Winner of the 2007 Philip and Eugenia Cho Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Asian Studies In this book, leading archaeologist Tianlong Jiao takes us on an archaeological investigation into the patterns and processes involved in the cultural changes on the coast of Southeast China during the Neolithic period. The Neolithic of Southeast China began with a full array of pottery, polished stone tools and bone tools around 6500 B.P., and ended with the appearance of bronzes around 3500 B.P. This book takes us through the three periods: early (ca, 6500-5000 B.P.), middle (ca. 5000-4300 B.P.), and late (ca. 4300-3500 B.P.), detailing the transformation of subsistence patterns and the development of regional interaction spheres The Neolithic people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were proto-Austronesians. They first expanded to Taiwan around 6500-5000 B.P., and maintained regular contacts with the mainland until 3500 B.P. Their expansions were possibly motivated by multiple factors such as trade and new immigrant pressure. Given the increasing international attention of the search for the homeland of Austronesian speakers, this book is especially timely since it addresses the implications of the Neolithic cultural changes of Southeast China and adds to our understanding of the early expansion of the proto-Austronesians. The foreword to this groundbreaking study is by world renowned archaeologist and scholar, Professor Ofer Bar-Yosef of Harvard University.

Featuring striking full-colour images and new research, this publication from the Hong Kong Palace Museum celebrates some of the most important works of horse art from the Palace Museum and the Louvre Museum. Five essays and forty-five entries highlight objects dating from the Han (206 BCE-220 CE) to Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, and explore the horse in art in a way that is accessible to general readers, encouraging them to think through comparisons with objects from both institutions. Centred on the question of human connection to the horse across time in China and beyond, the catalogue entries are divided into sections that examine the horse in mythology and religion, military culture, and transnational traversals, providing a means for reflecting on fundamental issues of human creativity, ambition, and tradition. This is a beautifully designed and thought-provoking volume that will find a ready market among those with an interest in Chinese art and culture. Published to celebrate the opening of the new Hong Kong Palace Museum in July 2022, Grand Gallop accompanies a major exhibition of the same name that is expected to generate significant media attention.