List of maps, tables, and figures; Conventions; Abbreviations; Acknowledgments; Introduction Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy; Calendar and chronology Edward L. Shaughnessy; The environment of ancient China David N. Keightley; 1. China on the eve of the historical period Kwang-chih Chang; 2. Language and writing William G. Boltz; 3. Shang archaeology Robert Bagley; 4. The Shang: China's first historical dynasty David N. Keightley; 5. Western Zhou history Edward L. Shaughnessy; 6. Western Zhou archaeology Jessica Rawson; 7. The waning of the Bronze Age: material culture and social developments, 770-481 BC Lothar von Falkenhausen; 8. The Spring and Autumn period Cho-yun Hsu; 9. Warring States: the political history Mark Edward Lewis; 10. The art and architecture of the Warring States period Wu Hung; 11. The classical philosophical writings David Sheperd Nivison; 12. Warring states: natural philosophy and occult thought Donald Harper; 13. The Northern Frontier in pre-Imperial China Nicola Di Cosmo; 14. The heritage left to the Empires Michael Loewe; Bibliography; Index.