The Urban Revolution in Late Prehistoric China
YANG XIAONENG, Visiting Fellow, Center for Chinese Studies
Wednesday, June 05, 2002
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
4357 Bunche Hall
UCLA
According to archaeological discoveries, urbanization in China, represented by walled settlements, emerged in the late fourth millennium bce, but took definitive shape during the following millennium. This development was not just a response to an advancement in the forms of settlement, but was actuated by deeper societal, political, religious, economic, and cultural transformations. Dr. Yang will outline the evolution of settlement patterns in prehistoric China, highlight representative discoveries of walled settlements dated to the late prehistoric period in various regions of China, elaborate their social settings, and discuss the nature of the emergence of complex societies.
Dr. Yang Xiaoneng is Curator of Chinese Art at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, which houses one of the finest Chinese collections outside China. Dr. Yang was trained as an archaeologist at Beijing University and obtained his doctoral degree in Art History and Archaeology from Washington University in St. Louis. During his career Dr. Yang has published several books and organized numerous exhibitions. His recent exhibition, “The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology,” opened at The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., traveled to Houston, San Francisco, and the Tokyo National Museum, and was selected by Chinese authorities to be the opening exhibition at the new Millennium Monument Hall in Beijing to celebrate the beginning of the 21st century. The exhibition catalogue was selected by Choice Magazine as an outstanding academic title for 2000.
For more information please contact
Richard Gunde
Tel: 310 825-8683
gunde@ucla.edu
Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies
