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This book is Zhang Jingwei, an anthropologist in the museum, a major new work after "A Minimalist History of China in the Museum". The book is divided into twelve chapters, continuing the basic pattern of the previous work's twelve cultural relics telling history. Among them are common cultural relics such as bronzes, pottery, porcelain, silk paintings, and brick paintings that are never lacking in museums, as well as special cultural relics such as incense burners, bronze mirrors, ornamental stones, and cultural relics. Each chapter is divided into six sections. The first section tells the story related to the cultural relic; the second section completes the phenomenological description of the cultural relic; the third section enters the historical space and integrates material culture and the context of the times; the fourth section attempts a structural analysis of the cultural relic from a higher dimension; the fifth section opens a dialogue between artworks and art history; and the last section reveals the cultural metaphor that cultural relics symbolize as a representation of the times. The book contains a total of more than 200 high-definition pictures of cultural relics, covering almost every museum collection category such as bronze, ceramics, calligraphy and painting, crafts, and architecture. Take readers to follow the cultural relics and re-enter history.

In this book, the cultural relics in the museum are no longer static and silent. They will become active because of the knowledge network laid in your mind, and accompany you to explore the wonderful world of ancient China: you can understand the "starry sky" of Chinese prehistoric civilization through jade articles, explore the Jiangnan of the Zhou Dynasty with the help of bronze heavy objects, and learn from the Eastern Han Dynasty The secrets of the rise of the grassland peoples are revealed in the murals, and traces of the "Ancient Tea Horse Road" can be found in the tea and porcelain stories of the Tang Dynasty... The author breaks out of the routine of historical narratives and uses the information behind the cultural relics to depict little-known historical puzzles. He uses an open multidisciplinary perspective to refresh our inherent understanding and connect a concise and novel Chinese historical context.

This book is the first collection of book reviews on archeology and history by anthropologist Zhang Jingwei. It is divided into five sections: "Archaeology", "China", "Mythology", "Methods" and "Wild Things". Although archaeological and historical works are thick and profound, when we use anthropological thinking to re-understand all aspects of Chinese civilization, we may be able to read unexpected new ideas from those works. In this sense, the many comments in this collection can not only help us better "understand" documents from a new perspective and reflect on current archaeological and historical research results, but also allow researchers on Chinese civilization to have a broader vision and mind.

This book does not stick to the concept of "Chinese center", but projects the activities of various groups in Chinese history onto the geographical structure of the East Asian continent. It uses anthropological methods to reinterpret the legends and mysteries left by many groups in Chinese history (from Xia, Shang and Zhou to Ming and Qing). It proposes a refreshing explanation for the reasons for the rise and final direction of these ancient groups, and presents new historical knowledge that is different from the past. This book attempts to paint a dynamic picture of East Asian population migration and cultural changes, break through the huge separation between the prehistory and civilization history of the East Asian continent, and convey a complete concept of "human history." This is a great history of China from the perspective of anthropologists, which will bring readers a refreshing experience of upgrading their historical knowledge and perspectives.

Every cultural relic in the museum is no longer static and silent. They will become active because of the knowledge network laid in your mind, and accompany you to explore the wonderful world of ancient China: you can learn about the "starry sky" of Chinese prehistoric civilization through jade articles, explore the Jiangnan of the Zhou Dynasty with the help of heavy bronze artifacts, and unlock fresh memories from the murals of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The secret of the rise of the Bei people can also be found in the tea and porcelain stories of the Tang Dynasty. Traces of the "Ancient Tea Horse Road"... "A Minimalist History of China in the Museum" breaks out of the routine of historical narratives and uses the information behind the cultural relics to splice the little-known historical truth. It uses an open multidisciplinary perspective to refresh our inherent cognition and connect a concise and novel Chinese history.