There is a 1,500-year gap in Chinese history that has not been recorded in historical records, and one wonders what happened during this period.
In May 1935, Shi Xin, a young geological cartographer, took part in an archaeological excavation and was amazed to find that the unearthed artifacts bore a striking resemblance to the stone axes that prevailed in his hometown of Liangzhu.
This discovery ignited Shi Xin's curiosity, and he decided to return to his hometown to conduct in-depth research. Little did he realize, however, that the survey would have a profound impact on the length of human exploration of Chinese history.
Two years later, the book "Liangzhu" was published, which not only inspired later archaeologists and historians to continue to excavate the mysteries of the Liangzhu site, but also proved to the world that the flame of civilization of the Chinese nation was already burning 5,000 years ago.
A period of history surrounded by mythology but symbolizing the origin of civilization is telling us its glorious history of 1,500 years through unearthed cultural relics.
However, why is there no record of this long period of 1,500 years?What kind of stories and secrets are hidden in this?According to the analysis of today's researchers, this blank period of 1500 years is mainly composed of the ancient era and the Xia, Shang and Zhou periods.
Due to the prevalence of myths and legends in ancient times, the authenticity of myths and legends has been questioned by many scholars. Therefore, the Xia, Shang and Zhou periods, which can find some historical evidence, are regarded as the main research objects and are called the semi-faith history period.
So, why is there no written record?The most straightforward answer is that writing came later. The earliest written language in China dates back to the oracle bone inscriptions of the late Shang Dynasty.
In the initial stages of civilization, the relatively low level of human intelligence to make long-term records, coupled with the harsh natural environment, caused an extremely high mortality rate for humans.
Therefore, at that time, the scattered and poor living conditions of humanity did not yet have a strong leader to organize them to unite and obtain more resources for survival.
However, as the number of humans increased, people gathered together to form tribes, and some of the closest tribes gradually merged into tribal alliances, and their leaders would lead them to explore territory.
There is reason to believe that most of the myths and legends that are now widely circulated were created by the children of these tribes with the most primitive imagination and passed on by word of mouth as a way to express their praise and praise for the leaders who made outstanding contributions to the tribes.
In an environment where resources are scarce and survival is difficult, it is believed that it is a gift from God to continue life and carry on the lineage. As a result, the legends and myths of ancient times seem to be full of mystery today.
In China, the earliest legends about the origin of the world can be traced back to the founding of Pangu, and the birth of mankind is considered the masterpiece of Nuwa, the mother of the earth. But in reality, these myths are just the people's praise of the tribal leaders who have made outstanding contributions.
In the tribes, great leaders began to emerge, who used their wisdom to lead humanity to use the available resources to create better living conditions. These leaders are revered as the Three Emperors, namely Fuxi, Nuwa, and Shennong.
In order to survive, scattered humans gathered together to form tribes, and for the safety of the tribes and access to more resources, people began to wage war.
During the long years of war, the heroes who had the superior leadership of the tribe were revered as emperors, and the victorious heroes were revered as the common masters of the world. In the battle of Zhuolu, which decided the fate of China, the Yanhuang tribal alliance successfully defeated the Chiyou tribe who attempted to annex the Central Plains, and this victory ensured that the bloodline of the Chinese nation could live on in the Central Plains.
The two emperors of Yan and Huang were also revered as the ancestors of China by later generations. After that, the two emperors of Yan and Huang fought a fierce battle in Hanquan, in which the Yan Emperor was defeated, and the Yellow Emperor became the sole ruler of the Central Plains, and a powerful figure who could command the Quartet was born.
From then on, this vast Central Plains was no longer occupied by barbaric and scattered tribes, and a system suitable for governing the world came into being, and the form of the state gradually took shape.
For the first time in human history, under the leadership of a victor, humanity has united to form a leadership class capable of saving humanity, thus propelling a man close to God to the pinnacle of power.
During the Yao Shunyu period, emphasis was placed on selecting talents and promoting ability, and the individual's ability to govern the country and transform society was emphasized. This was an era of public education, and Emperor Yao won the love of the people with his benevolent heart and became the best choice to govern the world.
