Dissertation by Glenda Chao
Papers by Glenda Chao
The Journal of Asian Studies, Nov 30, 2023
Asian Perspectives, 2022
When scholars of early China use terms like "Qin" to interpret archaeological r... more When scholars of early China use terms like "Qin" to interpret archaeological remains, they often conflate three registers of meaning: temporal, political, and cultural. This leads to problematic understandings of history and renders the agency of non-elite people invisible to historical narratives. By conducting exploratory statistical analyses including correspondence and principal component analyses on a cluster of burials from the Wangpo cemetery site in Xiangyang, Hubei, this article demonstrates that the mortuary practices of local communities in the middle Han River valley consisted of much more cultural mixture than current designations suggest. The study proposes an alternative approach to interpreting cemeteries like Wangpo that highlights cultural mixture, leading to a version of history that better incorporates the experiences of non-elites in the formation of early Chinese empire in the middle Han River region.
楚文化与江中游早期开发国际学术研讨会论文集, 2021
In recent years, archaeological research in the middle Han 汉river region of Hubei 湖北 province has... more In recent years, archaeological research in the middle Han 汉river region of Hubei 湖北 province has yielded an abundance of evidence supporting the idea that during the 7th through the 3rd centuries BCE, the Chu 楚 polity was based in the middle Han River region of Hubei province. This stance has been most forcefully argued by Yin Hongbin 尹弘宾in his 2010 monograph on the historical geography of the Chu polity’s capitals and core regions. The present paper explores one unique aspect of the archaeological record of the middle Han river area based on findings from the recently excavated cemetery of Bianying 卞营, located on the northern banks of the Han river in the modern county of Xiangyang 襄阳, that lends support to Yin’s arguments while also highlighting the important role that this region played in the history of Chu culture during the first millennium BCE. I first propose a broad chronological framework for the Bianying cemetery site, and then examine one particular type of pottery vessel, the yuding 盂鼎, within the site’s mortuary assemblage that raises important historical questions about the region’s relationship with the Chu polity and formation of its culture.
Asian Perspectives, 2022
When scholars of early China use terms like "Qin" to interpret archaeological remains, they often... more When scholars of early China use terms like "Qin" to interpret archaeological remains, they often conflate three registers of meaning: temporal, political, and cultural. This leads to problematic understandings of history and renders the agency of non-elite people invisible to historical narratives. By conducting exploratory statistical analyses including correspondence and principal component analyses on a cluster of burials from the Wangpo cemetery site in Xiangyang, Hubei, this article demonstrates that the mortuary practices of local communities in the middle Han River valley consisted of much more cultural mixture than current designations suggest. The study proposes an alternative approach to interpreting cemeteries like Wangpo that highlights cultural mixture, leading to a version of history that better incorporates the experiences of non-elites in the formation of early Chinese empire in the middle Han River region.
Talks by Glenda Chao
Columbia Center for Archaeology, 2021
LINK TO FULL TALK: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8654896/video/574219567
In the wake of the horri... more LINK TO FULL TALK: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8654896/video/574219567
In the wake of the horrific shootings of Asian women in Atlanta, it is more important than ever for educators of East Asia to reflect on the relationship between education about East Asia and the general perception of East Asian peoples, cultures, and bodies in the United States today. In this presentation, I will be reflecting from the perspective of early China studies, which encompasses both historical and archaeological research. I argue that the field has been complicit in the formation to negative stereotypes of East Asia and Asian Americans especially of East Asian descent by not seriously considering how our sometimes narrow sub-discipline might help broaden and be broadened by the participation of college-age students who don’t have any background in or interest in the subject. I further argue that it is the duty of early China scholars, as educators, to foster interest in East Asia and to connect what we research to how ideas of East Asian cultures and peoples can be constructed in the United States today. In constructing my arguments, I deconstruct and evaluate several problematic assumptions about the field of East Asian studies writ large and from within the field of early China studies writ small that I believe are holding us back from reaching our potential as not only facilitators of learning about East Asia but as advocates for Asian American equity and justice. I finish with some ideas for overcoming entrenched assumptions from my experiences teaching early China at the undergraduate level.
