Continuity is what makes Chinese civilization the most distinctive among the world's ancient civilizations. For a long time, the academic community has generally regarded the establishment of the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) as the origin of Chinese civilization mainly because there were no written records of the civilization before that. However, a great number of archaeological materials are presenting important elements regarding the emergence of Chinese civilization, which are corroborating the historical documents.

How can we identify the signs of China's entry into a civilized society from archaeological evidence? And how can we understand continuity as a distinctive feature of the Chinese civilization, a civilization that endures without interruption for 5,000 years?

Development of early states in China

In short, archaeology of the prehistoric era for China refers to the two major stages before the emergence of writing, namely the Paleolithic and the Neolithic Age.

Since culture in the Paleolithic Age was still a long way from a civilized society, we can therefore focus on the Neolithic Age, especially its middle and late periods. Recently the project to trace the origins of Chinese civilization (the Exploration Project) of China has had many major findings.

Starting about 5,800 years ago, central settlements appeared among villages in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins. Social complexity then unfolded within central settlements and among smaller settlements as well. As Professor Wang Wei, a famous Chinese archaeologist, said: "This social structure with a large settlement as the center and a number of ordinary villages gathered together is very similar to the 'states' and 'kingdoms' of the Five Emperors era recorded in pre-Qin documents, so we call them ancient states."

Around 5,000 years ago, the above-mentioned "ancient states" further developed. In some areas, integration gradually expanded among neighboring settlements and even to an entire cultural sphere, such as the Liangzhu Culture in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Qujialing Culture-Shijiahe Culture in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Hongshan Culture in the Xiliaohe River basin. These ancient states showed rapid development in social forms and moved towards a civilized society.

About 4300–3800 years ago, the Neolithic Age entered its final stage, the "Longshan Age." What is particularly noteworthy about this stage is that the Longshan Culture in the Central Plains, based on the extensive absorption of advanced cultural factors from the surrounding areas, gave rise to the Erlitou Culture about 3800 years ago, which was distributed in today's western Henan province and southern Shanxi province. The Erlitou site is the center of Erlitou Culture. The site is large and complex like a capital city, including palace buildings and casting workshop for early bronze wares. Quite a number of scholars believe that the Erlitou site is one of the capitals of the Xia Dynasty.

A phenomenon worthy of close attention is that when the Longshan Culture in the Central Plains completed this series of reorganizations and integrations amidst the violent social turmoil, the once active Liangzhu Culture, Shijiahe Culture and Hongshan Culture, among others, declined one after another. Although the underlying reasons remain unclear so far, it reveals a process of change in the overall pattern: namely, from the "Age of Ancient States" characterized by "numerous states across the land," to the Longshan Era in the Central Plains, and then to the Erlitou Era, when the prehistoric society in China began to gradually form a cultural sphere centered around the Central Plains. The time and place when and where this occurred coincide with the rise of the Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) and Yandi (Flame Emperor) groups in historical legends, and this provides important clues for us to understand Chinese civilization and the formation of early China.

Han Jianye, a scholar in the fields of history and archaeology in China, has recently proposed that as early as the prehistoric era, there existed an "early cultural China" or what could be called the "early Chinese cultural circle." According to Han, this "early cultural China" germinated around 6000 BC in the Middle Neolithic Age and formally took shape around 4000 BC in the Late Neolithic Age, lasting till the late Shang Dynasty (1300–1046 BC). Wang Zhenzhong, a Chinese historian, believes that the region where the capital of the Xia Dynasty was located was the "original China."

Advancement of Chinese civilization at the spiritual level

Like other ancient civilizations in the world, Chinese civilization has a long history of development. Moreover, Chinese civilization has developed continuously without interruption. Thus, the continuity as a distinctive feature of Chinese civilization cannot be presented only through an inventory of material remains symbolizing its origin.

This was once pointed out by historian Xie Weiyang: "In judging the time and region of the early Chinese states, some material remains in archaeological discoveries are given more attention in the historical community in China, such as writing, bronze ware, city walls, etc. ... From the perspective of world history, in many cases, writing, bronze ware, city walls, etc. are indeed related to the emergence of states. But this is not universal. We have already mentioned, many early states were formed without towns or cities at all. In addition, some early civilizations also developed without writing. Therefore, it is dangerous to rely on material remains to judge the existence of early states, which can easily lead to wrong conclusions." This view is widely recognized in the archaeological community.