At that time, although the tribes no longer fought wars, they were still only a simple union and did not reach real unity. In order to better manage the country, Emperor Yao formulated a systematic state system, which provided a clear basis for national governance.
Emperor Yao's greatest contribution was undoubtedly the establishment of the Chan Concession System, believing that only virtuous people could govern the world well. Under his influence, his successors all had exceptional talents to continue his legacy.
On the recommendation of a chieftain, he discovered a potential leader, Shun, and after a long period of observation, confirmed his excellence. So, he gave up the imperial throne to Shun.
Shun did not live up to his expectations, and continued to control the floods, formulate ritual laws, and improve the national system. However, the problem of water control that Emperor Yao failed to solve during his lifetime was not alleviated until Yu went through thirteen years of channeling.
Yu inherited the water control business that his father Kun failed to complete, and the story of passing through the door three times without entering has been passed down to this day.
In the history of China, there are many heroes, and Shun, a great hero who has contributed to the world, should be the successor to the throne. However, Shun could not have predicted that the situation under the public world would be broken by the establishment of a dynasty.
After Yu succeeded to the throne, he established the first Chinese dynasty recorded in writing, the Xia Dynasty, ending the public world during the Yaoshun period. The reason why the Xia Dynasty was able to last for four centuries was due to the fact that Yu inherited Yao Shun's perfect state system on the one hand, and on the other hand, because it created a precedent for the world, and the succession to the imperial throne depended on the continuation of the bloodline.
However, the scarcity of documents from the Xia Dynasty and the lack of written texts have made many professional scholars question the authenticity of the Xia Dynasty. However, the research of ancient scholars such as the "Historical Records" shows that the Xia Dynasty was indeed a real dynasty.
The reason why Yu wants to change the situation in the public world in history is not only historical accidentality, but also man-made inevitability. Originally, Yu intended to give up the imperial throne to Gaotao, who had the ability to govern, but Gaotao had no choice but to die early Yu.
Subsequently, Yu elected Yi as the leader, but after Yu's death, Yi did not inherit the throne. There is a saying that Qi successfully ascended the throne with the support of the people, while Yi took the initiative to abdicate;There is also a theory that Qi killed Yi before he sat on the throne.
In any case, from the beginning of the enlightenment, the Zen concession system was replaced by the hereditary system. The establishment of the hereditary system allowed the dynasty to last for fourteen generations of the family name. In order to consolidate the relationship between the royal family and the tribe, a vertical management system with blood ties as a bond, a feudal base and tribute as a guarantee began to be formed.
This strengthened the idea of hierarchy and the supremacy of royal power, and became the prototype of the ideology advocated by successive Chinese dynasties.
In 1600 BC, after more than 400 years, the Xia Dynasty finally declined after the tyrannical Xia Wei ascended the throne. The Shang tribes in the lower reaches of the Yellow River were dissatisfied with the corrupt rule of the Xia Dynasty, and the Shang Tang leaders decided to rebel and launched a historical battle known as the Shang Tang Battle to Destroy the Xia.
Due to the internal contradictions of the Xia Dynasty and the disapproval of the people, Shang Tang soon won the victory. In this way, the first dynasty in Chinese history was overthrown. After the conference, Shang Tang ascended to the throne of the co-lord of the world surrounded by the princes, and the Shang Dynasty came into being.
Although the Xia Dynasty has been recorded, the Shang Dynasty's oracle bone inscriptions and Jin inscriptions are the earliest written texts in Chinese history. In order to avoid a repeat of the tragedy of the fall of the Xia Dynasty, in the early years of the Shang Dynasty, the monarch focused on establishing a more complete state structure to govern his subjects.
The classification of official positions is very detailed. A thriving dynasty promoted the development of handicrafts, and the people of that time were already proficient in the smelting of bronze, the most famous of which is the Simu Wuding is a precious artifact of that period.
The Shang Dynasty's belief in ghosts and gods was highly sought after, and in addition to inheriting the Xia Dynasty's concept of heavenly punishment, it also emphasized the divine right of kingship, so as to highlight the supremacy of the throne. And the attack on the Xia Dynasty was seen as a just war obeyed by the will of heaven.
