Ancient Egypt and Early China: State, Society, and Culture

Ancient Egypt and Early China: State, Society, and Culture

Available for Order, from University of Washington Press

This groundbreaking volume offers an innovative comparison of these two civilizations. Through a combination of textual, art historical, and archaeological analyses, Ancient Egypt and Early China reveals shared structural traits of each civilization as well as distinctive features.

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About the Book

Although they existed more than a millennium apart, the great civilizations of New Kingdom Egypt (ca. 1548–1086 BCE) and Han dynasty China (206 BCE–220 CE) shared intriguing similarities. Both were centered around major, flood-prone rivers—the Nile and the Yellow River—and established complex hydraulic systems to manage their power. Both spread their territories across vast empires that were controlled through warfare and diplomacy and underwent periods of radical reform led by charismatic rulers—the “heretic king” Akhenaten and the vilified reformer Wang Mang. Universal justice was dispensed through courts, and each empire was administered by bureaucracies staffed by highly trained scribes who held special status. Egypt and China each developed elaborate conceptions of an afterlife world and created games of fate that facilitated access to these realms.

This groundbreaking volume offers an innovative comparison of these two civilizations. Through a combination of textual, art historical, and archaeological analyses, Ancient Egypt and Early China reveals shared structural traits of each civilization as well as distinctive features.

Details
Tag: Monographs
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Publication Year: 2021
ASIN: 0295748893
ISBN: 9780295748894
List Price: 50
Endorsements
Brilliantly conceived and deeply researched, Ancient Egypt and Early China unfolds new perspectives on administrative, legal, scribal, and religious history by way of structural comparison, complete with a sophisticated reflection on the goals, promises, and methodologies of comparative study altogether.
– Martin Kern, Princeton University
A major and invaluable contribution to the growing body of comparative work on ancient societies.
– Walter Scheidel, Stanford University
A pioneering work. This engaging book presents fully documented case studies, on topics ranging from empire to the afterlife.
– John Baines, Oxford University
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