Description: Writing and the Ancient State is a comparative study of the use of writing to create and maintain order in early states.
Brief description: Wang Haicheng is an assistant professor in the School of Art, University of Washington, Seattle. His research centers on the art and archaeology of ancient China and the comparative study of early civilizations. Recent and forthcoming publications include a book chapter on the material record of the Erligang civilization, a chapter on urbanization and writing in The Cambridge World History, and papers on calligraphy and the archaeology of agency. He has lectured widely in the United States and China.