Essays from the Eastern Archive
Long-form journeys into ancient cities, enduring ideas, sacred objects, and the people who carried culture across borders.
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Ancient East Asian History Ancient East Asian history encompasses the development of some of the world's oldest and most influential civilisations. Centred primarily on China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and…
Read story ↗Ancient East Asia (4,000 BC–1,000 AD) Between approximately 4,000 BC and 1,000 AD, East Asia witnessed the growth of some of the most influential civilisations in world history. Across China, Korea, Japan…
Read story ↗Ancient China Ancient China developed one of the world's longest continuous civilisations. From early farming communities along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers to the great imperial dynasties of Qin, Han, Sui…
Read story ↗Oracle Bones Oracle bones are among the most important archaeological discoveries from ancient China. They provide the earliest large body of readable Chinese writing and offer direct evidence about the…
Read story ↗Bronze Age China Bronze Age China was one of the most important periods in the development of early Chinese civilisation. Between roughly the early second millennium BC and the first millennium BC, societies…
Read story ↗The Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms period was one of the most dramatic and influential eras in Chinese history. It followed the collapse of the Han Dynasty and lasted from 220 to 280 AD, although the…
Read story ↗Buddhism Reaches Japan Buddhism reached Japan during the sixth century AD and became one of the most important religious, cultural, artistic, and political influences in Japanese history. The religion had…
Read story ↗A Capital at Nara In 710 AD, the Japanese imperial court established a new permanent capital at Heijo-kyo, near the modern city of Nara. This event marked the beginning of the Nara period, one of the most…
Read story ↗The Heian Court The Heian court was the political and cultural centre of Japan during much of the Heian period, which lasted from 794 to 1185 AD. Based in the imperial capital of Heian-kyo, later known as…
Read story ↗Silla’s Golden Age Silla’s golden age was one of the most remarkable periods in the history of ancient Korea. It followed the unification of much of the Korean Peninsula under the kingdom of Silla in the late…
Read story ↗The Shang World The Shang dynasty was one of the earliest historically documented dynasties of ancient China. It flourished during the Bronze Age, traditionally from around 1600 BC to 1046 BC, and ruled over a…
Read story ↗Zhou and the Mandate of Heaven The Zhou dynasty was one of the longest-lasting dynasties in Chinese history and one of the most influential in the development of Chinese political thought. It traditionally…
Read story ↗Qin Unifies the Realm The unification of China under the Qin dynasty was one of the decisive turning points in Chinese history. In 221 BC, the ruler of Qin completed the conquest of the rival states that had…
Read story ↗The Han Horizon The Han dynasty marked one of the great turning points in ancient Chinese history. Emerging from the collapse of the Qin dynasty in the late third century BC, the Han created an empire that…
Read story ↗Kingdoms Take Shape During the final centuries BC and the opening centuries AD, the political landscape of the Korean Peninsula and neighbouring parts of Manchuria underwent a profound transformation. Small…
Read story ↗The Three Kingdoms of Korea The Three Kingdoms period was one of the most important eras in ancient Korean history. It was dominated by three powerful states: Goguryeo in the north, Baekje in the southwest and…
Read story ↗Buddhism Reaches Japan The arrival of Buddhism in Japan was one of the most important cultural transformations in Japanese history. Buddhism had originated in northern India many centuries earlier and…
Read story ↗Tang Cosmopolis The Tang dynasty, which ruled China from AD 618 to 907, presided over one of the most cosmopolitan periods in East Asian history. At its height, Tang China was a vast and powerful empire whose…
Read story ↗The Silk Road The Silk Road was not a single road but a vast network of trade routes that connected East Asia with Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. For more than a thousand…
Read story ↗The Yellow River The Yellow River is one of the most important rivers in Chinese history. Flowing across northern China for more than 5,000 kilometres before reaching the Bohai Sea, it has shaped the…
Read story ↗Celadon Maebyeong The celadon maebyeong is one of the most distinctive and celebrated forms of Korean ceramic art. Produced especially during the Goryeo dynasty, which ruled Korea from AD 918 to 1392, the…
Read story ↗The Bronze Ritual Vessel Bronze ritual vessels were among the most important objects produced in ancient China. Created principally during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, these carefully cast containers were…
Read story ↗The Haniwa Horse The Haniwa Horse is one of the most recognisable forms of funerary sculpture from ancient Japan. Made from unglazed terracotta clay, these hollow horse figures were placed on and around large…
Read story ↗Ancient East Asian Art Ancient East Asian art developed across a vast region that included China, Korea, Japan and neighbouring areas connected by trade, migration, diplomacy and religious exchange. Over…
Read story ↗Ancient East Asian Philosophy Ancient East Asian philosophy developed across China, Korea and Japan over many centuries and became one of the most influential intellectual traditions in world history. Rather…
Read story ↗Ancient East Asian Architecture Ancient East Asian architecture developed across China, Korea and Japan over thousands of years and produced some of the most distinctive building traditions in world history…
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