The title of this book is a little misleading, given that the author focuses almost exclusively on the material culture of a single state, the kingdom of Zhongshan. This small state had a short history, and what we know about its cultural achievements largely concerns a short period of about 120 years culminating in the late fourth century bc, just before its final destruction in 296 bc. Nonetheless, the intriguing case of Zhongshan material culture deserved an in-depth study, which makes this thorough and meticulous monograph more than welcome.

During the early Eastern Zhou period (770–256 bc), the western part of present-day China was composed of several regional states which very soon became autonomous from the authority of the Zhou kings. These growing states were interspersed with territories inhabited by non-Zhou peoples, among which a branch of the Di people is said to have founded the state of Zhongshan. The existence of Zhongshan is first attested in Chinese transmitted texts in 506 bc by a mention that the still powerful state of Jin was grappling with a neighbouring hostile political entity to the east inhabited by Xianyu people. Xianyu was the name given to non-Zhou people living in the territory of Zhongshan. The author gives a very nuanced presentation of the historical sources, drawing the conclusion that there is an ‘ambiguity concerning the ethnic identity of Zhongshan, especially that of its royal lineage’ (p. 18). The methodological approach that Wu takes with regard to the sensitive matter of ethnicity, avoiding the concept of ‘sinicization’, is commendably cautious.

In the fourth century bc, evidential features such as the size of the capital Lingshou (founded c. 380 bc, located in Pingshan county, Hebei province), the remains of flourishing iron and bronze industries using advanced technology, artisan marks on tiles, inscriptions testifying to the systematic use of convict labourers in government workshops and traces of intense trading activities all indicate a level of sophistication for Zhongshan comparable to surrounding states. Towards the end of the century, the mausoleums of King Cheng (M6) and his son King Cuo (r. 327[?] to after 314 bc) equal, if not surpass, in luxury the royal tombs of states that had a much longer history than Zhongshan.

Following a lengthy description of these mausoleums, the author then gives an overview of burial customs and their evolution between the mid sixth century and the early third century bc. He demonstrates that Zhongshan social structure changed over this period, citing the impoverishment of the tombs of the city residents in the fourth century bc, which coincided with the construction of extravagant burials for the Zhongshan rulers. Discussing burial items, Wu notes as distinctive features of Zhongshan material culture a few items such as daggers whose handles are ornamented with interlaced snakes, gold-wire earrings and bird-pillar basins. These were mixed with objects from the Central Plain and from the steppes, reflecting the culture of a multi-ethnic state. Most of the objects cited are given short descriptions, except for one bronze jian vessel whose décor is described over nearly three pages. As rightly shown by the author, this vessel was not made locally, but came from the Lower Yangzi region, confirming the conclusion I reached in an article of my own (Thote Reference Thote1999). If I mention this article it is only because, had the author read it, he might have refrained from interpreting injudiciously the representations on the vessel of hunting, archery and feasting activities taking place in the Wu or Yue kingdoms in the light of records from the Zhouli, an early text on the administration of the royal state of Zhou.

Chapter 3, again focusing on the royal tombs of the kings and their spouses and concubines, initially discusses issues of intercultural contact. Features such as the sacrifice of goats as part of the funeral ritual betray customs of non-Zhou people, whereas the pits containing chariots and sacrificed horses match sacrificial pits found in the funerary contexts of the Central Plain. The author's study of the grave goods highlights themes or artistic features that have been inspired by steppe art, such as animal combat, naturalistic rendering of wild animals, a taste for strong contrasting colours (red lacquer, metal inlays) and lavish use of gold and silver inlay. (Regarding this last practice, contrary to Wu's claim, silver inlay did not exist in central China before the fourth century bc. Its sudden use may have been prompted by repeated contacts with non-Zhou people living to the north.) The chapter continues with a discussion of the symbolism of power in royal tombs. The author interprets the contrast of the two adjacent pits in tomb M1 containing ritual bronzes to the west and luxurious objects of daily life to the east as a deliberate choice made by the king, who would have considered the luxurious objects as more important symbols of his power than the ritual vessels. For the author, the artefacts were divided into two groups according to their respective cultural implications, non-Zhou and Zhou. This interpretation may go too far. The two categories of artefact are defined primarily by function. Moreover, the two categories are represented in most tombs of the élite in states of the fourth century bc, and are already found distributed in two separate compartments in the tomb of Zeng Hou Yi (c. 433 bc) a century earlier. Furthermore, the coffin chamber was looted long ago, so we have no idea about its initial contents; these presumably were an important part of the overall symbolic programme of the tomb, which in the author's account is reduced to the contrast of eastern and western pits.

