The Historical and Cultural Context of Liangzhu: Redefining a Relationship of Equals between Human Beings and Nature (Liangzhu Civilization) 9811651337, 9789811651335

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Liangzhu Civilization

Ningyuan Wang

The Historical and Cultural Context of Liangzhu Redefining a Relationship of Equals between Human Beings and Nature

Liangzhu Civilization Series Editor Bin Liu, Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Hangzhou, China

The Liangzhu Civilization series consists of 11 volumes, namely: Realm of King and God: Liangzhu City; Fanshan Royal Cemetery: Pyramid of the East; Liangzhu Jade Artifacts: Legal Instrument and Royalty; Liangzhu Pottery: Introversion and Resplendence; Engineering and Tools: The Stone Story of Liangzhu; Painting and Symbol: Primitive Characters of Liangzhu; The Paleoenvironment, Plants and Animals of Liangzhu; China and the World in the Liangzhu Era; Eighty Years of Archaeology at Liangzhu; What Liangzhu Was Like; and One Dig for Five Millennia: Liangzhu in the Eyes of an Archaeological Journalist. Representing the combined efforts of archaeologists from the Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology of Zhejiang Province who have been exploring Liangzhu for over 30 years, the series boasts a wealth of significant findings made at Liangzhu, shares the archaeologists’ valuable experience, and includes abundant pictures of the excavation site. Accordingly, it will help readers develop a deeper understanding of Liangzhu Civilization and reveal the evolutionary course of Chinese civilization, characterized by ‘unity in diversity.’ Both the publication of the Liangzhu Civilization Series and the ‘Liangzhu Civilization Towards the World’ exhibition are expected to serve as a bridge to the public, thereby further disseminating Liangzhu Civilization and promoting an interest in traditional Chinese culture.

More information about this series at https://link.springer.com/bookseries/16612

Ningyuan Wang

The Historical and Cultural Context of Liangzhu Redefining a Relationship of Equals between Human Beings and Nature

Ningyuan Wang Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology Hangzhou, China Translated by Edward Allen Fudan University Shanghai, China

ISSN 2730-6097 ISSN 2730-6100 (electronic) Liangzhu Civilization ISBN 978-981-16-5133-5 ISBN 978-981-16-5134-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5134-2 Jointly published with Zhejiang University Press The print edition is not for sale in China Mainland. Customers from China Mainland please order the print book from Zhejiang University Press. © Zhejiang University Press 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publishers, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publishers remain neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Foreword: Liangzhu and Five Thousand Years of Chinese Civilization

The combination of time and space is marvelous. When we look up at the starry sky and see the immense universe, the twinkling stars seem to be permanently embedded in the canopy of the heavens. However, we know from modern science that the lightyear is a unit of distance, and the light of stars from the depths of the universe was emitted in the distant past—the travel across time and space happens in the mere blink of an eye. Archaeology is also a discipline about the travel across time and space. Through the door of time opened by our own hands, we can go back to different moments in human history, and 5000 years ago was a special one. In terms of the whole world, the period 5000 years ago was a great era in which civilization was born. Coincidentally, early civilization all grew up in the world’s major river basins, such as the ancient Egyptian civilization in the Nile River Basin, the Sumerian civilization in the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin, and the Harappan civilization in the Indus River Basin. How about the Chinese civilization 5000 years ago? This issue has baffled scholars for quite a long time. The have examined ancinet China’s cities, characters, bronzeware, etc. according to the international standards of civilization and found that the ancient Chinese civilization could date back to no earlier than the Shang dynasty when oracle bone script appeared. The history before the emergence of characters was called “prehistory” in archaeology. During China’s prehistoric times, different geographical units in the vast territory have given birth to cultural sequences with various characteristics since 10,000 years ago, which is figuratively called “the sky dotted with stars” in archaeology. China’s prehistory, however, has long been underestimated. We always take the Xia and Shang dynasties as the origin of the Chinese civilization and take the Yellow River civilization as its core, which unconsciously downplays the historic significance of high-level ruins and high-grade relics in surrounding areas, such as those from the Hongshan culture in western Liaoning, the Shijiahe culture around the Yangtze River and the Han River, the Liangzhu culture in the Taihu Basin, the Taosi culture in southern Shanxi and the Shimao site in northern Shaanxi. As we explore the origin of the Chinese culture, we come to realize that some cultures like “stars dotting the sky” have showed the sparkles of civilization, and the Liangzhu culture is a particular one among them. v

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Foreword: Liangzhu and Five Thousand Years of Chinese Civilization

The Liangzhu culture, an archaeological culture of jade worship, suddenly came into existence in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River approximately 5300 years ago. Despite the fact that jade had already been widely admired, jade worship came to an unprecedented climax during that period. Different from ornamental jade ware many people love, Liangzhu people’s jade ware was made not only for aesthetic purposes. Represented by cong,1 which belonged to the ritual jade ware system besides yue,2 huang,3 bi,4 crown-shaped ornaments, three-pronged jade artifacts, awlshaped jade artifacts, tablets, and tubes, Liangzhu people’s jade ware symbolized their identity, power or wealth. Various jade ware buried in earth mounds alongside the people with supreme power showed the dignity of the deceased, and the divine emblem often engraved on the jade ware demonstrated Liangzhu people’s unified belief. The owners of the jade ware were Liangzhu’s ruling class who believed they could exercise the god’s will as the embodiment of the god. The types and quantities of the jade ware buried with them imply their social status and responsibility. It seems that the Liangzhu culture was once divided into multiple centers and covered a great number of small states, because extremely high-level tomb groups were found at the sites of Fanshan and Yaoshan in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, the site of Sidun in Wujin District, Changzhou, the site of Gaochengdun in Jiangyin, and the site of Fuquanshan in Shanghai. Fortunately, history gave Yuhang an opportunity: more and more sites of the Liangzhu culture were found around the site of Fanshan, and the good protection of these centrally distributed sites allowed archaeological work to be carried out smoothly in the area. In retrospect, it provided a foundation for the establishment of the Liangzhu culture. Otherwise, no one would have realized that the scattered sites are different parts of the ancient capital city Liangzhu. We now can see that the Liangzhu City, composed of the imperial city, the inner city, and the outer city, covers 6.3 km2 , around eight times the size of the Forbidden City. It boasts palaces, royal tombs, city walls, moats, a water transportation system inside the city, and a water conservancy system outside the city. It was a proper capital city in terms of its scale and layout, and the Liangzhu culture could reach the standards of civilization except for characters and bronzeware. Nevertheless, with our minds open, we may find that the general standards of civilization should not be applied rigidly when determining whether a culture has entered a civilized society or not. The significance of etiquette manifested by bronzeware in other civilized societies is reflected in jade ware in the Liangzhu culture. Despite the lack of the character system through which languages can be recorded and thoughts and cultures can be passed down, the symbols incised on ritual jade ware could unify people’s thoughts to a great extent, and the impressive organizational and managerial capabilities of Liangzhu society reflected in large construction projects also suggest that there must have been a certain method for information transmission similar to the character system. For

1

Cong (琮): a straight tube with a circular bore and square outer section with convex sides. Yue (钺): axe. 3 Huang (璜): semi-circular jade artifact. 4 Bi (璧): flat jade disc with a circular hole in the centre. 2

Foreword: Liangzhu and Five Thousand Years of Chinese Civilization

vii

these reasons, the discovery of the Liangzhu City established the existence of the Liangzhu civilization. The archaeological studies of Liangzhu have lasted for more than eight decades. In 1936, Shi Xingeng first discovered black-surfaced pottery and stone tools, and today we have defined the Liangzhu culture as the first regional culture in ancient China that formed an early kingdom; in 1959, Xia Nai put forward the designation of “the Liangzhu culture” and scholars came to know the characteristics of this culture, and today we carry out multi-field and all-dimensional archaeological research on the Liangzhu civilization and the state form of Liangzhu is becoming more and more detailed. This book series, written by young and middle-aged scholars who are devoted to the archaeological work of Liangzhu, focuses on recent archaeological findings and studies of the ruins of the Liangzhu City in Pingyao Town, Yuhang District, Hangzhou, and contains a huge amount of information, including different aspects of the site that people hope to know, the history of the archaeological studies of Liangzhu, the palaeoenvironment, plants and animals of Liangzhu, Fanshan royal cemetery which is the highest level of cemetery in the Liangzhu culture, high-grade jade ware of Liangzhu often discussed by people, and a wide range of pottery used in Liangzhu people’s daily life. On top of that, Liangzhu is also compared with other ancient civilized states in the world, and an intriguing series of news reports on Liangzhu is commented on by media professionals. We hope this book series can arouse readers’ interest in the Liangzhu civilization, so more people can be inspired to explore our history. Perhaps many people would ask about the relationship between the Liangzhu civilization and the Chinese civilization because Chinese people are called the descendants of Huaxia5 in modern history but few people have heard of Liangzhu. This is understandable: we believe the Chinese civilization is a unified civilization of a state with its political power in the Yellow River Basin; it has survived from the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties and is still thriving today. However, the archaeologists have launched the “In Search of the Origins of Chinese Civilization” project to gain some insights into the initial cultural form of Chinese civilization, so we should not have too many presuppositions for the initial civilized society. Since we have found a 5000-year-old regional civilization, the Liangzhu civilization, we may also find the Hongshan civilization in northern Liaoning and the Shijiahe civilization in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, though we are not able to confirm the existence of these civilizations at this stage due to limited archaeological findings. While the Liangzhu civilization started declining gradually 4300 years ago, the elements of the civilization have been well inherited because of Liangzhu’s jade, and its influence has spread all over the country—regional civilizations actually have influence on the whole area. Human migration and communication have never ceased since the Paleolithic era. Population movement of different scales, degrees, and forms have facilitated collisions, exchanges, and integration between cultures, and the development of 5

Huaxia refers to a confederation of tribes—living along the Yellow River—who were the ancestors of what later became the Han ethnic group in China (Sourcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaxia).

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Foreword: Liangzhu and Five Thousand Years of Chinese Civilization

regional civilization is also a dynamic process. The one thousand years following the Liangzhu civilization—the earliest Chinese civilization we can confirm as of today—witnessed the successive prosperity of Taosi, Shimao, and Erlitou, and the center of regional civilization changed from time to time. In this process, the elements of civilization, such as etiquette, hierarchical society models, and city structures, were inherited and integrated till the beginning of the Xia and Shang dynasties. In fact, the Xia and Shang cultures evolved in their respective regions, and the change of the dynasties was also the change of dominance of the two regional civilizations—the regions were much larger this time and the civilizations fought against each other during that period for the control over the territory. It was not until the Qin dynasty that a state unified by centralized political power appeared in China. In this regard, the period from Liangzhu to the Shang and Zhou dynasties saw the Chinese civilization’s continued evolution from a regional civilization to a unified one, so this period can by no means be separated apart. Written in Liangzhu May 2019

Bin Liu

Preface

“Liangzhu” has become a buzzword in recent years. Swathes of information on Liangzhu Ancient City and Liangzhu Culture have been introduced and promoted in various news media. These have mostly focused on the excavation process, phenomena revealed and the judgment of their nature, that is, introducing the “consequences” of this research. But the main interest of this book lies in dissecting the “causes”. We venture a clear picture of the background for the emergence of Liangzhu Culture and attempt to analyze the form, structure, and social background behind primary-level settlements, intermediate-level settlements, and Liangzhu Ancient City, as well as the consciousness of a belief and power system within the carrier of jade. We have made an attempt to excise any trivia and provide a clear logical mainframe for the features and structure of Liangzhu society. Hence the title: “What Was Liangzhu?” Hangzhou, China

Ningyuan Wang

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Contents

1 What Was Liangzhu? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 What Was the Liangzhu Site? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 What Was Liangzhu Culture? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 What Is The Liangzhu Site Cluster? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 What Was The Liangzhu Ancient City? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 What Was The Liangzhu Ancient State? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6 What Was Liangzhu Civilization? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 2 3 5 7 8 11

2 The Background and Driving Force Behind the Formation of Liangzhu Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Climactic Events at 5500 BP, and a Revolution in the Economic Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Settlement Dispersal and Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13 20 25

3 Earliest Liangzhu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 How the Platform Settlement Model Formed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 A Dense Spread of Scattered Settlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Formation of Village Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27 27 30 33 33

4 Settlement Rank and Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Changes in the Structure and Organizational Relationships of Base Settlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1 Early Period Remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.2 Middle Phase Remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Early Middle Phase Remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2.1 Late Middle Phase Remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Second-rank Settlement Structure and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.1 Overall Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.2 Individual Settlement Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35

13

36 37 38 41 43 49 51 54

xi

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Contents

4.3.3 Group Relationships at Yujiashan: Analysis and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 4.3.4 Estimating the Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 4.4 Structure and Analysis of Primary-rank Settlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 4.4.1 Palace City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 4.4.2 The Inner City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 4.4.3 The Outer City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 4.4.4 Deducing Societal Organization at Liangzhu Ancient City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 4.5 Grand Perspectives on Evidence for the Site Selection of Liangzhu Ancient City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 4.5.1 Diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 4.5.2 Jade Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 4.5.3 Stone Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 4.5.4 Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 4.5.5 Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 4.5.6 Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 4.5.7 Unfavorable Elements and Countermeasures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 4.5.8 The Irrigation System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 4.5.9 Estimating Extramural Population at Liangzhu Ancient City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 5 Power and Belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Chapter 1

What Was Liangzhu?

Abstract Familiarizes the reader with archaeological concepts of site, culture, site cluster, and the archaeological debate on civilizations. Explains the relationship of the Liangzhu phenomenon to these. Keyword Liangzhu · Archaeological site · Archaeological culture · Liangzhu site cluster · Liangzhu ancient city · Liangzhu civilization Aside from the meaning inherent to the place, all statements concerning Liangzhu exist within an archaeological lexicon, touching on notions such as the “Liangzhu Site,” “Liangzhu Culture,” “Liangzhu Site Cluster,” “Liangzhu Ancient City,” “Liangzhu Ancient State,” and “Liangzhu Civilization.” This might easily perplex the public. Therefore some simple explanation is in order before we begin our discussion.

1.1 What Was the Liangzhu Site? The Liangzhu Site is an archaeological site. Archaeological sites are the traces of the activities of ancient man and include settlement groups constructed for different purposes, and remnants of artificial exploitation of and amelioration of the natural environment. Any site has a clear spatial range. Archaeological sites are usually named after a minor locus in the area of discovery, for example a village, such as Banpo Site, Yanshi Erlitou Site, and so on. But the Liangzhu Site is quite a special case. When Shi Xingeng compiled the first archaeological report on Liangzhu in 1938—Liangzhu—Initial Report on a Black Pottery Archaeological Site in Hang County, Zone Two [良渚: 杭县第二区 黑陶文化遗址初步报告]—he recorded 12 sites, including Qipanwen, Jinshan and Changmingqiao. Most of these sites were spread around Liangzhu Township and Pingyao Township, so Liangzhu was taken as the site name. Hence Liangzhu, from day one, cannot be said to have been named for a site, but was an overall title for a number of sites in a particular area. © Zhejiang University Press 2021 N. Wang, The Historical and Cultural Context of Liangzhu, Liangzhu Civilization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5134-2_1

1

2

1 What Was Liangzhu?

1.2 What Was Liangzhu Culture? Liangzhu Culture is an archaeological culture. “Culture” generally refers to the overall scientific, technological, artistic, educational, spiritual, and other achievements of a human society. But when archaeologists speak of culture they do so with a specific meaning, one that exclusively indicates clustered remains belonging to one and the same period, distributed in a specific area, and possessing common characteristics. In archaeological work, for example, a number of artifacts of certain special types will often be discovered emerging together from a certain type of inhabitation remains or burial in a specific area—clustered remains like these, exhibiting some grouped relationship, can be referred to as a culture. An archaeological culture is generally named after the location of the first classic site to be discovered (the “type-site”). Though the Liangzhu Site was uncovered in 1936, it was held to be a southward transmission of Longshan Culture, so not given the name of an individual culture. In the decades that followed a number of sites with identical cultural features were discovered, not only in the Liangzhu area, but also in Shanghai and Jiangsu Province. In line with this enhanced understanding, Xia Nai pointed to the uniqueness of such remains in 1959, and stated that they should be named separately from Longshan. Since Shi Xingeng’s earliest excavation had been at Liangzhu, the academic community was in agreement that the culture should be named as such. Liangzhu Culture indicates a developed Late Neolithic culture grounded on rice farming and possessing exquisite cong, bi-disc and yue-battle ax jade sets, also making use of ding-cauldron, dou-stemmed cup, guan-jar and hu-flask, and distributed in the Yangtze Delta Taihu Lake region from 5300 to 4500 BP. The notion of an archaeological culture can be employed in reference to typo-logically distinct remains from the same period, as well as qualitatively different remains dating to successive periods within the same region. Any archaeological culture has its fixed diachronic range, and distributions differ across time periods. Contemporaneous with Liangzhu Culture, for example, we see Dawenkou Culture in the Haidai Region (Shandong), and Qujialing Culture along the Middle Yangtze. Preceding Liangzhu in the Taihu Lake watershed, we find the Majiabang Culture of 7000–6000 BP and the Songze Culture of 5900–5400 BP. Liangzhu was also succeeded by Qianshanyang Culture and Guangfulin Culture, which had deep roots in Liangzhu, though their cultural features differ drastically, so they have been named as different cultures. Together, these cultures and Liangzhu form the archaeological cultural lineage of the area. Taihu Lake lies at the heart of Liangzhu Culture. The range of Liangzhu Culture uncovered at present spreads, approximately speaking, west to Huzhou, south to the Qiantang River, east to Shanghai, and north to the Danyang stretch in the eastern limit of the Ningzhen (Nanjing-Zhenjiang) region.1 Liangzhu Culture sites thus occur in multiple locales around south Jiangsu, north Zhejiang, and Shanghai, across the Taihu Lake watershed—these include Fuquanshan in Qingpu District, Shanghai, 1

Zhi (1998).

1.2 What Was Liangzhu Culture?

3

Sidun in Wujin, Jiangsu, and Shuangqiao in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, among many others. Liangzhu Culture sites are also found at Jiangzhuang in Jiangsu, north of the Yangtze, and at Xiaoqinglong on the south shore of the Qiantang River, meaning the range of Liangzhu Culture has expanded. Initial calculations put the total number of Liangzhu Sites at more than 600, with 135 of those in the Liangzhu Site Cluster. Nowadays, with probing and surveys, that estimated grand total is close to 1000. This means that the Liangzhu Culture Site is an umbrella concept, of which the Liangzhu Site is one constituent part.

1.3 What Is The Liangzhu Site Cluster? Site distribution density varies throughout Liangzhu Culture. Upon examination, we find rather many Liangzhu Culture sites in certain areas, characterized by densely distributed high-spec central settlements. Meanwhile rivers frequently separate such regions, and in these areas sites are sparse, or even non-existent. The academic community refers to these areas of blocked distribution as a site cluster2 or settlement cluster.3 Going by distribution, one can divide Liangzhu Culture sites into a number of blocks: the area covering Liangzhu and Pingyao south of Taihu Lake, taking in Linping District; the Jiaxing region to the southeast of Taihu Lake; the south Jiangsu-west Shanghai region to the east of Taihu; the Jiangyin-Wuyin area south of the Yangtze and northeast of Taihu, and the Huzhou-Yixing area on the west shore of Taihu Lake (Fig. 1.1). The most penetrating research of any area has been carried out in the LiangzhuPingyao block. This Liangzhu-Pingyao block was where, Shi Xingeng uncovered 12 sites in 1936. More sites were revealed over the following decades, and the total number had reached almost 50 by 1985. In 1986, Wang Mingda’s attention was drawn to the particular density of sites in the area—which he believed especially dense— and therefore he put forward the concept of a Liangzhu Site Cluster. “Liangzhu Site” therefore came to practically mean the same thing as “Liangzhu Site Cluster,” whose demarcation was based on the spatial distribution of its numerous sites. New discoveries would abound as a result. By 1990 the approximate range of the cluster reached Wujiabu in the west, from Yangweibashan (Yangweiba “Goat Tail” Hill) to Liangzhu Town in the east, to the southern foothills of Dazheshan (Dazhe Hill) in the north, and south to the southern shore of the Minor Grand Canal, a total area of 2

Mingda (1987). Ding Pin. 2005. “A Preliminary Discussion of the Liangzhu Culture Settlement Cluster” [良 渚文化聚落群初论] in Xi’an Banpo Museum, Liangzhu Museum (eds.). Research in Prehistory (2004), on the occasion of the 5th academic forum of the professional committee for Prehistoric Site Museums organized under the China Museum Society, and essays commemorating the 50th anniversary of the excavation of the Banpo Site in Xi’an, published by Sanqin chubanshe in Xi’an; Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Tongxiang Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee. 2006. Xindili [心地里]. Cultural Relics Press, Beijing. 3

4

1 What Was Liangzhu? Yangtze River Yangtze River

Taihu Lake

Liangzhu Ancient City

r Rive tang Qian

Fig. 1.1 Liangzhu Site Distribution (square marker—Liangzhu Ancient City); Taihu Lake indicated in center; Qiantang River southeast of Liangzhu Ancient City

33.8 km2 . The total site count had reached 135 by 2002, and the Liangzhu Site Cluster conservation area that followed expanded west to the western limits of Maoyuanling, and south to the new 104 State Highway, a total area of 42 km2 (Fig. 1.2).

Fig. 1.2 The Liangzhu Site Cluster

1.3 What is the Liangzhu Site Cluster?

5

irrigation system

Near Suburbs

Liangzhu Ancient City

Fig. 1.3 Structure and Function at the Liangzhu Site (from left to right—irrigation system, Liangzhu Ancient City, Near Suburbs)

Along with the discovery of the peripheral irrigation system in the last decade or so, archaeologists have pushed the limits of their discoveries within the cluster further to the west, such that the cluster now covers 100 km2 and the total site count has reached above 300. From 2006 to 2007, the archaeological community confirmed the position of Liangzhu Ancient City. The existence of an outer wall was established in 2008. As a result, the archaeological community came to the understanding that the cluster in fact belonged to Liangzhu Ancient City, a unity of the outer irrigation system and a variety of extramural remains (Fig. 1.3). Research at the Liangzhu Site had dampened the relatively vague notion of a Liangzhu Site Cluster and oriented itself towards a new stage of urban archaeology focused on structural and functional research.

1.4 What Was The Liangzhu Ancient City? The heart of Liangzhu Ancient City sat at Pingyao Township (Fig. 1.4) in the middle of the Liangzhu Site Cluster. It featured an overall triple-layered structure: the Mojiaoshan and Huangfenshan Palace Zone and Fanshan Royal Cemetery constituted the central Palace Area, whose perimeter was surrounded by an inner city wall and outer city wall, the inner city covering an expanse of 290 ha and exhibiting striking rank disparity, forming a triple-layered structure similar to the palace city, royal city and outer city of later dynastic capitals. (Fig. 1.5). This is the earliest date such a layout has been observed in China. This was a significant innovation. At

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1 What Was Liangzhu?

The Liangzhu Site

Fig. 1.4 The Liangzhu Site and its C-shaped Basin

Elevated Dam Reservoir Valley Elevated Dam g acin eir F W g Lon Depressed Dam Reservoir

on am dD e s s pre De

ins Pla

s Hill

Outer City

Palace City Royal City

all ity W C r e Out

Fig. 1.5 Liangzhu Ancient City and its Irrigation Structure: (from top to bottom, left to right) Elevated Dam Reservoir, Valley Elevated Dam, Depressed Dam Reservoir, Depressed Dam on Plains, Long Weir Facing Hills, Outer City, Palace City, Royal City, Outer City Wall

1.4 What Was the Liangzhu Ancient City?

7

the same time, majestic waterworks and sacrificial altars containing some astrological meaning were distributed in the north and northeast of the city at Fanshan and Huiguanshan. Together these major structures, and the small sites in their surroundings that formed near and far suburbs, forged the complete urban layout at Liangzhu Ancient City. The discovery not only furnished archaeologists with objectively unimpeachable evidence on the spatial relationship of various sites around the earlier discoveries in the Liangzhu-Pingyao area, but resulted in an entirely new evaluation of the high level reached by Liangzhu Culture. Yan Wenming labeled the area the “capital”4 of Liangzhu Culture. This was the core of Liangzhu.

1.5 What Was The Liangzhu Ancient State? Some scholars have put forward a “capital-city-settlement” view on the social structure of the Liangzhu period. This regards the entirety of the area as a single political body, and the different blocks described above as levels within an organized structure. To see the Liangzhu Site Cluster as the “capital” of an ancient kingdom is to consider other centers as inferior “cities” and the mass of smaller sites on these capital and city peripheries as base level “settlements,” forming a pyramid settlement rank model. A separate view considers each block (or smaller level blocks) as an individual ancient kingdom established more or less simultaneous to the Liangzhu Site Cluster: a “commonwealth of nations” approach. A pyramidal settlement differentiation holds within every block, which features its own high-level settlement with commanding rights over the cluster. Divergences in the scales of central settlements among regions are seen as the manifestation of disparities in initial state strength. Fuquanshan, Zhaolingshan and other settlements are subsequently considered regional centers with the exact same “capital” quality as the Liangzhu Ancient City at Mojiaoshan, only coming up short in terms of physical strength. Whether Liangzhu Ancient City was a capital with rule of authority over the entire Taihu watershed, or the capital of one state among a certain number of early states in the Liangzhu Culture circle, remains inconclusive (Fig. 1.6). Having established a Liangzhu Ancient City, we shifted perspectives away from a simple view of the distribution of excavated sites and their inter-relationships, and began investigating the ancient capital behind Liangzhu through grander spatial perspectives such as mountain and river topography. Although defining the ambit of the ancient state remains impossible present, the view from natural topography shows that an area of 1000 km2 in a C-shaped valley around Hangzhou was embraced by mountains on the north, west, and south, while a large river on the east from Linping to Jiaxing sequestered the region during the Liangzhu Culture period (5300–4800 BP), resulting in an independent geographic unit (Fig. 1.7). On the north edge was the Liangzhu Site Cluster and Linping Site Cluster, while to the south we know of 4

Wenming (1996).

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1 What Was Liangzhu? Yangtze River

first-rank settlements, second-rank settlements

Santiaoqiao

third-rank settlements

Jialingdang Huangtushan Wuxi Qiuchengdun Chuodun Qingduntou Caoxieshan Zhaolingshan

Nanshan Yixing

Nantong Legend

Gaochengdun Changzhou Sidun Chenghaidun Qingdun

Dongzhu

Suzhou

Zhanglinshan

Yuecheng

Taihu Lake

fourth-rank settlements

Yujiadun

Shaoqingshan

Fuquanshan Shanghai

Huzhou Yangjiabu

Qiandangshan

Qinyun

Wangyan Jinshanwen

Hangjiahu plain Donglin

Tianmu Mountains

LiangzhuAncient City

Maqiao

Guangfulin Tinglin

Shuangqiao

Jiaxing Daimudun Puanqiao Qianjin Yangjiabu Huishan Huxiao Heyedi Liumuli Yudunmiao Taoyuan

Pingqiudun

Bay of Hangzhou

Zhoushan Archipelago

Qiantang River Hangzhou

Fig. 1.6 Distribution and Societal Rank of Key Liangzhu Culture Points (provided by the State Cultural Relics Bureau) (Legend (top right): yellow triangle (red border) for first-rank settlements, red triangle for second-rank settlements, yellow square (red border) for third-rank settlements, yellow square (yellow border for fourth-rank settlements). First-rank settlements: Liangzhu Ancient City; second-rank settlements (clockwise from top left): Sidun, Qiuchengdun, Caoxieshan, Fuquanshan, Tinglin, Daimudun, Shuangqiao; fourth-rank settlements: Puanqiao, Xindili, Heyedi, Yudunmiao; fourth-rank settlements: Gaochengdun, Chenghaidun, Qingdun, Nanshan [following Taihu Lake], Dongzhu, Qingduntou, Yuecheng, Yujiadun, Wangyan [north of Qiuchengdun] Jialingdang, Santiaoqiao, Huangtushan, Chuodun, Zhaolingshan, Zhanglinshan, Shaoqingshan [east] Maqiao, Guangfulin [coast], Pingqiudun, Jinshanwen, Taoyuan, Huxiao, Qianjin, Huishan, Liumuli [north], Donglin [northeast] Qinyun, [west], Qiandangshan, Yangjiabu; modern place names: Yangtze River in north, Taihu Lake in center, Qiantang River and Bay of Hangzhou in south, and, clockwise from north, Nantong, Wuxi, Shanghai, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Hangzhou (south) and Yixing; Tianmu Mountains in south east, Zhoushan Archipelago to west.)

over ten Liangzhu sites at present. Therefore we can seemingly designate this area as a relatively small “state,” at least at this point in time.

