One of the ideological and political courses of "The Beauty of Civilization Sees the East"
The beauty of civilization looks at the East丨Why is it said that the Chinese civilization of more than 5,000 years is historical truth? archaeologists say
Liu Yingying
Why study the origin of Chinese civilization?
When did the history of Chinese civilization begin?
What is the significance of the discovery of the ancient city of Liangzhu?
Recently, People's Daily Online launched a special plan for the ideological and political course "The Beauty of Civilization Seeing the East", and invited Wang Wei, director of the History Department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and chief expert of the first to fourth stages of the Chinese Civilization Origin Project, as the guest speaker. From the perspective of his own experience, It tells about the important achievements and future development of the Chinese civilization exploration project, explains the thinking on the origin of Chinese civilization, and shows the charm of the splendid civilization of China for more than 5,000 years.
What is the "Chinese Civilization Origin Project"?
According to Wang Wei, the full name of the Chinese Civilization Origin Project is "Comprehensive Research on the Origin and Early Development of Chinese Civilization". With the support of the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and other departments, and the joint efforts of nearly 400 scholars who participated in the project, remarkable results have been achieved.
Wang Wei said that the Chinese Civilization Origin Project has clarified the origin, formation and early development of Chinese civilization, and demonstrated the Chinese civilization of more than 5,000 years.
The most prominent one is the Liangzhu Ruins in Yuhang, Zhejiang.
The inner city and 6.3 million square meters of inner city and 6.3 million square meters of outer city (equivalent to 4 and 8 Beijing Forbidden City, respectively) were found here, built about 5,000 years ago.
In addition, more than 10 kilometers long high and low dams were also found in the north of the ancient city to prevent floods.
The construction of ancient cities and giant dams demonstrated the ability of the Liangzhu monarchy to carry out large-scale public construction.
"The Chinese Civilization Origin Project proposes a Chinese plan for judging the criteria for entering a civilized society: first, production development, population increase, and the emergence of cities; second, social division of labor, class differentiation, and the emergence of classes; third, the emergence of kingship and state." Wang Wei proposed It is worth noting that at the same time as Liangzhu, or even a little earlier, from the north to Niuheliang in western Liaoning, to the south to Lingjiatan in southern Anhui, and even including the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the strengthening of power and social The differentiation and the emergence of classes are just different forms of expression.
"So, we say that the civilization of more than 5,000 years, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Liaohe River Basin are generally in a state of parallel development, but Liangzhu has performed more fully. In some areas, high-level tombs may have been found, but not found. Capital city. Capital cities were found in some places, but no high-level tombs were found. Liangzhu has capital cities, palaces, king tombs, ritual vessels, military affairs, and war standards, which is a complete chain of evidence. Our task is to put other If the regional evidence chain is not complete, it is necessary to complete it. This is to prove that the Chinese civilization of more than 5,000 years is the most important achievement and the most meaningful achievement of our Chinese civilization exploration project. Now we can safely say that the Chinese civilization The civilization of more than 5,000 years is not a claim, nor a myth or legend, but a historical reality." Wang Wei said.
Talking about the future development direction of the Chinese Civilization Origin Project, Wang Wei proposed to expand the temporal and spatial scope of the research, continue to strengthen the participation of other humanities and social sciences, and further strengthen the comparative research with other civilizations in the world.
"Diversity, eclecticism and continuity are the three characteristics of Chinese civilization. We must further enrich archaeological discoveries and deepen our understanding, so that we can come to a more comprehensive and systematic understanding of a series of important issues concerning the origin, formation and development of Chinese civilization. understanding, and make contributions to Chinese scholars for the study of world civilization." Wang Wei said.