Chapter 5 Chapter Two: The Years of Chinese History

You need to know the age when you talk about history, just like you need to know the longitude and latitude when you talk about geography.With the latitude and longitude lines, we can know the distance and relationship between a certain place on a certain point on the earth and other places.Only with the age can we know that a certain event happened at a certain time in the long time, what was the situation in all aspects at that time, and what is the relationship between the events before and after it.Otherwise, it would be pointless. The correct age is based on (1) correctness and (2) continuous record.When did China's accurate and continuous records start?That was the first year of the republic between the two kings Li and Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty.From the year 2752 of the Republic of China to the year 841 of the Gregorian calendar, it is considered very early among countries in the world.But compared with the history of mankind, it's like a little witch sees a big witch.There are human beings in the world, although the exact age is unknown, it must be around 400,000 to 500,000 years.The exact chronology of history is only more than 2,000 years old, just like a person who lives a hundred years old can only remember things that are less than a year old. It is very difficult to make a correct chronology.Although there is no complete record of history, historians still have a way to extrapolate.That is, according to the records of the fragments, those involving the phenomena of heaven and earth are calculated using the calendar.Many people use this method in China.Among the more popular ones, one is calculated by Liu Xinzhi recorded in "Han Shu Lu Li Zhi", and the other is calculated by Shao Yongzhi in Song Dynasty.According to Liu Xin's calculation: the Zhou Dynasty was 867 years, the Yin Dynasty was 629 years, the Xia Dynasty was 432 years, the reign of Yu Shun was 50 years, and the reign of Tang Yao was 70 years.The demise of the Zhou Dynasty occurred in 2167 BC in the Republic of China and 256 BC in the Gregorian calendar, and the first year of Tang Yao was in 4215 BC in the Republic of China and 2305 BC in the Gregorian calendar.According to Shao Yong's calculation, the first year of Tang Yao was 4268 BC in the Republic of China and 2357 BC in the Gregorian calendar.Calculations based on the calendar are extremely credible, but the records of the predecessors may not be exact, and the calculations of later generations may not be correct, so they cannot be completely trusted.However, the so-called unreliability is only a lack of closeness, and it is not wrong to talk about it. "Mencius Gongsun Chou Part II" said: "From Zhou, it is more than seven hundred years old." From King Wen to Confucius, more than five hundred years old." Le Yi reported to King Yanhui that he praised King Zhao's achievements in breaking Qi, saying that he "received the savings of 800 years old". "Han Feizi Xianxue Pian" says: "Yin and Zhou are more than seven hundred years old, and Yu and Xia are more than two thousand years old." .The rough memory of the ancients, handed down from mouth to mouth, will not be wrong.However, in the history of our country, the date that is known but not very certain is more than four thousand years ago.

Since then, there are no records of fragments, so we can only speculate that it is a prehistoric period based on the excavation.Anthropologists divide the tools used by human beings into stages of evolution. The earliest is the Paleolithic period, followed by the Neolithic period, all before history, the second is the Bronze Age, and the second is the Iron Age, which is in the After all.From modern excavations in my country, according to the speculation of archaeologists: the remains of Zhoukoudian are about the end of the early Paleolithic period, 25,000 to 70,000 years ago.Gan, Qing and Henan relics, the earliest ones are in the Neolithic period, between 2600 and 3500 BC; the late ones are in the Bronze Age, between 1700 and 2600 BC.According to the invention of bronze ware in the ancient south, it seems to be earlier than that in the north, but in fact, the age of civilization in our country may have been before that.

In ancient Chinese books, some of the ages of ancient history are very far away and very accurate. Although they are not reliable, they have to be repeated because of their long history.According to the words of Cai Yong discussing the calendar in "Continued Han Shu Lv Li Zhi", it is said that "Yuan Ming Bao" and "Gan Chiu Du" are considered to be from the opening to Huolin (Huolin is the last year of "Chunqiu", in BC 481), 2,760,000 years.Sima Zhen's "Benji of the Three Emperors" said that "Chunqiuwei" said that from the opening to Huolin, all 3,276,000 years old were divided into ten periods.According to Liu Xin's three-system calendar in "Han Shu Lu Li Zhi", nineteen years are a chapter, four chapters are a group, twenty years are a period, and three periods are a yuan.Two hundred and seven hundred and fifty-nine thousand two hundred and eighty years, is the number of six hundred and thirteen yuan. "Han Shu Wang Mang Biography" says: Mang's 36,000-year-old calendar, 36,000 is multiplied by ninety-one, which is 3,276,000 years.These are all fabricated rumors, which can be said to have no historical basis.