Yao Shunyu.
In the ancient years ago, there was a story about the heroic ancestors of the Yellow Emperor, Yao, Shun and Yu in the land of China. At that time, in the south of the land of China, there lived a group of hardworking and intelligent people. They are called the "Miao Man Group", and sometimes they are called "Sanmiao" or "Youmiao". According to Mr. Liang Qichao's research, the words "Miao" and "Man" are like brothers changing their vests, which are actually transferred from pronunciation. Specifically, when Yao Shunyu was in the time, the name of this "three seedlings" was well-known. In the Spring and Autumn Period, people used to call them "barbarians".
It is said that in the Warring States Period, Wu Qi, the great sage of the Wei State, believed that the home of the tribe of Sanmiao in ancient times: on the left is Peng Lize sparkling; Next to the right is the vast Dongting Lake, which is the ancient Yunmengze; To the south stands the South Mountain of Wenxiu; And the north side guards the magnificent Hengshan Mountain.
But when it comes to Hengshan, I would like to digress. Later, when Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was sealed, it was sealed to the central part of Hunan, and it became the Hengshan we know today. In earlier times, what people called "Hengshan" may have referred to the entire Dabie Mountain Range. Because when Qin Shi Huang established Hengshan County, the scope of the circle was around the Dabie Mountain, so people at that time may have called the series of undulating peaks of Dabie Mountain collectively called "Hengshan".
The "three seedlings" often mentioned in this ancient book have been explored by archaeologists diligently. Finally, I found real historical evidence, and it turned out to be the famous Qujialing culture. They thrived in the land of Jingchu in central Hubei, which is the area of Qujialing in today's Hubei Mountain. These Sanmiao people, as depicted in ancient books, are not only extraordinary. And his character is tenacious and a little unruly, and sometimes he has friction and conflicts with the Central Plains. Through meticulous research and dating, archaeologists have determined the approximate time span of the Qujialing culture, from 3300 BC to about 2500 BC.
In that distant era, it was the norm for the city to change the king's flag. The stories of those mighty warriors have become mysterious and confusing after the baptism of time; The ambitions of those overlords who once expanded their territory have been quietly buried in the dust of history by the years. Among them, there are some great figures among the five emperors sung by later generations, who shine their own light in the troubled times, although they have gone through ups and downs, they still shine.
It is said that in the fertile land of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, there is a group of wise and resilient people who have established their homes. In this context, a special ancient country quietly rose in the Jianghan Plain. Since more than 10,000 years ago, the ancestors here have learned to cultivate rice. They patiently domesticated and cultivated, so that the rice gradually matured and full, which is not much different from the rice we eat now. Archaeologists have unearthed a large number of pottery artifacts that prove that people used them to cook delicious meals at that time. Not only did the people of the Jianghan Plain live on stable rice farming, but they also raised chickens and geese, and learned to fish and catch shrimp in lakes and rivers. In this way, it has become a veritable land of fish and rice, rich in products, and the people live and work in peace and contentment.
The early Qujialing culture was like a seed, taking root in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and gradually spreading to Xinyang and other places in the upper reaches of the Huai River. During this time, like young warriors, they actively absorbed foreign cultures, strengthened their own foundations, and occasionally tried their best to expand their sphere of influence. With the passage of time, in the late Qujialing cultural period, this seed of civilization has grown into a towering tree. Its influence began to spread to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the vast areas of Jiangxi, and even profoundly changed the cultural landscape of those places. During this period, the Qujialing culture entered a prosperous era, and their footprints were almost all over the important areas of China.
Nowadays, through the excavation and research of archaeologists, we have found that the ancestors of the Qujialing culture are so wise and industrious, they have mastered superb agricultural skills, planted rice, and built homes; They would burn fine pottery, weave fine cloth, build water conservancy, plan cities, and perhaps even dabble in metallurgy. Their influence radiated from the land of Jingchu to all directions, reaching the Luoshui Valley of the Yellow River in the north and the Yangtze River Gorge and the Dongting Lake Plain in the south, showing strong vitality and expansion.
What happened to Sanmiao? How did experts connect the legendary Sanmiao to the Qujialing culture through archaeological evidence? We'll talk about that next time.