In Chapter 4, Wu convincingly shows that the style and décor techniques of the bronzes of King Cuo ‘changed dramatically’ after his victorious campaign against Yan in 314 bc. Their inscriptions mention dates and names, of both workshops and craftsmen, allowing a thorough study of the bronzes’ evolution. The author rightly hypothesizes that craftsmen were brought from Yan to Zhongshan after the victory and thereafter worked for King Cuo, bringing with them new techniques (gold, silver and turquoise inlay, gilding), a new aesthetic (vivid contrasts of colours) and new themes (predators and prey). One wonders, however, whether the author's conclusion that King Cuo intended to present himself as a revolutionary ruler of Zhongshan through visual display is necessary (p. 148). In all probability, the tomb of a king of Yan would have included comparable objects, made by the same craftsmen.

The bronze inscriptions found in the royal tombs are of utmost importance, not only for establishing the history of Zhongshan, but also for our understanding of its statecraft, politics and administration of workshops. In six appendices, Wu provides translations of the three longest inscriptions (469, 450, 182 characters respectively), as well as a few other inscriptions and related transmitted texts. Chapter 5 is a lengthy and persuasive study of these inscriptional and transmitted texts, arguing that their importance lay primarily in the political message they delivered to the participants in the funerary ceremonies from both inside and outside the state, and only secondarily in communication with ancestors. Indeed, the three main inscriptions were engraved on the outer surface of the vessels, giving them a visibility to participants that was exceptional in pre-imperial China. The only other lengthy inscriptions covering most of the visible surface of a vessel appear on a few pan basins of the Western Zhou period, and are on the inside surface.

From the inscription on a bronze panel showing the ground plan of king Cuo's mausoleum found in his tomb it is known that this panel was one of two—the other panel was placed in the palace. In other words, one panel was prepared for the use of the defunct king, as testimony addressed to his ancestors and the deities of the underworld. The other copy addressed the bereaved, and was intended to ensure that the king's tomb would be maintained in conformity with his agency beyond his life span. Chapter 6 presents this unique artefactual document, and discusses the destiny of the kingdom and its royal family.

The descriptions and comparisons made by Wu are often subtle and pertinent, as, for example, in his excellent analysis of the raptor-head motif. On a more general level, his arguments on the affiliations of the Zhongshan kings with both Central Plain states and groups of people living at the northern periphery of the Chinese world are convincing. They would have been stronger, though, had he made more comparisons with the cultures of other states of the time, instead of focusing almost exclusively on Zhongshan itself. In fact, to make his various points about politics, expressions of power, or cultural hybridity, etc., the author deploys theoretical frameworks without sufficient supporting evidence. To take an example: ‘in the Zhongshan case, funerary rites were often manipulated to construct particular identities for the deceased as well as the survivors who carried out the funeral’ (p. 80). Although the assertion may well be correct, the author here infers the interpretation of a specific case from the recent archaeological debates in mortuary analysis. In a monographic study, this sentence would have been more appropriate as the conclusion to a well-supported argument on the specific ‘manipulation of the rites’ and ‘construction of identities’ in Zhongshan.

Despite these few caveats, the book is exemplary in the way it pieces together information from archaeology, received texts and epigraphy. It offers a detailed picture of a small political entity at a critical moment of Chinese history, just before the first unification of China, when most states were competing for new territory or were simply trying to protect themselves against aggressive neighbours.