Bronze Age Civilization of China BCE Instructor Pacas

Prehistoric China Chinese history is difficult to piece together since the Chinese did not begin writing a collective history until the 2 nd century BCE. Most of the oral tradition that preceded this collective history is fairly accurate but the further back historians go into China’s history it becomes more difficult discern the period factually.

China The geographical region we call China today has been continuously populated as early as 600,000 BCE. It has also witnessed countless migrations from diverse ‘ethnic’ groups of people including Indo- Europeans, Turkic, and Mongolic groups. Because of this fact it is difficult to ascertain to which group the earliest civilization of China belong. Perhaps the best guess is that it was an amalgamation of different ethnic groups sharing similar cultures that eventually coalesced into the earliest civilizations of the Yellow River region.

China 3000 BCE In present day northwest China by 3500 BCE some Neolithic settlements began to coalesce into village communities. They developed a form of painted pottery reminiscent of styles from the west. This group of ‘Chinese’ civilization is known as the Yangshao Culture. Perhaps due to pressure from Indo-European migrations further west the Yangshao displaced earlier inhabitants from the Yellow River region (Longshan Culture) forcing them to migrate further east.

Yangshao China

Yangshao People Yangshao people sculpted painted pottery. Similar to more western models. Perhaps they migrated to China from further west. They cultivated millet as source of food. Culturally they were more sedentary.

Longshan Culture Perhaps due to Indo-European migrations the Yangshao people were forced to migrate further east displacing the cultures that had populated the Yellow River region and forcing them to migrate to the coastal areas of northeast and southern China. These culture, known as black pottery culture (Longshan) settled the northeast and south coast of China as far as present day Vietnam.

Longshan Culture Original settlement before being displaced by Yangshao Culture

Longshan Culture Longshan Culture worked black pottery. Perhaps aboriginal Mongolic group. Worked Jade-difficult to work, requires metal and abrasive sand to work. Cultivated rice Subsist as fishermen after forced migration to the coast by Yangshao Culture.

Longshan Culture It is perhaps this Longshan culture that are one in the same Yi or Yue people that took to the sea and developed as China’s first maritime people. By 3000 BCE the Longshan Culture had developed capable sea-going skills that would eventually be incorporated into China’s first historically documented dynasty.

China BCE Around 3000 BCE the two cultures, Yangshao and Longshan began to intermix and exchange cultures and ideas, adopting and adapting and giving birth to a new culture. This is the semi-legendary period of China of the 3 sage kings: Yao, Shun, and Yu revered for their selfless reign focusing solely on improving living conditions for the people.

King Yu King Yu was credited for taming the floods of the Yellow River and thus allowing China to enjoy vast wealth concerning crop cultivation. This allowed the Chinese Proto-Xia people (circa 2500 BCE) to concentrate their efforts to form a more sophisticated governmental bureaucracy capable of organizing the population to work the land effectively. This new found wealth allowed the rise of artisan, craftsmen, government officials, and professional armies to service this Chinese civilization of the Yellow River region. King Yu passed his political authority to his son who was the founder of the first Chinese Dynasty- The Xia Dynasty.

Xia Dynasty

Xia Dynasty BCE Historians and archaeologist believe that the oral tradition of China that credits the Xia Dynasty as the first Chinese dynasty is probably correct. Unfortunately, the Xia Dynasty has not been confirmed historically or archaeologically at this point. Thus much of its history is still a mystery. Some jade work and even some bronze work has been credited as dating to Xia Dynasty by some scholars.

The Shang Dynasty BCE The Xia Dynasty were overthrown by one of their vassal states known as the Shang in 1750 BCE. The Shang Dynasty is the first Chinese dynasty that is historically confirmed by the archaeological record. The Shang Dynasty lasted for 700 years until overthrown by the Zhou Dynasty in 1045 BCE.

Shang Dynasty Bronze Technology It is when we get to the Shang Dynasty that Chinese bronze technology reaches a level of sophistication not paralleled anywhere else. Because this level of sophistication is not found anywhere else in the world at this time, historians and archaeologists are baffled as to how the Chinese developed it-if it was borrowed from somewhere or developed on their own. Most scholars agree that is an aboriginal development of Shang Dynasty China.

Shang Dynasty Bronze The cauldron and sitting figure are Shang Bronze work with elements of writing. The standing figure is perhaps work from a Shang vassal state as writing is missing on it and most Shang Dynasty bronzes incorporate writing telling the reason for its manufacture.

Who were the Shang? Historians still don’t know if the Shang were ethnically ‘Chinese’ or a confederation of different people, much like Eurasian steppe nomads of later centuries. Their religious practices seemed to have incorporated diverse elements some Chinese (Ancestor worship) while others perhaps influenced by Eurasian steppe culture (Worship of the sky).

Shang Dynasty Religion- Ancestor worship and Sky worship. Belief-Optimistic humanism-life just is no need for other world explanation and existance was essentially benign. Writing- ideographs, oracle bones, beginning of I-Ching-literary society but no recorded history. Oracle bones or from Yi (Yue) influences turtle shells pose question, drill a hole, insert red hot rod and from cracks caused by heat-interpret an outcome (divination).

New Warfare Technology First developed in Anatolia region circa 2000 BCE the war chariot changed the way warfare was conducted in the ancient world. Bronze also changed the way warfare was carried out as more troops could be supplied with better weapons that could be massed produced from molds.