The main reason why the West does not recognize that we have more than 5,000 years of civilization is that the mainstream view in the West is that the Shang Dynasty oracle bone script is the earliest written language in China. Before the oracle bone inscription, there was no written record in China, and there was a blank period in history. Is that really the case?
Three Emperors and Five Emperors. In the history before the Shang Dynasty, all we can know is:The Three Emperors and Five Emperors, Yu Chuan is located in Qi began the "family world" system and Shang Tang destroyed Xia Ji,These are a few stories;Among them, there are different opinions about who the "three emperors" and the "five emperors" are among the three emperors and five emperors.
After people's statistics, it was found that the three emperors who appeared the most times were"Fuxi", "Shennong" and "Suiren";The five emperors who appear the most areThe Yellow Emperor and 颛顼, and the rest of the versions are numerous. The other three of the five emperors in "Lü's Spring and Autumn" are Taihao, Emperor Yan and Shaohao, and in "The Legend of Dadaili", they are Emperor Yu, Yao, and Shun.
The Zizhi Tongjian records Shao Hao, Emperor Yu and Yao. This period of ChinaMyths and legends are all the rage,Various heroes changed their lives against the sky and "fought against gods and demons", composing chapters of human struggle. Such as:Dayi shoots the sun, Nuwa mends the sky, praises the father and chases the sun, and Jingwei reclaims the sea;In addition to mythology, the most widespread event of this period is the Battle of Hansen.
Imagination of the Battle of Hansen.
Imagination of the Battle of the Deer.
It is recorded in the "Historical Records: The Five Emperors".The Yellow Emperor fought with the Yan Emperor in Hanquan when he was expanding his territoryThe earliest source of the text about the Battle of Hanquan is in the classics of the Spring and Autumn Period, in 636 BC, Duke Wen of Jin sent troops to support the fallen King Xiang of Zhou, and before setting off, he had found someone to tell the hexagram, and the hexagram was displayed"The auspicious encounter with the Yellow Emperor in Hanquan is an omen".
Next up is the battle between Yan Huang and Chi You in Zhulu, the battle that will determine the future of Chinese civilization is also full of mythology, and the earliest records come fromPre-Qin's "Choosing the Book of the Week, Tasting Wheat".It is written that "Chiyou is chasing the emperor, fighting for the deer, and the nine corners are exhausted", that is, Chiyou expanded westward and defeated the Yan Emperor, the Yan Emperor asked the Yellow Emperor for help, and the two defeated Chiyou in the deer.
In addition, during this period, there were historical events such as Cangjie making characters, Dayu controlling the water, and Shennong tasting a hundred herbs, and these events were more or less mixed with the so-called gods and demonsThis is because there was no written record at the time, and the exaggerated and mythological part of the process of transmission by the people appeared
Taikang. When the trajectory of time entered the Xia Dynasty, myths, legends and historical materials were almost empty, and only a few legends were left in this long time;It is said that after Qi succeeded Yu and became the second king of the Xia Dynasty, there were many people who did not accept Qi's supreme rule, and Qi chose to use force to conquer these disobedient tribes and eliminate opposition forces, which was the "Battle of Gan".
After the Battle of GanThe inheritance system of "family under heaven" has become the legal inheritance method of the throne, not only replacing the Zen concession system, but also being retained;However, in the later period of the Qi reign, the Xia Dynasty was in turmoil, and the famous Taikang lost the country. Taikang is the son of Qi, who after inheriting the throne, he indulged in pleasures and ignored national affairs, causing internal and external troubles in the country.
At this time, there was a call from the Dongyi tribeHou YiHou Yi seized the supreme power of the Xia Dynasty through stratagem and force, making Taikang and his younger brother Zhongkang his puppets to rule the country. After Zhongkang's son succeeded to the throne, Hou Yi bullied Zhong Kang's son at a young age and abolished the Xia Dynasty, and Hou Yi himself became the king.
Shang Tang guessed the march map of the Xia Dynasty.
Shang Dynasty. It is said that Hou Yi was killed by his subordinates not long after he became the king, and Zhong Kang's grandson Shaokang gathered the nobles of the original Xia Dynasty and took advantage of the chaos to regain the ruling power of the Xia Dynasty. Here it is"Shaokang Zhongxing"., and then the Xia Dynasty once again entered a dull historical blank period, and even the legends were empty and unrecorded. It was not until about 1600 BC that the Battle of Narujo took place.
Xia Wei, who favored his sister, brutalized Zhongliang and abused the people, and was finally defeated by Shang Tang and his army in the Battle of Mingtiao, and the Xia Dynasty perishedThroughout the Xia Dynasty periodNone of the written texts have been handed down, and no other myths have been born, only these few legends;It seems that this is a 471-year blank period.
In addition, in the early Shang Dynasty and the ancient era, there is no record except for a few mythsThe time span is up to 1500 yearsSo why is this happening?The main reason is:Written records were not widespread at the timeHistory without written records can only be passed down by word of mouth, not to mention that changes will occur in the process of circulation, only to say that few things can be passed down for a hundred years.
Imaginary diagram of the Xia Dynasty.
And there isLife expectancy was short at that timeEven people who were thirty years old in the Qin and Han dynasties could call themselves old husbands, but it is conceivable how short the life span of the people of the Xia Dynasty was, coupled with the low level of medical care, even if it was a cold, it would make the people of the Xia Dynasty die, and it was difficult to inherit history in this case. There is also a situation where the people at that time、From the princes to the common people, they are all struggling with food and clothing
In this case, there is no awareness of history at all. Even if we modern people don't have enough to eat, we will pay attention to food and clothing, and no one will pay attention to history, coupled with natural and man-made disasters and low survivability, even if the people of the Xia Dynasty recorded history, it may be lost due to various circumstancesThis situation continued until the last Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscriptions were unearthed
The oracle bone inscription is widely regarded as the earliest written language in China, and some studies believe that the written script was invented for divination in the last years of the Shang Dynasty and was in the hands of officials, nobles and shamans. InIn the hundreds of years after the Shang Dynasty, writing was gradually used for communication and recordingIt was the excavation of the oracle bone inscription that confirmed the existence of the Shang Dynasty. Although there are legends and physical objects unearthed in the Xia Dynasty, there are no written words.
We can only be sure that Xia Wenming existed, but we can't be sure that he formed a state. Internationally, it is believed that the criteria for judging the existence of ancient states are cities, archaeological objects, and writing, all of which are indispensable. Regarding foreign experts' doubts that the Xia Dynasty had no writing, Chinese experts believeNot only did the Xia Dynasty exist, but it was also true during the period of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors
Although there are no written records of this period, myths and legends are not groundlessAlthough there is an obvious element of exaggeration, myths and legends are also derived from history. Although our experts are reasonable, but because there is no evidence, we can only hope for future archaeological discoveries and hope to find the writing of the Xia Dynasty.