Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Xi'an and the Loess Belt

Xi'an's location close to the geographic center of China has now become a tourist attraction.Apart from other conditions, it was the capital of 11 dynasties in Chinese history, and the earliest one can be traced back to before the Qin Dynasty unified China.It enjoys a great reputation in history, far surpassing any other political center.Unfortunately, due to internal and external troubles, the ancient buildings have long since disappeared, and only the ruins still retain some of the majestic atmosphere of the past. In the east of today's Xi'an City, there are also several famous historical sites.Less than five miles from the city of Xi'an is the village of Banpo, which is at least 6,000 years old and is the largest Neolithic site ever found in China.Judging from the images of the tombs, the society of Banpo Village is a matrilineal society.

Less than 20 miles northeast of Xi'an is Huaqing Pool.It is said that the beloved concubine (Yang Guifei) of a Tang emperor (Xuanzong, reigned 713-755) in the 8th century once bathed in the pool.Tang Xuanzong himself was a person with a strong artistic atmosphere. It is said that he was the founder of Chinese drama, and the woman he loved was even more "talented and good at singing and dancing".Huaqing Pool is also famous for thousands of years because of her here, but their story ended in tragedy.In 755 AD (the 14th year of Tianbao), a general (An Lushan) guarding the border rebelled under the name of "Qing Emperor's Side".The rebel army approached the capital, and the emperor and his party fled westward to Sichuan. When they arrived at Maweiyi, the guards demanded that the emperor deal with Concubine Yang Guifei categorically, otherwise they would not use their lives.Under such circumstances, even the emperor had no choice but to let his beloved concubine be hanged to death on the spot.A monarch who has always been indulging in joy has become lazy and disheartened since then. From his escape to his abdication, his dying years are full of loneliness and remorse.Bai Juyi, a poet not far from his time, described Tang Minghuang (as he was called by later generations) in a very imaginative style, staying up all night, watching fireflies flying around in front of the palace, and falling leaves on the steps. The mood to find someone to clean.This kind of lingering sorrow and hatred will only get deeper and deeper, and any non-human factors may provide a little relief.This song has also been passed down through the ages, until 1920 and 1930, it was still recited by elementary school students.It can also be seen that even the education under the monarchy system does not completely ignore emotion and lyricism while talking about morality.If it were completely unkind, then such a poem would not be allowed to be preached and learned until the Republic of China, and to disturb the immature mood of young citizens.With the stories of Huaqing Pool and Concubine Yang, we can also have confidence that no matter what kind of ideology we have experienced, no matter whether ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign, the common emotions of mankind are like a big reservoir that will never dry up.

Not far from the hot springs of Huaqing Pool, there is the place where Chiang Kai-shek suffered in the Xi'an Incident in 1936.On December 12 of that year, the troops of the "Young Marshal" Zhang Xueliang rushed into the chairman's camp and asked him to stop the "encirclement and suppression" of the Communist Party; in order to unanimously fight against Japan.The purpose of this mutiny was achieved.Since then, China's politics has changed, which indirectly affects the history of the whole world.Today, in some respects, we still feel the consequences of the events of more than fifty years ago.When the "Double 12th" gunshots stopped, the supreme commander of the government was discovered by a corporal squad leader and a soldier.He was alone and unharmed, hiding in a cave in nearby Lishan Mountain.There is a pavilion there today, commemorating the unfolding of history that allowed these two unnamed characters to complete such a dramatic task with such huge consequences.

The closer we get to Mount Li, the closer we feel to history.The more intense its influence, the more opportune its unfolding.Originally, we also already knew that Qin Shihuang was buried in Lishan, about 40 miles to Xi'an.This person is known as one of the most terrifying autocratic demon kings in the world.After he unified China in 221 BC, he consolidated his rule by burning poems and books and burying opponents alive.His "Pottery Soldiers" were discovered in 1974.It includes plastic terracotta warriors, as well as real weapons and chariots.Three presidents of the United States have visited here, and some terracotta warriors have also been sent abroad for touring exhibitions.

But Qin Shihuang is not the starting point of Chinese history. Qin Shihuang unified the whole of China, and it has been thousands of years since the beginning of Chinese culture.Follow the usual order.We should tackle several other issues first, the first of which is the geographical background.When tourists take a train or a car to Lintong County to visit Lishan Mountain and Huaqing Pool, they should first pay attention to the yellowish brown soil around them. This soil is similar to the soil of the cultivated land in Tennessee, USA.The local surrounding scenery is usually higher than the roadbed, so the loess is not difficult to observe.