1.6 What Was Liangzhu Civilization? “Liangzhu Civilization” is both an evaluation and a fixed state for the developmental level reached by Liangzhu Culture. In The First Civilizations, published in 1968, the Cambridge archaeologist Glyn Daniels cited the three standards of civilization proposed by Kluckholn a decade previously: (1) an urban site with a population of over five-thousand individuals; (2) the presence of writing; (3) complex ritual architecture. The paucity of information transmitted from ancient times meant that satisfying two of these conditions sufficed, though writing was seen as indispensable and necessary for either of the remaining two and for a society to be considered a civilization. When these standards were

1.6 What Was Liangzhu Civilization?

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(ancient city)

Daxiongshan

Central Tiao Brook

South Tiao Brook

Miaoqian

Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal

East Tiao Brook Dazheshan Yao shan, Tangshan, Ganggongling r North Tiao Brook Gucheng Huiguanshan

Yujiashan C haoshan Maoshan Linpingshan Banshan

Hangzhou

Nanhu West Lake

Qi

a

n nta

gR

r ive

Fig. 1.7 The C-shaped basin containing Liangzhu Ancient City (from top to bottom, left to right: North Tiao Brook (heading south to Central Tiao Brook and South Tiao Brook in green); (black) Gucheng (ancient city); mountain region (labelled Dazheshan) with Tangshan, Qianshan, Liangzhu Site Cluster, Miaoqian, Daxiongshan, Huiguanshan and Ganggongling running clockwise from south, with East Tiao Brook on upper right); the vertical stretch of water is the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal; and the large hill feature to the east is Banshan, with Zhaoshan to the north, and (from top to bottom) Yujiashan, Maoshan and Linpingshan to the east); the river in the south is the Qiantang River, with Hangzhou, West Lake and (far west) Nanhu heading west)

transferred to the east, a further condition was added: the invention and use of metallurgy, which formed the fourth civilizational standard, one that circulated widely within China.5 Evaluated by these standards, Liangzhu Culture already contained a city of capital rank and met the first and third standards. In terms of writing, more than 600 Liangzhu symbols have been discovered, which reveal signs of a grouped arrangement possibly correlated to primitive writing. But since these were mostly unearthed from base level settlements, with no royal archives like Xiaotun in Yinxu discovered at Mojiaoshan in Liangzhu Ancient City, scholars do not yet fully understand the level of Liangzhu script. We can only say that proto-writing may have appeared. Meanwhile, evidence for metallurgy has yet to be uncovered. The above-mentioned civilizational standards, however, were drawn from the shared factors among great civilizations already known at that time. With the increase in examples of new civilized societies, such shared factors would only reduce. The internationally recognized Incan civilization, for example, had already reached the civilized stage, but merely recorded events in quipu format, not through writing. When subjecting the relevant descriptions offered by Daniels to further scrutiny, we see that the Cambridge archaeologist himself already exhibited a rather significant degree of conceptual flexibility. His standards, therefore, can and should be subject 5

Li Xueqin. “The Glory of Early Chinese Civilization” [辉煌的中华早期文明] (on the Guangming news website: www.gmw.com).

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1 What Was Liangzhu?

to ongoing correction as new discoveries emerge. In the summary of the 2018 “Project for the Search for the Origins of Chinese Civilization,” Chinese archaeologists summarized anew the four major characteristics of Chinese civilization: (1) a base for the development of agriculture and handcraft industry; (2) the appearance of social stratification and clear division among members of society; (3) the appearance of centralized cities; (4) the construction of grand architecture. This somewhat differed from the standards for delimiting a civilization as previously put forward by Western academics. Zhao Hui, an archaeologist at the Academy of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, believes the four standards accommodate and reflect the characteristics of Chinese history, excising the characters and metallurgy of the traditional standards, “managing to aptly express the universality in the development of human history, as well that particularity—the areas of discrepancy vis-à-vis other civilizations that we have discovered and summarized from our research on Chinese civilization.”6 We believe that the standards accord with the reality of the development of Chinese civilization. A Buddhist allusion describes the act of “pointing to the moon.” “You can’t even read,” Wujin Zangni once said to the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng, “What qualifies you to expound on the sutras?” “The true principle,” Huineng answered, “is unconcerned with writing. True principle is like the bright moon in the sky, while writing is the hand that points to the moon—it can point to the existence of the moon, but not the bright moon itself.” Our standards above are hands pointing at the moon, while the real meaning of civilization is the lunar body itself. We are not seeing the moon if we research civilizations with a disregard for the concrete particularities of civilizations, and mere rigidly application of our standards. We are only making wild guesses, and gazing expectantly at our own hands. Where does that place the “moon” of civilization? As Engels stated: the state is the summary of civilized society. All that is required is proof that Liangzhu had entered the period of civilization, for its position as a civilized society to be beyond doubt. With the fruits of eight decades of archaeological striving at Liangzhu—from site to cluster, royal cemetery to city wall, ancient city to outer wall, thence to the irrigation system over ten kilometers distant, to stones and jades to workshops, and surrounding supporting settlements and rice paddy remains—the genuine appearance of a once glorious civilization has been revealed through successive rounds of discovery. At Liangzhu as one scholar has pointed out: “We no longer need to debate its identity, as that has already been comprehensively demonstrated by the discoveries and research of the archaeologists.”7 The ongoing discoveries at Liangzhu have also led to a new understanding of early civilization in China in the international academic community. Colin Renfrew of Cambridge University has pointed out that Liangzhu Culture represents the earliest state-level society in East Asia, that it pushes back the history of Chinese society a full millennium, more or less coeval with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

6 7

See http://www.sohu.com/a/233205697_100017627. Shengqian (2019).

References

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References Mingda, W. (1987). Summary description of the ‘Liangzhu’ site cluster” [“良渚”遗址群概述]. In Yuhang County Cultural Relics Management Committee et al. Liangzhu Culture [良渚文化] Yuhang Literary and Historical Materials No. 3 [余杭文史资料第 3 辑]. Shengqian, C. (2019). Why Xia is a topic [为什么夏是一个问题]. Reading [读书], 2. Wenming, Y. (1996). Jottings at Liangzhu” [良渚随笔]. Cultural Artefacts [文物], 3. Zhi, S. (1998). The range of Liangzhu culture—And a discussion of the community body in archaeological cultures [良渚文化的范围——兼论考古学文化共同体]. Cultural Relics in Southern China [南方文物].

Chapter 2

The Background and Driving Force Behind the Formation of Liangzhu Culture

Abstract Discusses key prehistoric climatic changes and their impact on the Jiangnan region. Shows the sudden transition toward increased emphasis on rice production between Late Songze and Early Liangzhu. Suggests a migration route for agrarian settlers in the area later identified as the Liangzhu heartland. Keyword Liangzhu society · Taihu Lake plains · 5500 BP climatic changes · 8.2 kiloyear event · Rice production · Majiabang culture · Songze culture · Settlement · Migration What was behind the formation of the Liangzhu society as it entered the civilized stage? What of the appearance of Liangzhu society? Liangzhu Culture was a civilization established on a base of rice agriculture, whose appearance was closely tied to climate change and environmental shifts in the Yangtze Delta.

2.1 Climactic Events at 5500 BP, and a Revolution in the Economic Model Liangzhu Culture was spread out across the Taihu Lake plains in the Yangtze Delta, an area which, in natural geographic terms, is referred to as Jiangnan. Any mention of Jiangnan evokes a hazy image of smoke and mist in the Chinese imagination, a poetic and painterly scene of small bridges and flowing rivers. But, in Chinese eyes, “Jiangnan” also exceeds the bounds of geographic concept—it is also a humanistic notion, a standard of wealthy and beautiful living in the traditional Chinese concept. Other regions might even frequently be praised as a “Jiangnan North of the Forts” or a “Jiangnan of Tibet.” In reality, there have been enormous changes to the topographic features of Taihu Lake over tens of thousands of years. The Jiangnan of present times appeared rather late in the day. © Zhejiang University Press 2021 N. Wang, The Historical and Cultural Context of Liangzhu, Liangzhu Civilization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5134-2_2

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During the Terminal Pleistocene, the area focused around Taihu Lake in the Yangtze Delta was a region of slightly undulating hills. Climate was cooler than the present day, and apart from the ancient river valley, the land was mostly covered by a dark green or ochre clay. The Last Ice Age triggered worldwide oceanic retreat, with coastlines retreating to an area currently at a depth of 155 m below sea level in the east. Characteristics of the Jiangnan environment resembled an alpine meadow— short on water, cold and barren, unfriendly to human inhabitation. We see global warming in the Holocene, and a rapid rise in sea levels. The period around 7000 BP represents a turning point in the shift from a rapid to a slow rise in sea levels. Environmental developments in this area accordingly enter a phase of extreme sensitivity to change in sea levels. Elevated sea levels result in a relative lowering of the river gradient, and siltation at estuaries rapidly accelerates beyond the rise in sea levels. The large volume of silt transported along by the Yangtze condenses at these estuaries, resulting, in the Yangtze Delta, in the condensation of a sandy layer of 2–5 m thickness above the earlier hard clay. This new stratum contains a large amount of organic matter (over 0.5% of the total), which is amenable to the growth of vegetation. This provides a wide platform for human activities, which begin to appear at around 7000 BP. From the perspective of natural geography, the core of Jiangnan—the Taihu Lake watershed—has not been an optimal environment from its beginnings through the present day. Indeed it has even been referred to as one of China’s two most vulnerable environments, alongside the Turfan Basin. The flat and low-lying disc-shaped depression facing the ocean to the west has an average elevation of 2–4 m above sea level, and is an area highly responsive to changes in sea level, where floods are a common curse, even today. Lacking any coastal levees during the prehistoric period, the Taihu Lake plains often bore the impact of changes in sea level and tidal bores in the Qiantang River. We are also in a monsoon area, with uneven rainfall across different seasons, with frequent drought as well. That such a friable environment could cultivate an enormous population, forge a glorious prehistoric civilization, and also emerge as a state granary (earning the fine reputation of “Harvest at Suzhou and Taihu, Security through All Under Heaven”) in the historic period, an area exhibiting most harmonious relationship between man and nature and the greatest innovative spirit and vitality in all of China—the cause can be traced back to the single climactic change at around 5500 BP. It is often said that climate transforms history. The words rang even more true in the prehistoric period, in conditions of low productivity. Research on ancient environment indicates an overall relative warming in the early- and mid-Holocene, although global climate remained unstable and cold, dry periods were continuously occurring, among them four sudden global climate adjustments, with low points distributed around 12,000 BP, 8200 BP, 5500 BP, and 4200 BP, respectively. These events frequently took place quite unexpectedly, and would extend over several decades or even a number of centuries, with major rises and falls in temperature. Given rather low contemporary levels of social production, these sudden drastic drops in temperature would have a major impact on the cultural

2.1 Climactic Events at 5500 BP, and a Revolution …

15

production associated with early human activities, and even alter the developmental course of human societies. Homo sapiens appeared at circa 200,000 BP, and passed the overwhelming majority of their time in a gathering and hunting lifestyle. But the climate took an extraordinarily dry and cold turn in some regions after the eruption of the Younger Dryas at around 12,000 BP, resulting in enormous drops in environmental carrying capacity. Homo sapiens was forced onto the road to agriculture out of sheer hopelessness, and humanity thus began its march into the age of agricultural revolution. This does not mean that cultivated agriculture replaced the gathering economy, however. Research on the Shangshan Culture of Zhejiang, which dates to around 10,000 BP, indicates that rice agriculture had appeared at an early date, but only as an economic sector of quite minor weight—only a few grains discovered in unfired pottery. The economic mainframe remained gathering and hunting. The cooling event in the years around 8200 BP is referred to as the “8.2 kiloyear event”: temperatures dropped by 7–8 °C in Africa, while the Middle East Region saw roughly two centuries of continuously arid climate, directly resulting in the abandonment of a settled agricultural life by inhabitants in the Levant and northern Mesopotamia.1 Global climate entered a Holocene optimum in the aftermath of this cooling event. The impact on the small area around Taihu Lake, however, is impossible to discern, since no Neolithic sites from the period preceding 7000 BP have been discovered to date. The period 7000–6000 BP period belongs to the Atlantic Climate Period in our region, that is, a Holocene climatic optimum, where pollen levels reflect a humid subtropical climate with annual temperatures 2–3 °C above the present day. Climatic amelioration furnished new conditions for humanity. The archaeology proves that the first peoples of the Majiabang Culture of around 7000 BP appeared in relatively higher ground across the Taihu Lake plains. During the subsequent early Songze Culture, people experienced essentially the same environment as the Majiabang—the entire Yangtze Delta was still principally grounded on plains and marshes, with expansive stretches of rivers and lakes. Part of the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou region was, for example, once marshes or estuaries and bays, unsuited for human inhabitation. Site numbers are low. Songze sites are spread widely, and many overlap with Majiabang Culture sites.2 Gathering and hunting was the primary mode of subsistence during this period. Rice farming through advancing from an earlier period, remained an auxiliary mode of subsistence. When Chinese and Japanese scholars collaborated on the sampling and analysis of Hemudu Culture archaeobotanic remains from Tianluoshan in Yuyao, results indicated that the volume of gathered acorns and chestnuts far exceeded the amount of rice. Bearing in mind the notable size difference between acorns/chestnuts and rice, the proportion of the latter in the human diet is reduced even further if converted into a calorific value. The Taihu Lake regional economy from the Majiabang through early Songze had much in common with Hemudu Culture. Society and economy in this era must therefore have been an initial period model of resource 1 2

Wenxiang and Quansheng (2005). Menghe (2005).

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2 The Background and Driving Force Behind the Formation …

exploitation based primarily on hunting and gathering, with support from agriculture. The model developed stably over the millennia. But, with the climactic event of 5500 BP, this situation was totally transformed. This cooling event is among the most striking of the climate changes of the Holocene. It brought humanity into the period of the urban revolution. From 7500 to 5500 BP, Mesopotamia experienced a humid climate, as the coastline advanced up to 180 km inland, and alluvial plains in the south subsequently became dotted with marshes—a consequence of the depressed topography—and inhospitable. Contemporaries mostly took shelter in the higher and drier regions to the north, some areas innately prolonging village life, though less suited to the development of large civilized areas. The region began shifting toward an arid climate at around 5500 BP. Southern marshes began drying up and transforming into fertile land, later inhabited through scattered population migration from other elevated areas, increasing population pressure in these southern areas. This conglomeration formed individual organic and mutually dependent wholes. The expanded population provided a wealth of labor for erecting systems of irrigation, and organized irrigation projects began in the centuries around the turn of the 4th millennium B.C., transforming large stretches of land into paddy fields. With increasing population pressure, larger scale villages, and the beginning of the founding and development of cities, the construction of large infrastructure such as deity temples and city walls, and the appearance of writing—civilized society formed.3 Similar change was taking place in Africa. An arid, cold climate resulted in the “desiccation of the Sahara”—the re-desertification of desert oases, shrinking and parching of marshes—which forced communities long settled at oases in the central and southern Sahara to be replaced by peripatetic nomads, while pastoralists inhabiting the Sahara relocated to the Nile Valley and Delta. Population also began to expand from Upper Egypt to Lower Egypt and to be installed there. Regional population pressure was also exacerbated as groups moved into the Nile Valley and Delta from many different regions. People initiated artificial irrigation as a result of this, and undertook a technological revolution, with the beginnings of increased levels of agricultural production and an increase in surplus wealth spurring on division of labor and the establishment of a system of private ownership, class structuration, the appearance of primitive hieroglyphs, and initial state formation. In China, the cooling event is referred to as the Middle Yangshao Cold Period.4 The event triggered a sharp reduction in the volume of early sites in the upper and middle Yellow River, with population moving from higher to lower terraced land. These regions were remote from one another, but similar responses were underway in each of them: humanity turned away from its homelands, moved from high to low locales, and our model of economy accordingly shifted, toward primacy of cultivation, and away from primacy of hunter-gathering. The impact on human occupation in the Taihu Lake region was like a product of the same mold. The period also inspired comprehensive revolutionary changes in 3 4

Wenxiang and Dongsheng (2002). Houyuan (1991) and Wenxiang and Quansheng (2005).

2.1 Climactic Events at 5500 BP, and a Revolution …

17

economy, the household, and religion, and society. With the emergence of Liangzhu, people innovated in the form of the Liangzhu Ancient City, which shone with the light of a glorious civilization. Compared with the above areas, where barley, wheat or millet were the main variety of dry agriculture, a wetland cultivation based on rice developed here in the Taihu Lake area. Its inhabitants pioneered the earliest model of a rice civilization. The changes of 5500 BP had a deteriorating effect on the faunal and floral resources in the area, which became insufficient to support an ever-expanding population. Paleozoologists have demonstrated a shift in the human diet from dependence on wild Pere-David’s deer and roebuck in the Late Songze, to domesticated pig in the Liangzhu. The change in dietary structure was in reality an indication that natural resources were already insufficient for the needs of daily life.5 To accommodate such change and meet with the new external environment, people from Late Songze onwards transformed their economic lifestyle. The main adjustment involved the substitution of rice for hunting and gathering as the pillar of the economy. Correspondingly, population also spread out from the inter-hill valleys to toward the plains, pioneering a completely new “Jiangnan Water-Town” existence. Rice agriculture had a long prior history of development, and was already a venerable tradition among the earlier regional cultures. At Shangshan, for example, traces of rice cultivation dated to 10,000 BP were discovered. Yet rice was not a staple of human diets. Not being a primary economic demand, the economy had not witnessed any increase in rice production. Rice production remained in a crude state of management, developing rather sluggishly. The means of livelihood people had relied upon could no longer match requirements following the climactic cooling event of 5500 BP. Man stood in urgent need of a replacement staple. Rice provided a large grain and more comprehensive nutritional value than barley, wheat, and millet, while being better suited than gathered acorns and chestnuts to long-term preservation while maintaining stability of nutrition and flavor. Hydrothermal conditions were also more favorable to rice production in the region at this particular time. Rice, with its venerable history of domestication and cultivation, therefore naturally emerged as the first choice. While rice became the mainstay of the economy, lands for cultivating rice and the production per unit of area became the new and most urgent of pursuits. This precipitated rapid developments in the selection and breeding of rice, the maintenance of paddy field structures, tilling technologies, and a variety of agricultural technologies and capabilities in the design of agricultural tools. The Majiabang Culture and early Songze Culture suffered from a dearth of specialuse tools for rice production. The main stone tools were fu-ax, ben-adze, and zaochisel. These were found in moderate amount and may have primarily been employed in harvesting timber and woodworking, with concomitant functions in agriculture. Special-use artifacts, generally speaking, only appear under conditions of frequent usage. By contrast with the rich variety of intact hunting and fishing or woodworking tools, the lack of specialist rice agricultural tools prior to Late Songze shows the relatively weak position rice agriculture enjoyed in the overall economy. Beginning 5

Jie (2002).

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2 The Background and Driving Force Behind the Formation …

in this later Songze Culture, however, specialist agricultural tools such as stone liplough and hoeing implements make an appearance. There is a further increase in agricultural tool volume and variety under Liangzhu Culture, when forms display a variation and when new stone tools of verifiable function, such as the stone liansickle, show up in the archaeological record. Use of the stone plough demonstrates, on the one hand, a maturation of land use in the direction of meticulous ploughing and agriculture in order to raise rice yields, while, on the other hand, the plough is an unbroken earth-turning device generally used in cultivation over large acreage, capable of raising efficiency level but also demanding cooperation. In Liangzhu burials, the stone lian-sickle and tone li-plough, among other tools of agricultural production, are united as institutionalized burial goods along with daily use items such as ding-cauldron, dou-stemmed cup and guan-jar. This suggests that agriculture had already became the crux of the economy. Rice remained morphologically unstable during the Majiabang Culture and Songze Culture periods. Some smaller carbonized rice grains from Chuodun differ little from wild rice, but there are also long-gain, ovoid and mid-sized varieties. One can infer that rice had only been cultivated for a short period—this primitive cultivated rice remained in the transitional stage between wild and the evolved cultivated form.6 Evidently, man was not in desperate need of rice production at the time, so interfered little in its selection. There had been a change by the Late Songze and early Liangzhu: rice grains had increased in size and become morphologically stable. Evidently man had increased the strength of his selection of varieties, domestication, and cultivation. Carbonized rice grains discovered at Chenghu are larger than those unearthed at Chuodun—the result of long-term cultivation and selection. In short, rice morphology had remained unstable over the millennia of the early and middle Neolithic, clearly a factor of insufficiently strong human intervention. But the shape of rice would change, once it became a human staple. Early Songze settlements, however, had inherited the characteristics of the distribution of the Majiabang Culture, being situated in narrow hill valleys or foothills in plains areas. Such placement was appropriate for gathering and hunting activities opening up around a collective economic model. Rice production in this period may merely have served the needs of feasting or making up for winter shortfalls, leading to low demands on rice production, in which the small paddy fields in hills between valleys, or upon the foothills, could satisfy demand. But improvements in production technology and strengthening the cultivation of specific varieties could no longer meet demand once rice became the primary staple—expanding the area under cultivation inevitably developed into a path for increasing yields. In the prehistoric period, when production levels were low, such a means became more critical and more widespread. But where could one go to open up new fields? People’s eyes turned to the river network and plains around Lake Taihu to the east.

6

Linghua (2003).

2.1 Climactic Events at 5500 BP, and a Revolution …

19

Rice is a hydrophilic and thermophilic organism. Its required growth environment can be encapsulated as follows: ample heat, ample water, level terrain, a smoother irrigation system, and plentiful human labor. “Discourse On Hills” (说山训) in the Book of Master Huainan (淮南子) stated that “rice grows in water.” “Discussing the Principle of Objects” (物理论), by Yang Quan of the Western Jin, pointed out that rice was the overall term for irrigated crops. Yan Wenming pointed out that rice cultivation required clear-cut paddy fields and field embankments, that the field surface needed to retain an even water level, without which seedlings would be dried up or immersed. Drainage installations were another must—this let water be used for irrigation in dry times, or be discharged in the event of flooding.7 At the same time, with rice cultivation an agricultural activity under a collective labor model, the meticulous and precise cultivation behind the production method demanded that guaranteed sufficient volume of labor. During this period, both climate and rainfall were excellently suited for rice production in the Taihu Lake watershed. The results of palynological analysis at Guangfulin, Fuquanshan, and Maqiao indicate a warmer, moister regional climate during the Songze-Liangzhu transitional period and the early Liangzhu, a larger ratio of hygrophytes, expressed in a coastal wetland environment of flourishing Chinese mugwort8 : temperatures were slightly higher than the present, and plentiful rainfall, furnishing excellent conditions for growing rice. Sea levels also proved extremely beneficial for rice cultivation. At around 5000 BP, sea levels drop from a relatively high level to a level similar to the present day.9 Examining the changing curve of sea levels from around 10,000 BP, the early Liangzhu period enjoyed an area of lower sea levels, across which it expanded its range of activities, providing an expansive space for the development of rice agriculture. For the most part, the human inhabitations of the Majiabang and early Songze had occupied valleys between hills, and the plains were less germane for human occupation. Population was subsequently minimal in the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou area, and confined to part of the slopes along foothills. The disc-shaped depression around Taihu Lake began to form during this period. With relatively stable ocean levels, sedimentation provided a healthy supply of resources, and several shell sandbars—commonly referred to as gangshen (ridges)—formed in the east of the region. There was also a continuous distribution of spits on the south shore of the area. These ridges and spits broke off links the ocean, and the area simultaneously struggled to benefit from the rich sediment carried in the Yangtze. Sedimentation mainly occurring through runoff and was sluggish, and sediment layers shallow, the land low. Analysis of sediment obtained through drilling shows that the disc-shaped depression existed in embryonic form at around 5500 BP. Once formed, the effect of dividing ridges and naturally occurring sedimentation caused the gradual development of a freshwater environment of lakes and marshes in previously inhospitable areas. This expanded the human cultural ambit and also explains the Late Songze increase in the site area. 7

Wenming (2000). Yulan et al. (2002), Weiqing (2001), Xueqing (2002). 9 Jingtai and Pinxian (1980). 8

20

2 The Background and Driving Force Behind the Formation …

To summarize the above, the topography and water sources in the Taihu Lake plains benefited formation of suitable paddy fields. In the expansive, flat land, marshy areas, dense water network of rivers and lakes, thin and crumbly soil aided the excavation of canals and wells, so only a modicum of management was needed to form the perfect paddy field and accompanying irrigation system. Hence, for the population at around 5500BP, developing toward the plains became an inevitable choice.

