The general secretary said at the symposium on cultural inheritance and development that it is our new cultural mission in the new era to continue to promote cultural prosperity, build a cultural power, and build the modern civilization of the Chinese nation at a new starting point. Exploring the roots is the key to unlocking the genetic code of Chinese civilization and the key to inheriting the Chinese bloodline. Hongshan culture is one of the origins of Chinese civilization and a treasure buried in the land of western Liaoning.
The origin of civilization is a worldwide problem, and the Hongshan Cultural Site is of great significance to solve this problem. The formation of Hongshan culture has lasted for more than 1,500 years, and it was officially named Hongshan culture in the 50s of the 20th century. The Hongshan culture is mainly distributed in the whole territory of Chifeng City, the southern part of Tongliao City, the western part of Liaoning Province, and the northeast of Hebei Province. Hongshan culture not only reflects the cultural characteristics of the region, absorbs the essence of the surrounding cultures to improve and develop itself, but also has a profound impact on the ancient civilization of the Central Plains. Hongshan culture can be summarized as: "altar temple mound, jade dragon wind." "The Hongshan Cultural Site has a large number of jade artifacts, showing the Chinese cultural elements of respecting jade and heavy rituals, including all kinds of beautiful and exquisite figures and utensils, which is a vivid embodiment of prehistoric civilization. Among them, the belief system represented by the jade dragon and the jade phoenix is one of the core contents of Chinese civilization and reflects the beginning of national cultural identity. Hongshan culture vividly restores the production and living conditions of the people at that time at the material and spiritual levels, and the exquisite jade and superb skills all reflect the wisdom of the Chinese nation. Many of the relics related to sacrifice in the Hongshan Cultural Site reflect the preliminary sacrificial ritual system that had been formed at that time, and are an important source of the idea of "the unity of heaven and man" in Chinese culture. The inclusion of Hongshan culture in the major project of "Archaeological China" is a continuous excavation and research of Hongshan culture at the national level, which is no longer limited to regions and disciplines.
Approaching the Niuheliang site of Hongshan culture, the dawn of Chinese civilization rises from here. According to the latest research of the "Chinese Civilization Exploration Project", the Niuheliang site is a large altar, goddess temple and stone mound group site about 5,800 years ago, and is a primitive civilization society with a national prototype, which has advanced the history of Chinese civilization by more than 1,000 years. Represented by the burial and sacrificial remains of the upper layer of stone mounds at the Niuheliang site, and the remains of settlements of different scales such as Xinglonggou and Nastai, the western Liaoning region entered the primary civilization and finally formed the Hongshan civilization. All regions on the land of China have entered the ancient kingdom era, and the Niuheliang site of Hongshan culture, which belongs to the late Neolithic period, represents the first stage of the ancient kingdom era. The Niuheliang site provides an earlier sample for the study of the origin of Chinese civilization, which is a symbol of the birth of civilization, and further establishes the direct root status of Hongshan culture in the origin process of Chinese civilization.
Chinese culture is profound and has a long history, and it is an uninterrupted and continuous civilization, the most important reason for which is that it has been passed down from generation to generation. Hongshan culture is an important empirical evidence of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years, and is the most shining part of Chinese civilization, which is of great significance for us to deepen our understanding of Chinese history and strengthen cultural self-confidence. Hongshan culture contains rich cultural connotations, has a far-reaching impact on Chinese civilization, and plays a role in Chinese culture. The further exploration of Hongshan culture is a root-seeking process of Chinese civilization based on history and facing the future, and it achieves cultural self-confidence and cultural consciousness in a real sense. Civilization needs inheritance to continue, and civilization needs innovation to rejuvenate. Whether it is the numerous cultural sites of the Hongshan culture or its unique spiritual characteristics, it can still resonate strongly today. The research based on Hongshan culture is still deepening, and the mystery of the origin of Chinese civilization will be unveiled little by little.
In the process of tracing their roots, contemporary young people should increase their historical and cultural self-confidence, promote the inheritance and development of Chinese civilization, devote themselves to the construction of modern civilization of the Chinese nation, and undertake new cultural missions.
The authors are associate professor of the School of Marxism of Dalian Maritime University and a master's student of the School of Marxism of Dalian Maritime University
*: China Youth Daily client.