Title: An Archaeology of History: The Wang Mang Nine Temples from Early Imperial China as Reconstructed by History and by Archaeology
Abstract: Abstract In this paper, I examine the relationship between the construction of history by the textual history of early imperial China and by Chinese archaeology in the second half of the twentieth century, considering how these two fields of scholarship were directed by ideologies of the Chinese government. The locus for this investigation is the complex of imperial ancestral temples constructed by the emperor Wang Mang (r. 9–23 CE) for his brief interregnum dynasty. Although this group of buildings is described in the official dynastic history, compiled only fifty years after its construction, as having nine temple buildings with specific ancestors ascribed to each, its archaeological excavation in the late 1950s instead revealed twelve temples in a carefully organized plan. The discrepancy between the original construction of the temple complex and its subsequent revision in textual history is revealing in terms of the relationship between received tradition and individual action in the context of establishing imperial legitimacy, whereas the modern attempts to reconcile the discrepancy between textual history and excavated history are indicative of the relationship between Chinese archaeology of that period and the nationalist revision of history. Keywords: Han DynastyWang MangNine TemplesChinese ArchaeologyGu JiegangXia Nai Acknowledgements Financial and technical support for this research has been provided under Grants 97-2410-H-259-045-MY2 and 99-2410-H-259-029 from the National Science Council of Taiwan. Support for the field trip to inspect the site and interview the lead archaeologist was provided by the Academia Sinica Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy and by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Archaeology. Notes Emphasis in the original. For further details on the connections between the imperial ancestral temple system and legitimacy of state rule (see Guo Citation2004, Citation2005, Citation2007). For a discussion of these imperial ancestral rites as they functioned in the Qing dynasty imperial court (see Zito Citation1997). See Loewe (Citation1974) for an extended discussion of the relationship between these changes and political issues of the time. See Loewe (Citation1974) and Liu (Citation1983). For a discussion of textual issues regarding the record of this debate and how they are indicative of Ban Gu's strategy as a historian (see Baker Citation2005). Although the actual degree to which these temples and sacrifices challenged the imperial treasury is difficult to determine, Ban Gu uses an extensive accounting of their requirements to begin the “Biography of Wei Xian”, which contains his discussion of this institution in the Western Han. Overall, the late Western Han was in general a period of retrenchment after the expansionist policies of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE). Twentieth century estimations of the policies of Wang Mang vary, from Hu Shi's view of them as an idealistic proto-socialist program (Hu Citation1928) to Bielenstein's (Citation1987) emphasis on their continuity with policies earlier in the Western Han and the practical difficulties that limited Wang Mang implementation of them. This third possibility is inherent in the proposals of Huang (Citation1989) and Loewe (Citation1994), discussed below. For a discussion of Ban Gu's possible strategy in recording this debate (see Baker Citation2005). My presentation of the evolution of political thinking in Communist China is based on the three phases discussed in Tsou (Citation1986). See von Faulkenhausen (1995) for a discussion of the relationship between regionalization and Chinese archaeology. In this three-part analysis of the development of Chinese archaeology, I follow Chang (Citation1981). Personal communication by the author with Huang Zhanyue, lead archaeologist for this excavation and chief editor for the published results, Beijing, October 11, 2003. Personal communication, Huang Zhanyue, October 11, 2003. This nationalistic aspect is hardly unique to China and, “since its inception, archaeology has been deeply involved in nationalist enterprises, above all in the construction of national identities” (Kohl Citation1995, 9). As discussed below, this development of regionalism, following on five decades of political and ethnic and political centralization, had its conceptual roots in the work of Gu Jiegang, one of the historians who proposed solutions to the twelve-nine temples. A detailed analysis of the list of Wang Mang's ancestors who received temples according to Ban Gu is contained in Loewe (Citation1994). For a further discussion of this aspect of Gu's earlier scholarship, see Schneider (Citation1969); and for his later scholarship, see Richter (Citation1982). Though in fact unrelated, Gu's attitude in this sense may be seen as having similarities to late modern deconstructionist approaches. The volumes of the series Debates on Ancient History were published sequentially and contain essays by authors other than Gu. The Forward, quoted here, is by Gu (Citation1933). Prior to Shun in Wang Mang's lineage was the Yellow Emperor, who was at another level of ancestral connection, being the “earliest imperial ruler” in the ancient historical system (Gu Citation1933, 454). The situation is complicated by the irony that all of Wang Mang's sons had by this point either died or been executed by him, and so the actual succession of his dynasty was highly questionable. Mo Tzu was a Chinese philosopher who lived from the late 5th c. to the early 4th c. BCE and who worked in opposition to many of the mainstream traditions of Chinese culture.
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Date: 2013-02-27
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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