A Further Study On Yan Tombs In The Eastern Zhou Period

This article is a basic study of Yan tombs,as well as several important cultural phenomena of Yan culture in the eastern Zhou dynasty.It consists of six chapters:Chapter 1The space-time range is defined.The differences and consensus of existing studies on several key issues are summarized.Chapter 2From the unambiguous tombs of the Yan culture,the general information of Yan toms about their forms,body positions,orientations and the placement of the funeral objects is known,Which could be the reference for judging the ethnicity of the tombs in cultural frontier.Chapter 3Based on existing researches,a relatively reliable chronological framework is established.In terms of the bronze tomb,a new typological study is conduct in order to determine the staging order and grouping scheme.According to the chronological study on bronze decoration from Sanjin and Chu area,the age of bronze in Yan culture is judged.In terms of the pottery tomb,the inaccurate opinions in existing research are corrected,especially about the Yan tombs in Western Liaoning which is seriously noticed in recent years.Chapter 4In view of the existing classification research of tombs,their theoretical presuppositions are first proved to be generally reliable and they were adjusted and expanded.On this basis,the evolution of the social structure of the Yan State during the Warring States period was discussed.It is believed that,in the late Spring and Autumn period,the barriers between different classes were distinct.In the early Warring States period,the boundaries between the traditional aristocrats,the new aristocrats and the poor gradually became blurred.Eventually,the political order was re-established,meaning that high-level aristocracy became unattainable again.The destruction of the old ritual system and the acceptance of the new ritual system in the Yan society at this time were discussed.It is believed that the ritual pottery system was first popular among grassroots and then received by those high-level aristocraciesChapter 5Two important cultural phenomena in Yan culture are studied.The retro-style pottery ritual not only represents the prevalence of retro thoughts in Yan state,but also helps to establish and maintain Yan's social order in the middle and late Warring States period.Combining with the existing researches,a diachronic observation on the dynamic changes of the main remains and tombs at Yanxiadu is conducted.It is clear that Yanxiadu City was built at the beginning of the middle Warring States period.The political and military situations were highly considered when Yan state planned the layout of their capital.Besides,this article also makes a little discussion on the layout model of the capitals of many states in this period.It is believed that,in addition to the times,the political requirements and military security were fully considered when each state built their capitals and royal toms.Chapter 6The main achievements of this research are summarized and some proposals on the future research about Yan culture are put forward.