Father and Son at the Beginning of Chinese History (ca. 1300BC)

Hitherto, scholars have had basically no idea what father and son relations were like on a daily basis during China’s ancient period. My talk will use evidence from a newly unearthed and completely preserved Shang dynasty oracle-bone archive to extrapolate about the bond that existed within the royal family between a son, a prince, and his father, the king. One of the three pillars of Chinese society, I will contextualize the constituent elements of this relationship prior to the advent of the concept of filial piety (xiao孝) approximately two centuries later by the Western Zhou (1045-771), the Shang’s successors.

This lecture is sponsored by The Achelis Foundation.

Admission to the lecture hall closes ten minutes after the scheduled start time.

There will be a reception folowing the event.

This is a public event.

To RSVP, please email isaw@nyu.edu.