For example, the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan province, which has attracted widespread attention from the academic community and the general public both at home and abroad in recent years, has highly developed bronze culture and the development of city towns. The symbols of royal power and divine authority are fully manifested through large bronze standing figures, golden scepters and tall altars. Although all these prove that the Sanxingdui site took the form of an early state, no writing has been found so far. However, the archaeological community has not denied that Sanxingdui is an "ancient state" or "regional state" that entered a civilized society.

The research findings of the Exploration Project did not adopt the method of relying on isolated material relics to summarize the signs of the origin of Chinese civilization, but instead identified some "key features" of a civilized society from archaeological discoveries. These include:

● The remarkable development of prehistoric agriculture;

● The remarkable progress of crafts;

● The significant concentration of population and the formation of early cities;

● The increasingly severe polarization between rich and poor and between noble and humble, and the formation of an aristocratic class that controlled social wealth and power;

● The emergence of a king who combined military, divine and royal power;

● The combination of kinship and geographical ties and their important role in maintaining society.

These factors are reflected in archaeological remains, which may include capital cities, palaces, royal tombs and aristocratic tombs, as well as ritual vessels and ceremonial systems that are symbols of the noble status of the privileged class.

In addition to the above-mentioned characteristics, we should also pay close attention to the creation and progress of the Chinese nation in culture and ethics since China is known as the "country of etiquette." According to some traditional historical views, China only had oracle bone inscriptions, cities, palaces and rituals represented by bronze ritual vessels from the Shang Dynasty onwards. If this is taken as a sign of China entering the civilized stage, then the beginning of Chinese civilization is only about 3,000 years old. However, it is an undeniable fact that many cultural and ethical factors that later became important characteristics of Chinese civilization were germinating and developing long before the appearance of bronze ware.

Development of jade culture

China once experienced a long process of development from valuing "beautiful stones" to "ritual jade." And for a long time, the ritual system formed by bronze vessels and the "ritual-like system" formed by jade were interdependent and complementary. The so-called "ritual-like system" here can also be called the initial state of the ritual system.

In a few tombs at the Xinglongwa site in Inner Mongolia, which dates back about 8,000 years, there were already relatively exquisite jades and jade pendants, indicating that the concept of "regarding jade as beautiful" had already emerged. Jade dragons and jade figurines have been unearthed in some 5500-year-old high-ranking tombs of the Hongshan Culture in the Liaohe River Basin and the Lingjiatan Site in Anhui province in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Around 3300–2200 BC, the jade artifacts of the Liangzhu Culture in the Taihu Lake basin had even more obvious ritual characteristics. In several large tombs at the Fanshan cemetery in Liangzhu, the jade artifacts buried with the deceased were not only numerous but also rich in variety, including jade discs ("璧" in Chinese, pronounced as bi), jade tubes ("琮"in Chinese, pronounced as cong), jade battle axes ("钺"in Chinese, pronounced as yue), etc., which clearly bore symbols of identity and rank and primitive religious hues.

Among them, jade discs were mostly used for the burial of the deceased. There could be as many as forty or fifty pieces in one tomb, which were stacked under the body or at the legs of the deceased. Their purpose was obviously not limited to showing the wealth possessed by the deceased during their lifetime, but was probably related to the meaning of "soul reaching heaven" given to them by people at that time. The jade tubes unearthed from the Fanshan tombs of the Liangzhu Culture were also considered to be "magical instruments connecting heaven and earth" and "symbols of wealth" because of their shape—round inside and square outside, engraved with exquisite "divine, human and animal face patterns."

Did China have a "Jade Age" in prehistoric times? No one knows the answer. However, judging from the data obtained from prehistoric archaeology, it cannot be denied that jade was once used as a symbol of social wealth and power. This has been confirmed by many remains discovered in Neolithic archaeological excavations. These jades, with their specific forms, certain combination rules and usages, reflect the process of social complexity and the birth of civilization.

Emergence of ceremonial buildings

From the perspective of world civilization history, ceremonial buildings usually include public buildings such as altars, temples, and palaces that represent and symbolize the will of the ruling class.

As early as 5,500 years ago, the Goddess Temple and a group of stone mound tombs were built at the Niuheliang site of the Hongshan Culture in Liaoning province. The fragments of colored clay figurines unearthed are quite large and have female features, supporting the excavators' speculation that it was a "Goddess Temple." Pottery sacrificial vessels and the heads and hooves of animals such as "pig-dragons" were also unearthed. The central tomb within the stone mound is neatly constructed, containing numerous exquisite burial objects. Its specifications far exceed those of ordinary tombs, indicating the special identity and status of the deceased.