The myths and legends of King Wu of Zhou have been passed down to this day, which reveals the reasons for the fall of the Shang Dynasty. This is not the influence of the power of the gods, but the result of the Shang King**. Compared with Xia Wei's mediocrity, the atrocities of the king are more cruel.
He invented the torture of cannon burning, in which the guilty were tied to red-hot copper pillars until they were burned to death. This kind of inhumane punishment turned out to be an interesting thing that the king was happy to watch.
The king was ruthless to his ministers, and he was inhumane to his family. In order to get the heart of the beautiful Su Daji, he abandoned the government and lived a luxurious and erosive life. Empress Jiang denounced this, but her eyes were gouged out and she was burned with cannons, and her hands were also discarded.
The king did not listen to his uncle Bigan's advice, but cruelly dug out his heart. Since then, no one has dared to challenge the tyrant's rule. His ** was at its peak, and it was only a matter of time before he perished.
In 1046 BC, King Wu of Zhou, the son of Xibo Marquis Ji Chang, united the princes and launched the Battle of Muye, which eventually overthrew the Shang dynasty. King Wu of Zhou's army was unstoppable, and most of the Shang Dynasty's troops were slaves, so the king of Zhou was gone.
In just two months, the dynasty, which had existed for 554 years in Chinese history, collapsed under the rebellion of the princes. King Lu Tai**, the monarch who took pleasure in watching people burned alive during his lifetime, finally ended his sinful life in the same way.
A new era was coming, and King Wu of Zhou named it the Western Zhou Dynasty and chose Hojing as the capital, which was the period when the development of Chinese slave society reached its peak. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the rudiments of the feudal system began to appear, that is, the feudal system.
This way of granting land to the royal family, princes and meritorious heroes not only expanded the territory, but also promoted the integration of various cultures. Although the feudal system had emerged, the Western Zhou Dynasty still belonged to a slave society, and at that time, slaves were freely bought and sold for the upper class, just like goods, and the people at the bottom were still living in dire straits.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the theory of ghosts and gods that was prevalent in the Shang Dynasty gradually faded out, and institutions dedicated to ceremonies appeared. With the advent of historians, more records of the Western Zhou Dynasty have been handed down than those of the Xia and Shang dynasties.
Advances in bronze manufacturing technology have made it possible to record the way in which words are engraved on bronzes, thus facilitating the study of distant history by historians.
With the excavation of the written records and cultural relics of the Zhou Dynasty, the 1500-year historical gap in China is about to be filled. These 1,500 years are a critical period in the development of human history, from theocracy to human rule, from decentralization to unification.
1. From barbarism to civilization.
A feudal dynasty that rules the world with the system will continue to write the legend of ancient Chinese history for the next thousand years. The discovery of the Liangzhu site has truly verified the authenticity of China for 5,000 years, although these 1,500 years have experienced many dynastic changes, system creation and the outbreak of wars, but there are still many scholars at home and abroad who doubt this.
The development of the Liangzhu site always reminds us of the 5,000-year-long history of the Chinese nation, as well as the arduous progress of early human beings in order to survive. As an important cultural relic for the study of the late Neolithic period, more than 10,000 cultural relics unearthed at the Liangzhu site reveal that China's handicrafts, agriculture, and even commerce have emerged during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.
This is the source of Chinese civilization and further confirms the authenticity of 1,500 years of history. At the same time, these cultural relics also reveal the difficult process of human struggle for the most basic life in the mythical era before the Xia, Shang and Zhou periods.
The history of China is a thick book, and our ancestors went through a long journey before moving towards feudal society.
From the groping of primitive societies to the trial and error of slave societies, human beings gradually mastered the skills of survival, poured the blood of war to build a unified country, and created a prosperous system with painstaking efforts.
These 1,500 years may be just the prologue of history, but their value is as precious as the most prosperous era. It has witnessed the process of human beings starting from scratch and building everything through unremitting efforts, which is the history of human struggle!
Therefore, we should all the more revere history and recognize the authenticity of this history, so as to affirm the great creativity of the Chinese nation. At the same time, it also reminds us not to stop exploring and innovating, and any technological or institutional change may lead us into a new era.
The future is in their own hands, without the guidance of the gods, only those who work hard can create their own brilliant tomorrow!