This monograph presents the first thorough study of the bronzes from south-central China. The finds from the Yangtze areas have conventionally been thought to have been entirely inspired by Shang traditions and ritual practices in Henan. This monograph applies the perspective of materiality to argue otherwise. Through investigations of three main bronze types: ritual vessels, bells and weapons, the author suggests that the Yangtze societies were far more independent from the Shang traditions than most archaeologists have understood them to have been.