The Yaoshan Altar Site, discovered in the Liangzhu Culture in the Taihu Basin of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, is located in the northwestern part of the summit of Yaoshan Mountain. It is square in shape and consists of three layers. The innermost layer is a red clay platform. The outer side of the whole altar is about 20 meters long and has an area of 400 square meters. The excavators believe that this is a carefully designed and constructed building with special functions and uses, probably related to "offering sacrifices to heaven and earth."

Archaeologists believe that these remains show that society was already quite differentiated at that time and that a hierarchical social power structure had emerged. Some scholars call it the "pre-state period." As Xie Weiyang pointed out, "in confirming the existence of the earliest state in China... archaeology generally regards some large public buildings, such as palaces and ancestral temples, as manifestations of the existence of a certain centralized power in ancient society." This is undoubtedly also closely related to the emergence of the early ritual system.

Evolution of the dragon image

In the process of exploring the origins of Chinese civilization, another thing that deserves attention is the appearance of the "dragon" image in different regions and among different archaeological cultures.

As we all know, the dragon is not a real animal. Rather, it is a divine animal constructed by people from different regions and different times. As early as 6,500 years ago, dragon and tiger patterns made of mussel shell were discovered in the Neolithic tombs of Xishuipo site, Puyang, Henan province. Around 5,000 years ago, the image of the jade pig dragon (also known as the C-shaped jade dragon) also appeared in the Hongshan Culture. At the time of the Erlitou Culture, dragon-shaped ornaments inlaid with turquoise appeared. This tradition continued to influence the turquoise-inlaid dragon designs found in the Tomb of Fu Hao at Yin Ruins in the Shang Dynasty .

It is worth noting that in the newly discovered sacrificial pits of the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan, a large number of bronze dragon images have been found among the Sanxingdui bronzes, which date back about 3200–3000 years. These include images similar to the "pig-dragons" in the Hongshan Culture, as well as winged dragon images in the shapes of sheep and tigers. This reflects that in the early civilizations of ancient China, the dragon, as a divine animal, may have been influenced by the ethnic groups mainly engaged in agricultural civilization in the Central Plains and northern regions, as well as by the culture of nomadic ethnic groups on the grasslands.

Why did the ancient Chinese civilization have a belief in dragons? Previous research has mentioned that dragons are divine animals that communicate between heaven, earth, people and gods. I think we should pay close attention to the significance of dragons in ancient astronomy.

As the Chinese archaeo-astronomer Feng Shi put it: "The earliest dragons existed as celestial phenomena. This means that when exploring why the dragon, as a spiritual being, is considered divine, it is obviously more profound and appealing to delve into its astronomical significance than simply discussing so-called totem worship. ... When discussing the nature of the dragon, its cultural connotations cannot be ignored. In this respect, the influence of the dragon has spread to almost all areas related to theocracy and the spiritual realm. Its symbolic meanings of good fortune, royal power and even the extensive representation of Chinese culture are known throughout the world."

Therefore, from this perspective, we can examine why the descendants of Emperors Yan and Huang call themselves "descendants of the dragon" and why the worship of the dragon has influenced the royal power of every dynasty in China. This may be the key to unlocking the reason why the image of the dragon appeared in early Chinese civilization.

Birth of Chinese characters

Chinese characters are one of the most important symbols of Chinese civilization. The Chinese language and literature, formed by Chinese characters, not only play a powerful role in forming a unified "cultural background" for the Han people, but also provide the prerequisite for the rulers of other ethnic groups who entered the Central Plains to rule over a larger area and population in the process of forming China as a unified multi-ethnic country.

Although the academic community has long believed that the earliest Chinese characters were the oracle bone inscriptions discovered at the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan province, during the late Shang Dynasty, pinpointing the origin or starting point of Chinese characters, as well as other writing systems in human history, is an extremely complex task. According to some scholars, the earliest characters may have been used mainly for communication between humans and gods, and initially only a few emperors and witch-astronomers ("巫史" in Chinese, pronounced as wushi) qualified to communicate with the gods were the users of these characters.

As early as 6000 BC, signs carved on tortoise shells appeared in the Neolithic Site of Jiahu in Wuyang, Henan, although these signs may not be Chinese script. The characters carved on pottery found in the Dawenkou Culture in Shandong and the Taosi Culture in the Central Plains are considered by many scholars to be a kind of "primitive script" and are believed to be related to witchcraft.

