• Working for His Majesty
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Working for His Majesty

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This volume deals with the Shang dynasty (ca. 1200–1045 B.C.) in North China, the first to leave written records, and its efforts—evidently with great success—which focused on the artisan corps, la...
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  • 01 August 2012
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This volume deals with the Shang dynasty (ca. 1200–1045 B.C.) in North China, the first to leave written records, and its efforts—evidently with great success—which focused on the artisan corps, labor mobilization, farming, warfare, hunting, building, leadership, and culture that made it all possible. Keightley looks at oracle-bone inscriptions of the Late Shang dynasty, covering the period from Wu Ding (ca. ?–1189 B.C.) to Di Xin (ca. 1086–1045 B.C.). His account of Late Shang labor mobilization is based primarily upon information that can be gleaned from the oracle-bone inscriptions, whose dynastic biases and divinatory impulses must be taken into account. The complexity and belief systems of the rest of Shang life must never be ignored. The author had translated 102 Shang oracle bones in his dissertation; the present work has 341 of them, often with several charges on the bone or shell. The volume includes a glossary of Shang terms and phrases.
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Price: $45.00
Pages: 532
Publisher: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Imprint: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Series: China Research Monograph
Publication Date: 01 August 2012
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781557291028
Format: Paperback
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David Keightley was professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Berkeley. His research has focused on early Chinese civilization and oracle bone script. His publications include Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China, The Ancestral Landscape: Time, Space, and Community in Late Shang China (ca. 1200-1045 B.C.), and Working for His Majesty.
Education: B.A., Columbia University; Ph.D., Columbia University

Preface 
Notes about the Sources, Citation, and Transcription Conventions 

1. Introduction: The Setting 
2. The Work and the Workshops 
       Bone Working
       Stone and Jade Working
       Pottery
       Textiles
       Wood Working
       Bronze Casting
       Cowries: Bone and Bronze
       The Emergence of Writing
       The Workshops
       The Products
3. The Artisan Corps 
       The Status of the Artisans
       The Duo Gong 多工
       “The Many Strikers”
       Summary
       The Dependent Laborers of Shang
       A Note on Population
4. The Zhong 眾 and the Ren 人
       The Status of the Workers: Slave, Free, or Dependent
       The Differences Between the Zhong 眾 and the Ren 人
5. Punishments, Human Sacrifice, and Accompanying-in-Death 
       Possible Punishments
       The Qiang 羌 and Duo Qiang 多羌: A Sample Case
       Human Sacrifice and Accompanying-in-Death
6. Labor Mobilization 
       The Verbs for “Mobilize”
       The Verbs for “Making an Offering”
7. Who Was Mobilized 
8. The Occupational Lineages 
9. Numbers 
       Accuracy of the Figures
       Casualties among the Zhong 眾
       Casualties among the Ren 人
10. Work Schedule of the Diviners 
       Discussion
11. Leadership 
12. The Work: Agriculture 
       The Agricultural Context
       Late Shang Agriculture
              The Powers and the Weather
              Agricultural Tools
       The Yi 邑 and Tian 田
       The Peasantry and the Population
       Dynastic Agriculture
       The Ritual Dimension
       Opening Up New Land
       The Use of Fire
       Irrigation
       Conclusions
13. The Work: Warfare 
       Leadership in Warfare
       Army Organization
       Penetration
       Horse-chariot Units and the Shang Army
       Shang Weapons
       Shang Military History
14. The Work: Hunting 
15. The Work: Construction 
       Wall Construction
       Rammed-Earth Construction
       Settlements and Buildings
       Temples and Other Buildings
       Drainage
       Royal and Other Tombs
16. Some Elements of Ritual Concern 
17. The Role of Geopolitics and Culture 
       Ancestor Worship
       Other Demands for Work
       The Role of Writing
       The Creation of the Ancestors
18. The Legacies 

Figure 
Tables 
Appendix 1: Inscription Glosses 
Appendix 2: Glossary of Shang Terms and Phrases 
Bibliography A: Abbreviations for the Oracle-Bone Collections and Other Reference Works 
Bibliography B: Other Works Cited 
Key to the Inscriptions Translated 
Index