2.2 Settlement Dispersal and Migration The archaeological evidence shows that the Jiangnan region initiated a period of large-scale human dispersal and migration during the later Songze, with movement from high to low locales. The new sites of the terminal Songze period through Liangzhu were partly due to the expansion and differentiation of former early period plains settlements, and partly the result of internal migration among the hill valleys in the west. The Miaoqian Site can be seen as evidence of this early settlement spread. Miaoqian and Majiapo are located in the southeast of Xunshan [Xun Hill] at an elevation of 33 m above sea level. The sites were already in existence during the Majiabang Culture period, and contain Songze deposits. The area by the hill stands at an elevation of roughly three meters above sea level, and gradually transitions to a depressed area 2.5 m above sea level, a discrepancy of roughly half a meter. There was a staged increase in the number of sites around Xunshan along with the transition to Liangzhu Culture, resulting in a densely spread site cluster. It would appear from the position and age of sites that those preceding the early Liangzhu were centered in the higher fanned stretch—some of these sites would continue into the middle and late Liangzhu—while any sites discovered on the perimeter of this stretch belonged to the middle and late Liangzhu (Fig. 2.1). What this shows, and quite vividly, is the divorce of settlement selection from dependence on elevated land, and the gradual expansion toward lower areas. Settlement migration can be explained by site distribution in the West Tiao valley (Fig. 2.2). The West Tiao valley sits in the southwest of Taihu Lake—a narrow valley between hills, constricted by the Tianmu Mountains and Yili Mountain on either side, opening out to Taihu Lake on its north, and an area of significant Majiabang and Songze site distribution, with relatively large excavations having taken place for the Anle and Zhili Sites in Anji, and the Jiangjiashan Site in Changxin. Situated in the upper stretches of the brook, Anle and Zhili lie no more than five kilometers apart, and the burials discovered in both sites run from the Majiabang through Songze. There are no Liangzhu burials among the 50–60 graves found at Anle, while the north section of the cemetery at the Zhili site over 200 densely distributed MajiabangSongze burials, testament to the relatively large scale settlement of those times, have been unearthed. Meanwhile, only two or three Liangzhu burials were discovered in

2.2 Settlement Dispersal and Migration

21

Wushan

Xunshan

Liangzhu

Liangzhu River

Fig. 2.1 Distribution of Miaoqian Site around Xunshan (from left to right: Wushan, Xunshan, Liangzhu, with Liangzhu River below)

the upper layer and can be claimed as the Liangzhu remains in the entirety of Anji, explaining some drastic migration event during the Liangzhu period. At Jiangjiashan an area of 4000 square meters was excavated—only one section of the cemetery— discovering a total of 340 burials, among them 46 from the late Majiabang, 292 from Songze, and 2 from Liangzhu. Liangzhu deposits are also distributed in more scattered, thinner strata. Similar sites at Gaocun, Futoubang and Zhaomaodun have also been uncovered within a 2–3 km radius of Jiangjiashan. This demonstrates how a settlement formed during the late Majiabang flourished to an unprecedented degree during the Songze, but experienced striking collapse during the period of Liangzhu Culture—such must have been the reason behind outward migration. A sectioned stone li-plough belonging to the middle Songze, the earliest example of its kind currently known, was discovered at Jiangjiashan. It may provide clues for the reasons behind contemporary migration. What its appearance demonstrates is that rice agriculture had already entered the plough stage, meaning paddy field areas had expanded. It is intriguing that the new implement appears in this area first. West Tiao is a mountain brook in a slender and long river valley which actually furnishes very limited space for agricultural expansion, though the scale of population in this region during the Songze was enormous—it is possible that environmental

22

2 The Background and Driving Force Behind the Formation …

Taihu Lake

Taijishan Hongweiqiao Jiangjiashan

Qiucheng Pishan Qianshanyang Tadi

Anle Zhili

Q

ia nt an g

Ri ve r

Sanmuli Liangzhu Site Cluster

Fig. 2.2 Migration from the West Tiao valley to Taihu Lake plains (in mountains: Zhili (south), Anle (north); first arrow: Jiangjiashan; second arrow: Taijishan (north), Hongweiqiao (south), Qiucheng (endpoint), third arrow from north to south shows Pishan, Qianshanyang, and Tadi; Sanmuli in far south, with Liangzhu Site Cluster on west front; Qiantang River in bottom right, Taihu Lake central)

changes due to the climactic events of 5500 BP left the original hunting and gathering economy incapable of providing for human needs and that only by adopting agricultural forms could sufficient food be provided. There were several avenues open to increasing production: to improve cultivars, to advance agricultural tools and hoeing technologies, to expand cultivated areas, and to increase the agricultural population. But, under contemporary technological conditions, improving cultivars was unlikely to achieve immediate results: the limited cultivable land in the region could turn the population advantage to population pressure, which itself would speed up improvements in tools and technology, so as to increase yields. Such methods, however, might not have achieved any striking short-term effect in the prehistoric era. This, ultimately, would make the expansion of cultivated land the only viable method. People could only abandon their homelands, and follow the Tiao to the easily ploughed plains of Lake Taihu area. There is the possibility that the Pishan Site in Huzhou is closely related to this variety of migration. Here the very earliest site deposits, which are Terminal Songze, just so happen to match with the period of outmigration from the West Tiao valley. All male burials, additionally, contain special rice production agricultural tools such as stone li-plough, lian-sickle and “hoeing implements,” an assemblage of grave goods together with established items such as daily use pottery wares. These artifacts have also been unearthed from a period cemetery at Qiucheng in Huzhou.10 Grave goods reflect the daily life of the deceased, so when a set of crockery and cooking items and a set of laborer’s tools were both necessary items for the afterlife, we might 10

Zhejiang Cultural Relics Management Committee (2005).

2.2 Settlement Dispersal and Migration

23

determine that these individuals were already rice-growing farmers in the classic sense. Evidently, the specialist use of a combination of stone li-plough and liansickle had already become widespread phenomenon in the south Taihu Lake region. In striking contrast, aside from the discovery of a single Songze-Liangzhu transitional period stone li-plough at the Yangjiaquan Site in Shanghai, absolutely no trace of advanced agricultural implements has been seen in the contemporary graves and stratigraphy in the east plains of the Taihu Lake region. From site geography, cultural phase, and appearance of Pishan and Qiucheng in the valley and mouth of the valley at West Tiao, we receive a clear view of the vibrant process of change as man migrated and changed his status through clear adjustment to rice production. South of valley, we find the Liangzhu Site Cluster, where we believe there were certain unavoidable connections between the development of the cluster into a center of the early Liangzhu Culture and the relatively high level of production in the region. If we expand our horizons, we might also discover that the terminal Songze through Liangzhu Culture period saw not only population congregating around the disc-shaped depression of the Taihu Lake plains, but also corresponding agglomeration in surrounding cultural zones. Topographically speaking the Taihu Lake watershed faces the ocean to the east, hilly region in the sparsely populated south, and settlements in the lower Huai valley suddenly vanish during this period, just as traces of the advanced Lingjiatan culture to the west also instantly disappear at the same time. These provide further signs of the concentration of contemporary population around the Taihu Lake area. Against this major backdrop of population migration, inter-regional movement of high rank groups, as well as movement within the area, has elicited considerable attention. Lingjiatan represents a highpoint in the development of Songze Culture, and its culture of jades would have a far-reaching impact on Liangzhu. Exchanges with the Taihu Lake region must have followed a northern route along the northern perimeter of Taihu Lake, and through the West Tiao watershed south of Taihu for the southern route. Lingjiatan Culture-style jades have recently been uncovered at Anle in Anji, while in Anhui typical (Liangzhu) shallow-bowl false-stomach cups and other artifacts have been found, demonstrating the possibility of communications from east to west along the southern route. As a matter of expediency and sheer physical distance, however, the northern route from north Taihu through south Jiangsu must have been primary avenue for high-rank migration, introducing jade-working technology and concepts that had fused with indigenous traditions of Beiyinyangying Culture (Nanjing-Zhenjiang area) and causing enormous advances in the culture of south Jiangsu. From the entire terminal Songze through the early Liangzhu, the Jiaxing region and Liangzhu Site Cluster in south Taihu Lake experienced a relatively low degree of development. Yet, by the late period of the early Liangzhu and the early middle period—at around 5000BP—taking the Liangzhu Ancient City as representative, the Liangzhu area had leapt into the place of a regional center. The change must be connected to the migration of this advanced branch from the Lingjiatan and Beiyinyangying traditions. Motives behind this elite migration may not have been based on producing materials for their direct survival, but have had something to do with controlling jade.

2 The Background and Driving Force Behind the Formation … New sites per period in Taihu Lake Region

24

Middle Period

Late Period

Early Period

Middle Period

Late Period

Early Period

Middle Period

Late Period

Fig. 2.3 Period changes in the number of sites opened in the Taihu Lake region (y-axis: New sites per period in Taihu Lake Region; x-axis: from left to right, Majiabang Middle Period, Majiabang Late Period, Songze Early Period, Songze Middle Period, Songze Late Period, Liangzhu Early Period, Liangzhu Middle Period, Liangzhu Late Period)

The very same division and dispersal of population internal to the Taihu Lake region, as well as the immigration of external population, resulted in the explosive increase expressed through site numbers of the terminal Songze and early Liangzhu, which show a striking and sharp upward turn relative to the surrounding areas. According to total provided by Gao Menghe, we had counted total of around 440 Liangzhu sites by 2003.11 140 of these could be periodized—56 to the Early Liangzhu, 89 to the Middle Liangzhu, and 64 to Late Liangzhu (cross-periodization applies). The Taihu Lake region was an area of extremely dense human inhabitation. Figures put the site volume at twice that of the surrounding Ningzhen region, central Anhui, and central Jiangsu region combined. According to these figures, there were only 69 and 57 Majiabang and Songze culture sites, respectively, in the earlier Taihu Lake region. A huge increase in site numbers relative to the Majiabang and Songze cultures had taken place. The trend began in the Middle and Late Songze, and peaked in the Middle Liangzhu. Figure 2.3 compares figures for new sites for each period, illustrating the dramatic increase underway in the middle and early Liangzhu, though some change had taken place in site opening by the late period. Gao Menghe’s figures show a scalar increase in Liangzhu sites in the area surrounding Taihu Lake by this later period, an indication that the Taihu Lake watershed culture had taken a new step outward.

11

Data from this passage is taken from Gao Menghe’s Archaeological Geography of the Lower Yangtze [长江下游考古地理], with rearrangement of some data.

References

25

References Houyuan, L. (1991, March). Northern temperate grassland cultures from the neolithic onwards, and climate changes [新石器以来北温带草原文化与气候变迁]. Cultural Relics Preservation and Archaeology [文物保护与考古科学], 2. Jie, C. (2002). Outline of environmental archaeological investigations of Yangtze delta archaeological cultures [长江三角洲新石器时代文化环境考古学考察纲要]. Bulletin of the Center for the Research of Ancient Civilizations, Chinese Academy of Sciences [中国社会科学院古代文 明研究中心通讯], 4. Jingtai, W., & Pinxian, W. (1980). The connection between climate change and rising and falling sea levels since the late Pleistocene in China [中国东部晚更新世以来海面升降与气候变化的 关系]. Journal of Geographical Sciences [地理学报], 4. Linghua, T. (2003). Primitive rice remains at the Chuodun site [绰墩遗址的原始稻作遗存]. In Chuodun Hill—Essays on the Chuodun site [绰墩山——绰墩遗址论文集]. Southeast Culture [东南考古] Special Issue. Menghe, G. (2005). The relationship between man and land in the lower Yangtze during the early civilization period: Intertwining multidisciplinary practice and investigation [长江下游文明化 初期的人地关系——多学科交叉的实践与探索]. Fudan Journal: Social Sciences Edition [复 旦学报 (社会科学版)], 2. Weiqing, F. (2001). Pollen groupings at the Fuquanshan site and an analysis of the habitat of first inhabitants [福泉山考古遗址孢粉组合与先人活动环境分析]. In Fuquanshan: Excavation report of a neolithic site [福泉山——新石器时代遗址发掘报告]. Cultural Relics Press. Wenming, Y. (2000). Agriculture and the beginnings of civilization [农业发生与文明起源]. Science Press. Wenxiang, W., & Dongsheng, L. (2002, March). The effect of the 5500 BP climate event on the three great ancient states and civilizations and the evolution of ancient cultures [5500 BP. 气候事 件在三大文明古国古文明和古文化演化中的作用]. Geoscience Frontiers [地学前缘], 9(1). Wenxiang, W., & Quansheng, G. (2005). The global climactic event and its impact on archaeological culture development [全新世气候事件及其对古文化发展的影响]. Huaxia Archaeology [华夏 考古], 3. Xueqing, H. (2002). Reconstructing the natural environment at the Maqiao Site [马桥遗址的自然 环境重建]. In Maqiao: Excavation report, 1993–1997 [马桥: 1993—1997 年发掘报]. Shanghai Shuhua Press. Yulan, Z., Jian, S., & Bingquan, L. (2002, December). The archaeological finds at Guangfulin and an investigation into the living environment of its first inhabitants [广富林遗址考古新发现及 先人生活环境探析]. Tongji University Journal, Natural Sciences Edition [同济大学学报: 自 然科学版], 30(12). Zhejiang Cultural Relics Management Committee (2005). First draft of an excavation report from the Qiucheng Site in Wu County, Zhejiang, 1957” [浙江省吴兴县邱城遗址 1957 年发掘报告 初稿]. Academic Journal of the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology [浙江省文物考古研究所学刊], 7 (Hangzhou press, Hangzhou).

Chapter 3

Earliest Liangzhu

Abstract A detailed look at the evolution of platform settlement at Puanqiao from the Songze through Liangzhu periods and an examination of the formation of a wider village region of densely spread settlements associated, with Liangzhu rice production also discussed. Keyword Puanqiao · Rice production platform settlement · Settlement distribution · Village region

3.1 How the Platform Settlement Model Formed The population of the Majiabang Culture and early Songze Culture had mostly occupied high natural near-river terrain: this had advantages both for hunting, fishing, and gathering in the lowlands, and flood avoidance. A limited degree of rice production demanded only a small acreage—the quota could be satisfied simply by scouting out and transforming some local terrain. But rice agriculture was the economic and social lifeline of the Liangzhu period. Mere reliance on small cultivated patches in areas around inhabited sites could no longer satisfy that the population demanded. It happened that the same marshy, depressed lands, where man formerly only rarely visited, were ideal for cultivation. They had to be opened up. But the waterlogged plains, 2–4 m above sea level, were also low, damp, prone to monsoonal flooding, and inhospitable. The contradiction of rice production and human occupation suddenly stood out. How would the problem be resolved? The wisdom of the first inhabitants made pioneering use of platform-construction methods. These provided an excellent workaround. The Puanqiao Site in Tongxiang provides an illustration of this particular form of platform mound. Puanqiao displays features from four phases of settlement from Late Songze through Liangzhu, but changes across this time are relatively unpronounced (Fig. 3.1). The emergent first-stage settlement consisted of three small earth platforms spread from east to west, the platform centers featuring square buildings in continuous use and expanded on-site, namely buildings F11, F8, and F6, from east to © Zhejiang University Press 2021 N. Wang, The Historical and Cultural Context of Liangzhu, Liangzhu Civilization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5134-2_3

27

Home

Latest deposits

Burials

Fig. 3.1 The Formation of Puanqiao (showing phases one through four (labeled “latest deposits”) from bottom to top, homes indicated by house-shaped marker, burials by small mounds

Phase one

Phase two

Phase three

Phase four

28 3 Earliest Liangzhu

3.1 How the Platform Settlement Model Formed

29

Fig. 3.2 Distribution of buildings and burials at Puanqiao

west.1 Each platform was in an approximate upturned-bucket shape, with relatively mild slope gradients and dimensions relatively modest at 7–8 m on each side, over one meter high, in an exact quadrilateral. Each residence on the earth platform was square or rectangular, with single-bay or double-bay forms. We infer that the area of a single-bay was between 25 and 30 m2 and that the door faced south or east, while the double-bay rooms were slightly larger at 35–40 m2 , a partitioning wall running from east to west splitting the room into two bays. 12 burials, on the east and west side of the building, existed alongside it, and judging by their position must have had some corresponding relationship with the house. In this period the top of the stage covered a limited area, and the finished building was relatively constricted, with burials hewing tightly to the outer wall or else interred in the platform slope. The three platforms were subsequently covered over in the second phase, when the earth platforms supporting F4 and F3 were constructed, though the relationship between homes and burials was identical with phase one (Figs. 3.2 and 3.3). To summarize the above, Puanqiao burials were laid out with the individual building as the unit. Men, women, and children were all accounted for, reflecting a regular family unit structure. Within the settlement, the family corresponding with these individual buildings formed the basic unit of activities. Each village featured a number of individual earth platforms arrayed in rows. Although the peripheries of these platform-mound settlements have yet to be excavated, being overlaid with modern villages and their paddy fields, we have reason to infer that fields would have surrounded the platforms in their own time. The mound, in fact, represented an artificial replication of the inhabitants’ former elevated environment in these new low-lying areas, a man-made transformation of the innate micro-topography. The strength of the built mound was that it served a dual directional purpose, elevating inhabited areas and excising flood risks while forming a depressed area of some bulk with the earth required for the mound. The latter expanded the area for water retention and increased the height difference between the water and inhabited area. From the view of labor efficiency, the earth was also frequently extracted close to the mound. This meant the original inhabitants would have pre-planned their mounds; artificially excavated ponds and depressions

1

Regarding earlier buildings below a number of the houses, the numberings from the later period are used to represent the platform, since the outlook does not change.

30

3 Earliest Liangzhu

Meter

Fig. 3.3 Reconstruction of a building remains at the Xiantanmiao Site

would have been worked into artificial rivers tying in with naturally occurring exterior lakes and rivers—this would have allowed for convenient drainage during the monsoons and easy acquisition of clean water for everyday use. It would also have benefited boat transportation, gathering, and fishing—a true multipurpose project. The form accordingly spread rapidly. Many earth platform sites appeared. They came to constitute striking aspects of the population and geography of the Taihu Lake plains. Once we reach the Liangzhu Period, the scope of human activities already covers the majority of the Yangtze Delta. Separate areas of human inhabitation were no longer clearly separated.2

3.2 A Dense Spread of Scattered Settlements Employing the precise tilling of an agricultural means of production, the scale of the basic Liangzhu settlement remained relatively small. In Western scholarship, Central 2

Jie (2002).

3.2 A Dense Spread of Scattered Settlements

31

Place Theory holds that settlement positioning is determined through consideration of the optimal exploitation of necessary resources and minimal inter-site distances.3 From an efficiency standpoint, settlements must be distributed around the heart of different zones of production for the distance between the inhabited area and area of production to be efficiently reduced. In the case of larger settlements, however, the radius of the area of production surrounding the settlement is excessively large, providing the required grains despite this being suboptimal, economically speaking. Western scholars of Central Place Theory believe that sites are chosen in order to minimize time and energy expenditure in developing, shipping, and allocating the necessary food and material resources. The radius of any Liangzhu Culture settlement would be chosen through common covenant, according with the above factors. The interlocking rivers and lakes that characterize Taihu Lake plains topography, however, restricted the scale of individual settlements in their own ways. Boats were the necessary means of transportation—a near neighbor, as the crow flies, might be a distant journey away on the rivers. Many Taihu Lake sites are therefore delimited by the larger of the naturally occurring rivers in their surroundings. This explained the constant reductions in settlement size from the Late Songze through Liangzhu. Later in this essay, it will become evident how diffusion and colonizing activities associated with contemporary villages occurred at the scale of one or two nuclear families. Most basic settlements would have had populations of roughly 30–50 individuals. Several prehistoric sites on a scale similar to Xiantanmiao can be found on the border of Haining City and Haiyan County—over ten contained deposits dating from Late Songze through Liangzhu. These settlements would have been of similar rank, and they stood anywhere between 6 and 700 m to one kilometer apart (Fig. 3.44 ). Dongshan in Haining sits around four kilometers west of Xiantanmiao; the two are connected by river. Dongshan is the source of the large volume of perforated granite at Xiantanmiao. The site distribution above reflects the general state of affairs between the basic settlement distribution in the area and the radius of everyday activities. Sites took the shape of a stage mound, similar to modern villages. The modern natural village at Xiantanmiao was built on the same mound where the site lay, 3–400 m from the surrounding villages, which were also built on elevated mounds, the intervening areas of rice and silk production displaying to the full that uniformity of ancient and modern settlement layout. Today, however, site distribution exists at a relatively high density, and the production area occupied by each village has been reduced, likely connected with the relatively high production of a single unit of modern agricultural land, plus the volume of population sustainable with one such unit. The basic settlement distribution that formed during the Liangzhu Period can be encapsulated as follows: it was delimited by natural rivers, small scale, encircled by paddy fields and the river network, and involved a dense spread of scattered 3

Guangzhi et al. (2002). The map combines information from the Third National Survey of Cultural Relics, provided by Haining and Haiyan Counties. We thank Rui Guoyao, Zhou Jianchu and Zhou Zhujun for providing relevant information.

4

32

3 Earliest Liangzhu

0

500

1000Meter

Fig. 3.4 Site Distribution near Xiantanmiao (top to bottom: Longtangang, Yaojiabang, Zhoujiabang, Yaodun (east), Jitouzhuang (west), Cuijiachang (east), Hehuasi (west), Lijiaqiao, Xujiaqiao, Xiantanmiao, Qilibang, Huangwentou, Changshengyan, Huangdaohu

settlements. These characteristics, inherited over the long run, resulted in the classic Jiangnan village outlook of the present day. Searching for Liangzhu sites in the Taihu Lake plains is extremely simple nowadays—the majority of settlements, provided they are built on platform mounds, were formed during the Late Songze and Liangzhu. We can say therefore that the Liangzhu peoples pioneered the earliest Jiangnan. Just as Liangzhu innovated through inventing an embanked mound model of inhabitation, avoiding hazards while tending toward new advantages, so did a large population also branch out over the wide Taihu Lake plains. What was initially an enormous pressure transitioned into an enormous material boon in labor terms, providing impetus and a foundation for opening up the plains and Further advancing the civilizing process at Liangzhu.

3.3 Formation of Village Regions

33

3.3 Formation of Village Regions The Taihu Lake plains sit in depressed, even land, crowded with lakes and ponds. This had an enormous impact on ancient site distribution. An ancient river ran north to south from Taihu Lake through Hangzhou and incorporated Liangzhu and Linping district to the south and Jiaxing to the north. East of the plains were numerous unpopulated regions containing lacustrine sites such as ancient Shouxiang Lake and the Yangcheng Lake Cluster, both under two meters below sea level and covered by large stretches of water in prehistory, preventing human occupation. But population density was high during the Liangzhu Culture period, desire for cultivated land strong. Aside from the relatively large empty plots occupied by rivers and marshes, therefore, we do see a relatively high population site density at more practically cultivable and inhabitable regions, which formed several relatively dense blocks. The academic community refers to these areas of blocked distribution as a site cluster5 or settlement cluster.6 Following this distribution, one can divide Liangzhu Culture sites into a number of blocks: the area including Liangzhu and Pingyao south of Taihu Lake, also featuring Linping District; the Jiaxing area to the southeast of Taihu Lake; the south Jiangsu-west Shanghai region east of Taihu; the Jiangyin-Wuyin area south of the Yangtze and northeast of Taihu, and the Huzhou-Yixing area on the west shore of Taihu Lake. As mentioned above, some scholars take these blocks as representing different ancient states, while others regard the entire Liangzhu Culture region as a single state, believing each block to be a “city” one rank lower than the capital. We expect further research will grasp the exact situation.

References Bin, L. (1997). Excavation and settlement survey at the Lucun Site, Yuhang [余杭卢村遗址的 发掘及其聚落考察]. Zhejiang Province Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Academic Journal of the Zhejiang Province Research Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology [浙江省文物考古研究所学刊]. Changzheng Publishing House, Beijing. Guangzhi, Z., Hongbao, H., & Yan, Z. (Trans.). (2002). Settlement form in archaeology [考古学 中的聚落形态]. Huaxia Archaeology [华夏考古], 1.

5

Bin (1997). Ding Pin. 2005. “A Preliminary Discussion of the Liangzhu Culture Settlement Cluster” [良 渚文化聚落群初论] in Xi’an Banpo Museum, Liangzhu Museum (eds.). Research in Prehistory (2004), on the occasion of the 5th academic forum of the professional committee for Prehistoric Site Museums organized under the China Museum Society, and essays commemorating the 50th anniversary of the excavation of the Banpo Site in Xi’an, published by Sanqin Press in Xi’an; Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Tongxiang Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee. 2006. Xindili [新地里]. Cultural Relics Press, Beijing. 6

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3 Earliest Liangzhu

Jie, C. (2002). Outline of environmental archaeological investigations of Yangtze delta archaeological cultures [长江三角洲新石器时代文化环境考古学考察纲要]. Bulletin of the Center for the Research of Ancient Civilizations, Chinese Academy of Sciences [中国社会科学院古代文 明研究中心通讯], 4.

Chapter 4

Settlement Rank and Society

Abstract Follows changing settlement and burial patterns at Xiantanmiao from the early phase (Middle/Late Songze) through Liangzhu periods. Shows evolving relationships between platforms within platform settlements—possibly indicative of local leadership—and discusses a model of higher organization and authority as inferred from Xiantanmiao evidence and beyond. Higher rank moated community settlement at Yujiashan explored in detail. Rank attributes and triple-layered structure of central Liangzhu city are also discussed. Discusses “grand perspectives” on Liangzhu Ancient City, i.e. its wider extensions into jade, stone and other quarries, estimated population, and so on. Keyword Capital-city-settlement · Xiantanmiao · Burial · Rank · Yujiashan · Moated community · Liangzhu ancient city As Liangzhu society had developed, a striking settlement rank differentiation had already formed, resulting in a primitive “capital-city-settlement” layout. This featured both “royal capital” rank high-level settlements such as Liangzhu Ancient City, and a large volume of base settlements with area above one hectare. Between these two types, we also find a site equivalent to the “city-township” rank. The Liangzhu Ancient City, centered around Mojiaoshan, remains the only urban site discovered for Liangzhu. The protected intramural zone alone reaches 300 ha in acreage, making the site a classic example of the first-rank settlement. In recent years ongoing archaeological work has granted us a whole new understanding of the palatial area, city wall, city gate, peripheral structure, and peripheral irrigation and flood-prevention infrastructure—we will discuss all of these individually at a later stage. If we take Liangzhu Culture region as a complete political body, and the Mojiaoshan Liangzhu Ancient City as the “capital” of Liangzhu Ancient State, then “regional central sites” of the Sidun, Fuquanshan, and Zhaolingshan type would be seen as equivalent to second-rank “cities.” But if each block is regarded as an individual “ancient state”, then the trio above and other settlements would be “capitals” of equal rank to Liangzhu Ancient City. The latter possibility appears greater from the current standpoint, though settlement in the archaeological sense has been © Zhejiang University Press 2021 N. Wang, The Historical and Cultural Context of Liangzhu, Liangzhu Civilization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5134-2_4

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relatively lacking at the other “regional central sites.” Further debate and discussion will require considerably more future materials on settlement structure and layout. Delimiting a second-rank settlement presents the gravest difficulties. The view from settlement structure reveals a scale between base settlement (third-tier) and capital rank settlement (Liangzhu Ancient City). Sites at this scale constituted a number of freestanding units in a dense distribution, separated only by small distances, with settlement clusters engaged in agriculture in between. The Yujiashan Site in the Linping block in Yuhang, and the Yaojiadun Site in the Liangzhu Site Cluster1 can be placed in this second-tier category for the time being. Third-tier settlements are base settlements that follow essential resource production. The majority of the sites in any block belong to this category, and there is an abundance of such samples.

4.1 Changes in the Structure and Organizational Relationships of Base Settlements Agricultural production on the Liangzhu Culture plains resulted in major changes in settlement structure relative to the early period Majiabang and Songze cultures. We see a pattern of reductions in site area, complemented by the simultaneous appearance of the large capital city, far above the natural economy, at Liangzhu Ancient City. Base settlements are the most numerous and most widely dispersed of Liangzhu settlements. They directly engaged in agricultural production, and formed the sturdy bedrock of Liangzhu society. We take Xiantanmiao in Haiyan as a case study to introduce the structural shift underway in a base settlement in Liangzhu society around 5500 BP. The heart of the Xiantanmiao Site is an isolated near-rectangular tall earth mound of 100 m length and 60 m width on a longitudinal axis, whose maximal elevation is 7.4 m above sea level, and is surrounded by paddy fields at an elevation of 2.4 m above sea level. Rivers and wharfs encircle the paddies, resulting in a rather cloistered geographical environment and settlement structure. Excavation demonstrates graves and living spaces in the central part of the settlement had not extended beyond the mound itself prior to Late Liangzhu—this means the site would not have been larger than 6000 m2 and was a typical base settlement. Site deposits at Xiantanmiao essentially covered each individual period from Early Songze through Late Liangzhu. From a view of evolving settlement structure, this can be divided into three phases. In the first, Early Songze, we discover collective burials and large buildings. The second phase, running from Late Songze through Early Liangzhu, consisted primarily of several small square mounds set out in a row, each mound branching out on its western and eastern flanks as it interred additional burials, a gradual process that ended with two rectangular earth platforms running from north to south. This was followed by the late period at the site, the Middle and 1

Mingda (1987) and Mingda (1996).

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Late Liangzhu. In this stage these latitudinal earth platforms are raised in height and extended to the north on several occasions, ultimately superimposing the north row of platforms in the embryonic structure of the modern earth mound. Damaged as it is through earlier soil extraction events, we are unclear of the overall appearance of the late period platform, though the early and middle period at Xiantanmiao have been well preserved, and form the main analytical component of this section.