Judging from the archaeological materials discovered so far, the Chinese script represented by the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty was already a fairly mature writing system, so it must have gone through a long process of development. In addition to the Chinese character system, there are probably other writing systems outside the Central Plains, such as the ancient Bashu writing system in southwestern China.

Astronomy, calendar and cosmology

All ancient civilizations in the world attached great importance to astronomy, calendar and the universe, which led to the creation of spiritual culture with their own characteristics in different civilizations.

In the Mesopotamian civilization, people discovered very early that flooding and seasonal changes were related to celestial phenomena, so they began to observe celestial phenomena. In order to arrange their work and life, the Sumerians came up with a lunisolar calendar that recorded days, months, and years. The astronomical knowledge of the ancient Babylonians was further improved, and during the reign of Hammurabi, the sixth king of Babylon, the calendar was standardized. The Assyrians adopted the Babylonians' astronomical knowledge. Archaeologists discovered clay tablets dating back to 1100 BC, with the names of the twelve Assyrian months recorded on them.

Ancient Egyptian astronomy also dates back to very early times. Around 6000 BC, agricultural production had already developed in the Nile Valley. Around 3000 BC, the era of written records began. Throughout these thousands of years, observation of the sky and interpretation of celestial phenomena never ceased. Most of the ancient Egyptians' astronomical knowledge was in the hands of monks and priests. They used their knowledge to build the pyramids.

According to research by archaeologist Feng Shi, the origins of ancient Chinese astronomy can also be traced back to the Neolithic period. In Neolithic sites dating back some 5,000 years, the image of the Big Dipper was discovered with human bones as the handle of the dipper. He believes that, this unique arrangement probably reflects the broad significance of determining the seasons by observing the handle of the Dipper and measuring the sun's shadow.

There are also artifacts similar to those showing worship of the Big Dipper, such as the seven stone knives unearthed at Xuejiagang in Qianshan, Anhui province, which may have been used for sacrifices to the Big Dipper, and the seven-hole stone knife unearthed at the Neolithic site of Beiyinyangying in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

Feng Shi believes that artifacts such as the jade pig-dragon of the Hongshan Culture may also be related to the worship of the Big Dipper, reflecting the ancient tradition of ancestors using pigs to symbolize the Big Dipper. A jade carving unearthed at the Neolithic site of Lingjiatan in Anhui province shows a pattern in which the two wings of an eagle are carved into the heads of pigs. "So we see that the trinity of pigs, the Big Dipper and the Pole Star is once again confirmed."

According to Feng Shi, the "Luoshu Jade Plate" with the famous octagonal star pattern at the Lingjiatan site is the physical evidence of our ancestors' "round-heaven-square-earth" cosmology and a reflection of the ancient concept of heavenly numbers.

Regarding the archaeological discovery of observing celestial phenomena to determine time, Feng also mentions the "star map" formed by the combination of human bones, dragon and tiger patterns made of shells, etc., at the Xishuipo site in Puyang, Henan province; the sun patterns on polychrome pottery unearthed in various regions; the bird-god patterns symbolizing the sun in jade carvings of the Liangzhu Culture; and the images of the sun and bird together carved on artifacts excavated at the Hemudu site.

In terms of ancient astronomical instruments, Feng also lists the gnomon for measuring shadows, ancient bone pitch pipes, and a number of archaeological remains that may symbolize phenomena such as divination with tortoise shells, divination with yarrow stalks, compasses, and set squares. Feng Shi's research can be said to have opened up a new avenue for Chinese astronomical archaeology.

If we compare the development process of different civilizations of the world, we can see that people's attention to astronomy, calendar and cosmology as well as the formation of their astronomical knowledge has developed in response to the needs of production practice and social life. The Babylonian, Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek and Mayan civilizations all developed a high level of ancient astronomy, which became one of the symbols of their civilizational progress. These special remains revealed in China's Neolithic archaeology are equally important for our understanding of the origins of Chinese civilization.

Physical evidence of the continuity of Chinese civilization

The main difference between archaeological materials and documentary historical materials is that archaeology expresses the characteristics of civilization through a series of movable or immovable remains that are visible, tangible and perceptible.

