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Is the lion the symbol of China? Or should it be the dragon or the phoenix? This book makes a provocative interpretation of the Chinese ancient totems such as the bear and the owl. Taking a mythological approach, it explores the origin of Chinese civilization using the quadruple evidence method, which integrates ancient and unearthed literature, oral transmission, and archeological objects and graphs.
It testifies to the authenticity of unresolved ancient myths and legends from the origins of Chinese Jade Ware (6200BC-5400 BC) to the names of the Yellow Emperor (2698-2598 BC) and the legends from the Xia (2010BC-1600BC), Shang (1600BC-046BC), Zhou (1046BC-771BC), and Qin (221BC-206BC) Dynasties. The book lays the foundation for a reconstruction of Chinese Mythistory. With well over 200 photographs of historic artifacts, the book appeals to both researchers and general readers.
List of contents
An Interdisciplinary Paradigm of Mythology.- A New Methodology: The Quadruple-Evidence Method.- The Big Tradition of Chinese Culture: Reconstructing Cultural Concepts with the Quadruple-Evidence Method.- The Jade Age and the Origins of Civilization from an International Perspective.- Sumerian Lapis lazuli Myths and the Origins of Civilizations.- The East Asian Jade Age: Mythological Foundations.- Jade Worship: The Primitive Belief Systems of Chinese Civilization.- A Mythological Analysis of the Origins of Chinese Jades: a Case Study of Jade Jue in the Xinglongwa Culture.- Jade Myths and Chinese Identity.- Youxiong: The Mythical Etymology of the Yellow Emperor.
About the author
YE Shuxian, a Ph.D. holder in Comparative Literature, is a senior professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. He is the chairman of the Chinese Mythology Association and Chinese Comparative Literature Association. He was a visiting professor at the Yale University from 1999 to 2000 and the director of Comparative Literature in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from 2004 to 2012. His main areas of research include comparative literature, mythology and literary Anthropology. He has published more than 300 journal articles and over 40 books.
