Yangtze River Civilization
The Yangtze River, which runs across the land of China, rushes day and night. It is about 200 million years old. Like the Yellow River, it is the cradle of the Chinese nation and the birthplace of ancient Chinese culture. As early as the Paleolithic Age, the ancestors of the Chinese nation worked and lived in the Yangtze River Basin. The Yuanmou Man discovered in Yuanmou, Yunnan is the earliest human fossil found in China so far that belongs to the "ape man" stage. It has a history of about 1.7 million years ago. , is a strong proof of the long history of human activities in the Yangtze River Basin. Archaeologists in the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have also discovered that relics of the Chinese nation's childhood are still left in many places. For example, in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, there are fossils and stone tools from the "Lijiang people" of Yunnan, the "Ziyang people" of Sichuan, and the "Changyang people" of Hubei. These human remains belonging to the middle and late Paleolithic Age are hundreds of thousands to more than 10,000 years old. Two Shang Dynasty ruins discovered in the 1970s, Meicheng in Qingjiang, Jiangxi, and Panlongcheng in Huangpi, Hubei, confirmed that a culture basically the same as that in the Central Plains region of the Yellow River Basin had developed here at least 3,000 years ago. Between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago, the primitive people in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River had led a settled life based on rice farming and supplemented by fishing and hunting, creating a high-level primitive social culture.
There are also many cultural sites in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. For example, the Majiabang Culture 6,000 years ago, the Songze Culture 5,000 years ago, the Liangzhu Culture 4,000 years ago, etc. After the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yangtze River Basin became the center of the national economy.
The Yangtze River has given birth to countless outstanding talents with its sweet milk for thousands of years, and has cultivated many literary giants who are leading the way in their respective fields. They have played a leading role in the history of the development of Chinese literature. Zhuang Zhou and Qu Yuan in the Spring and Autumn Period were both cultivated in the fertile soil of Jingchu culture. Zhuang Zhou's "Zhuangzi" and Qu Yuan's "Li Sao" are collectively called "Zhuang Sao", which pioneered romanticism in southern culture and had a profound impact on later generations. Tao Yuanming in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Li Bai in the Tang Dynasty, Su Shi in the Song Dynasty, etc. were all created by the Yangtze River. Li Bai traveled all over the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River throughout his life. He wrote masterpieces about hard work and praising the scenery of the Yangtze River, such as:
Going far beyond Jingmen, coming to travel from Chu State.
The mountains end with the plains, and the river flows into the wilderness.
Under the moon, there is a flying mirror, and the clouds form a sea tower.
I still feel sorry for the water in my hometown, and I send my boat sailing thousands of miles away.
The Yangtze River Basin is also an area where religions have flourished in the past dynasties. Temple buildings and Buddhist sculptures built in the past dynasties can be found all over the river. Jizu Mountain in Yunnan, Emei Mountain in Sichuan, and Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui are famous Buddhist holy places in China; Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan and Wudang Mountain in Hubei are Taoist holy places. The splendid temples and palaces with double eaves and flying pavilions stand high on the majestic and beautiful mountains, among the ancient trees and forests. There are also many monasteries in the lower reaches. A poem by Du Mu, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, describes the prosperity of temples in Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties:
Thousands of miles away orioles are singing, the green is reflected in red, and the mountains and water villages are fluttering flags in the wind
Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties , How many towers are there in the mist
With the passage of time, the temples built in the past dynasties have risen and fallen several times, and some of them are still preserved today. In recent years, some of them have been renovated and given a new look. The Hanshan Temple in Suzhou and the Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou still show their former charm with the giant Buddha decorated with gold and colorful sculptures. The Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan, the largest stone Buddha in China built in the Tang Dynasty, still sits on Lingyun Mountain near the river.
The vast Yangtze River Basin is extremely rich in resources and uniquely endowed with natural treasures. It has been the most important agricultural economic zone in China since ancient times. The terrain here is diverse, with mountains, hills, plains and lakes. There are 370 million acres of fertile arable land in the basin, accounting for 1/4 of the country's total arable land. Grain output accounts for about 40% of the country's total output, and cotton output accounts for 1/3 of the country's output.
