Shimao and Its Impact on Debates about the Origins of ‘Chinese Civilisation’

Clicks: 1
ID: 322085
2026
Free PDF
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal

Ranked #1,497 of 1,518 articles by views in Oxford University Press eBooks

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 1,518 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Sign in to mint
Abstract
Abstract Since the 1980s, the way scholars understand early China has shifted from centralism to multiregionalism. The notion that the middle and lower Yellow River Valley was the core region of the development of a ‘Chinese civilisation’ that spread out to peripheral regions was gradually replaced by the recognition of multiregional development across different areas of early China. In 2011–2012, the rediscovery of the Shimao site (2200–1700 BCE) in the northern Loess Plateau opened up further discussions on the paradigm of early China. Recent publications have revealed that Shimao was highly advanced in ritual, sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and technological contexts. More importantly, Shimao’s period of occupation preceded the rise of the Erlitou settlement (1750–1530 BCE) in Henan Province, where the latter is often referred to as the earliest ‘state’ in China. Shimao has thus been important in reconstructing and reinterpreting the developmental trajectory that led to the success of the Central Plains (suggesting the longstanding influence of linear evolutionary theory in Chinese archaeology). Scholars have also focused on Shimao’s connection to other large prehistoric settlements. The Taosi site (2300–1900 BCE) in Shanxi Province is another site that has been involved in discussions of Shimao. Although Shimao, Taosi, and Erlitou share similar stylistic features in their artefacts, the proposal of a southward development model in the rise of the Central Plains has provoked heated debates that allow us to reconsider current and future approaches and interpretations.
Reference Key
openalex_W7170038795 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Ying Tung Fung
Journal Oxford University Press eBooks
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197800324.013.0015
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197800324.013.0015
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.