4.1.1 Early Period Remains The settlement layout during the middle phase of early period Xiantanmiao has been revealed to us with relative clarity. F19–F21 represent the classic buildings of this period. Their floors were subject to some rudimentary even paving, and they represent three or more individual buildings, joined into a tightly connected cluster via foundation trenches, which we infer were the foundations of fence or light walltype defensive and sequestering infrastructure. Burials concentrated by the west side of the buildings’ remains. As Fig. 4.1 shows, grouped pillar posts were indicative of the architectural foundations at Xiantanmiao, with representative examples at F19, F20, and F21. F19 was an individual rectangular outline of 19 m2 . The area of F20 was around 45 m2 , and internal columns divided the building into three components, with the outer-room

Fig. 4.1 Remains Distribution in Early and Middle Stages at Early Phase Xiantanmiao (grey shading for early stage of early phase, white for middle stage of early phase)

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area in the south featuring either palisade columns or platform support columns. We found no evidence of a hardened surface or stove installations in any of the buildings. It is highly likely they were stilt-style constructions. Analyzing shape and layout, an organic relationship held between the foundation troughs and building. The troughs were externally linked, but internally separated, structuring multiple confined spaces, square or rectangular, with small openings. Individual architectural units were built around these spaces. The foundation troughs combined to bring scattered architectural units into an organic combination. The area presently excavated has revealed the central west section of the architectural group, with the south, west, and north sides at their edges, the east stretching beyond the excavated zone, and possibly at least eight meters to the east. This means that the exterior foundation trough extends for around 18 m from north to south, with the longitudinal exposed area exceeding 30 m in length and possibly reaching above 38 m originally. Overall, architecture in the middle phase of early Xiantanmiao was relatively expansive, with connecting foundational troughs for each individual occupational unit, demonstrating the close organizational ties between residents. Such large-scale construction demonstrates the emphasis and heed paid to public activities, with no striking independence among individual families. We find no contemporaneous ash pits in the individual units, which means that the individual building was not the unit of cooking activities. Individual buildings differ in their relative position and form and might, therefore, have exhibited various functions, as opposed to being a combination of one-sits-fits-all constructions. The large building F20 occupied the center of the ring of foundational troughs and might have been a residential building. F19 and F21 were placed around it, F19—possibly a silo—placed on the west edge of the foundational trough. We therefore infer the settlement had adopted a form of collective cooking. The majority of burials from this period are focused on the west and northwest side of the buildings, and aside from the rather intimate relationships displayed in an isolated case of two abutting (possibly husband-wife) burials, individual household belonging is not stressed for the majority. Rather what we observe is a public cemetery burial style, which is also similar to a collective economy (Figs. 4.2).

4.1.2 Middle Phase Remains Settlement structure and appearance at middle phase Xiantanmiao is a world apart from this early phase. This middle phase may be divided into a closely-linked early and later stage, corresponding, respectively, with the Late Songze and Early Liangzhu. Figure 4.3 shows a plane figure of the middle phase remains. The sections in grey are Late Songze. As evident from the image, the excavated area consisted of a total of five small artificial earthen platforms, labeled 1–5. Each platform sat on a longitudinal axis, was rectangular or square, shaped like an inverted bucket, and together the platforms

4.1 Changes in the Structure and Organizational …

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collective house

public cemetery

Fig. 4.2 (Top) Reconstruction of middle early phase Xiantanmiao (adapted from “Remains of Distant Antiquity” video installation at installation for the “Haiyang: 25 Years of Successful Government” exhibition, Haiyan Museum). (Bottom) Reconstruction of early middle phase Xiantanmiao (adapted from “Remains of Distant Antiquity” video installation at installation for the “Haiyang: 25 Years of Successful Government” exhibition, Haiyan Museum) (image shows public cemetery (left) and collective house (right)

formed a north row and south row. A depressed area separating the two rows was dotted with wells and ash pits, among other remains. Essentially any burial at this phase would run around the platform perimeters, with a particularly strong concentration on the east and west flanks. House-like architectural remains were irretrievable, owing to serious damage at the top of platforms, though there was exist a high degree of similarity between the structure, rows, and number of stages at Puanqiao (Fig. 4.4). This convinces us that the form and structure of platform units would have been identical as well, namely square or rectangular residential architecture erected on the platforms and covering an area of 20–30 m2 , some with internal compartmentalization, and stoves and ponds among the internal and external infrastructure.2 Since the platform architecture would have been built and abandoned on several occasions, the platform was actually the stage foundation, used for architectural units at these different phases. South row platforms 1 through 3 are arrayed from east to west and each over ten meters apart. M101, on the east slope of Stage 3, is superimposed by the westward 2 Qin Ling. “Investigating the Prehistoric Social Structure in the Taihu Lake Region” [环太湖地区 史前社会结构的探索] Unpublished MA Dissertation, Peking University.

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Small Earth Platforms 4

Embanked earth10

Small Earth Platforms 1

Small Earth Platforms 4

Embanked earth10

Small Earth Platforms 2

Small Earth Platforms 3

Fig. 4.3 Distribution of Early Middle Phase Remains at Xiantanmiao (square features represent Small Earth Platforms, with numbers given; areas of embanked earth also labeled)

Fig. 4.4 Small earth platform 1

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expansion of a separate, unidentified stage. The three south row stages in the excavated area therefore constitute at least four individual stages. Small Earth Platform 4 and Small Earth Platform 5 have already been revealed in the north row, and it is possible that individual units may have been added to the east on either row. Through an exploratory trench we dug on a north–south axis we now understand there were no other rows of such stages on site—the inhabited area of the contemporary settlement must have consisted of the two parallel rows of small earthen stages (with buildings) as the essential layout of the site. If we suppose that small earth platforms were distribution in similar density and with a similar form in the unexcavated east portion, then, inferring by stage width, the each stage must have contained between 5 and 6 stages, with a total of 10–12 for the entire site. When platform residents died, they were buried around their homes. When graves increased beyond the number of available burial plots, each platform was then embanked and expanded to the west or east to accommodate more burials. Such expansion took place on multiple occasions. Over the long run, this meant that neighboring platforms gradually neared one another and finally formed an integrated rectangular stage. Stage architecture would be compromised and rebuilt many times throughout this process, which would overlap with the burial processes. This explains the complicated strati-graphic relationship between individual buildings and surrounding burials. Destruction through historic and modern extraction of earth is the sole reason why nothing remains of the stoves, walls, and posts of these buildings, and why the majority of burials stick out on the periphery. Going by observations of the stratigraphy near to Platforms Two, Three, and Five, and fusing this with typological analysis of the burial artifacts, we can draw out closely linked early and late stage for the middle phase. The early middle phase represented the Late Songze, the late middle period the Early Liangzhu. When the layout is examined, a clear correspondence does hold between early phase burials and the earthen stages, the latter primarily situated in the expanded surrounding sections of the stages or at the stage bases. Sometimes extreme congestion results in a partial interruption of features, or else original burial orientation is sacrificed due to spatial restrictions, while the center of the stage remains absolutely off bounds for burial with the architecture itself already built. Later burials from this early phase suffer from major damage, though their overall positions overlap with early burials. Likewise the burials do not enter the heart of the stage platform. It is probable that the architectural units of this period remained essentially in situ, without any major relocation.

4.2 Early Middle Phase Remains These platforms were embanked more or less simultaneously. In each case earth was embanked and burials placed on either flank, based on actual needs. Mounds drew ever closer in many areas, resulting in partial overlap. Since each expansion was self-managed by the inhabitants of any one stage, we detect differences in both the

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sources of the embanked earth and period of construction, and subsequent contrasts in soil texture and coloration in these extensions. The eastern extension of Small Earth Platform One, for example, is a slightly sandy tan, while the western extension of Small Earth Platform Two is a black-mottled gray soil, drawn from an aqueous sediment, with use of the cob (grass-mixed mud) technique. When site profiles were revealed, the embanked earth of various source and textures was revealed in a curved corner at the north and south extremes of the platform intersections, providing a clear demonstration of the borders for embanking in each case. In making use of the stage itself, individuals also constructed attached installations such as ash pits and wells in the sunken area between stages. Eight ash pits and four wells correspond with the early phase small earth platform remains. The ash pits are differently sized and irregularly shaped, and appear from their contents to be primarily daily refuse tips containing sherds of pottery, clods of charred earth, and animal bones. The majority are distributed in the groove of the depression between the north and south rows, forming a garbage pit that matched to the buildings above. The wells are distributed in relatively dense fashion, but are limited in number, and do not necessarily match up with individual platforms. They therefore belong to a kind of public infrastructure for the entire settlement. Clearly, there were differences in exterior structure, means of construction and expansion, and sources of embanked earth for all platforms in this early middle phase. This is an indication that their construction was primarily brought about by the corresponding social units. Distribution of corresponding ditches and ash pits and other auxiliary remains shows that the same unit was most likely a freestanding firstlevel site unit with its own production and consumption. There was wealth disparity between units, as is strikingly expressed in the means of platform construction, quality of grave goods, and in particular the quality and quantity of jades and other valuable consumer products. There was, simultaneously, a divergence in the population scale between units—and this seems to be in precise correlation to burial rank, possibly signifying that the wealth gap at the site bore some concrete connection to the volume of labor per unit—units with a high volume of labor, or units with outstanding pottery production technology, had a higher level of expenditure. For Xiantanmiao, situated in the plains, jade was a resource in very short supply. It had to be introduced through trade. A portion of child burials hold jade grave goods, telling us that wealth was under individual unit ownership, transferred through some system of kin-based inheritance. Each burial belongs to its own unit. This suggests that the individual felt the strongest sense of belonging for this first-level unit. These units were independent of one another to an impressive degree. Under certain circumstances, the unit wielded authority over a member’s life or death. An analysis based on comparison of grave goods reveals that relative equality was held within the unit and its members: there was no obvious male–female disparity, but grave goods in child burials were relatively few. While emphasizing the base-level organizational independence corresponding to the small earth platform, we have also noticed the brand of strict order with which these individually operating platforms were arrayed in rows—the formation of these

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symmetrical north–south rows was clearly the outcome of management and control. A settlement-level administration must have been present.

4.2.1 Late Middle Phase Remains As time marched on, the extensions to the earth platforms brought them even closer. This was followed by a major change in platform structure, witnessed in the appearance of an integrated banked level for the north edges, resulting in pair of north and south rectangular earth platforms, which emerged from the original sets. The southern rectangular platform would then continually expand to the north. These expansionary activities were the result of united effort in the southern rectangular platform: the expanded embanked layers were even and uniform, with highly uniform soil texture and hue. Deposits from everyday inhabitation trapped between layers associated with the expansion, as well as layers of architectural debris, were still found only partially and discontinuously. So we still infer the presence of a number of individual architectural units within the unified platform construction, despite the absence of architectural evidence. The north platform was still in use for the expansion of the southern earth platform, though its width and scale from north to south remained essentially unchanged—it seems to have merely been embanked and raised in height. Such united means of construction was prolonged through the late period (i.e., the Middle and Late Liangzhu), with the north edge of continuously expanded southern platform superimposing on the northern platform throughout, developing into a near-rectangular high earth platform. This high earth platform has been severely damaged, but a large Late Liangzhu burial containing jade grave goods was discovered in the surviving northeast corner, while architectural waste and daily refuse on the elevated platform indicates the ongoing operation of a combined burial and building model during this late period. Judging from the late phase burials, grave good types increased, proof of a more sophisticated and plentiful life on the part of inhabitants. Inter-burial differences were mostly expressed in differences in the extravagance of jades. Burials M67 and M104 belong to a single unit and are both infant burials, the former a crude burial pit containing a single pottery ware, the latter a large burial pit with a raw earth secondary-tier platform, meticulously researched coffin arrangement featuring innercoffin and outer-coffin, and a square wooden foundation underneath the inner-coffin. M104’s grave goods amount to a total of 15 jade, stone, pottery ware, tooth tools, and bone tools. These included daily-use wares such as ding-cauldron, dou-stemmed cup, pen-basin, and hu-flask, and also stone yue-battle ax, tooth arrowhead, a deer-horn shoe-shaped implement (lujiao xueqi), and six jade adornments, a scale already far exceeding ordinary contemporary adult burials (Fig. 4.5). The tomb occupant was a six-year-old infant, an individual most likely unable to be engaged in production, but nonetheless interred with complete weapons and production tools such as the battleax, arrowhead, and a shoe-shaped implement, an indication of a system of inherited wealth based on kinship relations, of the manufacture of differentials in power and

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Fig. 4.5 Infant Burial M104 at Xiantanmiao

equality with rankings seniority and gender, and the possibility that primogeniture (possibly accounting for girls) inheritance was already in existence. Platforms 1–3 were expanded in the united effort, as independent small earth platforms grew to form a united rectangular platform in the late phase, even though Platform 4 did not “join the team.” This shows that differences in kin proximity existed between these independent small platforms on either row, that some neighboring stages may have enjoyed closer relations. Hence a lower-level structure formed of different degrees of kinship between a number of stages might exist beneath the

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rank organization represented by the “rowed earthen stage,” a structure that must have been present in the early phase as well, only expressed in a concealed manner. Considering this close relationship between neighboring small earth platforms, we know their placement was the result of artificial arrangement. It is even extremely likely that one of the closely allied stages would have served as the mother stage, the reminder resulting from branching and outward expansion. When we now look back on Small Earth Platform 1, we see the burials belong to a relatively early age, that trash from the original stage was processed on the east and north faces, that Small Earth Platform 2 was erected on the east side at a later date, shifting the focus of garbage disposal to the north side, meaning that Small Earth Platform 1 must have been ancestral to Platforms 1–3, that the independent Small Earth Platform 2 and Small Earth Platform 3 gradually split from the former as population expanded. The later phase laid emphasis on this kinship relationship, thus the rectangular stage was formed. Under certain circumstances the leaders of this group could unite and reallocate the labor force of its sub-units to complete collective tasks such as stage expansions. Possibly other stages to the east side possessed a similar structure. The settlement typified by this platform shape, therefore, contained a four-layer internal organization—the individual small platform, the small platform group, the row, and the full settlement. The strict organizational structure expressed in the layout of middle phase Xiantanmiao was necessarily the outcome of specific social relationships. From the quadripartite organization at Xiantanmiao we see a relationship cut from the same cloth as the settlements of the Daxi Culture and early Qujialing Culture in the middle Yangtze. According to research conducted by Zhao Hui, burials typified by the Huachenggang Site in Anxiang County, Hunan can be split into four levels of burial row, burial group, burial cluster, and burial zone. The orderly rule between layers reveals to us rather strong site discipline. A minimum of three rows of buildings spread across the Baligang Site in Dengzhou, Henan—each row formed of a number of houses in a direct east–west row, each house divided into bays, the longer containing seven (bays or sets) and the shorter containing three (bays or sets). Accordingly, we can draw out four ranks in the building cluster at Baligang—the bay, building, row and village. Zhao Hui believes that building rank and burial level exist in one-to-one correspondence and reflect the following social arrangement: Burial Group = Single Bay of House = Nuclear Family Burial Cluster = Single House = Expanded Family Burial one = Row of Houses = Large Family (Generational Lineage Cluster) Cemetery = Village = Clan (?)

The four-level structure at Xiantanmiao consisted of individual earth stage, earth stage group, the row of earth stages, and the entire settlement. Puanqiao was only partially excavated, exposed at the scale of individual earth platform or platform group. The similarity between the two sites does reflect on the typicality of such a structural form in the contemporary base-level settlement. But form is but a reflection of content, so how would structure correspond with social organization?

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Burials belonged to small earth platforms, which were already established as house foundations. The burial would therefore reflect individual organization of the stage inhabitants. Examining age and gender distribution, most stage burials were those of closely related adult males, adult females, and children. Children had rights of property inheritance, an indication that a community of kinship bonds must have occupied the houses on these stages. The elevated area of each stage covered an area of around 50–60 m2 . Referring toF3 at Puanqiao, we can infer that the residential area must have been around 20–30 m2 . In such an area the only possible kinship organization would have consisted of the nuclear family of a husband-wife and their unmarried children. If average life expectancy was 30 years, we infer that the contemporary nuclear family would have numbered between 4-5 individuals. Small Earth Platform 5 was relatively well preserved: it contained approximately 11 early phase burials, with two rough pottery styles. Going by experience in the periodization of Shang and Han pottery, the difference in styles would seem to signify a timespan of around a century or longer.3 If a husband-wife pair represents a single generation, and if we remove the factor of a single infant burial, we calculate that these graves cover five generations of continuous development, with a generation being added once every two decades on average. The results of analyzing tomboccupant ages likewise support a corresponding relationship between small earth platform and nuclear family. We can therefore use this total of 10–12 small earth stages at Xiantanmiao can to infer a contemporary population of between 40 and 60 individuals. We can follow up this understanding with the relatively intimate ties of the stage group that was established in chronological order from Small Earth Platform 1— Small Earth Platform—Small Earth Platform 3—equivalent to a two or three bay (suite) house at Balidang, surely typifying an expanded family formed of three nuclear families. That both the small earth stage and the long earth stage were organized around kinship connections allows the further deduction that parallel long earth stages were planned for essentially the same purpose. It remains unknown whether an identically grouped extended platform could be found on the east side. If so, then there would most likely be some kinship relationship at the lineage level between these two extended families and their corresponding long platforms. But we lack sufficient guiding evidence on the connections between the two rows. We are merely inclined, for the reasons stated above, to believe inhabitants may have emerged from the same group of blood relationships, though their connections would be a grade weaker. Considering settlement scale at Xiantanmiao, the pair may belong to one large lineage or small clan with a common apical ancestor. It is in this late phase that relatively high rank and scale becomes clear in burials in the groove between Small Earth Platform 2 and Small Earth Platform 3. This is in illuminating contrast to the long-term weakening of the north row, and provides the strongest explanation for the continuous expansion of the south row and its ultimate annexation of the north. Structurally speaking the early phase north and north rows lay 3

Hui (2000).

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in symmetrical opposition, which reflects an essential balance in the corresponding social organization of the lineage vis-à-vis the entire settlement. Such equilibrium is broken in the late phase, and the south stretch elongated platform carries on with its continuous expansion from Platform 1 through Platform 10, large burials containing high-rank jade superimposing on the north section during the late period. Meanwhile the width and height of the north and south of the earth platforms increases without pause, though their east–west dimensions remain essentially unchanged. Such a process reminds us that the small-scale expanded family was the basic unit for the development of internal settlement differentiation that began in the Early Liangzhu. During this uninterrupted expansion in rank differences within the family, differentiations were also expanded among the members themselves. Judging from the five platforms at Xiantanmiao, the most painstaking construction was carried out at early phase Small Earth Platform 2. Here the burials are relatively high rank, with rather notable increases in jade counts (Fig. 4.6). Nuclear family heads of this time would most likely have been the clan chiefs for the entire village as well as, naturally, the concurrent heads of subordinate lineages or expanded families. The late phase nuclear family of Small Earth Stage 3 had coopted the earlier family of Small Earth Platform 2, and were a standout group in grave good volume and numbers of jades (Fig. 4.7). Burial numbers and population at Small Earth Platform 2 were drastically cut down on at this time. This may have been the cause of this family’s decline. It is quite apparent that some close kinship relationship kept Small Earth Platforms 1–3 tightly connected, as they had previously joined efforts to expand

Grave good counts

Comparing Early Phase Grave Goods

Tooth and bone tools Jades Stone tools Potteries

West Section Small Earth Platform 1, of Platform West

Small Small Earth Earth Platform 1, Platform 1, East North

Small Earth Platform 2, West

Small Earth Platform 2, East

Small Earth Platform3, East

East Section Small Earth of Platform Platform 4

Small Earth Platform 5, West

Small Earth Platform 5, East

Fig. 4.6 Comparing Early Phase Grave Goods (y-axis shows grave good counts, x-axis shows individual burials (“M”) at specific platforms, namely, from left to right, “West Section of Platform”, “Small Earth Platform 1, West”, “Small Earth Platform 1, East”, “Small Earth Platform 1, North”, “G5” (Ditch 5), “Small Earth Platform 2, West”, “Small Earth Platform 2, East”, “Small Earth Platform3, East “, “East Section of Platform” “Small Earth Platform 4”, “Small Earth Platform 5, West”, “Small Earth Platform 5, East”; Legend: Light blue for tooth and bone tools, yellow for jades, red for stone tools and blue for potteries)

Grave good counts

Small Earth Platform 2 Small Earth Platform 3

East Section Small Earth of Platform 4 Platform

Small Earth Platform 5

Tooth and bone tools Jades Stone tools Potteries

Fig. 4.7 Comparing Late Phase Grave Goods (y-axis shows grave good counts, x-axis shows individual burials (“M”) at specific platforms, namely, from left to right, “West Section of Platform”, “Small Earth Platform 2”, “Small Earth Platform 3”, “East Section of Platform” “Small Earth Platform 4”, “Small Earth Platform 5”; Legend: Light blue for tooth and bone tools, yellow for jades, red for stone tools and blue for potteries)

West Section of Platform

Comparing Late Phase Grave Goods

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their stages, and we believe a sibling-like connection would have held between major members of these families. We are reminded that aside from the primary model of inheritance of wealth and power from the father to son in these nuclear families, a subsidiary system of inheritance from elder to younger brother might have been in place, there to guarantee smooth inheritance within the grander kinship system. The Xiantanmiao Site grew from the surrounding defensive trench, a focused distribution of village burials and communal cooking lifestyle expressed through ash pits, as seen in the Early Songze, through centering on independent earth platforms during the Late Songze, a full-bodied emphasis on the independence of the individual family economy in its characteristic settlement, through a foundation in the individual family accompanied by strengthened lineage control of settlement during the Early Liangzhu, a vivid reflection of internal settlement transformation through the process of social complexification. Considered overall, rice production in Liangzhu Culture determined the downsizing of settlement scale that catalyzed a system of private family property ownership that emerged as the essential form of Liangzhu society and economy and the bedrock for the Liangzhu state. We might infer alongside this that families within these settlements may be self-managed and done so on the strength of such ties.

4.3 Second-rank Settlement Structure and Analysis The second-rank settlement of Liangzhu Culture was also a first-rank “city” settlement. These can be understood as the central settlement of several zones. Our current understanding of these regional central sites in Jiangsu and Shanghai mostly comes from differentiating burial rank, though we still lack a clear understanding of settlement structure. Classic examples of settlements at this rank include Yujiashan in the Linping Site Cluster, and Yaojiadun in the Liangzhu Site Cluster. The third-rank settlement was the basic settlement for agricultural production, where farming land was an indispensable factor. The dotted spread of these settlements was in actual fact the consequence of the logical objectives of opening up such land. To present we have been unable to locate the actual paddy fields in the majority of cases, the result of restrictions on excavation area and research. But by examining the fundamental settlement form in the present Taihu Lake region, where the depressed land around platform mound villages is invariably encircled by paddies and rivers, we infer a similar situation for Liangzhu. From an economic perspective, the distribution of settlement fields must have laid within arational radius. Too remote, and the distance between residential sides and the outer edges of agricultural fields would have been too far, too much time spent on the road, too much time cut off from farming—a generally inconvenient state of affairs. But settlement units could not afford to stand too close together—this would present problems in arranging the agricultural work over the area of required size such as could satisfy the survival needs of village populations. The base level Liangzhu Culture settlements at the

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Moated Community V

Moated Community II Moated Community III

Moated Community VI Denglongshan [Denglong Hill])

Moated Community I

Moated Community IV

Fig. 4.8 Yujiashan and its moated communities (Moated Community V1 at Denglongshan [Denglong Hill], all others labelled by number)

intersection of Haining and Haiyan in Zhejiang, as cited above, are a classic illustration of this settlement type. We estimate that under the productive conditions of the time the farmed area here could only have provided for the survival and development of the villagers themselves. The spatial layout at the settlements associated with the Yujiashan Site was of a different nature. The Yujiashan Site4 Yujiashan sits in the east of Yuhang District in Hangzhou, more than 20 km away from the Liangzhu Ancient City. Paddies from the Liangzhu Culture have been discovered on the south face of the Yujiashan Site, while the Hengshan Site in the southwest corner was the site of noble burials. The sites cover around 15 ha, over which a total of six neighboring intact moated Liangzhu Culture settlements have been discovered (Fig. 4.8), with an area of 3.3 ha already excavated as of 2019, a total of 581 Liangzhu Culture burials cleared, together with 27 ash pits, 11 architectural

4

Lou Hang et al. at the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (2012).

