Have you ever had such a question? When we call the four ancient civilizations, many countries have the word "ancient" in front of them, such as ancient Babylon, ancient India, etcWhy is it not necessary to add the word "ancient" in front of the name of China? Why is that?
What are the names of the four ancient civilizations?
The so-called four ancient civilizations are actually the collective names of the four ancient civilizations in the world, which are:Ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient India, and China, corresponding to the four major birthplaces of the world's civilizations, namely the Nile River Basin, the Two River Basins, the Indus River Basin and the Yellow River Basin, all of which have exerted great influence on their regions or surrounding areas.
This concept was first proposed by the reformist Mr. Liang Qichao in 1900, in his "Pacific Song of the Twentieth Century", he wrote"There are four ancient civilizations on the earth: China, India, Egypt, and Asia Minor."
Of course, this is not written casually, but there are very strict measurements.
The first criterion is to have cities.
As an ancient civilization, it has a very long history, so there are cultural relics, what cultural relics can prove that there is civilization? You can't just dig up some pots and pans, right?
As a civilization, there must be a city of a certain size in the excavated ruins, note that it is a city, not a small tribe.
The tribe is too small to prove that there is a civilization at all; But cities are different, and a city must have at least 5,000 people in size for civilization to be born.
The second condition is to have a written word.
If there is no written language, this cannot be regarded as a civilization, because only with writing can human thought, culture and history be preserved and disseminated.
The third condition is to have complex buildings.
A true civilization must have the skill to build houses, and be able to build all kinds of luxurious and complex buildings, whether for religious sacrifices or for the needs of domination, but for whatever purpose, there must be complex buildings.
The only ancient civilizations that meet these requirements at the same time are ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient India, and China, in no particular order.
China is an ancient civilization with a history of 5,000 years, 5,800 years ago, the Yellow River and other river basins appeared civilization; 3,800 years ago, the Central Plains formed a relatively mature civilization form, with the Central Plains as the core, radiating cultural influence to the surrounding areas.
In 221 BC, King Yingzheng of Qin unified the six kingdoms, ending the situation of the division of princes since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and establishing the first centralized state in Chinese history, that is, the Qin Dynasty.
Although the reign of the Qin Dynasty was not long and the second emperor died, the Qin Dynasty laid the basic pattern of China's political system for more than 2,000 years, laid the foundation for the rule of China's great unification dynasty, and made the idea of great unification deeply rooted in the hearts of every Chinese.
Later, although some dynasties divided the north and the south and ruled by dividing the river, everyone took reunification as their dream and worked hard for it.
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded.
Back to our question at the beginningAmong the four ancient civilizations in the world, why does "China" not need to be preceded by the word "ancient"?
In fact, it is very easy to understand, that is, the civilizations of ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, and ancient India have all been broken, and they are not the same country as today's Egypt and India, and ancient Babylon has disappeared into history.
We are different in China, the culture has been unbroken and has always been inherited, which is a miracle and our pride!