The Origin of Chinese Culture
The terms “China”, “Zhonghua” and “Huaxia” are synonymous (in ancient times they referred to the Middle Kingdom or Zhongyuan dynasty, in contemporary times they refer to the Chinese state) and originate from the Middle Region referring to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has been in circulation for a long time and probably dates from the same period as the other three ancient civilisations of Egypt, the Mesopotamian plain and India. It spread throughout East and South-East Asia, influencing political consciousness, ideology, religion, education and life and culture. Its cultural sphere is also known as the “Chinese cultural sphere” and the “Han cultural sphere”. Chinese civilisation, also known as the Chinese civilisation, is one of the oldest civilisations in the world and one of the longest lasting civilisations in the world. The history of Chinese civilisation is long and stretches back 5,000 years from the time of the Yellow Emperor. It is universally recognised as one of the oldest civilisations in the world. It is generally accepted that there are several direct sources of Chinese civilisation, of which the Yellow River and the Yangtze River are the main ones, known as the ‘mother rivers’ of the Chinese nation.
The Chinese culture is said to have gone through the periods of the ancient cultures of the You Chao, Sui, Fuxi, Shennong, Yandi, Huangdi, Xuan Yuan, Yao, Shun and Yu. On the basis of archaeology: e.g. the Paleolithic and Neolithic.
In the age of Homo sapiens, culture had already begun to emerge, with archaeological discoveries of sewn clothing and funerals in this period, and in the Neolithic age, knowledge of farming had already begun. The first manual farming has been documented in Hunan, and group cultures began to emerge, forming clan communes. In the Central Plains, archaeological discoveries of the Pei Ligang and Jiahu cultures from 7,000 to 10,000 years ago have already led to a primitive clan society with primitive agriculture, livestock breeding and handicraft production, supplemented by fishing and hunting.
Later pottery and jade and wendai began to emerge, with the Yangshao culture featuring coloured pottery (pottery depicting colours on a red background) and the black pottery of the Longshan culture as the main features. The Yangshao culture dates from around 5,000 to 3,000 years ago, and falls into the category of the Pre-Neolithic period [13]. The tools of production were mainly well-developed ground stone tools, such as knives, axes, adzes, chisels, arrowheads, stone spinning wheels for weaving, etc. Bone tools were also quite refined. The red pottery is often painted with geometric or animal patterns, the most obvious feature of the Yangshao culture, and is therefore also known as the painted pottery culture. Evidence from excavated cemetery remains suggests that the Yangshao period was a matrilineal society. The Longshan culture, later found in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, unearthed large quantities of black pottery and had more advanced construction techniques, using stone kitchen knives, scythes and shellfish knives, in addition to stone hoes and spades and animal bone and wooden spades, and burial objects in male tombs, which seem to have become a male-centred society.
From the 21st to the 17th century BC, the Erlitou culture in Luoyang, Henan Province, had the earliest capital city in China, and the Erlitou site contains the earliest known bronze vessels in China. There are also animal-faced bronze plaques inlaid with recorded turquoise, the earliest known bronze inlaid with jade. The jade objects include knives and other items, as well as beautifully crafted pottery. The site of the Erligang culture has been identified as the site of the early Shang dynasty, and the early to mid Shang regime was subject to many changes, with Pan Geng having moved his capital to Yinxu several times before he moved it to the site of Erlitou, which may also have been one of the abandoned capitals.
In addition to the Yangshao and Longshan cultures, which are found in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, there is also the Hemudu culture, which dates from 2500 to 1500 B.C. These remains indicate that farming cultures developed in both the north and south of China during the first half of the Neolithic period. With the discovery of the Sanxingdui site, there was also a very high level of civilisation in the ancient Sichuan area, proving that the basin of the Yangtze River, such as the Ba Shu region, was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilisation on a par with the Yellow River basin. The fact that the cultures of these regions interacted with each other and inherited the cultural heritage of their predecessors also proves that the early Chinese culture was also diverse, with the Middle Kingdom being the main one.
By Irving