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remains, and a variety of cultural artifacts including pottery wares, stone wares and jades amounting to more than 7,000 items.5

4.3.1 Overall Layout Moated Community 1: At present, most of the west side moat has been discovered. The trench adopts is square overall, with a “丁” turn in the northeast corner, stretching north and linking with Moat 3. With sides of 134–155 m lengths, it covers an area of over 2.5 ha, with around 1 hectare excavated. The moat width varies between 3.35 and 15.20 m, and the depth from 0.60 to 1.25 m. The community contains burials, buildings, ash pits and a sandy layer. 303 Liangzhu Culture burials and 8 buildings have been cleared, with the most numerous jades—110 pieces or sets—unearthed from Burial 200. Moated Community 2: roughly 100 m long from east to west, and around 40 m wide from north to south (though only part of the east stretch survives). The trench is widest at the northeast corner, reaching a width of 6 m and a depth of 0.75 m (excluding originally excavated trench pits). The trench covers an area of around one hectare. Over 3000 m2 have been excavated and 47 burials cleared. Stones were set out at a part of the inner edge of the trench, near to the earth platform, and a relative abundance of sherds found from ordinary-use pottery. Moated Community 3: 130 m long from east to west, and 75 m wide from north to south, covering an area of nearly a hectare. 85 burials and 2 buildings from the Liangzhu Culture have been cleared. Inside H18 we discovered our first oar from Liangzhu Culture, reflecting capabilities in water transport associated with the moat. We also discovered remains of sandy layering within the area circumscribed by the trench. Moated Community 4: 90 m long from east to west, 57 m wide from north to south, covering an area of 5300 m2 . 2000 m2 have been excavated, 49 burials, and 1 building cleared. Moated Community 5: roughly 120 m long, covering an area of 1.5 ha. The area has mostly been destroyed, and only the southeast corner remains. 61 burials were cleared. Moated Community 6 (Longdengshan): the trench has sides of near 90 m length and covers a total area of nearly 8000 m2 , of which 7500 m2 have been excavated. 36 burials were cleared, with jade cong and red-lacquer handle stone yue-battle ax among the unearthed artifacts. The layout of these moated communities is generally square with rounded corners, and the sites are roughly oriented along a north–south axis. While excavating the trench we found the area above partly raised to form earth platforms for houses and burials. A relatively large number of excavation pits of various depths and sizes 5 Report by Lou Hang on 2018 archaeological work at Yujiashan by the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

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can be found at the lower sections and periphery. The completed moat could both serve defensive purposes and also provide water transport and usage capabilities. From the intramural stretch, it would appear that the moats remained in continued use from the Early Liangzhu through Late Liangzhu, though in some cases, such as Moated Community 4, only Late Liangzhu artifacts were found. Hence the moated communities belong to different periods but existed contemporaneously during the Late Liangzhu. With prolonged site use and the discarding of everyday refuse, the moat was gradually filled and lost part of its defensive function. Yujiashan is formed of six such communities. Each contain internal burials and buildings, and were in reality six complete settlements. Different from the hilly slope environment at the nearby Maoshan Site, these individual units at Yujiashan were all earth mounds constructed on flat land. Moated Community 4 was the smallest, with an area of 5300 m2 , equivalent to base level settlements like Xiantanmiao. Moated Community 1 was the largest and had an area of around 2.5 ha, though it still falls within the ambit of base level settlement. Examining the grid layout of these individual settlements, all but the area verging on the northeast corner of Moated Community 5, namely Moated Community 6, Moated Community 2, Moated Community 3, and Moated Community 4 orbited the grandest of them all—Moated Community 1, from which they maintained a distance of only 30–40 m, and a mere 100+ meters at furthest remove. The moat of Moated Community 3 feeds through to Moated Communities 1 and 2, showing their close relationship. Through a survey focused on the local rice agriculture, we learned that neither these individual units nor the entire unoccupied peripheral space featured remains of any Liangzhu rice paddies. In the above we have analyzed the spacing of base level settlements like Xiantanmiao and the distribution of inter-settlement paddy fields. Despite the formal similarity between the Yujiashan communities and the base Liangzhu settlement, the former is subject to different organization relative to the general scattered form of base settlements. This suggests a kinship relationship between moated communities at Yujiashan. The separation between moats would have been unable to accommodate an area of rice paddies sufficient to sustain the settlement population, given the standards of rice cultivation in Liangzhu. Grain supplies at these settlements must therefore have been imported. Detailed drilling of an area in a one kilometer radius of the site has not revealed any site spread, meaning the six moated communities of Yujiashan formed a fully self-contained settlement group. This organizational form both differed from the earth mounds of the base settlement and from the exact city wall and periphery structure of the Liangzhu Ancient City. It appears to have been an intermediate form in the transformation from base settlement to city. We therefore regard it as a primary-rank or secondary-rank settlement at an intermediate level among the Liangzhu settlements. Each moated community at the Yujiashan Site corresponds to a settlement unit with an integrated internal structure, though lacking in the system of paddy fields that could provide for self-sufficiency. At present we lack any precise grasp of the specific means of operation of these settlements, though their concentrated distribution exhibits a fundamental difference from the scattered spread of base settlements around paddy fields. Yujiashan had, after all, already turned its back on the

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economic principles of the latter. Xu Hong, who examined a number of Longshan Culture proto-urban sites, discovered that “none were erected on the site of previous central settlements—the Longshan city was built on different terrain, relative to these early sites.”6 Professor Xu would explain the phenomenon as “the shift from public space to a space of authority.” Hence, suppose we consult Xu’s judgment, then the appearance of settlement groups such as Yujiashan must not have been the result of economic decision making but there to emphasize the formalistic spatial reflection in the thinking of some religious or secular authority. As seen from the distribution of individual settlement units, central Moated Community 1 was the largest and the remaining, smaller settlements were spread around it. The rank of burials and buildings in the former was strikingly higher, proving that an undeniable rank distinction and hierarchical relationship had already formed above the level of the moated community itself. As we have learned from our analysis of the base settlement at Xiantanmiao above, any settlement contained a four-level structure running from the individual family, through extended family, lineage and clan. Aside from the internal four-part grading above, the spatial relationship between the group of individual settlement units at Yujiashan also displays relationships internal to the moated settlements themselves. We should note that moats wrap around each individual unit at Yujiashan and separate communities by several dozen or upwards of one hundred meters, demonstrating that unambiguous borders existed between moats, while no city wall-type infrastructure around the six settlements would emphasize their overall structural integrity— evidently lineages of common kinship in each settlement exhibited a powerful degree of independence. The six moated communities at Yujiashan were not built at the same time either—the artifacts would seem to suggest that Moated Community 1, Moated Community 2, Moated Community 5, and Moated Community 6 emerged in the transitional phase between Songze Culture and Liangzhu Culture, and remained in operation until the Late Liangzhu. Moated Community 3, meanwhile, appeared in the Middle Liangzhu, with Moated Community 4 emerging simultaneously or at a slightly later date. Moated Community 3 is distinguished by its location at the northeast corner of Moated Community 1 with which it shares an extreme proximity, the west section of the moat directly linking up with the east moat of Moated Community 1, a demonstration of some particularly close connection. Moated Community 3 is at the same time linked with Moated Community 2 as well, a site that sat closest to Moated Community 1 in the early days of Yujiashan. It is therefore possible that Moated Community 2 decamped from Moated Community 1 and so in kinship terms is a child of the latter. Then, by the Middle Liangzhu, Moated Community 1 had branched out to the additional Moated Community 3, meaning this trio of settlements would enjoy extremely close ties. Meanwhile, although Moated Community 5 of the Early Liangzhu and Moated Community 4 of the Middle Liangzhu belong to the same site, both were situated at a noticeable remove and mutually connected through a water course. It is possible that these remaining moated communities, rather than enjoying kinship ties with Moated Community 1, shared a territorial point formed 6

Hong (2000).

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of other factors. Thus Yujiashan was a new form of settlement grouping that brought together both kinship and non-kinship ties—it redefined the role that each settlement had to play in the community and thus formed a network of social actors of greater complexity.

4.3.2 Individual Settlement Structure Moated Community 1 is the best preserved of the six settlements, and has the most broadly exposed surface. We take it as a sample for the analysis of this settlement structure (Fig. 4.9), a similar structure being displaced in site phenomena at the remaining five settlements. Most of the west section of Moated Community 1 has already been excavated. By observing the site layout (Fig. 4.9) we discover that the excavated cemetery generally divides into three rows spread from north to south. Two “sandy earth remains” laid out in a stony sludge were also cleared, and burial distribution was connected with these remains. We discovered three additional square zones that might be buildings’ remains. The residential remains in the south row include two buildings’ remains and Sandy Layer Remains 2. The latter is situated in the southeast section of settlement’s earth platform. It is a square remains with side lengths of 8–10 m and a thickness of around 0.15 m, covering an area of 80 m2 , with a single pottery ware gang-vat interred above. We believe the sandy layer remains served as an inhabited area on the earth platform. Sandy Layer Remains II resembles the shape and scale of the small earth stages at Xiantanmiao and Puanqiao to an extreme degree. Yet the majority of burials are also distributed at the sides, only broken through by a single burial, which tells us that the intervening empty space would have been dotted with buildings over a relatively lengthy period. A building of around 70–80 m2 in area would likely, in this fashion, have corresponded with a single nuclear family. The perimeter graves represented family burials from different time periods. Similar are the two square stage foundations on the west side of Sandy Layer Remains II, whose surrounding burials occupied a similar relationship to the overall site. Sandy Layer Remains I is situated in the heart of Moated Community 1 and runs for around 70 m from east to west and between 7.8 and 19 m from north to south, with a maximum thickness of 0.15 m and extending over around 1000 m2 . The area suffered partial destruction in its late period. Post pit remains F3-F5 were discovered on the surface. Graves were laid out across the north and south flanks, proving the periods of these remains equated to the same period of the middle and late phase at Xiantanmiao, when the small earth platforms in the latter fused to form a rectangular earthen platform. There was a square occupied stage in the northeast corner of the remains. A row of burials in the northern extreme of the settlement corresponded to a residential unit on the west flank of the burials. As of writing, only a single earth platform has been uncovered here, and may have belonged to an individual family.

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55 North

Houses Family 7 North row family (individual families indicated to left); Family 6 Houses Family 4

Family 5

Expanded central row family

Large burials

Houses

Houses

Sandy layer remains I

Houses

Family 3

Expanded south row family Family 1

Family 2

Sandy layer remains II Houses

Houses

Fig. 4.9 Structure and Organizational Relationships at Moated Settlement 1, Yujiashan (top level: north row family (individual families indicated to left); middle level: expanded central row family with families indicated in upper component, “large burials” in blue, sandy layer remains to the south, and “buildings” to the west (all in green); lower level: expanded south row family with houses in green, family units in red lines, and a “sandy layer remains II”

In terms of internal structure, Moated Community 1 is very much like Xiantanmiao and Puanqiao. For example, the settlement divides into a number of east–west small earth stages, with individuals inhabiting either these stages or rectangular stages, family burials interred at the platform periphery, and a system of generational inheritance employed for position and wealth. Internal rank differences are also manifested through the unit of the nuclear family, with one small earth platform matching onto one such nuclear household, one row corresponding to an expanded family or small lineage, and the three rows constituting the entire moated community corresponding with a lineage of share kinship.

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Sandy Layer Remains 1 represents an expanded family or a small lineage. We now offer a focused analysis of burial distribution on the north flank. The most visual impression we receive of burial distribution in this region is that of a marked division in burial rank within the same row. This can be seen with the naked eye from the size of the burial pits. As evident in Fig. 4.9, all west flank burials were small graves that split into two groups and seem to correspond with a pair of buildings on the west flank of the remains—we infer that these burials represent two nuclear families. Of these, the east–west row on the east side of the east nuclear family burial zone are all large burials. The freestanding small earth stage in the northeast section of Sandy Earth Remains I must be a separate family, with burials running in a line from north to south on the west flank. Burials abutting the earth stage on the north side are of a somewhat lower rank, but heading south, and nearing Sandy Layer Remains 1, we find large burials. The latter holds an enormous volume and stretch for nearly 50 m from north to south, occupying fully one-third of the extent of the remains. The six burials belonging to family five in Fig. 4.9 emerged relatively early and included M149 (male) and M200 (female), the highest ranking of the Early Liangzhu burials. Jade cong, trident-shaped vessel, crown-shaped combs, spinning wheels, and grouped zhui-awl-shaped vessels, as well as red-lacquer handle stone yue-battle ax and pottery ware gang-vat emerged from M149, the highest rank male burial at the site. M200 is the highest ranked Yujiashan burial thus found. After the cemetery at Yaoshan, it is also the highest rank noble large female burial yet to be discovered in north Zhejiang for the Early Liangzhu. Flat-peak carved-pattern crown-shaped combs, cong-style zhuo-bracelet, dragon-head pattern zhui-awl-shaped vessel, bi-dagger-shaped vessel, and matched chopstick-shaped artifacts (Figs. 4.10 and 4.11) were unearthed from the burial. These extremely-high rank burials occupied a position in the very center of the second row of burials. On the east flank, the three burials belonging to family six had suffered terrible damage, though judging by burial pit they were larger than the central graves. Lou Hang, who led the excavation at Yujiashan, informs us that the burials date approximately to the Middle Liangzhu. It is possible that, following the three burials, the platform may have reached its eastern limit, and the set orientation for later burials was therefore completely adjusted so that it spread out to the north flank, where burials date approximately to the Late Liangzhu, with classic late burials where carved bi-disc have been unearthed. There is evidence of the noble burials of male and female graves laid together, hinting at possible husband-wife relations. Let us now analyze noble burials covering the Early Liangzhu through Late Liangzhu periods: Initially, this group—and burials of two nuclear families in the western extreme— both belong to Sandy Earth Remains I. As we have analyzed above, this variety of rectangular earth stage was occupied by an extended family or small lineage with kinship relations. We therefore know a kinship connection linked the occupants of these noble burials with the two nuclear families to the west. Does this mean these noble burials belong—like Small Earth Mound 2 and Small Earth Mound 3 at Xiantanmiao—to an independent nuclear family? A detailed analysis of this situation must await the publication of excavation materials. Lou Hang informs us that the special row layout of this noble cemetery affords a whole new

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Potteries

Full and Partial View

Fig. 4.10 Full and partial view of excavated potteries at Burial M200, Yujiashan

M200 Excavated Jades at Burial

Fig. 4.11 Excavated Jades at Burial M200, Yujiashan

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understanding of their structural relationship. In this group of orderly rowed burials, those in the western extreme belong to the Early Liangzhu, those in the east to the Middle Liangzhu, while the burials behind the ultimate turn to the north are Late Liangzhu. In other words, the position of burials in the east side had already been mapped out when the noble burial M200 was interred during the Early Liangzhu, with space left for centuries of inheriting descendants. Nobles may have at first belonged to Family 5, though by the Middle Liangzhu and after, beginning with the three eastern burials, the source of noble graves might have changed to Family 6, with a resulting lacuna for the noble burials of Family 5, who adjusted to a northoriented row. If we grant that people were laid out by nuclear family, then based on our calculation of average mortality of 22.5 years from our research at Xiantanmiao, each nuclear family should have in theory experienced an average of 4.4 generations per century, with a total of 8.8 deceased spouses, a number which excludes non-adult or early deaths. There were many underage burials in the prehistoric cemeteries we have mentioned above. Determining from the excavated objects, the timespan of this batch of noble burials in the north side of Sandy Earth Remains I extends over five centuries. In theory, a nuclear family would have passed through around 22 husband and wife pairs in this stretch of time, a total of 44 individuals. When we consider underage burials, this figure of 44 stands for a theoretical lower limit. Yet there remain only 20 burials at present, burials for which we have discovered enormous pits, meaning they must have been adult burials and there were no children’s graves. Using this evidence it would seem that the variety of noble cemeteries in this instance may only have interred adults (and their spouses) who had successfully achieved a certain role in society, eschewing a mixed burial of all family members per nuclear family precedent. It is possible that these nobles emerged from the nuclear families on the west side and north side and were the generational leaders of either lineage. They were not only family heads for the small lineage as stood for by the row of earth platforms and concurrently representatives of the entire moated community, but among the highest ranked individuals of the entire sextet of moated communities, having exceeded the spatial authority of the individual moated community to become the administrative and religious leaders of the entire “city” or indeed the entirety of the Linping Site Cluster. We have simultaneous evidence of apparent side-by-side husband-wife burials with this variety of family member. We have therefore emphasized this concept of nuclear family. We see different classic vessel assemblages among Liangzhu noble burial grave goods based on a gender divide, a demonstration of the fundamentally different social roles undertaken by man and woman. Since it was impossible for the husband-wife pair of every period to undertake administrative and religious roles simultaneously, it is more likely the companion enjoyed burial at the site through elevation to the noble position of their spouse. At the same time, a large number of burial plots within the cemetery were retained for nobles above the lineage’s scope of authority, an indication that those wielders of social authority did not emerge from some free struggle but could be foreseen and were inevitably the products of such a lineage. The probability is higher, therefore, that this public power manifested through kingly or godly authority would have been inherited through kinship ties.

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When we move from the early period nobles emerging from Family Five to the middle and late period nobles possibly emerging from Family Six, it explains the possible presence of elder-brother/ younger-brother inheritance as an auxiliary to the system of inheritance, a back-up for the tradition of the nuclear family, a guarantee that when the direct line could not be continued, authority could be carried over within expanded family or small lineage, without falling by the wayside. Therefore the lineage with its residence in the middle row of Moated Community 1 was the “divine lineage” of the “city” at Yujiashan. The social role undertaken and social power implemented by these nobles invariably far exceeded the scope of the native lineage. Would this mean there were buildings and ritual spaces related to this variety of social authority, such as palaces, shrine temples, and squares? This remains a difficult question to call, given the desolation of the Sandy Earth Remains 1 and the current lack of detailed excavated materials. But considering the state of the excavated area, such ritualistic architecture, even if it was present on Sandy Earth Remains 1 or elsewhere, would likewise be restricted to the moated community occupied by the clan: it would not have taken up a particularly enormous volume or expressed any especially elite form. We can thereby infer that these nobles exercised a relatively relaxed administration and control over other members of the moated community. They may only have employed some direct or indirect leadership over the various clan heads. A kinship system operated throughout the internal mechanics of the Yujiashan moated communities.

4.3.3 Group Relationships at Yujiashan: Analysis and Conclusion 1.

2.

3.

Centered on a single large settlement, a number of smaller settlements were distributed around the perimeter. Each settlement represented a single clan. Some settlements may have enjoyed kinship relations with the central settlement clan, and it is possible others did not enjoy such ties. Rank differences in settlement structure are striking. The smallest unit of internal settlement clan structure was the nuclear family, and there are noticeable differences between nuclear families. A number of lineages occupied separate zones within the clan occupying the central settlement. The chieftain’s family may have exercised a social authority above and beyond the clan, possessing royal authority over the management of the entirety of the Yujiashan settlement and Linping Settlement Cluster. When such individuals died, they were buried in special zones within the lineage cemetery, interred separately from ordinary lineage members. The population that occupied the peak of this authority would seem to have exercised an administration and control above the level of kinship only as

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regards the lineage leaders of surrounding clans. The mold of kinship relationships continued to be employed for management internal to various moated communities, much like the urban and rural administrative models of historic times. Specialized ritual architecture matching this godly or kingly authority may or may not have been situated internally. There was no clearly ritual establishment.

4.3.4 Estimating the Population With detailed excavation materials yet to be published, settlement buildings and burials cannot inform us of total population figures. At present we can only deduce from what constants we have for area population. Yujiashan experienced each period of Liangzhu Culture, though its scale and population might have undergone changes in different stages, and the estimate we have, based on settlement area, reflects a peak value. Moated Community 1 has been excavated relatively intact and covers a total expanse of roughly 25,000 m2 (2.5 ha), a total population of 167–250 figuring for a population density of one individual per 100–150 m2 . We take the median value of 209. We calculate population of 80, 80, 42, 120, and 67 for Moated Community 2, Moated Community 3, Moated Community 4, Moated Community 5, and Moated Community 6, respectively. Total internal population was therefore roughly 598 individuals. This scale clearly exceeded that of a base settlement. With the lack of paddy fields between settlement units or within one kilometer of the settlements, victuals must have been provided from beyond the perimeter. If rice constituted 50% of the diet and we calculate from a standard of 250 g of daily consumption, this amounts to a total annual expenditure of 55,000 tons for the entire settlement, or 78,000 tons with an assumed milling rate of 70%. Recent inferences on production per mu during the Liangzhu Culture period have calculated an annual production of 75 kg per mu by using analogs in tilling and seeding technologies. We infer a numerical figure of 141 kg based on the phytolith density in paddy fields. Taking an intermediate value of 100 kg for our calculations would mean an area of 780 mu was required to feed Yujiashan. This is equivalent to ten times the paddy field area for the entire Maoshan settlement. The consumption of individual members was also a factor in each base settlement. There would therefore have been serious logistical demands behind the maintenance of a settlement not directly involved in agricultural production. At present we have no way of determining the causes behind the appearance of such a settlement structure. Yaojiadun The Yaojiadun Site is located on the north shore of the Tiao Brook north of Mojiaoshan Liangzhu Ancient City. It lies on the east site of the Tangshan Site— part of the Liangzhu Period irrigation works—and is formed of seven earth mounds centered on Yaojiadun (Fig. 4.12).

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Dancengba (Single Level Dam), Lucun

Jincun

Xiebutan

Gejiacun

Yaojiadun

Wangjiazhuang

Yaolang

Fig. 4.12 Yaojiadun and Surrounding Settlements (from left to right, Dancengba (Single Level Dam), (south to north) Xiebutan, Jincun, Lucun, Yaojiadun, (north to south), Gejiacun, Wangjiazhuang, Yaolang)

The layout of Yaojiadun occupies the central plane and covers a modest area at roughly 3.5 ha. The rectangular site has elongated north–south sides and narrower east–west dimensions, and sits at a relative elevation of 2–3 m above the surrounding paddies. It is bordered by Gejiacun, Wangjiazhuang, and Yaolang to the east side, and Lucun, Jincun, and Xiebutan on the west. This six-stage mounds all lie within 100 m of Yaojiadun. The mounds have areas of between 12 ha and are themselves situated 2–3 m above the surrounding paddy fields. On the east side of Gejiacun and Wangjiazhuang was originally the Dongjin Stream, which joined with the Tiao Brook in the south and stretched to the Dazheshan [Dazhe Hill] chain in the north. A similar river trench, named Xitang River, is found on the west flank of Jincun. Scholars involved in its research believe that the southern portion of the Tiao only flowed past this site following a shift of routes during the Liangzhu Period. Mound distribution is very tightly clustered at Yaojiadun, which is a closely connected group of mounds. Several mounds have been subject to minor-scale excavation or trial excavation. Remains of a relatively high-rank Liangzhu Culture building have been discovered at Yaojiadun, and remains of an earth platform from Early Liangzhu and Middle

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Liangzhu at peripheral Lucun. 6 Middle Liangzhu burials were at one point discovered in Gejiacun, with deposits corresponding to the Lucun and Yaojiadun periods also discovered at Wangjizhuang and Jincun. Yaolang and Xiebutan are yet to be surveyed, but considering their positional distribution and their relationship to the remaining mounds, it does seem extremely likely that the remains date to Liangzhu Period. We can rest assured, therefore, that the set of mounds at Yaojiadun may have formed a united settlement, whose distributed layout bore a high degree of resemblance to Yujiashan. We remain unclear as the nature of these mounds, though the objective of building the east stretch at Tangshan was apparently to redirect water from the hill valley at the north side of the Kangmen Reservoir toward land between the mounds and thence south. We have, at the same time, found remains of jade workshops, which would place great demands on water capacity, from which associations regarding the actual use of the Yaojiadun Site inevitably follow.

4.4 Structure and Analysis of Primary-rank Settlements Primary-rank settlements indicate capital-level cities. At present, the only example we have found is the Liangzhu Ancient City, in Pingyao Township, Yuhang District. Liangzhu Ancient City exhibits a complex structure and functional planning and was far more than a simple wall around the perimeter of the Mojiaoshan distribution. The present site outlook shows a triple-layer structure consisting of the palace city, inner city, and outer city in successive order emerging from the center (Figs. 4.13 and 4.14). There is also a linked irrigation system to the north, with sacrificial altars in the hills, and near-suburban settlements and distant-suburban settlement clusters (Figs. 4.15 and 4.16). The expansiveness of this horizon and its grand scale leave us short for breath. It is the paragon of early capital cities in the Jiangnan Region, and merits the title of “China’s First City.” (Fig. 4.17). Chronological research places the construction on Liangzhu Ancient City began at around 5000 BP. Abandoned at around 4000 BP, the site underwent roughly a millennium of history. This period of abandonment lies beyond the lower limit for the survival of Liangzhu Culture, and it is possible that during this time the site underwent multiple rounds of expansion, reconstruction and abandonment. Present archaeological work cannot recreate these historic transitions in any detail, and chronological figures can only afford us a rough understanding of the successive order in the formation of the major functional zones of the city.7 First to be constructed were the irrigation system, and Fanshan and Mojiaoshan Palace Zone at around 5000–4850 BP. Bianjiashan and Meirendi, sites by the outer wall and inner wall, formed later, at around 4850–4600 BP. We have only very limited data regarding the city wall and cannot rule out the possibility that it was preceded by Bianjiashan and Meirendi.

7

Ling (2019).

4.4 Structure and Analysis of Primary-rank Settlements Fig. 4.13 3D sketches of the triple-layer structure Liangzhu Ancient City: (from top to bottom) Mojiaoshan Palace Zone (30 ha); Inner City (3 km2 ); Outer City (53 km2 )

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Mojiaoshan Palace Zone

30 hectares

Inner City

3 square kilometers

Outer City

53 square kilometers

North

Mojiaoshan

Palace Zone Feng

shan Lia

ngz

hu P

ort

Inner City Outer City

Fig. 4.14 3D sketched reconstruction of the triple-layer at Liangzhu Ancient City (top to bottom: Palace Zone, Inner City, Outer City)

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Elevated dam system Elongated dam in front of Hills

Low dam system

Liangzhu Ancient City

Fig. 4.15 Satellite image of Liangzhu ancient city and its irrigation system, 1960 (Liangzhu Ancient City labelled)

Elevated Dam at Mouth of Valley Elongated Dam in front of Hills

Low Dam in Plains

Fig. 4.16 Reconstruction of the Liangzhu Ancient City and its irrigation system (from left to right: elevated Dam at Mouth of Valley, Low Dam in Plains, Elongated Dam in front of Hills)

4.4 Structure and Analysis of Primary-rank Settlements

Palace City

Inner City

65

Outer City

Fig. 4.17 Satellite image of Liangzhu Ancient City and its triple-layer structure 1960 (from left to right: Palace City; Inner City and Outer City)

For concision’s sake, however, we only discuss settlement structure belonging to the latest phase, when all construction was complete. Our narrative proceeds in order from the inside out, from the palace city, through the inner city, thence to the outer city.

4.4.1 Palace City It is the area within the four rivers of Fig. 4.18 that we refer to as the Palace Zone. This takes in the most highly elevated site of all at Mojiaoshan, the Palace Zone at Huangfenshan, the elevated north–south ridges on the western flank of the Fanshan and Jiangjiashan cemeteries, the grain silo at Chizhongsi, the garden (Chiyuan) watershed either side of Chizhongsi, and lower-rank elevated areas at Lijiashan on the eastern flank and Maozhushan on the north. Here we discover that the four broadest trunk rivers linking with the eight city gates at Liangzhu Ancient City were precisely suited to draw a ring around a single, independent region out of the areas above. Examining a modern Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of Liangzhu Ancient City, the highest elevations may be seen for Mojiaoshan and Huangfenshan in the center, for Fanshan and Jiangjiashan in the west, and for the north–south earth ridge on which Sangshutou rests. South of

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Palace City

Inner City

Outer City

Fig. 4.18 The triple-layer layout of Liangzhu Ancient City under a modern digital elevation model (DEM) (left to right: Palace City, Inner City, Outer City)

Mojiaoshan is the Chizhongsi silo and watershed, and, aside from a stretch of water running southwest, we find Huangfenshan and the elongated ridge, like a pair of arms stretched out toward Mojiaoshan, embracing Chizhongsi and its surrounding watershed. This demonstrates that their importance merited extremely secure protection, and also reveals, simultaneously, that the infrastructure must have been under the internal management of the Palace City—like an Imperial granary. The function of Maozhushan, on the north flank of Mojiaoshan, remains unclear. Trial excavation has revealed house-style architectural remains. The various functional zones surrounded by these trunk rivers overall, form a completely functional independent zone with palace, square, homes, cemetery, silo, and garden. The highest, largest, and noblest architecture sat in the center of the city. The elongated earth ridges, topographically speaking, must have originally connected with Fengshan to the southwest, before the connection was artificially broken off for ease of river connectivity. This demonstrates the high regard paid to this zone’s position and independence, which set it apart from surrounding areas (Fig. 4.19). The zone was a fully functioning and structurally independent palace zone, similar to the Forbidden Cities in later generations.

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Fanshan

Jiangjiashan Mojiaoshan

Zhongjiagang

Chizhongsi Huangfenshan Sangshutou

Fig. 4.19 Internal functional zones within the Liangzhu Palace City (clockwise from top: Fanshan, Jiangjiashan, Mojiaoshan, Zhongjiagang, Huangfenshan, Chizhongsi, Sangshutou)

4.4.1.1

Mojiaoshan and Huangfenshan

Mojiaoshan sits in the heart of the ancient city and is its largest architectural unit. The main body is a rectangular inverted-bucket earth platform 670 m long from east to west and 450 m wide north to south and covering an area of over 30 ha, with the stage itself 13 m above the surrounding land. Three earth platforms were embanked on top in a tense tripod formation: Minor Mojiaoshan in the northwest, 100 m long (east– west) and 60 m wide (north–south) and standing at a relative height of 5 m; Major Mojiaoshan in the northeast is 180 m long from east to west and 110 m wide from north to south, and stands at a relative height of 6 m; Wuguishan (Turtle Hill), the earth platform in the southwest, shaped like a turtle’s back, is 80 m long (east–west) and 60 m wide (north–south) and 4 m high.