Generally speaking, the signs of the formation of a civilized society can be roughly divided into the following three categories in terms of material carriers: the first category is physical evidence reflecting the level of material development of society, such as cities (including capitals), metal objects, etc.; the second category is physical evidence reflecting the cultural level of society, such as writing, ritual vessels and ritual systems, sacrificial sites, religious beliefs, etc.; the third category is physical evidence reflecting the existence of a certain centralized power, social organization and hierarchy in ancient society, such as palaces, royal tombs and tombs of high rank.

Obviously, through the above analysis, it is not difficult to find that some archaeological evidence and their "cultural genes" in the development of Chinese civilization are rooted in prehistoric times, developed and formed in the civilized era, reflecting the characteristics of continuity.

Regarding the development of the capital city, Chinese archaeologist Zhang Guoshuo pointed out: "Based on the analysis of archaeological discoveries, the formation process of China's early capital cities was mainly manifested in the emergence and development of large city walls, palaces and ancestral temples, large tombs and high-standard handicraft workshops in terms of architectural form."

Among these archaeological remains, the most representative are the Liangzhu site in Zhejiang, the Shimao site in Shaanxi and the Taosi site in Shanxi. These three ancient cities have a layout of large cities enclosing smaller ones. Some have taken on the characteristics of a triple layout of outer city, inner city and palace city. There are royal or noble tombs in these cities, as well as high-level workshops for making jade wares and lacquerware, indicating the development of handicrafts and the emergence of artisan groups. Sacrificial buildings such as ancestral temples also began to appear in these cities.

These characteristics were inherited and developed by the city sites of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, such as the Erlitou site, the Yanshi Shang City site, the Zhengzhou Shang City site, the Huanbei Shang City site, and the Guanghan Sanxingdui site.

In these sites, the cities are marked by large city walls and moats. Large rammed-earth building platforms appeared within the cities, representing the emergence of high-status buildings such as palaces. At the same time, ancestral temples and sacrificial sites emerged. The large sacrificial pits found in the Sanxingdui Site and the large number of precious objects such as bronze wares, jade wares, gold wares, and ivory objects unearthed there may be related to sacrificial activities. In addition, the division of labor in the handicraft workshop area became more refined during this period, and this area became the basic facility in the capital, reflecting the development of social productivity and the concentration of royal power and wealth. Civilization thus entered a new stage of development.

As Engels pointed out in The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State: "Not without reason the bristling battlements stand menacingly about the new fortified towns; in the moat at their foot yawns the grave of the gentile constitution, and already they rear their towers into civilization."

Cities are one of the world's recognized symbols of civilization, and China is no exception. For 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, capitals (metropolises) with the same cultural characteristics have continued to exist. From the city sites in the Yellow Emperor's era to the capitals of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, to the capitals of the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the planning concepts regarding the location and layout of capitals have been passed down through generations, and are regarded as indicators of the political legitimacy of the rulers of the states. This is extremely rare in the history of the ancient world, highlighting the characteristics of China's 5,000-year uninterrupted civilization.

On the spiritual level, the Chinese characters have a history of thousands of years, which is rare among the world's ancient civilizations. Although the mature Chinese character systems are oracle bone script and bronze inscription, the development of ancient Chinese characters can be traced back to more than 4,000 years ago or even earlier.

In addition, the appearance of sacrificial buildings within cities can be traced back to the late Neolithic Age. Monarchs of all dynasties in the subsequent civilized eras attached great importance to such ritual buildings. From the ancestral temples in the early capitals to the later arrangements such as "the imperial palace on the right and the ancestral temple on the left," "the ancestral temple on the left and the altar of the God of Land and Grain on the right," the Mingtang (a hall for solemn ceremonies), the Biyong (a circular building for imperial education), the Temple of Heaven (the imperial altar where Ming and Qing emperors worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvests), the Temple of Earth (the sacred place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped Earth Deity (Huang Di Qi)), their cultural "genes" can be found in prehistoric sites. This is also the ideological origin of the concepts such as "revering heaven and following the ways of ancestors" and "worshipping ancestors and respecting deities" of the Chinese nation.

For example, the early "round-heaven-square-earth" cosmology of the Chinese ancestors can be traced back to about 8,000 years ago. A piece of white pottery from the Gaomiao site in Hunan province in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River was stamped with octagonal composite patterns which were considered to be physical evidence of the early "round-heaven-square-earth" cosmology.

The author is Huo Wei, professor at School of History and Culture, Sichuan University

Liu Xian /Editor    Liu Li /Translator

Yang Xinhua /Chief Editor    Liu Xian /Coordination Editor

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