Conference Presentations by Glenda Chao
Theoretical Archaeology Group, 2018
In her book An Archaeology of Materials, Chantel Conneller pushes archaeologists to bridge the ga... more In her book An Archaeology of Materials, Chantel Conneller pushes archaeologists to bridge the gap between technical and iconographic studies of materials by thinking about processes of making and material transformations. The present study draws upon Conneller’s ideas to look at the widespread practice of mass reproducing elaborate funerary bronze vessels in ceramic form during the first millennium BCE in central China. In order to unpack the layered meanings of this process, I will also be engaging with the Peircean semiotic concept of indexicality in order to argue that the material qualities of clay made possible the emergence of early Chinese empire through the negotiation of cultural and political power between powerful elites and local communities.
Theoretical Archaeology Group , 2018
In her book An Archaeology of Materials, Chantel Conneller pushes archaeologists to bridge the ga... more In her book An Archaeology of Materials, Chantel Conneller pushes archaeologists to bridge the gap between technical and iconographic studies of materials by thinking about processes of making and material transformations. The present study draws upon Conneller's ideas to look at the widespread practice of mass reproducing elaborate funerary bronze vessels in ceramic form during the first millennium BCE in central China. In order to unpack the layered meanings of this process, I will also be engaging with the Peircean semiotic concept of indexicality in order to argue that the material qualities of clay made possible the emergence of early Chinese empire through the negotiation of cultural and political power between powerful elites and local communities.
Books by Glenda Chao
Elements in Ancient East Asia, 2024
The immense outpouring of archaeological discoveries this past century has shed new light on anci... more The immense outpouring of archaeological discoveries this past century has shed new light on ancient East Asia, and China in particular. Yet in concert with this development another, more troubling, trend has likewise gained momentum: the looting of cultural heritage and the sale of unprovenienced antiquities. Scholars face difficult questions, from the ethics of working with objects of unknown provenance, to the methodological problems inherent in their research. The goal of this Element is to encourage scholars to critically examine their relationships to their sources and reflect upon the impact of their research. The three essays in this Element present a range of disciplinary perspectives, focusing on systemic issues and the nuances of method versus ethics, with a case study of the so-called 'Han board' MSS given as a specific illustration. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.
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Dissertation by Glenda Chao
Papers by Glenda Chao
Talks by Glenda Chao
In the wake of the horrific shootings of Asian women in Atlanta, it is more important than ever for educators of East Asia to reflect on the relationship between education about East Asia and the general perception of East Asian peoples, cultures, and bodies in the United States today. In this presentation, I will be reflecting from the perspective of early China studies, which encompasses both historical and archaeological research. I argue that the field has been complicit in the formation to negative stereotypes of East Asia and Asian Americans especially of East Asian descent by not seriously considering how our sometimes narrow sub-discipline might help broaden and be broadened by the participation of college-age students who don’t have any background in or interest in the subject. I further argue that it is the duty of early China scholars, as educators, to foster interest in East Asia and to connect what we research to how ideas of East Asian cultures and peoples can be constructed in the United States today. In constructing my arguments, I deconstruct and evaluate several problematic assumptions about the field of East Asian studies writ large and from within the field of early China studies writ small that I believe are holding us back from reaching our potential as not only facilitators of learning about East Asia but as advocates for Asian American equity and justice. I finish with some ideas for overcoming entrenched assumptions from my experiences teaching early China at the undergraduate level.
Conference Presentations by Glenda Chao
Books by Glenda Chao
In the wake of the horrific shootings of Asian women in Atlanta, it is more important than ever for educators of East Asia to reflect on the relationship between education about East Asia and the general perception of East Asian peoples, cultures, and bodies in the United States today. In this presentation, I will be reflecting from the perspective of early China studies, which encompasses both historical and archaeological research. I argue that the field has been complicit in the formation to negative stereotypes of East Asia and Asian Americans especially of East Asian descent by not seriously considering how our sometimes narrow sub-discipline might help broaden and be broadened by the participation of college-age students who don’t have any background in or interest in the subject. I further argue that it is the duty of early China scholars, as educators, to foster interest in East Asia and to connect what we research to how ideas of East Asian cultures and peoples can be constructed in the United States today. In constructing my arguments, I deconstruct and evaluate several problematic assumptions about the field of East Asian studies writ large and from within the field of early China studies writ small that I believe are holding us back from reaching our potential as not only facilitators of learning about East Asia but as advocates for Asian American equity and justice. I finish with some ideas for overcoming entrenched assumptions from my experiences teaching early China at the undergraduate level.