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The foundation of the Mojiaoshan earth platform lies on a natural hill—the east slope of Jiangjiashan—to its west, with the architecture expanding to the east and forming the inverted-bucket high platform. Drilling has indicated that the west section rises above the ease section. The west section was originally built on the slope, and the east on natural sediment at the foot of the same slope. When examined overall, therefore, the embanked earth structure at Mojiaoshan is like a steamed bun, whose filling is the soft mud, whose skin in the hardened yellow soil. Drilling also demonstrates that the sedimentation layer beneath all three stages at Mojiaoshan is relatively high, proof that these positions were already planned during foundation embanking, and the soil layers purposefully embanked higher, meaning the entire site was built in one concerted effort. We have discovered the foundational remains of 35 buildings within the Mojiaoshan palace zone, as well as one sandy-earth square (Fig. 4.20). The sandy earth square occupied the south of Major Mojiaoshan, Minor Mojiaoshan, Wuguishan and the three palatial foundations. This rough L-shaped square is spread across an area of roughly 465 m from east to west and 320 m from north to south, occupying 7 ha. It is formed of tamped mud and sandy earth, with a leveling ramming-earth technique employed, clear layering, and clear ramming holes scraped off during excavation. Up to 15 layers were found with thicknesses of 5– 25 cm and total depth of 30–60 cm at various points. Some areas such as Wuguishan had thinner tamping, though in other case the layering could reach 130 cm. The square must have been the site for major ritual events at Mojiaoshan.

Jiangjiashan Major Mojiaoshan Sandy Earth Square Wuguishan Gushangding

Fig. 4.20 Feature layout at Mojiaoshan: (clockwise from left: Jiangjiashan, (slightly south) Sandy Earth Square Major Mojiaoshan, Gushangding, Wuguishan) (buildings in yellow; Minor Mojiaoshan in green)

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Huangfenshan can be found on the southeast edge of Mojiaoshan. It was embanked upon a natural hill, its overall structure obviously manicured into two squares with touching edges. Its overall mass was less than Mojiaoshan, but it was at the same height as the latter and connected to it via a small path. It shared a similar elongated artificial platform as Mojiaoshan at Bamushan, which was laid out along a straightline axis with the former. Huangfenshan was therefore a palace-building style remains related to Mojiaoshan. Huangfenshan remains essentially a blank slate for excavation. A relatively highrank Liangzhu noble burial was, however, located on the gentle east slope of the site in recent years. The excavation of a large jade cong has also been reported on the northeast corner at Guoyuanchang. In its early years, the Yuhang Museum collected a jade turtle-like object from burial M17 at Fanshan. It is said to have emerged from the same locale. There were, therefore, at least two relatively high-rank noble burials around Huangfenshan.

4.4.1.2

The Elevated North–South Ridge

The Fanshan Royal Cemetery sits on the north edge of the elevated north–south ridge that contains the Jiangjiashan Cemetery at its center, where a large number of jade bi-disc were also unearthed in the early years, leading to the deduction that a high-rank noble burial had also occupied the site. Fanshan Cemetery is situated on the northern extreme of this ridge and runs for around 90 m from east to west and 30 m from north to south at an elevation of approximately 6 m. The Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated a third of the western portion of the cemetery in 1986. They discovered 11 large Liangzhu burials, unearthing a considerable volume of jades and stone tools, among other valuable cultural relics, in what represented the highest rank Liangzhu Culture noble cemetery (Fig. 4.21). In the basics, Fanshan can be divided into an early and late phase. The early phase is the better preserved and matches the late phase of Early Liangzhu. Late phase burials have mostly been flattened, with what remains of M19 and M21 corresponding to the Late Liangzhu.8 These dates match the construction and use of the city wall. Going by the dramatic disparity in grave good assemblages, most scholars agree that the southern file represents male burials, and the northern row females, and that north and south correspond in what might hint at a partnered connection between the tomb occupations. It would seem, judging from burial pit size, that these were all adult inhumations. Based on the high rank of Fanshan burials, most scholars believe the occupants were the equivalent of kings or consorts (Fig. 4.22). The Jiangjiashan Cemetery lies 200 m to the south of Fanshan, exactly to the west of Mojiaoshan. 14 Liangzhu burials have been discovered here. Among the grave goods are pottery ding-cauldron with gill-shaped feet, a number of which have slightly thicker edges. Filtering devices have been unearthed at two 8

Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (2005).

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Fig. 4.21 The Fanshan Cemetery

burials. The dou-stemmed cup handles have large rounded feet, reflecting Middle Liangzhu characteristics, and the form and style of unearthed jade vessels approach those unearthed at M23 in Fanshan. We infer an approximate equivalence between these Jiangjiashan burials and the Fanshan Cemetery (Fig. 4.23). The overall body of Jiangjiashan lies at lower elevation relative to Fanshan. The highest-rank burial here, M1, roughly equates to a third-rank burial at Fanshan. The cemetery features additional royal burials such as the male graves M6 and M2 and the female burials M8 and M4, and a number of commoner and children burials (M5 and M11) with a relative paucity of grave goods, a trait which differs strikingly from Fanshan and is near to what we find at Wenjiashan, possibly indicating lineage burial. Apart from the grave goods, male and female burials are distinguished by head orientation throughout the history of the cemetery: male burials face south and the female burials (with the exception of M7) north. Male and female burials lie in an interlocking distribution that represents another major break from Yaoshan and Fanshan. These two rows of burials may very likely be the product of two nuclear families from the same lineage. On the east side—the highest point of the eastern section of Jiangjiashan—the stage foundation of a building was unearthed. It was labeled F1, a rough quadrilateral with a length of roughly 25 m from east to west and 21.5 m from north to south, stretching out at around 530 m2 , though as a result of site destruction no pole pits or foundation trough remains were found. Several deposits containing charred earth mixed with abundant pottery sherds were uncovered when drilling in the north of F1,9 a demonstration that the east of Jiangjiashan was a major 9

Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (2019).

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Fig. 4.22 Male (black) and Female (red) Burials at the Small Cemetery at Jiangjiashan

residential area. It is therefore possible that the tomb occupants of the Jiangjiashan Cemetery lived locally, that only the destruction atop the site has rendered upper layer architecture indistinguishable. Following a site area of 530 m2 (five or six times larger than the earth platform at Xiantanmiao, which had an area of under 100 m2 and may have accommodated more than one inhabiting family) and following on from the presence of two rows of male and female burials at Jiangjiashan, we can deduce that stage occupation may very likely have split into residences for several nuclear families. Meanwhile, 700–800 m south of Jiangjiashan, at Sangshutou, near the southern extreme of the elongated ridge, a distribution of three groups of building stage foundations was found in March 2018. A large volume of bi-disc was excavated at the north edge at an earlier date, demonstrating the sure presence of a royal burial at the site. Aside from three cemeteries whose existence is relatively established, a number of small Liangzhu burials were in fact discovered within the north wall of a number of the small ponds on the south side of Fanshan But these have not yet been cleared, and based on positional analysis would likely have been an independent burial area.

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Fanshan

Northeast slope

Noble Cemetery

Jiangjiashan Mojiaoshan East

Sangshutou

Fig. 4.23 Jiangjiashan settlement and burials (clockwise from left: Noble Cemetery, northeast slope, Mojiaoshan, Jiangjiashan (center, with F1 in “east”), Sangshutou)

There are remains phenomena indicating a possibly earlier construction date for the ridge, where some artificial embankment must have connected the north face of the Dazheshan ridge through isolated local hillocks, stretching by way of Jiangjiashan all the way to Fengshan. The ridge was a watershed. To its east is a dense concentration of sites—several hundred—though the west is in essence taken up by the dam zone, lacking any archaeological sites whatsoever over the 14 square kilometer reservoir, aside from the dam itself. Earliest Fanshan and Jiangjiashan were erected upon the ridge and the Jiangjiashan Palace Zone was an expansion to the east along the ridge at the hill body of Jiangjiashan. As Liangzhu Ancient City was under construction, inner city rivers would divide the ridge in two inside the city, resulting in the independent structure of the west side palace zone, an area which may have retained its cemetery (and other) functions throughout, the evidence being the two dilapidated late phase

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Mojiaoshan

Weir Garden Huangfenshan Chizhongsi

Wetlands Sangshutou

Fig. 4.24 Satellite image of Chizhongsi (clockwise (in white): Sangshutou, Mojiaoshan, Huangfenshan; wetlands (blue, left), garden (blue, right), Chizhongsi central, in red)

burials at Fanshan, dated to the Late Liangzhu. We shall analyze the cemetery at this ridge in a later part of the essay.

4.4.1.3

Chizhongsi and Chiyuan

The Chizhongsi Site (Fig. 4.24) sits on the southwest edge of Mojiaoshan. Drilling has revealed a large area of base carbonized grain deposits. These carbonized deposits are distributed in two large patches in the north and south, respectively. They are a blackish-grey intermixed with a large volume of ash and charred-earth grains. The southern patch covers an expanse of 6700 m2 with deposits reaching a thickness of 70 cm throughout and 120 cm in some sections. The northern patch covers an area of 5150 m2 , with a deposit depth of around 25 cm. This makes for an overall deposit volume of 6000 cubic meters across both mounds. Based on drilling results and average grain density/ml of earth in random samples, we estimated the volume of grain buried at the site. Our research revealed a density of 2.17 grains/ml, and assuming a thousand kernel weight (TKW) of 15 g (the TKW of modern rice lies between 18 and 34 g), we estimated a mass (calculated by multiplying average density and area of distribution at 15 g TKW) of approximately 195,300 kg.10 The Chizhongsi Remains were saturated with carbonized grains without any in mixing of pottery sherds, pig bones or other everyday waste, by which we infer it was a site for 10

Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology (2019).

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concentrated depositing of grains—the remains were the result of a fire at the silo, though the lack of any large-scale excavation at preset prevents us from knowing the form and layout of the granary. The positioning of Chizhongsi was chosen through careful planning. It is flanked by rivers to the east and west, and the Chizhongsi platform itself was a de facto island (Image 4.25). The greatest danger facing a silo came from fire, and subsequently the granary area was set up independently by the river, which could remove this threat to the maximum extent possible. To its west, Chizhongsi was surrounded by various elevated platforms, and only in the south was there a regular trunk river—the Liangzhu River—heading further south. This both guaranteed site security and permitted grain to be brought in by water. The watershed on the east side of Chizhongsi was an artificial garden with foundations clearly elevated above the natural water surface on the west side. A north–south weir was built up along the east side of Chizhongsi, linking with Mojiaoshan and Huangfenshan—both a longitudinal thoroughfare and a weir/dam, maintaining the pool water-level and providing usage for the entire Palace Zone (Fig. 4.25). A large volume of carbonized ash in sloping formations was discovered on the east and west slope of Mojiaoshan inside the palace city. Through drilling on the east slope we estimated a rough volume of 13,000 kg of carbonized grains. There was likewise a considerable volume on the west slope. These areas were likely not the location of the original silo, but an area for the deposits from discarded material from the platform at Mojiaoshan. Unless the granaries were relocated in a different period, it remains possible that other small-scale silos remain on Mojiaoshan and were not limited to Chizhongsi. Doubtless, however, this was the largest and most centralized of such sites.

4.4.2 The Inner City The Inner City indicates the area in the perimeter of the Palace City covered by the main river through the expanse inside the inner city wall.

4.4.2.1

The City Wall

The layout of the ancient city wall was rectangular, with rounded corners. It was oriented on a north–south axis and roughly centered on the earth mound at Mojiaoshan, running 1500–1700 m from east to west and 1800–1900 m from north to south. The city wall survived to a height of more than 4 m. Stratigraphic profiles at all four sides, gained through trial excavation, show that the overall structure was relatively uniform. These profiles show that the wall was manufactured with great precision: first a 10–20 cm layer of silt was spread out over the raw earth, then a layer of stones applied across an area with widths of between 40 and 60 m and occasional stretches reaching 100 m, most of the paving slanting

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Fanshan

Minor Mojiaoshan Major Mojiaoshan Jiangjiashan Wuguishan

Mojiaoshan

Sangshutou Maowu Ridge Reservoir Carbonized Grains Chizhongsi

Weir

Bamushan

Huangfenshan

Wetlands

Fig. 4.25 DEM Model of the Chizhongsi Platform and Surrounding Layout (clockwise from top right: Fanshan, square platform containing Minor Mojiaoshan, Major Mojiaoshan, Wuguishan and (large text) Mojiaoshan, Bamushan, Huangfenshan, Reservoir (deep blue section), Weir (yellow), Maowu Ridge, Carbonized Grains (black), Chizhongsi, Wetlands (light blue), Sangshutou, Jiangjiashan)

downwards toward either end but the central section even, and a level of pure yellow earth stacked above this central stretch to form the wall (Fig. 4.26). At each of the handful of presently dissected sites, a river course has been discovered close to the wall, and inferred as the outer moat. The dissection profile across the entirety of the east and west sides reveals a similar structure to the internal moat, proving that the ancient city employed a technique of “pincer-moat wall construction,” with the stone paving on either side entering the depths of the outer and inner moat along a relatively gentle gradient.

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Four meters

Yellow soil wall

Silt Stones

Fig. 4.26 Structure of the Liangzhu Ancient City Wall (with yellow soil wall, stones, silt, and height of four meters indicated)

“Pincer-moat wall construction” was a highly economically efficient method of traditional architecture. The working process involved excavating a river gully in the vicinity of a planned earth mound construction and linking the gully to the dense outer river network. This nearby river excavation resulted in the acquisition of part of the earth required for the earth mound, while the artificial river would expand water storage capacity, beneficial for discharging the platform’s monsoonal rains while also satisfying daily demands on water use, transportation, fishing, and hunting. The method was widely employed and it is likely that the prehistoric period in this region lacked for animal traction from large creatures, as well as wheeled transportation–water transportation, clearly, was a more convenient and economical means of movement and carriage than shouldering and portering through human labor. Transportation efficiency may have been multiplied if canals were excavated on an intramural and extramural basis, and an outer-moat and inner-defensive settlement structure formed with the conclusion of the project. This structure was therefore partly the outcome of a method tailor-made for the ancient city, while the establishment of the urban moat also expanded the area under protection and provided for convenient transportation, with multifunctional capacities in flow discharge, and in cultivating fishing and hunting: one act served many purposes. Inspection of intact city wall profiles shows that several layers of sloped deposits can be found on the inner and outer edge of the wall, and that these harbored a relatively large volume of pottery sherds and other organic materials, with a greyblack soil hue extending from the slope through the river shore on either side of the wall. The soil in this stratum is universally crumbly, containing a variety of organic soils and relative abundance of pottery and charred earth clods also found in certain layers at Putaofan and other sites. Soil hue and soil texture can be clearly distinguished from the pure raw earth in the embanked wall. Given the essential

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destruction at the top of the city wall, one effective means of deducing wall function lies in the analysis of discarded materials on either side. Constituent materials and deposit profiles in these strata perfectly match daily trash beyond the slopes of regular Liangzhu stage platform style settlement remains. Meanwhile, at trial excavations around the city wall, slanted black-grey strata discovered on the outer slope of the citer wall strikingly resembled the morphology of detritus layers by Liangzhu home earth stages. We see more of daily life vessels such as ding-cauldron, guan-jar, penbasin, gui-tureen and he-pitcher, and less of stone yue-battle ax and arrowheads and other artifacts associated with military affairs. We can therefore infer that the site represents the garbage formed through daily living of a community atop the ringed city during a certain period. The city wall is trapezoidal in cross-section, and observing from relatively intact positions along the wall featured a very gentle gradient on the inner-wall and outerwall sides. To take the north wall dissection point (North TG2) as a case in point, the slope lying at a gradient of 20° or above on the outer edge. The relatively abundant rainfall to the south meant that the artificially embankment suffered from insufficient verticality and could not form sharp border slopes. The embankment in this region and either shore of the Tiao consists of an earthen dam where, to prevent collapse, the general technical requirement on slope ratio (vertical height versus horizontal width) on the landside slope was around 1:2,11 that is, a near 27 degree angle. This was naturally the scientific outcome of a long duration of practical testing and experience, and we thereby infer a similar case for the inner and outer slope gradient at the earthen Liangzhu city wall. Through drilling, we know of a foundational width of 40–60 m and a surviving height of over four meters at the wall. Accounting for soil erosion over the past few millennia, the original height should not have stood below five meters. Calculating for a height of five meters by a 1:2 slope ratio, the wall thickness in grid layout would have reached around 20 m even along the narrowest 40 m of the foundation. In excavations along the east side of the north wall exploration ditch in recent years, we have discovered two rectangular foundations which must represent a building foundation. We know, therefore, that people would have lived upon the wall (Fig. 4.27). Drilling has revealed stone paving of uneven width at the wall base, with a regular width of around 50 m, though partitioned at each stretch, and often featuring elongated gentle slopes stretching outwards, where the overall width approaches 100 m, and we are thereby afforded a bird’s eye view of the concave and convex shape of the wall edge. These gentle slopes stretching from the city wall were passages easing access and egress to the moat on the part of inhabitants, like a wharf or harbor. Considering the lack of verticality in the native yellow soil, embanked city walls in the rainy south could not be excessively steep and in all likelihood could only be used for a gentle slope shape. From the north and west wall profiles it appears that the outer and inner wall gradients are similar to the large weir of the Tiao, permitting easy access to the high points of the wall. Hence wall morphology alone was most likely to achieve any effect in resisting foreign incursion—at most it could have 11

Information provided by Wang Hui at the Liangzhu Site Cluster Management Committee.

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Fig. 4.27 Reconstruction a scene at Liangzhu Ancient City

slowed down an enemy assault. Achieving a defensive capacity at the site therefore necessitated a reliance on other auxiliary installations upon the wall itself, as well as a large body of personnel. This may also explain how wall width had to reach 40 or even 100 m—if the only aim was to form a defensive wall and if the outer wall was sufficiently steep, such thickness would be rendered unnecessary, but it was necessary that it reaches a certain height and added width, this would demand a less sheer wall, one incapable of defending against foreign incursion. Therefore the causes behind such expenditure of time and effort by Liangzhu peoples in embanking such a broad city wall point to the possibility that housing people was inherent to the design, while the two gentle slopes leading to the inner and outer moated areas would have provided them with water sources and with a means of transportation. The Liangzhu City Wall, therefore, exhibits major morphological and functional differences compared to the general concept of military defensive installations in the historic period. In the early cities of China’s south, it represents an extraordinary case.

4.4.2.2

City Gate and Water Channels

We have learned through drilling that a pair of openings could be found at each of the north, east, south, and west walls at Liangzhu. Some openings are presently lowlying paddy fields with no stones or yellow soil underneath but instead silt deposits, indicating the presence of an ancient water network linking to the ancient river inside and beyond the city. Rivers continue to flow through some of the openings. These

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Fig. 4.28 Reconstruction of the south-east river gate at the south city wall (looking toward the city)

must have been the water gates of the ancient city (Fig. 4.28), as, for example, lie between the west gate of the south wall and the south gate of the east wall, currently crossed by the Liangzhu River. The previously discovered Late Liangzhu riverside deposits at Xianshanqiao and Xiangshan on the north shore prove that the outlook of the Liangzhu River had already formed by the Late Liangzhu and has remained unaltered over millennia. The channels through the remaining city gates have already sunk, though the continuing distribution of reservoirs and other such remains of the old course can be seen with some frequency. Excavation of Huoxitang at the east gate of the north wall has revealed an area shaped like a water channel and containing wooden storage pits holding intact pottery wares, dating to the Late Liangzhu, the channel joining with the reservoir on the south side of the north wall, proving that the strip-shaped weir was a component of the ancient inner city. We therefore understand that the ancient city contained eight water gates, two for each side, and that interconnecting rivers passing through the inner and outer city through these channels formed an uninterrupted network. More recent work has revealed a small opening formed of three mound platforms in a “品”-shape slightly east of center in the south wall, a remains that may be connected with a land gate. We are presently performing next stage excavations and grappling with the specifics. Overall, we have confirmed that the primary transportation system at Liangzhu Ancient City was water-based. The city wall itself was established as a settlement stage, and structurally divided into eight independent stretches by the eight water gates. These can be understood as eight freestanding residential areas.

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Inner City Zones

A quartet of primary rivers and other water courses divide the inner city beyond the palatial city into a number of blocks. We have discovered artificial layering and elevation applied universally to these blocks, which makes them around one meter taller than the outside zone. Besides the rivers themselves serving as borders, infrastructure of an encircling wall variety does survive in some areas, demonstrating a definite degree of independence of such areas, within the unified borders of the city. Of these key intramural channels, the southern Liangzhu River is still extant. Zhongjia River in the east has practically silted up and was excavated in a northern, central, and southern passage during flood-prevention work and clearing over a relatively large area in line with requirements for our UNESCO World Heritage application. The southern and northern stretch of the Zhongjia River hew close to either shore, and so river deposits in this stretch contain a considerable volume of pottery, stone wares, and wooden items. Remains of a relatively well preserved wooden bank revetment structure have been revealed on the edge of the platform area of Lijiashan on the west shore of south Zhongjiagang (Zhongjia River), without any shoreline installations of any sophistication on the east coast during the same period. Along this steady flowing river, the difference in installations on either shore might be the consequence less of actual functional demands but correspond to differing block ranks: the platform area of Lijiashan in the west section is part of the Palace City while the platform at Zhongjia Village was part of the inner city, a lower rank, relatively speaking. The large bands of charred earth deposits discovered at the Zhongjia Village stage revealed a relative abundance of black stone cores, unprocessed jade, drilled jade cores, and drilled stone cores. These artifacts were mixed with many varieties of pottery sherds and organic trash, an indication that this stretch of the platform must represent a handcraft production area charged with jade and stoneware manufacture, with residential and workshop areas combined and the economic unit likely that of the individual family workshop. At present relatively abundant river deposits have been unearthed, primarily around the east shore. We therefore infer that the residential population was greater at this stretch, and there was evidently a rather high density of families involved in handcrafts in this area at this time (Fig. 4.29). Population was likely much reduced at Lijiashan.

4.4.3 The Outer City The outer city is organized into a number of independently functioning units—the elevated ridge of Biandanshan and Heshangdi running from east to west in the north and linking with Qianshan, the outer edge of the southeast portion of the city, and the north, east, and south walls formed, respectively, by Meirendi, Lishan-Zhengcun, and Bianjiashan, which result in a rectangular structure that connects with the ancient

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Fig. 4.29 Reconstruction of workshops along the shore at Zhongjiagang (Zhongjia River)

city’s east wall and south wall. We observe through satellite imagery that a relatively small box shape encompasses the area of Fengshan in the southwest corner. The outer edge of Zhishan at the bend of the northeast corner provides evidence for a similar structure. Although these areas, considered overall, surround and defend the extramural stretch, they fail to form such a perfect ring arrangement like that at the inner wall, rather emphasizing zonal independence (Fig. 4.30). Excavations indicate that present-day Meirendi and Lishan were residential areas on elongated strips dating to the Late Liangzhu and formed through multiple expansions and embankments to greater heights. Meirendi occupies a lower and flatter wetland environment. When original inhabitants embanked to higher land, they employed a dark-grey mud to embank the lower layer and a relatively compact yellow soil for the occupied surface in the upper layer, upon which they then built their homes, with trough and pillar post remains still currently extant. The dark upper-level mud might have been drawn from flat lands beyond the ridge, thereby forming an artificial river. Two rows of buildings running parallel from east to west have been discovered on the Meirendi platform, with a roughly two-meter wide path between them whose foundation trough carried a layer of grey earth that must represent waste deposits used to build the architecture on either side. The Meirendi stage was originally rather narrow, but later expanded south to a width of more than ten meters. The south wall of the southern row sits on the expanded slope. This expanded earth mound had to be built on crumbly mud; a trench was excavated and cushioning and foundational wood placed in the base with considerable preplanning, wooden slats then established on top, bearing the weight for the south wall. These wooden slats were 20–30 cm wide, 8–13 cm thick, and survive to a height of more than 1.7 m, with square lumber horizontal sleepers and skids below the lower sleeper, separated by a definite distance. These wooden

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Yaojiadun Tangshan

Biandanshan

Heshangdi

North wall East city wall west city wall

Qianshan

endi Lishan Meir

Mojiaoshan

Zhengcun

all ty w th ci u o S an jiash Bian

Fig. 4.30 DEM model of the outer city structure at Liangzhu Ancient City (Mojiaoshan at central mound, north wall immediately north, Biandanshan north of the wall, Heshangdi to the east, heading south to the hill feature at Qianshan with Lishan and Zhengcun to the west, Meirendi further west and then the east city wall, heading around clockwise to the south city wall, with Bianjiashan below, and the west city wall in the west)

slat surfaces appear processed and regular, and a few retain traces of stone ben-adze working. Four “ox-nose holes” have been found at the ends of the square sleepers on the topmost part and base of the vertical slats, and would have been related to transportation of lumber (Figs. 4.31 and 4.32). A large volume of daily-use pottery, wood, stone ware, and jades were unearthed from the river and the garbage deposit layers on the north edge of the north row earth ridge. These included exquisite carved black slip pottery, colored pottery, and lacquer. Like the deposited content on either

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Fig. 4.31 Long rows of stakes unearthed at Meirendi

Fig. 4.32 Up-close view of stakes

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side of the city wall, these deposits must represent the accumulation of everyday garbage. Bianjiashan is a site in an elongated-strip shape running from east to west, excavated from 2002 to 2005, with the discovery of a Middle Liangzhu cemetery in the excavated area, but less clarity surrounding the residential remains. The Late Liangzhu river and related wooden harbor remain to the south were in an agreeable state of preservation. The elongated ridge at Bianjiashan may have been formed through excavated and embanked earth during the Middle Liangzhu. It is possible that Liangzhu coevals first excavated the earliest stretch of the river on the south side that was parallel to the ridge, which turned at the western extreme and connecting with the rivers in the south. During the Late Liangzhu, an earth platform was constructed along the southern borders of the river and stacked up through 20 cm2 cob blocks. The connection with the southern river remains in the west section, while the north, west, and south of the earth stage face the water and adopt a peninsular shape. Building foundations and ash pits have been discovered on the earth platform. The buildings have a square layout and retain the overall synthesized foundational trough, dividing wall from stove pit, covering an area of roughly 16 m2 . On the west side of the building, an ash pit in the shape of an “8” is filled with plant ash and thick charcoal scraps—this must have been some installation fitted with the building. The south of the platform faces the water and a total of more than 140 wooden stakes were discovered here in a roughly curved distribution. The majority spread out from east to west along the shore, in an approximate three-row arrangement, laid out highly regularly in parts. In the west side, a batch of wooden stakes formed a dense line with a width of around one meter and length approaching ten meters that stretched out to the river. A row of weed stems was driven in on either side of the stakes, again in compact rows. The wooden stages themselves have diameters of around 5– 15 cm and the thickest example exceeds 21 cm. Considering the remains of wooden slats, stakes, and strips, it seems mostly likely that horizontal wooden slats and strips provided allowed for movement above the stakes. Wooden stakes along the shore might represent the remains of the riverside wharf contemporary with the building. The likelihood is extremely high, based on the characteristics of their alignment and the wooden oars excavated nearby, that the protruding wooden stakes on the west side represented a dock attached to this long wharf (Fig. 4.33). The dock featured a single row of tightly laid-out bamboo fencing in what was surely a protective rail on either side. The river trench on the north of the platform stretched beyond the excavated zone in the east and west, so its overall length remains unknown. At its opening, it was around 13 m wide and 1.6 m deep. The trench deposits are divided into five layers and consist primarily of a grey-black mud. Seven stakes in an east–west alignment have been discovered in the south side. They press upon bamboo weaving in the shape of a row of mats which may have served as a southern protective slope at some point during the river’s use. The trench and rivers to the south interconnect, their function connected to river transportation and discharge in the elevated land to the north.