For centuries, people have praised the Sichuan Basin in the Yangtze River Basin as the "land of abundance", the two lakes area as the "land of fish and rice", and the Taihu Lake area as the "paradise on earth".
The vast rivers, lakes and swamps of the Yangtze River are China’s natural fish warehouses, accounting for 2/3 of the country’s freshwater fish production.
This statement is summarized by many anthropologists and archaeologists.
Among the current cereal crops, there are two main types, one is wheat and the other is rice. Has there ever been a civilization based on cereal crop agriculture like rice? The past is a question mark, and there are two main areas where answers are sought. One is the Ganges River Basin in India, and the other is the Yangtze River Basin in China. The Yangtze River Basin is now the place with the largest rice production in the world and the most concentrated population. So is there any soil for civilization to arise in the Yangtze River Basin? Or does it mean that civilization only emerged after the Central Plains civilization spread to the Yangtze River Basin, or affected the Yangtze River Basin? This is a question facing archaeologists and historians. Since many important discoveries of a series of cultures from the Neolithic Age to the Bronze Age have been made in the Yangtze River Basin in the past few years, everyone feels that this issue is worth pondering. I am afraid that when looking at the development of Chinese civilization, we cannot just focus on the Central Plains. If the occurrence of this civilization is considered from the perspective of multiple sources, it may be more consistent with the facts. Among those many sources, of course, the Yangtze River Basin is included. I personally feel that the role of rice agriculture in civilization cannot be underestimated. Compared with dryland agriculture, it has more advantages, not worse. Because rice farming is basically paddy farming. Paddy field agriculture requires the fields to be leveled. If the fields are uneven, there will be no water in the higher areas and the rice seedlings in the lower areas will be flooded. Dryland agriculture can also be planted on uneven land. This is not possible with paddy fields, and after leveling the fields, you have to build ridges around them to contain the water and prevent it from flowing away. When there is a drought, you have to find water for irrigation. When it rains, you have to find ways to drain the fields and have drainage and irrigation. system. Since paddy fields must be irrigated, this irrigation actually brings some fertility, and the effect of self-fertilization is better than that of dry land. If crops are grown on a piece of dry land for several years without artificial fertilization, the fertility will decrease quickly. So it is necessary to rotate crops. Doesn't "The Book of Songs" talk about "葑, 新, and 畲"? Planting must be rotated, otherwise the yield will be reduced. As for paddy fields, paddy fields in the Yangtze River Basin have been cultivated for thousands of years and are still very productive. Academician Yuan Longping won the grand prize because they were made on this soil and can continue to be highly productive. Because of this, so much manpower has been invested in this farmland that farmers generally will not give it up easily. Therefore, farmers in paddy field agriculture are more fixed on the land, which means greater stability. Of course, some cultural exchanges cannot be ruled out. This is more conducive to the accumulation of culture. Due to the processing of the land, more finesse is required. In this way, a kind of quality will be developed, which will make these farmers pay attention to intensive farming and do things very carefully. When this kind of literacy is brought to some handicraft industries, some handicraft products will be made very exquisitely. We only need to pay a little attention, starting from the Neolithic Age, and compare the pottery and jade made by Liangzhu Culture and Qujialing Culture in the south with the Neolithic culture of the same period in the north. The big difference is that the pottery we saw in Inner Mongolia is very large, and the pottery kiln is also very large, very impressive, but the texture is very rough; while the utensils in the south are exquisitely made. A tradition has been formed for thousands of years, and this tradition is related to water and soil. An economy is created on a certain soil and water basis, and then a culture is created on the basis of this economy. This culture has formed a tradition. Therefore, when rice agriculture develops to a certain period, it is fully capable of producing civilization based on it. This civilization includes both material civilization and spiritual civilization. In recent years, many relics of the Liangzhu Culture and Shijiahe Culture have been discovered in the Yangtze River Basin. Everyone is paying close attention to them. When discussing the origin of civilization, these cultures are mentioned. There are no bronzes in these cultures, only relatively developed rice farming. Agriculture, relatively developed handicrafts, such as manufacturing jade, silk, etc.
