Chapter 21 Section 1 The Origin of Chinese Civilization

The process of the origin of the six oldest civilizations that developed independently in the world was once a lifelong research topic for many researchers.The exploration of the origin of Chinese civilization has gone through a tortuous process of understanding in the past few decades. The representative arguments can basically be divided into two schools: the theory of diffusion and the theory of independent origin, and the two schools continue to confront each other.The theory of independent origin is supported by more and more new archaeological discoveries and accepted by more and more researchers.

As early as the 18th century, some people abroad said that the ancient Chinese were colonized from Egypt, and some said that the Chinese civilization was related to the Babylonian civilization, and some even said that the Chinese were descendants of Noah, a character in the Bible.All races come from foreign lands, so culture will naturally not develop independently. Until the 1920s, some authorities believed that the Shang Dynasty was still in the prehistoric era, and believed that the origin of Chinese civilization was very late.Soon, important discoveries were made in the Yin Ruins, and a splendid Yin Shang civilization was revealed, so some people said that this is the oldest civilization in China.Some foreign scholars also believe that the emergence of Yin Shang civilization was too sudden, so they infer that Chinese civilization may have been stimulated by the West, or simply said to be a copy of the civilization of the Near Eastern Mesopotamia.Regarding such a very serious issue as the origin of Chinese civilization, I have drawn conclusions in the simplest way.

It is true that the Shang Dynasty already had a large-scale metropolis, a very mature writing system, developed bronze casting technology, and superb handicraft technology such as jade, etc. It is indeed a splendid civilization that cannot be denied.But the civilization of the Shang Dynasty is not the source of Chinese civilization, and the origin of Chinese civilization can be traced back to a more distant era.Chinese civilization did not suddenly appear in the East, and China was not a barren land in ancient times.There is evidence of the evolution process from ape to man, and the agricultural revolution of great significance occurred here, which is the foundation of the origin of Chinese civilization.

China has a well-developed prehistoric culture, and many distinctive cultural factors have been formed through continuous integration, and these are all developed independently, not the result of external influence.Yin Shang civilization is not water without a source. Its urban civilization, bronze civilization and characters are all developed on the basis of Chinese prehistoric culture.It can be considered that the construction of the main components of Chinese civilization had already begun in the Neolithic Age, and the foundation laying had already been completed. The theory of the origin of civilization has yet to be perfected. People still have disputes about the signs of the arrival of the civilization era, but there are basically a few signs that have been unanimously recognized, that is, the establishment of a center for political, economic, and cultural activities— —The city invented writing and mastered metal smelting technology.Cities, writing, and metallurgy can be regarded as the three elements of civilization, among which writing is the most important.Of course, the three elements are not indispensable. Among the six major civilizations in the world, the Mayan civilization in Mexico did not have metallurgy, the civilization in Peru did not have writing, and the civilization in Egypt did not have cities.All major civilizations have their own characteristics, and Chinese civilization also has its own personality and style. It not only has the three elements of civilization, but also has some things that other civilizations do not have.

Chinese civilization originated in China itself and is native-born.Let's take a look at the evidence that the three elements of civilization began to sprout in prehistoric times, so as to trace the origin of Chinese civilization.