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Dock Head

Wharf

Fig. 4.33 Wooden stake remains and earth platform at Bianjiashan–River Position (from left to right: Earth Platform, Dock Head, Wharf)

We have uncovered a considerable volume of artifacts in the mud layers on the south shore of the trench. This includes pottery sherds which number in the tens-ofthousands, and a considerable volume of stone wares, wooden items, bone wares, lacquer, and bamboo products, while we have additionally collected a large volume of pig, deer, and ox animal bones and discovered a wooden-joist mud wall corner piece, and part of the roof for a pottery house model—an important source for architectural research. There are a variety of finely carved patterns and symbols on the black slop pottery. The pan-tray and gu-goblet lacquers were also produced to exquisite standards. Only a single building’s remains were discovered in the peninsular structure described above. It covered an area of 16 m2 , contained a partition, ground stove, and external ash pit. It may have corresponded to an everyday nuclear family or extended family. The dock and wharf slat-bridge to the south, however, was on a rather large scale, with an enormous and varied volume of discarded artifacts in the lower layers, surely corresponding to a considerable population. We infer that the dock and wharf may have been a common and settlement-wide installation, not this family’s private property. Through further deduction, we understand that building such an earth platform to connect with the river at these special spots served the primary purpose, not of erecting this building, but instead to increase the ease of the dock and wharf stretching out into the deeper areas of the water, a guarantee of an abundant water supply even in the dry season, a boon for washing and extracting water on the part of inhabitants, and at the same time a plus for boats, able to pull in to shore during low tides. Seen from this angle, it is very likely that the earth platform

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was publicly constructed and that the family occupying the stage might have been related to the conservation and management of the riverside installation, or involved in some professional (i.e., fishing and hunting) activities related to boating. Even so, the primary residential area must have remained on the long ridge itself, only residences not revealed given the limited scale of excavation. From 2017 to 2018, cooperating with requirements for the UNESCO World Heritage Application, we relocated and transformed the area on the west side long ridge in the excavated region at Bianjiashan. We carried out a dispatch clearing by present-day Building 2 in Zhonglian Gardens, where we have recently discovered surviving platform foundations as well as surrounding burials, a layout similar to the model for respective nuclear families and their burials on elongated ridges at Xiantanmiao. Only a very limited area has been excavated at Meirendi, but we infer that a similar residential means was in operation. In summary, the framework of the outer wall was originally the result of embanking for inhabitation and burial. We have intramural depressed wetlands without residential remains. Residential means around this structure were different from those occupying the higher land inside and represented a form of weir occupation. The wetlands within the outer city wall have been the target of probing and analysis, which are yet to reveal agricultural lands such as paddy fields, different from the famous wetland polders of the Taihu Lake plain during the historic period. We infer that the objective behind these special settlement means was none other than expanding the ambit of the protected area given the equivalent population. At the same time, these frame-like structures each divided into a number of small blocks, most likely the consequence of the inhabitants belonging to different clan organizations.

4.4.4 Deducing Societal Organization at Liangzhu Ancient City We now see the triple-layering of Palace City, Inner City, and Outer City at Liangzhu Ancient City, one that formed a class structure lowering by steps from inside to the outside. This, however, was only the form and outcome, not the motivating factor behind the city’s formation. It is only through a penetrating reading of the social structure at Liangzhu Ancient City that we can find the key to unlocking these stirring secrets, concealed for five millennia. It is possible that ordinary explanations have focused to an inordinate degree on the upper-class remains and caused a misunderstanding: Mojiaoshan was the palace where the highest rank nobles lived, Fanshan their exclusive royal cemetery in death, the Yaoshan and Huiguanshan sacrificial altars the sites they would visit when obliged to carry out sacrifices to Heaven or meteorological observation, and these individuals exerted direct control over jade workshops such as Tangshan and Zhongchuming. Such an administrative system, which calls to mind the similar later Imperial style,

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may have been vastly different from the true social organization and connections during the Liangzhu Culture period. First of all, Liangzhu culture and society existed for a millennium, and a timespan of seven centuries years separates the beginning of construction at the ancient city around 5000 BP, and the conclusion of Liangzhu Culture itself at around 4300 BP. As a city in continuous use, it is inevitable that a great number of changes took place at Liangzhu. There was, moreover, no one-to-one correspondence between the major sties discussed above—they have simply been plucked from their respective spaces and times and contexts, as evidence for the high-level structural integrity within Liangzhu civilization. Restoring the actual context behind each is, therefore, the precondition for analyzing the social organization and relationships at Liangzhu Ancient City. Given the overwhelming complexity of historic changes, we believe that there was a process of gradual construction and completion for each structure of the ancient city, though presently we only analyze the completed phase of each of these structures. The west side ridge of the Palace Area at Mojiaoshan, the largest of any such site at Liangzhu, and also a highest-rank cemetery such as Fanshan, seems to have structured a complete spatial layout for the royals as they proceed from life to death. Yet the discovery of the Jiangjiashan genuinely rumbles this “perfect” ideal: Jiangjiashan sits much nearer to Mojiaoshan, both sites built on either side of a natural hill, and the borders between the two only distinguished ay a single artificial ditch. The burials at Jiangjiashan also corresponded with the lower level at Fanshan—in other words they were contemporaneous with both Fanshan and Mojiaoshan. Their rank, overall, is modest, equivalent to the lowest rank at Fanshan, only superior when compared to a base settlement. At the same time, small burials have been discovered by the pool on the south side of Fanshan, indicating that the long ridge was home not only to top rank cemeteries like Fanshan, but also mid-rank and commoner cemeteries like Sangshutou and Jiangjiashan, all of these within the stretch employed by Mojiaoshan. The stretch not only sites within the city wall, but also within the Palace City contained by the four trunk rivers, and hence can clearly be ascribed to the core area. The confusion of classes of those occupying an architectural space that belongs to the highest ranks is, therefore, baffling. But comparison of the Palace City with the second-rank settlement Yujiashan at Moated Community 1, as described above, provides us with sudden enlightenment. The four main rivers equate to the four faces of the surrounding trench at Moated Community 1, and the Palace City to a supremely extravagant version of the same settlement, with the area active within the walls belonging to the same clan. The north–south ridge can be seen as the equivalent of the sandy-earth east–west Building 1 and its burials at Moated Community 1, only laid out 90° counter-clockwise. In other words, the north–south ridge was the central lineage settlement and cemetery for the clan occupying the Palace City. Looking back on the sandy-earth remains at Yujiashan and the burial context on the north edge, nobles undertaking administrative and religious responsibilities at the Linping Site Cluster level were buried in successive order across the entire north edge, while individuals not appointed to these major responsibilities, together with the two nuclear family units, were buried in groups on either side of the sandy platform.

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The southern sandy stage featured the two building remains that corresponded to these nuclear families. We can therefore see Jiangjiashan and its inhabited east side platform, the southern section at Sangshutou and the attached earth platforms, as well as the individuals occupying the ridge and represented at the yet to be excavated small burials on the north side of the southern pool at Fanshan, as ordinary family members under the kingly lineage, who had not been appointed to administrative or religious functions, or else some expanded family form, and the residential remains and lineage cemeteries that they respectively formed. By the same logic, the platforms on the southwest side of Huangfenshen and on the north side in Maozhushan, both inside the Palace City, might also be the equivalent of the lineages represented in the first and third rows of burials at Moated Community 1 at Yujiashan, enjoying some kinship relationship with the lineage on the west side long ridge—although it is possible that they originally belonged to a lineage descending from the primary system, that this branch might come into effect in the event of some alteration in the primary system of inheritance such as the lack of a successor, with the appearance of roles such as kings or grand shamans. By a similar logic, also, these individuals would been interred in special burial plots in their lineage cemeteries following their death. This explains the reason for the unearthing of a jade turtle at Huangfenshan, as well as the scattered distribution of burials from which high-rank jades were revealed at Fengshan, as collected by the Yuhang Museum. Outside of the Palace City, the main rivers of the Inner City divided other artificial platforms and city wall—which itself functioned for human inhabitation—into a number of areas. We may, with great use, connect these regions encircled by the rivers with Moated Communities 2–6 surrounding Moated Community 1 at Yujiashan. The difference between the two sites is that the perimeter moated communities at Yujiashan retained a distance of several dozen to upwards of a hundred meters vis-à-vis Moated Community 1, demonstrating relative independence in the context of a subordinate relationship. But within the perimeter of the Palace City of Liangzhu Ancient City, far above the moated community, the independence of the latter would be further eroded, separation from the central settlement frittered down to the separation of a single river. According to results of excavations at the Zhongjiagang River, it can be inferred that, for the most part, the earth platform was spread with workshops for jade and stone wares, bone tools and lacquer, tools, and semi-finished products intermixed with a variety of lifestyle waste. We can infer that the above stage must have principally been an area occupied by those engaged in handcrafts in a family workshop model. At present, given that excavation has yet to take place on the Inner City platform, while remains at the top of the city wall have suffered extreme damage, we remain vastly uninformed on the internal nature of this part of the site. We cannot be sure whether the area was indeed identical to the Yujiashan Site, whether it possessed a core structure with residential and burial capabilities. Through an analysis of the Palace City and Outer City we have inferred that the zones of this intermediate Inner City area ought to have enjoyed a similar functionality. Strontium isotope trophic analysis conducted by Japanese scholars on osteological remains at Zhongjiagang has discovered several individuals for whom millet (xiaomi) was the stable diet, a

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strikingly different community from the primacy of rice in the diets of others in the zone. An earlier analysis believes these may have been northern individuals who reached the ancient city through some means: they were then killed, either as residents, or as prisoners of war. The explanation reveals the wide radius of population at the site. Recently the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has conducted much bioarchaeological research in this respect, uncovering millet at Liangzhu Culture sites in south Zhejiang. This demonstrates that an area of several kilometers around Liangzhu Ancient City was unfavorable for rice cultivation during the period and may have hosted a millet-consuming population, who may more likely belong to some foreign population that arrived in Liangzhu Ancient City. Naturally they, in all likelihood, did not enjoy direct blood relations with the population inside the Palace City. For the Outer City beyond the Inner City, the most striking attribute lies in the expression of various independently settlement forms with residency and burial on the frame-shaped ridges. The depressed intervening land maintained its primeval wetland state, and was not developed into paddy fields. This population opted for the strip model of inhabitation because, under identical population figures, the frame surrounded and protected the largest area. These frames were mutually independent, which shows each belonged to different clans. Compared with the Inner City population these groups had even more distant kinship relations with the royal lineage, and their rank was lower, too. Let us take reexamine the settlement outside the Palace City. We mentioned Yaojiadun above. This is a classic and representative site. We should, prior to our analysis, disregard the critically important modern river at East Tiao Brook. Presently scholars believe that East Tiao Brook was a main artery formed through artificially re-routing during the Han-Tang period, that its Liangzhu route likely ran south of Daxiongshan [Daxiong Mountain] and was unconnected with the ancient city. When we remove this obstruction on the map, we realize the seven-platform settlement at Yaojiadun might have accommodated a greater number of earthen mounds on the south of the modern East Tiao. As described above, these platforms surrounded Yaojiadun in a focused distribution, the settlement organized in an overall structure identical to Yujiashan, the only difference the border marker of the moated community at Yujiashan was substituted for by the stage mounds at Yaojiadun. Different from the gentle natural topography of Yujiashan, the Yaojiadun mounds were situated between Dazheshan in the north and Daxiongshan in the south, places that experienced greater violence during the floods. No excavation over a large area has taken place, though a Liangzhu Period cemetery was discovered at Hejiacun, a Liangzhu Culture earth platform and burial at Lucun, and a charred-earth building from the Liangzhu Period at Yaojiadun. These may hint that every settlement unit was identical to Yujiashan, similar in organization and operation. Although this compact settlement format had little to tell it apart from Yujiashan, the overall rank and order was over a lower level than Liangzhu Ancient City. The situation inevitably reminds us of the record in the Warring States Artificers’ Record [考工记] in the Rites of Zhou [周礼], in its section on “Craftsmen and the Construction of the State” [匠人营国]: “The order for the Palaces is to be that for the cities of the Feudal Lords.”

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Only the west side of Fanshan Cemetery has currently been excavated. Nine Liangzhu burials were discovered, embanked, and covered during the Late Liangzhu, as a batch of noble burials were buried, themselves mostly destroyed by later burials, with a mere two damaged graves remaining and their specific context unclear. This suggests that some change may have taken place in the residential model prior to the Late Liangzhu. Tomb occupants interred here were not, for certain, descendants of some Early Liangzhu lineage. Based on the spread of chronological figures acquired, we notice what appears to be a blank between the Early Liangzhu and Late Liangzhu. A large volume of disturbed human skeletal material has also, simultaneously, come to light in various extramural and intramural rivers in a highly irregular fashion—some bones were pulverized, and others feature two vertebrae by the skull, an act which must have been achieved by severing. That these remains have been retained within Inner City rivers would seem to suggest that some highly grave incident of violence once took place at Liangzhu Ancient City. There is the possibility that changes took place to the population and layout of the entire city around this transformative event. Considered from the view of zone functionality, the most major difference between the Palace City at Liangzhu Ancient City and Moated Community 1 at Yujiashan lies in the presence of large public ritual architecture of the Mojiaoshan and Huangfenshan variety amongst the former, and the destruction of the earth platform in the south side of the noble cemetery at the latter, an area which, even were it a public installation, was at most some cognate to the west side occupation, occupying a modest volume, and possibly simply not hosting to any public ritual order architecture as distributed within the clan settlement. Given the difference in rank, the Liangzhu Ancient City was the de facto central capital at the state level, and so its public ritual architecture existed on an enormous scale.

4.5 Grand Perspectives on Evidence for the Site Selection of Liangzhu Ancient City Considering the overall distribution of Liangzhu Culture in the Taihu Lake watershed, rather than occupying the geographical center of the watershed, Liangzhu Ancient City occupies an area clearly veering on the southern corner, on a geographical boundary between hilly West Zhejiang and the plains of North Zhejiang: westward it leans on the Tianmu Mountains, whilst being constricted by the Tianmu’s sub-chains in the north and south, fanning out to the east in a C-shaped basin covering more than 800 km2 with dimensions of roughly 42 km to the west and a width of roughly 20 km from north to south—the basin is encircled by hills on three fronts, but at the same time the hills of Banshan [Ban Hill], Chaoshan [Chao Hill] and Linpingshan [Linping Hill] in northeast Hangzhou occupy the basin entrance and create of the area what is, comparatively speaking, a free-standing plains (Fig. 4.34). In terms of

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East Tiao Brook

Dazheshan [Dazhe Hills] Yaoshan Tangshan North Liangzhu Tiao Ganggongling, Huiguanshan Brook Site Cluster Xiaogucheng Daxiongshan Miaoqian hill Middle Tiao Brook

Chaoshan BeijingHangzhou Grand Banshan Canal

Yujiashan Maoshan Linpingshan

South Tiao Brook

Nanhu West Lake

r

ve

Hangzhou

Ri

ta

an

Qi

ng

Fig. 4.34 The C-Shaped Basin and its Internal Liangzhu Site Distribution (black characters central section, clockwise from bottom left: Nanhu, Xiaogushan (west) Huiguanshan, Xuegongling, Tangshan, Yaoshan (Dazheshan [Dazhe Hills] to north), Liangzhu Site Cluster, Miaoqian, with Yujiashan and Maoshan in far east; in west are North Tiao, Middle Tiao and South Tiao in green, with Daxiongshan hill feature in center, East Tiao to north, Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to east, Banshan to the east, Chaoshan north, then Linpingshan to the east. South of this is the Qiantang River, Hangzhou (green) and West Lake (black)

the site’s grand positioning, Liangzhu’s particular site selection here must have been closely tied in with resource-based and environmental factors (Fig. 4.35).

4.5.1 Diet People take food above all. The Liangzhu regimen can be encapsulated as a diet of rice and fish. Rice was the staple, and in the above we have also provided ample space to describing the internal logic and majestic scale of continuing migration toward the Taihu Lake plains hinterland by Liangzhu peoples searching for convenience in their rice production. The eastern portion of Liangzhu Ancient City is a C-shaped valley with expansive central plains running into an integrated body connecting the dense rivers around Taihu Lake with the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plains and South Jiangsu plains. In history, we find the expression “Harvest at Suzhou and Taihu, Security through All Under Heaven.” Archaeological finds prove how, beginning in the Terminal Songze, the Huzhou region, located in the environs of Liangzhu Ancient City, pushed out advanced plough-tilling technology before other regions. During the Liangzhu period, the region was a dense patchwork of sites, with most sites base settlements engaged in agricultural production. At Linping and Maoshan, east of the ancient city, we have found an area of 82 mu of large-scale paddy fields,

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Taihu Lake

Shanghai Yangtze River

Jade sources

Paddy rice Timber sources Liangzhu Ancient City Hangzhou

Qiantang river

Stone sources

Fig. 4.35 Beneficial Factors in the Site Selection of Liangzhu Ancient City (in west, from bottom to top – stone, timber and jade sources; Liangzhu Ancient City by red concentric circles marker, Hangzhou indicated in black, with Qiantang river to the east, area of paddy rice in orange shaded patch to north, Taihu Lake further to the north, Shanghai to the east, Yangtze in far north)

featuring complex irrigation ditches. Rice remains weighing in at 20,000 kg have been discovered at Chizhongsi at Liangzhu Ancient City, an ample demonstration of the fertile rice production in the area. At the intermediate band to the east of Liangzhu Ancient City and west of the Miaoqian Site, and at Nanshan and related sites below the irrigation system on the west side, we have also uncovered what may possibly be paddy fields. All these are proof of the considerable acreage granted rice production under Liangzhu Culture. Aside from the starch necessary for the human diet and provided by plants, animal protein was also indispensable. The conclusions of zooarchaeological research verify that the spectrum of animal consumption amongst Liangzhu individuals included deer and a variety of freshwater fish aside from reared pigs, with a fundamental lack of

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seafood. The east plains of this region are a dense of network of rivers that provided abundant fishing and hunting resources for the Liangzhu people.

4.5.2 Jade Sources The jade spoken of today belongs to the amphibole jade in the tremolite or actinolite series, with its interwoven structure when viewed under the microscope, and otherwise known as soft jade. In the Liangzhu Period this was no ordinary material and was regarded as a special sacred object. The Liangzhu Culture region has been called a State of Godly Kings, a complex society of unified faith and striking ritual order, among which jade undertook important social functions, becoming a strategic resource fought for by the people. In Liangzhu eyes, jade was the sacred vector of communication between man and the spirits. People separated tremolite and actinolite from the general ambit of precious stones and imbued them with a supernatural concept, carriers of ideas. Liangzhu jade was more than an ordinary adornment and instead a carved divine emblem serving as a carrier for communication between Heaven and Earth and a ritual implement. Jade was also the evidence for distinguishing rank. All in all, since jade was used to unify faith, bring together crowds, and regulate rank in Liangzhu culture and society, it would thereby become the central carrier and resource of that rank society. The most important resources of ancient Chinese society, such as bronze vessels during the Shang-Zhou Period, were likewise used in the manufacture of ritual objects first of all, not for weapon or tool manufacture—jade had the same significance during the Liangzhu Period. This granting of a special humanistic notion to a natural material was closely related to the sea changes in human thinking during the Songze and Liangzhu. As a beauty among stones, jade in East Asia has been worked into decorations since ten-thousand years ago—used in bodily adornments, and imbued with some philosophy. From a mineralogical standpoint the idea of jade was relatively vague prior to the Late Songze—primarily chalcedony and agate were held to be “jade” stones, as well as pyrophillite and tremolite. Tremolite remained one of the many fine stones referred to as “jade” and finished products in tremolite neither stood out for their quantity nor their style. Following the abovementioned large localized migration during the Late Songze, tremolite would break off from this family of jades, like a heron would from chickens. Granted this special conceptual space, jade vessels employing such methods of manufacture became symbols of belief and ritual, and at the same time structured a suite of jade working technologies and rules concerning jade assemblages. Statistics reveal that vessel types in this age of fine jades were mostly small items such as jue, huang-semicircular pendant, and guan-tube. The technology for working these objects had branched out from stone-working technologies—people commonly made use of methods for striking and forming the main body into an individual complete item, with tube drills (hollow core drill), bore drill (core drill),

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wire-cutting, and slice-cutting used for working the details: this entailed used of bone tubes, bamboo tubes, or rope and wooden or stone sherds, water dabbed on to remove jade granules, pressed on jade, pressure applied, since the sand, at Mohs 7, was slightly harder than jade, and therefore “stones from another mountain could work on jade,” and the cutting effect would be achieved. From the standpoint of efficiency this method of striking into a core was highly effective but also a significant drain on resources, with the discarded pieces practically non-recyclable. Tube drilling, wire-cutting and slice-cutting techniques could achieve precision over the worked shape and regular-shaped, reusable runoff, but it suffered from extremely low labor efficiency and was, at the time, only used in cutting the holes of jue, where the striking method was ineffective, or opening the rung holes for yue-battle ax. By the Late Songze through the entirety of the Liangzhu, tremolite would always directly make use of and employ slice-cutting and wire-cutting techniques for forming a columnar form. Wire-cutting and slice-cutting, in essence, could not scrimp involve supernumerary effort in order to make maximum use of the jade. A great number of the large Liangzhu jades we have discovered are quite irregular and were not subject to improvements and repairs, a manifestation of the veneration for jade itself and even a value system exterior to the vessel itself. Liangzhu jades are celebrated worldwide, and their primary types include cong, bi-disc, and yue-battle ax. Jade types and elaborative themes exhibit a high degree of unity across the Liangzhu Culture realm, and signs indicate that there may have been a network for the unified allocation of elite ritual items such as the jade cong. Add the difference in manufacturing vis-à-vis stone wares, and retaining the maximal profitability of this material demanded the involvement of the entire society. Similarly, to care for the jades themselves, Liangzhu people sought to preserve the area displayed to the maximal extent and to leave exterior flaws uncorrected. All the above show the importance of jade exceeded normal boundaries in Liangzhu hearts and minds. Jade resources were therefore bound to become the most focused on of all resources among the Liangzhu noble class, and the extraction and use of jade was surely monopolistic. Sites connecting to Liangzhu jade processing have appeared at Zhongjiagang, Tangshan, and Wujiabu in Liangzhu Ancient City, and at Yangdun, Muyuqiao, and Zhongchuming in Deqing. This demonstrates the widespread distribution of Liangzhu Culture jade workshops in the area and the major position occupied by such processing. No undeniable evidence of a source of Liangzhu jade has been found. The Classic of Mountains and Rivers [山海经], however, refers to the Tianmu Mountains as “Mountains of Floating Jade,” symbolizing mountains of jade floating above the Taihu Lake (known as Ju’ou in ancient times). We have recently joined forces with the Zhejiang Provincial Geological Survey Academy to carry out a survey, which has led us to understand that, in the whole of Zhejiang, it is only the hilly area to the west of the Liangzhu Site that retains jade resources in a minable state. According to this geological research the source of the jade sits around a large body of granite formed through chemical reactions under hydrothermal effects working on carbonaceous limestone and other surrounding rock. In the entirety of Zhejiang, only a few regions

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within the Tianmu Mountains area are equipped with these conditions. We have, fortunately, already discovered a vital clue in the first stages of our survey, where we harvested a sample of tremolite bearing a very close resemblance to soft jade standards—and this has brought up the possibility of locating the wellspring of Liangzhu jade. Meanwhile the Shanghai and Jiaxing plains hinterland is essentially denuded of hills: despite a wealth of space for rice production, the place lacks for jade resources. Nakamura Shinichi and others believe that certain cong in the Shanghai and Jiangsu regions were brought in from Liangzhu Ancient City. Therefore the resource superiority enjoyed by the latter might have been one of the reasons behind its relatively high standard of development and for the area becoming a regional center.

4.5.3 Stone Materials Prior to the appearance of metallic tools, stone was the most important tooling material. We have recently conducted a comprehensive lithological identification of all Liangzhu Culture stone wares stored at the Yuhang Museum, Liangzhu Museum, and Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology—a grand total of around 2,500 items—while also conducting a lithological survey on the surrounding area and stone still quarried in the present day. Our analysis has revealed that different stone tools were manufactured from different sources. Of these, the material for manufacturing the stone ben-adze and zao-chisel as primarily used by woodworkers was a variety of striped siliceous rock. It is very likely that this stone is only found distributed on the South Tiao Brook and Fenshui River on the west edge of the Liangzhu Site Cluster. In the lower stretches of the Fenshui, we just so happen to find the Fangjiazhou Stone Tool Workshop Remains in Tonglu. The shore here was a site for stone collecting and processing during the Majiabang Culture and Songze Culture. We have also learned that the Kuahuqiao Site—dated 8000 BP— and the Hemudu Site of 7000 BP—had already begun gathering such quarried stone to process into tools. The stone must likewise have been collected from this region, which therefore had its own venerable tradition as a fixed gathering point. We also find unworked stone tools and drilling cores for stone yue-battle ax on either shore of Zhongjiagang, at Maozhushan (both within Liangzhu Ancient City), at Wenjiashan in the outer city, and at Baimushan and Shimadou in the outskirts. They are found alongside other gravel tools, although no piles of stone flakes were found on site. We do, on the other hand, find a large number of mounds of struck stone flakes at the Fangjiazhou Site, proof that individuals did not collect such materials at the source, but rather collected stones on the shores in the lower and idle stretches of the Fenshui. Based on our own experiment, when mountain stones were collected and formed into proto-vessel forms using the striking technique, around 90% exhibited irregular fracturing and become impossible to work into the proper form. Meanwhile the shoreline gravel was brought in over long distance in a natural process that had gradually disintegrated any crumbly components, leaving the densest and

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sturdiest part of the rock. Since the stone tools were mostly actual use tools for situations demanding continuous pressure, such sturdiness was a vital factor. The natural selection aided man in the selection of the most appropriate stone materials—hence the rich accretions of gavel on the shore became the most appropriate locus for collecting stone tools, as well as initial stage processing. Besides, river transportation was the most economical means of transport for the Liangzhu. As late as the Qing, the journey from Jixi in Anhui through to Hangzhou required only four days, while a trek over mountains required a whole half-month. Hence the river route was certain, from economic considerations, to have been the primary route for stone shipments at the time. In addition, ritual usage of stone tools such as the marble yue-battle ax might mean that formal traits such as color and pattern were major indices for consideration, amongst which we might include fixed rock types and sources. The most commonly seen classic grave goods in Liangzhu Culture male burials generally show no marks of usage and belong to the realm of mingqi (grave goods for use on the afterlife). We frequently see a thick, tongue-shaped large-opening marble (also containing asperite) yue-battle ax in Liangzhu noble burials. These may be sourced in Choushan [Chou Hill] in Yuhang and in the Fuyang stretch, both on the west side of Liangzhu Ancient City. The thinner small-opening stone yue-battle-ax with corner blade as frequently turns up in commoner burials was generally formed of a siliceous rock. Such materials also had their fixed sources in the hilly area on the west side of Liangzhu Ancient City.

4.5.4 Timber Chinese construction primarily consists of wood and earth, different from the wood and stone used in Western architecture. Liangzhu Culture, whether noble or commoner burials, invariably employed wooden inner-coffins, with an additional wooden outer-coffin for noble burials. The everyday infrastructure of Liangzhu lives: the shorelines, ports, wells, storage pits, and buildings all employed a large volume of wood. Wells often contained wooden well rings, for example, with stone infill between the well and pit, and pottery sherds serving as a filtering layer. At the Xingang Site in Jiashan, a well-formed of an enormous piece of hollowed wood was discovered, and a composite well of stacked large square wooden slabs was found at the Miaoqiancun Site in Jiande. Wooden stakes reinforced the shoreline at Liangzhu Culture sites: crown beams with tenon holes were also fixed at the top of the wooden stakes at on the west shore of the southern stretch of the Zhongjia River [Zhongjiagang] at Liangzhu Ancient City; we discovered a square foundational sleeper at Meirendi—a flattened wooden board stood above it, and it is possible that some fixed cross beam architectural component was found at the tip, with the results of drilling revealing this item might have reached a hundred meters in length; we also discovered a wooden harbor at Bianjiashan. Wood was also the material of choice for Liangzhu boats, tools, and weaponry.