As of the date of writing this book, we have no absolute evidence to say with certainty that Chinese culture originated entirely locally, or that at least part of it was influenced by Mediterranean culture. In the early 20th century, many scholars advocated the later theory, arguing that the origin of Chinese culture was not only later than that of Egypt and Mesopotamia, but its use of bronze and iron was at least 1,000 years later than these two places.Some scholars even believe that Chinese characters may also be variants of Egyptian hieroglyphics.Inscriptions on prehistoric Chinese pottery are similar to those found in Central Asia and the Near East.At present, this "theory of one source of world culture" has been criticized by numerous Chinese and foreign scholars.Chinese writing was considered unique, even in numbers, and superficial resemblances on pottery were outweighed by fundamental differences.Chinese metallurgy, even in its primitive stages, exhibits technical features without any sign of imitation.China's cultivated crops also show that China's agriculture and the Near East have two sources.Recently, ethnographers and archaeologists have even pointed out that even in China, the origin of culture is not unitary. Relics of cultural origin can be found from the Northeast to the Pearl River Basin.

Although the pendulum has now swung, and the theory independently created by Chinese culture is obviously more tenable, we cannot arbitrarily say that there is no longer room for debate.We can draw the conclusion that, no matter whether it is created locally or passed on from outside, Chinese culture has a deep causal relationship with geographical conditions.No matter how shallow or deep China was influenced by external inventions, it is not enough to change this point of view.When the initial crops were affected by the soil and climate of the East Asian continent, the factors of Chinese culture began to form an indissoluble bond with the local residents (see Chapters 2 and 3 for details), and it will continue to do so in the future.For this reason, the loess near Xi'an is even more noteworthy.

After World War II, archaeologists used carbon-14 radioactive technology to conclude that the Neolithic sites in China first appeared in 4000 BC, or earlier.However, the history recorded in writing cannot be traced back so long.According to historical records, the earliest "dynasty" was Xia. If its appearance can be proved to be correct, it can only put the front end of Chinese history around 2000 BC.However, although there are many legends about the "Xia Dynasty", there is still no archaeological evidence to confirm its existence.Skeptics suggest that if the dynasty did appear, at least there should be writing near the antiquities.Those who believe in the Xia Dynasty argue that Chinese characters appeared in 2000 BC, but the first characters were written on bamboo slips and silk fabrics, which have decayed over time.Existing deeds about the Xia Dynasty come from oral traditions, and then written on bamboo slips by the reporter, and copied and passed on, so it is relatively late.There are reasons for both parties to say that it is still not conclusive.

The history of China that can now be definitively proved begins with the Shang Dynasty, about 1600 BC. Two capital cities and about ten mausoleums of kings of this dynasty have been excavated.Not only its literal presence.And its characters are engraved on the animal bones.Hundreds of thousands of such "Oracle Bone Inscriptions" fragments have been unearthed. The site of the Shang Dynasty is located in Henan Province today, which was called "Kandong" in history, and we can also call it "Eastern Plain".It forms an east-west axis with the "Huangshi Highland" in Xi'an in the west. It is justifiable that "Shang" became a "dynasty".Its royal genealogy is fully preserved.The king's succession to the throne is generally adopted by the elder brother and the younger brother, and occasionally the father dies and the son succeeds.In addition, merchants can also be regarded as the "Shang nation", because they monopolize the bronze smelting technology, have an advantage in the military, and maintain the centripetal force in religion, so they can surpass other nations.Their bronze vessels are either weapons or sacrificial vessels, with only a few exceptions, and their manufacture is centralized and supervised by the state.

Shang culture shows that it is on par with other cultures of the same period, but it does not necessarily represent the characteristics of traditional China.For example, although the society of the Shang Dynasty was patriarchal, its aristocratic women enjoyed considerable freedom. Hundreds or even thousands of years later, Chinese women still cannot hold a candle to it.The merchants were fond of wine, high in spirits and full of energy. They killed people as sacrifices without feeling guilty, and kept leaving records of human sacrifices on oracle bone inscriptions.They can send an army of 3,000 men for a hundred-day march, and such an army can still be supported by troops from vassal states.Sometimes the purpose of combat is to plunder for profit.The king's mausoleum was excavated from top to bottom. The pit at the upper end is larger, and the pit at the lower end becomes smaller.The king was buried with chariots and horses, and the victims were beheaded, with heads and bodies neatly arranged.And the steps made of beating soil from top to bottom show that there must be complicated rituals during the funeral.

