Where Have all the Swords Gone? Reflections on the Unification of China

Metallurgical Remains of Ancient China by Noel Barnard and Sata Tomotsu will be an indispensable reference for all who work with Chinese archaeology and history up to the end of Eastern Han. Metallurgical Remains not only provides a new synthesis of the available data which bear on the origin and development of metallurgy in China; it also makes the data available in controlled and controllable form. Metallurgical Remains not only provides a new synthesis of the available data which bear on the origin and development of metallurgy in China; it also makes the data available in controlled and controllable form. The potential complexity of the issues involved in China is also suggested by Snodgrass's finding that there was an ebb and flow in the relative popularity of bronze and iron and that, for certain weapon types, bronze came to replace iron.