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Liangzhu palace buildings were formed made of wood, with grass roofs and wooden-frame mud walls. Among ordinary settlements, we have discovered a midsize house at Miaoqian, containing two circles of posts pits for a total of 26 posts of diameters of 17–27 cm, and wooden board foundations. Among the Palace Zone architecture we discovered a row of 32 post pits belonging to a building below Xiaowuguishan—their widest diameter was 60 cm. A net structure formed of horizontally linked large square wooden slabs was discovered at the base of the earth stage of Major Mojiaoshan—these penetrated deep into the base of the stage and may have been ground beams to prevent subsiding. 25 building remains have already been found at the tip of Mojiaoshan, the largest 700 m in area, letting us envisage the sheer grandeur of the buildings. In the Zhongjia River [Zhongjiagang] on the east slope of Mojiaoshan, we discovered several enormous pieces of wood, some already worked into square shapes, one rounded. These were appraised as holm oak and mushroom wood. The latter can reach a height of 30 m and a waist girth of 1 m, and generally grows on sunny mountain slopes at an elevation of over 60 m, with a distribution on north slide slope of Yaoshan [Yao Hill] in modern times. Mushroom wood generally grows in mountains at elevations over 500 m: in the area around the Ancient City, such hilly land is only found on the west side. Concerning other large-scale wooden construction of the Liangzhu Period, Cyclobalanopsis Glauca also frequently grows in hilly slopes or gullies over 60 m above sea level. Hence the material used for the construction of large palaces was principally produced from within these hilly lands. “Ox-nose holes” have been bored through much of the wood discovered at Zhongjiagang, Meirendi, and Bianjiashan, with traces of rope remaining around some of these openings, demonstrating that these materials were shipped in.

4.5.5 Security The northern coastal cultural region occupied a relatively strong position in Liangzhu times. Geographically speaking, Liangzhu Ancient City lay on the southern edge of the urbanized Liangzhu Culture region, with sparsely populated hilly land to the west and south, Dazheshan [Dazhe Hill] presenting a natural barrier to the north and the Bay of Hangzhou not too far away in the south. This was the region of the entire cultural complex most far removed from strong external forces. From the perspective of its regional connections, Liangzhu Ancient City occupied the north of the C-shaped basin, with Dazheshan and Daxiongshan [Daxiong Hill] two naturally occurring sub-chains of the Tianmu Mountains bestriding the north and south, and a series of hills at Huiguanshan, Yaoshan, Nanshan, and Kaolaoshan distributed in the west. These four hill bodies were all located around two kilometers from the Ancient City, which made an outer wall of the hills, and sat in a relatively secure position.

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4.5.6 Transportation Wheeled transportation was yet to develop in Liangzhu Culture, and water transport was the essential means of transport in Jiangnan. Liangzhu Ancient City was a large urban space where urban construction, circulation of material, logistics and defense, and individual communications relied on transportation and shipment via the water route. Rivers formed a dense network in the east, with a main artery heading toward the Taihu Lake hinterland, and convenient transportation. Following the river from Liangzhu Ancient City, one arrived at Taihu Lake after a journey of slightly over 60 km, whence one could embark on or from the Yangtze, connecting far and wide. If we fully understand such convenience of transportation and geographical superiority, then we may understand the factor behind the selection of the Taihu Lake estuary for the Liangzhu Ancient City—concealed in the hills, but linked with All Under Heaven.

4.5.7 Unfavorable Elements and Countermeasures There are two sides to every coin. Despite the benefits to security and accumulation of resources behind the construction of Liangzhu Ancient City at this point, the site faced one gargantuan threat: water. Different from the plains, this area faced hilly land, occupying the lower reaches of a mountain brook-style river, so was flood-prone. The Tianmu Mountains to the west of the Ancient City, meanwhile, were one of two centers of torrential rain in Zhejiang, where annual rainfall today reaches 1600–1800 mm. Liangzhu’s climate might have been damper than the present, so the figure for annual rainfall is estimated at around 1800–2000 mm. As a monsoon climate region, rainfall was uneven, concentrated around the flood season, when close to a thousand millimeters of rain might fall in a few days. This would lead to drastic rise in the water level in the hilly brooks, resulting in enormous mountain flooding that presented a gigantic danger to the plains in the lower reaches. Rainfall, on the other hand, was much reduced in the dry season, when the rivers often dried up. With their considerable surface gradient and major threats of flooding and drying, the mountain brooks were ill-equipped for shipping and transportation. Calculations by Mr. Zheng Zhaojing reveal that the ratio of floods to droughts in this natural disaster region stood at 6:4—the large population at Liangzhu Ancient City and its surrounding base settlements therefore faced grave flood threats in the flood season and the possibility of sundered transportation during the dry season. This also prevented rice agriculture from attaining the convenience of irrigation. The countermeasure adopted by the Liangzhu people was therefore to construct the world’s earliest large-scale irrigation system (Figs. 4.36, 4.37 and 4.38).

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Elevated Dam Reservoir Valley Elevated Dam Weir Long Hills g Facin

Depressed Dam Reservoir

ed ress ins Dep n Pla o Dam

Outer City

Palace City Royal City

ll Wa ity er C Out

Fig. 4.36 Liangzhu Ancient City and the Peripheral Irrigation Structure (orange labels show Liangzhu Ancient City (palace, inner and outer city), the elongated weir to the north, and the depressed dam to the west)

East stretch of Tangshan 1 Central stretch of Tangshan West stretch of Tangshan

Liangzhu Ancient City

Fig. 4.37 The Connection between Tangshan and Liangzhu Ancient City (Satellite Image, US Corona, 1969). 1—Tangshan; 2—Shizishan; 3—Liyushan; 4—Guanshan; 5—Wutongnong; 6— Xuegongling; 7—Laohuling; 8—Zhoujiafan; 9—Qiuwu; 10—Shiwu; 11—Mifengnong (west stretch, central stretch and east stretch of Tangshan indicated in north, Liangzhu Ancient City on left)

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Zhoujiafan (8) Ganggongling (6)

Laohuling (7)

Fig. 4.38 Ganggongling (6)—Laohuling (7)—and Zhoujiafan (8)

4.5.8 The Irrigation System The Liangzhu irrigation system occupied the north and west sides of Liangzhu Ancient City. At present we have confirmed the existence of eleven dams. These were integral extramural parts of the unified design during the initial construction of the city. 11 km separated the long dam at the easternmost point of Tangshan (marked “1’”on Fig. 4.36) north of Liangzhu Ancient City, and the Mifengnong Dam furthest west (“11”). From northernmost Shiwu Dam (“10”) to Wutongnong Dam furthest south was a distance of 5.5 km. Ten kilometers stood between the heart of Liangzhu Ancient City and Mifengnong Dam (Fig. 4.39). Based on their shape and position, one can divide these structures into hill-front elongated dam, valley mouth elevated dam, and hillock-linked low plains depressed dam categories. 1.

2.

The Hill-front Elongated Dam: originally named the Tangshan Site or Tuyuan [‘Earth-Hill’] Site (Fig. 4.38), it lies roughly two kilometers to the north of Liangzhu Ancient City, leaning against the Dazheshan chain to the north, 100– 200 m from the foothills, running a total course of five kilometers on a northeastsouthwest route, the largest individual body discovered for the Liangzhu Culture irrigation system to date. The dam divides into three stretches from east to east. The west stretch is a singlelevel dam structure in the shape of a carpenter’s square. The central section is a two-layered body with a north and south section, with the northern and southern dams standing 20–30 m apart and turning at the same point to form a canal. The

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Qiuwu (9) Mifengnong Shiwu (10)

Fig. 4.39 Qiuwu (9)—Shiwu (10)—Mifengnong (11) (photographed facing south)

3.

4.

highpoint of the north dam sits at an elevation of 15–20 m above sea level, the southern dam is slightly lower with a top height of 12–15 m. The canal base has a low point of 7–8 m. The eastern limit of this double-dam structure connects with a watershed stretching out from Dazheshan. The watershed represents the eastern end of Tangshan and is a single-dam structure in what is essentially a straight-line distribution connecting to a dense spread of earth mounds at Luocun, Gejiacun, and Luojiadun (marked “2” in Fig. 4.36). The Mouth of the Valley for the Elevated Dam: situated in the valley mouth of two relatively lofty hills in the northwest, this is a six dam structure that incorporates Ganggongling, Laohuling, Zhoujiafan, Qiuwu, Shiwu, and Mifengnong. We can divide it into east and west groups that each stop up a single mountain valley, forming a reservoir (Figs. 4.39 and 4.40). These valley mouths are generally rather narrow, and the original dam lengths ran from 50 to 200 m, mostly around 100 m. Dam thickness approached 100 m. The Low Plains Depressed Dam: constructed on plains roughly 5.5 km from the southern stretch of the elevated dam, the body was formed by four dams at Wutongnong, Guanshan, Liyushan, and Shizishan, which linked the isolated hillocks on the plains, with peak dam elevation at roughly 10 m. Dam length varied between 35 and 350 m, depending on the distance between the hillocks. The reservoir area between the elevated and depressed dam was roughly triangular and covered an area of around 8.5 km2 . The relatively low topography remains at flood region in the present day. The east end of the reservoir links with the elongated dam at Tangshan and together they form the unified irrigation system (Fig. 4.40).

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Shizishan (2)

Liyushan (3)

Guanshan (4)

Fig. 4.40 Shizishan (2)—Liyushan (3)—Guanshan (4)

According to GIS analysis, hill valleys can be found roughly one meter below the elevated dams on the east side of each of the two elevated dam groups—these could serve as flood channels. The east-group dam sits at an elevation of 30 m, the flood channel located on to natural hills on the east side of the dam body—at a narrow pass between Maoweibashan [Maoweiba Hill] and Jilongshan [Jilong Hill] (Fig. 4.41), ten meters wide, prospecting revealing foundational bedrock with a maximum height of 28.7 m. The west group has an elevation of 40 m above sea level, and the flood channel sits on the east side of the Qiuwu Dam, prospecting revealing that these are

Overspill Routes

Overspill Routes

Fig. 4.41 Overspill routes at the elevated dam

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two natural hillocks that topped out at 39 m. Water flow between these two flood channels could satisfy real-time demand for reducing flooding in both reservoirs and achieve their spillover effect. The total dam area has been estimated at 13.29 km2 , equivalent to double that of West Lake in Hangzhou. Total reservoir capacity was 46,350,000 m2 , or thrice the volume of West Lake.

4.5.9 Estimating Extramural Population at Liangzhu Ancient City The band containing the Liangzhu Site Cluster is nowadays an area of plains hosting Jiangnan water towns, with low-lying topography. Population generally inhabits natural highlands or artificial earth mounds. As described above, the Liangzhu Ancient City inner wall and outer wall both boasted residential capabilities. Burials and workshops have also been discovered at Tangshan, the longest of the dams in the irrigation system, as well as everyday garbage discovered at the slope base, and the dam was likewise believed to have simultaneous residential capabilities. Of the various sub-systems within Liangzhu Ancient City, Mojiaoshan served as the Palace Zone, and though the nature of the noble buildings above remains unclear, overall population would have been modest. Our main calculations lie in the population occupying the city wall, outer city, and the earth hill at Tangshan. There are two regular techniques for estimating the population of ancient sites. One targets the occupied units of the site and the burials, where it conducts a comprehensive exposure and statistical analysis. But the enormous volume of any section of Liangzhu Ancient City means we can only conduct dissection on an extremely limited scale. Alongside this, there are the buildings and burials on top of walls, which were mostly destroyed, so any method for discussing population scale according to settled scale and outlook and total burial numbers is likewise defanged. We therefore give a rough estimate on population scale based on the area under human occupation in the settlement. This involves selecting a settlement point from a similar timeframe, its structure essentially entire, population relatively unambiguous, then dividing settlement area (excluding all central settlement components such as residences outside of productive agricultural lands, burials and refuse areas) by population, to gain a figure for the average population per occupied area in the settlement. The area of the target settlement is then divided by this figure, giving a quotient that we can take as the population for this target settlement. Under a situation of relative uniformity in regional environment, economic production, lifestyle, and settlement-scale, this may count as a not-unreasonable statistical research method. The present writer has already made an initial calculation of the scale of population in the middle phase (Terminal Songze through Initial Liangzhu) of the Xiantanmiao Site in Haiyan, and for Xindili (late Middle Liangzhu) in Tongxiang, calculating an average population

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of one individual per 150 m2 for Xiantanmiao (excluding the farmed area). The value approaches that of one individual per 137.45 m2 acquired by Fang Hui employing average population per area in modern villages during his population estimates in settlement archaeology at the Liangcheng Area in Rizhao, Shandong. We therefore use this for our analysis of population. The City Wall: the Ancient City wall ran for around 6000 m and was 40–60 m wide—take a medium value of 50 m, add slope deposits of 10 m thickness at either side of the moat, and, if Liangzhu Ancient City is taken as a regular site, then the surface area reaches around 42 ha. Dividing this by a figure of one individual per 100–150 m2 gives us a carrying capacity of 2800–4200 individuals, equivalent to more than 70 base settlements in the Xiantanmiao mold. The Outer Wall: this means the extramural site component running from Biandanshan-Heshangdi—Qianshan, Meirendi—Lishan, Zhengcun—Bianjiashan, and the stretch at Fengshan in the southwest, a total length of 6500 m. Part of the west portion is crowded out by the present-day township, but allowing for similar structure as to the city wall here, we estimate a perimeter of around 8000 m. Prospecting materials give the total area of the outer wall platform at 64 ha, hence a population of 4200–6400 on the wall. Excluding other free-standing elevated areas inside the city, sites such as Longli, Huangfenshan, Gaobeishan, and Zhucunfen, and the long ridge on the edge of Fanshan, the total area of 123 ha could support a population of 8200–12,300 individuals. Hence the scale of population at the ancient city and outer city was 15,200–22,900 individuals. Within the irrigation system, there is evidence of occupation above Tangshan, though the situation is uncertain for other dams, preventing further calculation at the present moment. 6500 m in length, Tangshan’s width is similar to that of the city wall—calculating for a width of 70 m gives a total area of 45 ha, for which we estimate a population of 3000–4500. Other extramural settlements: the eastern limits of Tangshan link with the hill slope in the vicinity of Baimushan [Baimu Hill]. The east side is home to over 30 sites, and a distance of approximately 4500 m separates the interrupted spread along the striped shape Baimushan through Yangweibashan on the east, along the southern foothills of Dazheshan and Shanqian. We can add scattered point-like settlements in other areas, such as Sujiacun, Meijiali, Yanjiaqian, and Houyangcun, as well as Yaojiadun and the group of earth mounds formed along the north–south elongated ridge from the line of Ludouwan—Huanglutou on the north of the Tiao Brook, though area represented by these sites will require future precise measurement through GIS techniques. We can at present hazard an area of around 60 ha. Suppose these sites were being exploited during the period of Liangzhu Ancient City, their population would have been around 4000–6000 individuals.

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References Hong, X. (2000, August). Archaeological research on Pre-Qin cities [先秦城市的考古学研究]. Yanshan Press. Hui, Z. (2000). Research on middle Yangtze neolithic cemeteries [长江中游地区新石器时代墓地 研究]. A Collection of Studies on Archaeology [考古学研究], 4. Ling, Q. (2019). The formation of Liangzhu Ancient City: Preliminary chronological research [ 良渚遗址的形成——年代学初步研究] in Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. Comprehensive Research Report on Liangzhu Ancient City [良渚古城综合研究 报告]. Cultural Relics Press. Mingda, W. (1987). Summary description of the ‘Liangzhu’ Site Cluster” [“良渚”遗址群概述]. In Yuhang County Cultural Relics Management Committee et al. Liangzhu Culture [良渚文化] Yuhang Literary and Historical Materials No. 3 [余杭文史资料第 3 辑]. Mingda, W. (1996). Summary overview of field archaeology at the Liangzhu Site Cluster” [良渚遗 址群田野考古概述]. In Dawn of Civilization: Liangzhu Culture [文明的曙光——良渚文化]. Zhejiang People’s Publishing House. Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. (2005). Site report on the Liangzhu site cluster (2): Fanshan [良渚遗址群考古报告之二——反山]. Cultural Relics Press. Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. (2012, February). The Yujiashan Site in Yuhang, Zhejiang—The discovery of a complete Liangzhu culture settlement of six linked moated communities [浙江余杭玉架山遗址——发现了由六个相邻的环壕组成的良渚文化 完整聚落]. China Cultural Relics News, [中国文物报] 24(4). Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. (2019). Comprehensive research report on Liangzhu Ancient City [良渚古城综合研究报告]. Cultural Relics Press.

Chapter 5

Power and Belief

Abstract Discusses the internal and external origins of the divine-face emblems of Liangzhu culture and offers a final inference on the nature of Liangzhu society—a “divine kingship state”—as a result. Keyword Belief · Ritual · Divine-face emblem · Worship When food is assured, one can set about knowing ritual and decorum. Liangzhu, as a complex society, having pioneered its wetlands with migrants, satisfying basic demands for survival in rice terms, would surely have efficient social organization and management, thereby upholding the regular operation of its pyramidal society across a wide orbit. In reality, the large-scale movement underway since the Late Songze was itself a kind of organized community action and was not purely selfdriven. Against such enormous changes, the connections of social organization and other organizational means might undergo their own great transformations. In the prehistoric period, with its lack of written materials to consult, analysis of social organization and means of management requires that we rely on observation of special traces and artifacts. Although the present archaeological evidence struggles to explicate the details behind this shift, we can nonetheless catch a glimpse of the fundamental changes in the system of power and belief in contemporary society through one special artifact: jades. Jades unearthed at Liangzhu Culture Yaoshan and Fanshan possess a divinity with animal-face motif found across the entire Liangzhu realm and has also been called the “divine emblem” of Liangzhu. From a decorative standpoint, it was essentially the only prime métier of major Liangzhu objects. Even though radically simplified in Late Liangzhu jade cong, ivory quanzhang-scepters at Late Liangzhu burials in Fuquanshan and the Wujiachang Cemetery, both in Shanghai, display the divine emblem intact and completely unchanged, a demonstration that the phenomenon was unified and fixed from the Early Liangzhu through Late Liangzhu. On the simplifying phenomenon in high-notched cong of the Late Liangzhu, it may have been a difference in jade sourcing in the late period that prevented such complex detailed patterning from being carved on the surface. The transition from concrete to symbolic also stood for the deeper physic penetration of the belief, to an unshakeable position. © Zhejiang University Press 2021 N. Wang, The Historical and Cultural Context of Liangzhu, Liangzhu Civilization, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5134-2_5

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To analyze the composition of this “divine emblem,” the emphasis of representation lies on a crowned individual (or individual-shape) riding a divine beat with large double-ringed eyes. This beast had a long local history, with the crowned symbol and divine image symbolized by the double-ring appearing in the Hemudu Culture at 7000 BP—it may represent a natural deity associated with the concept of the sun and moon, and it frequently emerges alongside figures of pigs or birds. Inhabitants occupied the lower hand in their struggle with nature and commonly personified natural objects in order to explain this phenomenon. Although we would struggle to point to a precise cause, there is no doubt these practices belonged to a variety of natural worship. By the Songze Period, we are very hard pressed to explain the primary theme connected with such belief—such as the jade turtle and hexagonal star pattern of Lingjiatan—as some kind of religious object. They veer closer to some concept tempered through daily activities. The possibility is greater that they represent some Songze understanding of the order of the external world. Zhao Hui therefore believes that Songze belief belonged to the primitive religious phase, still sticking close to worship of the natural (Fig. 5.1). Reaching the era marked by the materials unearthed at Yaoshan and Fanshan, a qualitative change has taken place. The most critical change is the addition of a human figure in the primary position above the creature. This symbolizes the appearance of a personified deity in command of the movement of the sun, moon, and constellations within the Liangzhu faith system. His position was like that of the Christian God, and he thereby became a symbol of worship. No image has been found to dominate this deity in Songze Culture artifacts. But the being itself was not the target of human worship. The jade figurines of Lingjiatan Culture, their arms covered with bangles, may, for example, have been the image of contemporary nobles or shamans, themselves apotheosized. But we should still remember the large square face on the crown itself.

Lingjiatan External

Liangzhu Divine Emblem

Hemudu Indigenous

Fig. 5.1 The Source of Elements in the Liangzhu “Divine Emblem”: (left to right: Lingjiatan (external), Liangzhu Divine Emblem, and Hemudu (indigenous)

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Dating to the Early Liangzhu, the earliest chronologically determined divine face was unearthed at the Zhanglingshan Site. This also features an animal representation, but no divine human. The eyes of the creature are the same double-ring sun pattern of Hemudu times. We can therefore understand this as a recasting of the banded sun pattern of the early Hemudu Culture upon the jade form. A side-face human image unearthed at Zhaolingshan was the earliest to be unearthed alongside the jade. The human was not yet upon the divine creature. By the period corresponding with the Yaoshan and Fanshan cemeteries, this human representation has already come to occupy the superior position, having completed its “counterattack.” On the symbols that make up the image at this time, the large crown and double-ring pattern, and their traditional union with animal and bird forms have been retained, the only difference being the regal presence of the squareheaded individual that has emerged as the main actor, the crown symbol having been subtly transformed into the divine human’s feather coronet, the double-ring sign becoming the large eyes of the creature. As a total combination of features, the bird on either side of the primary theme is another such double-ring symbol, which has, like the animal, kept to the same pace of simplification in form. At present, there are multiple archaeological threads that demonstrate that the highest elite of Liangzhu times were very likely migrants or the descendants of migrants from that branch of Lingjiatan individuals with command over those sublime abilities in jade processing—the same population behind the jade figurines with bangled arms and the square-face crowned shaman. This movement very likely proceeded via the north route along Taihu Lake, along the Yangtze and into Jiangsu to the north of Taihu, then passed the lake and south into the Liangzhu area. We have made the serendipitous discovery that the square-faced image belonging to this branch of Lingjiatan Culture was unified with the tradition indigenous beliefs stood for in the double-ring pattern during this migratory process, and that it finally formed the composite symbol of belief in the Liangzhu “divine emblem.” The emblem was continually given emphasis across a wide range, developing into an exclusive divine symbol. We can understand this as a round of religious revolution having been completed, and having been acknowledged across a wide expanse. Zhao Hui calls this transition from natural worship to personalized divine teaching the change from “Songze Style” to the “Liangzhu Mold.”1 But why would the symbol of unified belief in personified deity be of such special importance for organizing Liangzhu society? This must be closely allied to the status drawn up for this divine human. Zhao Hui sees the sudden appearance of the human image as a symbol of worship as a form of hero adulation following a series of glorious achievements in the establishment of a new society by Liangzhu peoples as an expression of a heroic sentiment that man could conquer Heaven. We, however, are more inclined to believe that in a Liangzhu society where kinship laws were the nodal point for managing the foundations, the appearance of the individual image would not indicate the emergence of some humanistic thinking in a universal sense, but more the deification of a 1

Hui (2015).

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certain primal ancestor within the clan, or, even more likely, the weaving together of various divine traces to forge direct connections with a legendary hero and to hence embed a natural divinity in direct descendants and bring a rationality to leadership. An abstracted divine spirit was humanized—he could have spokespersons appearing in human form in the human realm. Such would have been shamans and kings. When king or shaman played the role of god, announced the god’s instructions through divine descent or possession, these were more likely to elicit psychological acknowledgement. The “divine emblem” can be understood as having employed the husk of a traditional deity in order to inordinately strengthen the position of the “humanized deity” in the traditional concept or worship as well as solidify the political legitimacy of the rulers in reality—a strengthening, by expression of divine authority, of kingly authority. This was just like the story of “Heaven commanded the Blackbird, which descended and produced Shang” associated with Xie, the founding ancestor of the Shang, born after his mother had eaten the bird’s egg, or the manner in which Jiang Yuan, mother of the founding ancestor of Zhou, “walking along the footsteps of a giant” had stamped on a divine footprint and become with child. It even resembled later Emperors of China styling themselves the Son of Heaven, or the Japanese Tenno declaring himself the descendant of Amaterasu. These were from the same Liangzhu Culture suite. As a separate point, the worship content found across a wide range of preceding artifacts such as pottery wares, wooden items, and teeth and bone wares, focuses around this time on jades and ivories, materials the commoner would find difficult to access. Pottery no longer serves as the main carrier of symbols associated with the visuality of belief. There is a written Chinese expression on “exhausting Earth and penetrating Heaven,” which in reality points to the identical nature of the sun, moon, mountains, and valleys for all humans—we can all offer sacrifice to them, and people and spirits intermix. Yet the inclusion of the humanized deity and the movement of his ancestry to an upper position pertained to the “Son of Heaven” in natural kinship relations, monopolizing authority over sacrifices, taking the guiding role in spiritual authority. Since the “spirit emblems” was a unified presence across the entire Liangzhu Culture sphere in the Taihu Lake watershed, his spokesperson would have enjoyed political legitimacy over this wide ambit. Religion, military affairs, and social control and authority were inseparable in Liangzhu. In the highest elite burials, tomb occupants possessed a large number of religious ritual objects such as jade yue-battle ax, stone yue-battle ax and cong and bi-disc. The jade yue at Fanshan burial M12 was, moreover, embellished with divinity with animal face pattern, and other highest elite male tombs have revealed extravagant scepters with dui-ferrule hawksbill cap, this upper ferrule component in reality a folded “divine emblem” sign showing “military (royal) authority conferred divinely” (Figs. 5.2 and 5.3). Nakamura Shinichi believes the high degree of conformity in jades excavated at a number of sites must have been the product of a unified group in the Liangzhu Site Cluster, with dispatches made by the royal conglomerate presenting these as gifts, that

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Fig. 5.2 Jade yue-battle-ax from the Fanshan Cemetery

they employed this means to uphold or distribute regional ruling authority to various nobles, in exchange for recognition and support of the center.2 The fundamental idea of Liangzhu religion, therefore, was to employ this reality in the aid of controlling Liangzhu society, a form of “political religion.” Through the description above, we can provide a brief summary of the topic question “What Was Liangzhu?” At 5500 BP climactic changes pushed people away from hunting and gathering and toward the cultivation of rice and inspired population to move from the hill gullies toward the Taihu Lake plains, and congregate there. This low, marshy environment on the riverine network of plains then pushed them toward the construction of artificial stage mounds, the result of which was a scattering of small settlements in dense distributions, and the pioneering of the Jiangnan water town lifestyle. Harmonious development of man and land quickened the progress toward civilization, forming class differentiation and a pyramid settlement structure of “capital-city-settlement.” Clan management based on actual application of a kinship order was operational inside these base settlements, while elite individuals formed a rank system in which jade was the main carrier, and employed religious instruction as their technique 2

Shinichi (2003).

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5 Power and Belief

Fig. 5.3 Rubbing of jade yue-battle-ax from Fanshan

to form master-subordinate alliances with each region. These regions may have primarily been managed through kinship ties. Through all this, the organizational mold of a State of Divine Kingship was structured, and five-thousand years of glorious civilization were pioneered on such a foundation.

References Hui, Z. (2015). From ‘Songze Style’ to ‘Liangzhu Mold’” [从 “崧泽风格”到 “良渚模式”] in Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Peking University Research Institute of Chinese Archaeology. Power and Belief: A Special Exhibition on the Liangzhu Site [ 权力与信仰——良渚遗址考古特展]. Cultural Relics Press. Shinichi, N. (2003). The Liangzhu culture site cluster [良渚文化的遗址群]. Peking University Research Institute of Chinese Archaeology. Ancient Civilizations [古代文明] Cultural Relics Press.