Why is China an ancient civilization?

In archaeological semantics, a civilization is a state, and the birth of a civilization is the birth of a state. As Engels said, "the state is the generalization of civilized society". In archaeology, the appearance of metal tools, writing and cities are generally regarded as typical signs of the emergence of the state or civilization.

Human beings have so far traveled a course of millions of years, but the emergence of civilization is only 6,000 years old, which indicates that civilization or the state is a product of the development of human culture to a higher stage.

China is one of the world's four major ancient civilizations, with a long history, about 5,000 years ago, with the Central Plains as the center of the beginning of the emergence of settlement organization and the formation of the state, and then through a number of ethnic mingling and dynastic changes until the formation of the multi-ethnic state of the unity of the situation.

Chinese culture has a long history, is profound and colorful, and is the cultural sovereign of the East Asian Cultural Sphere, occupying an important position in the world's cultural system. Due to the differences in geographic location and natural conditions of various regions, humanities and economic aspects also have their own characteristics.

The ancient civilizations of mankind, though in different times and located in different regions, all created the early civilization of mankind, created early human countries, cities, writing, metal tools, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, philosophy, religion, etc., and are the well-deserved sources of the world's civilization.

Unfortunately, the protection and inheritance of ancient civilizations have long been seriously challenged in two ways: first, military wars have brought about barbaric destruction, and ancient civilizations have faced the test of survival; and second, the wave of economic globalization has brought about cultural conflicts, making the path of guarding cultural diversity exceptionally difficult.

Expanded Information

The reasons why China is the only one of the four ancient civilizations that has not seen a break in its civilization:

1. Ecological Factors

First of all, the vast network of waterways not only serves as a natural transportation network, but also connects people who share the same culture but live in different places.

Secondly, the vast area of land provided a secure farming economy for a large number of people, prompting more and more ethnic groups and people to join the Chinese civilization.

Lastly, the colder climate of the ancient Chinese settlement (northern China) required people to work harder than those in warmer regions such as the ancient Egyptians, Indians, and Babylonians during the same period.

To withstand the cold, the Chinese needed to build houses and prepare clothing and firewood. Chinese civilization originated in the colder north (the Yellow River basin) and gradually migrated and expanded to the warmer south, from the Yangtze River basin to the Pearl River.

In contrast, Western civilization began in the warmer south (Greece and Rome) and gradually expanded northward, first to Spain and Portugal, then to Western Europe (Holland, Belgium, France, England, Germany, etc.), and eventually to Russia.

2. Cultural, Religious, and Institutional Factors

A series of cultural, religious, and institutional factors can better explain why the Chinese civilization was able to expand and influence other ethnic groups far from the Yellow River Basin. Among these factors, one in particular is that the ancient Chinese had a secular religion that was closely tied to "heaven".

While the modern Chinese word for "heaven" translates to "heaven" in English, for the ancient Chinese, "heaven" was a lofty, benevolent and prophetic word. For the ancient Chinese, however, "Heaven" was the embodiment of benevolence and prophecy, and possessed the supreme power to control the order of the universe, including the rule of human society. Although "heaven" is personified as a god and is worshipped as God (or heaven), it is not the only god.

The result was that the Chinese were instilled with a non-exclusionary worldview (just as heaven does not exclude anyone) and developed an eclectic culture. Therefore, the belief that "heaven" is not limited to a particular ethnic group is similar to the belief in the Bible, the Old Testament, that Christ God is limited to a particular ethnic group. In the Old Testament, the God of Christ was limited to the Jews (it was not until after Jesus that Christianity was allowed to spread to the pagans).

And it was precisely this characteristic that made it possible to integrate non-Han communities into Chinese civilization. Given this, and the fact that there is no institutionalized church organization in China as there is in the West, it has made it possible for there to be no religious wars in China's history, which is probably one of the reasons why Chinese civilization has never been interrupted.

Another factor that led to the continuous expansion of Chinese civilization was the imperial method of rule, through methods such as cultural absorption as well as the demonstration effect, rather than through conquest and oppression.

Politically, beginning with the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC), Chinese rulers set up a system of feudalization to govern nomadic communities. Unlike in the West, where the Roman Empire replaced Greek civilization with Roman culture after conquering Europe, there was no such cultural break in China's dynastic succession.

In addition, because of the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization, it was easy for foreign invaders to assimilate into it and to be "Sinicized" after the conquests were won. Historically, the Middle Kingdom was invaded twice by ethnic minorities, once by the Mongols under Kublai, who founded the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), and again by the Manchurians, who founded the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911).

While they were able to gain ground in the Middle Kingdom, they were eventually "Sinicized" and used the ideas of Chinese civilization to establish the legitimacy of their rule. Chinese civilization was never replaced by Mongolian or Manchurian civilization.

It was precisely because of the eclectic nature of Chinese civilization that it was easier for minority rulers to embrace and accept Chinese culture. In fact, the Manchurians accepted the Han Chinese culture without any worries. Hypothetically speaking, this is like the Romans absorbing Greek and Egyptian civilization, and the Aryans accommodating Harappan (Indian) culture, rather than replacing them with their own civilization after conquest.

Baidu Encyclopedia - China

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