also a taste of her recently published monograph Weapons in Late Shang (c.1250-1050 BCE) China: Beyond Typology and Ritual
Date
- 09 Jan 2024
Time
Drinks will be served from 17:30- 6:15 pm - 7:00 pm
Speaker
Qin CaoDr Qin Cao joined the Oriental Museum, Durham University in 2022 as their first curator of Chinese collections. Her specialisms are Chinese Bronze Age material culture and numismatics. Prior to that, Qin was a Senior Curator of East and Central Asia at National Museums Scotland after completing her DPhil at the University of Oxford in collaboration with the British Museum. Currently, she is the lead-curator for the re-display of the Malcolm MacDonald Gallery of China at the Oriental Museum, which is due to open in Spring 2025.