But no one denies that it is a major achievement in the stage of civilization. However, there are different views on whether it has entered civilization or only reached the threshold of civilization. . Therefore, rice agriculture can produce civilization after it develops to a certain stage.
2 Three centers where civilization originated in the Yangtze River Basin
There are three centers where civilization originated in the Yangtze River Basin. The first is the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which is the area where rice agriculture first occurred as far as is known.
In this sense, I think the concept of Yangtze River Civilization does not exist. There are only civilizations in the Yangtze River region, civilizations in the Yangtze River Basin, and multiple civilizations in the Yangtze River Basin. From another perspective, regardless of the Yangtze River Basin or the Yellow River Basin, these civilizations are a whole, that is, pluralism and unity. This whole can be seen in many ways. For example, we talk about the many jade articles from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. There are many jade congs, jade bis, jade huangs, etc. on the jade articles. Doesn’t it mean that Liangzhu is very developed? There were two early jade centers in China, one was the Hongshan Culture and the other was the Liangzhu Culture (there were some before the Liangzhu Culture, but they were not as developed as the Liangzhu Culture). Shang and Zhou jades were not mainly inherited from the Hongshan Culture. In the Yellow River Basin, There are some jade articles in Shandong, but not many, and there are very few jade articles in the Central Plains. Although it is unclear how it was influenced by Liangzhu culture and the time is not connected, the jade articles of Liangzhu must have had a very important influence on the jade articles of Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Another example is the thunder patterns and Taotie patterns on Shang and Zhou bronzes. These patterns existed in the Liangzhu Culture, but were basically missing from the Longshan Culture in the Yellow River Basin. There is also silk in Chinese civilization, which was first and most developed in the Yangtze River Basin. In the Hemudu Culture, there are carvings of silkworms. In the Liangzhu Culture, both silk sheets and ribbons were found. In fact, many silk fabrics were buried in the large tombs of the Liangzhu Culture. But it can't be collected. Therefore, silk is also the most developed in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin. China is also a country of porcelain. Where did porcelain first occur? Or the Yangtze River Basin, because white pottery, which is closely related to porcelain, first appeared in the Yangtze River Basin. Then, the earliest so-called primitive celadon also occurred in the Yangtze River Basin. Up to now, the porcelain kilns that make the best porcelain in China are also in the Yangtze River Basin.
For example, lacquer ware was found in Hemudu. There are many beautiful lacquer ware in Liangzhu culture (not restored now). These are the earliest materials that shine with the light of civilization in ancient Chinese material culture. Cultural relics first occurred in the Yangtze River Basin. At the same time, it also represents the characteristics of Chinese culture.
So, when talking about early Chinese civilization, we can’t just talk about the Yellow River Basin, only talk about the civilization of the Central Plains, but at least talk about the Yangtze River. It makes no sense to talk about the Yangtze River civilization and the Yellow River civilization in isolation. The two are diverse yet integrated. In this sense, the Yangtze River Basin has a very important position and plays an important role in the origin and early development of ancient Chinese civilization. I have talked about a truth before, and I might as well mention it again now, that is, some gentlemen in the Shang and Zhou civilizations called it "Dingli Culture". Mr. Jian Bozan thinks so. In the Shang and Zhou cultures, two artifacts, the tripod and the tripod, played an important role. From the Neolithic culture, the tripod was mainly found in the Yellow River Basin, and the tripod was mainly found in the Yangtze River Basin. Of course, the expansion of the Shang and Zhou dynasties was mainly from the Yellow River Basin to the Yangtze River Basin, and the Yangtze River Basin became the conquered. But what is interesting is that the tripod, an element of the conquered national culture, later became a ritual vessel of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. However, Li was originally his own thing, but instead became a common utensil for daily use. In this way, the two combine to form a composite culture. Where there were originally ke, some had no or very few dings. Where there were originally dings, there were basically no ke. By the Shang and Zhou dynasties, they merged and became a kind of ding-ke culture. This incident vividly demonstrates the process of Chinese culture gradually moving from multiple sources to one or unification.
The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world
The third longest river in the world
The largest river in China