Although the Shang people have engaged in agriculture, they still maintain the tradition of fishing and hunting.In their history of more than 500 years, they have moved their capital more than 6 times, and there are often hunting records on oracle bone inscriptions.The last capital of the Shang Dynasty was close to modern Anyang, where archaeologists found a lot of animal bones.The agricultural operations appear to be performed by slave labor, and there are thousands of stone sickles in one pit. The records on oracle bone inscriptions show that the kings of the Shang Dynasty were extremely concerned about Tianhou.Compiling the calendar is also an important function of the royal family.In these respects, the Shang Dynasty has maintained a traditional relationship with China, which was founded on agriculture.The calligraphy of oracle bone inscriptions is handed down in one continuous line with Chinese culture. The oracle bones were originally used for divination, and the existing oracle bones were copied by the historians of the Shang Dynasty as a permanent record.A large number of oracle bones were unearthed, so that things at that time can be gradually tested, and it shows to future generations that a country that has begun to take shape here is about to develop into a set of heart-wrenching culture.According to expert statistics, there are about 3,000 different characters recorded on the oracle bones, of which 1,000 characters can already be recognized.This kind of ancient calligraphy, at first glance, seems to have changed a lot, but because it was designed by original geniuses and cited eternal meanings as its roots, some of it may be recognized by those familiar with East Asian cultural relics today.Listed in the diagram below, its most basic principles can be described as surprisingly simple: (picture) The left end is a pictogram, the sun is round and the moon is curved. Once drawn, no explanation is required.Knowing the meaning is derived from the pictogram, for example, the sun rises behind the tree, which is east.Holding the chicken with both hands and putting it in the bottle is a sacrifice.Concepts that cannot be illustrated can be represented by homophones. For example, the pronunciation of "Yi" is the same as that of "Axillary". "Lai" is the same as "Lai" in sorghum, so it comes from painting "Lai".Other "transfers", "borrowing" and so on are nothing more than overlapping and expanding applications of these basic principles.It is worth noting that the writing method of the Bronze Age and the lead type of today's newspapers and magazines have been passed down in one continuous line. Once these principles have been promoted, there are 20,000 Chinese characters today, and they have been adopted by Japanese and Korean. It is undoubtedly one of the most influential characters in the world.Its artistic character is also poetic, allowing the writer and the observer to use a certain imagination in the same way, down to the most basic unit.The Shanghainese pronunciation of Shanghainese is as soft as French, and the Cantonese pronunciation of Cantonese is as soft as German, and they can understand each other with the same characters.Therefore, this way of writing has contributed to the cultural unity of the Chinese people, and its strength cannot be weighed.It's just that there are both advantages and disadvantages. When citing it, whether it's a condolence note or a laboratory report, the starting point should also be in the form of placing squares.There are few prepositions and linking words in Chinese, and abstract meanings can only be formed by overlapping structures (for example, in the sentences in this book, "的" is followed by "zhi", and "zhi" is followed by "的").It is also necessary to extend the things that can be seen and heard so that they can become understandable concepts (such as "abstract" means extracting its appearance, as opposed to "concrete" having its substance).It is a monophonic character, and 10 characters must be written to represent 10 syllables.When literati use their pens, they usually omit certain links (for example, "one will succeed and ten thousand bones will dry up", there are only two clauses, there is no connecting word in it, and it is not clear whether what is being said is theory or fact). Although the words are concise, they are not rigorous, The right communication tool. Around 1000 BC, the vocabulary of oracle bone inscriptions was saturated to about 1,000 characters (experts believe that the other 2,000 characters are roughly proper nouns), and when bronze technology reached its peak, these two cultures were replaced by Zhou.Zhou originated near Xi'an and became a rising power. For thousands of years, the influence of a hero on this loess belt on China far exceeded that of Shang on the eastern plain.This area was not the most affluent area in China from the Middle Ages to modern times, let alone the most accessible area.Xi'an dominates this area but is destined to play a decisive role in Chinese history.To use a wild metaphor, it is like making Texas and Oklahoma more effective in history than Massachusetts or Pennsylvania in the east.This metaphor has no other meaning, but to emphasize the importance of geographical factors in history.Chinese culture is a product of the Asian continent, while American culture is inseparable from the traditions of the Atlantic Ocean. There is a profound difference.