Which ancient people lived in the Yangtze River valley?

In the past, people only said that the Yellow River Basin was the cradle of the Chinese nation. In fact, the Yangtze River Basin is also the cradle of the Chinese nation. These two great rivers should be compared, just as the Euphrates River and Tigris River form the backbone of Babylonian culture, the Indus River and Ganges River form the backbone of Indian culture, and the backbone of China culture is the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin, where dragons and dragons are auspicious and * * * creates brilliance.

Archaeologists are constantly uncovering the source of life of residents in the Yangtze River basin. 1956 ~ 1957, a 10 stone ape tooth fossil was found in tertiary lignite in Xiaolongtan, Kaiyuan County, Yunnan Province. From 1975 to 1980, Lamarco was found many times in tertiary lignite of Shihuiba coal yard in Lufeng County, Yunnan Province.

From 65438 to 0997, experts from vertebrate paleontology Institute of Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences excavated a large number of paleolithic tools 2 million years ago at Longgupo site in damiao town, Wushan County, Sichuan Province. This important discovery was published in the world authoritative magazine Nature.

The American Science News put forward the argument that "human ancestors lived in China". Based on this, a preliminary conclusion can be drawn: about 2 million years ago, human beings lived in the Yangtze River basin and began to create folk culture.

During the 6000 years from 1000 years ago to 4000 years ago, the Yangtze River basin experienced matriarchal clan society and paternal clan society, which was called the Neolithic Age in ancient research. The residential culture of matriarchal clan society has been found in Hemudu, Yuyao, Zhejiang, Majiabang, Jiaxing, Caoxieshan, Wuxian, Jiangsu and Songze, Shanghai (lower level) in the Yangtze River valley.

As for the folk culture of matriarchal clan, we can't see the written materials at that time, but we can learn from ethnology and explore the living fossils in minority areas. According to the book Primitive Social History by Mr. Lin and others, the Lahu people in Nuofu District of Lancang County, Yunnan Province still had a matriarchal clan before 1949. This big family lives in a bamboo building with wood and bamboo structure, which is 23 meters long. People live above and livestock are kept below. The two sides of the house are divided into several small rooms, one for each spouse, and the fireplace is located in the middle aisle. There are farm animals and production tools at home, and the harvest is owned by the family, stored centrally and shared by * * * *. Each matriarchal family includes several small families, and daughters can form families independently when they get married. The largest family can include more than 10 small families, and the eldest daughter is in the family.

Regarding the folk culture of the clan, the Liangzhu site in Yuhang County, Zhejiang Province shows that there were many kinds of stone tools and crops at that time. A waterfront village was found in the ancient cultural site at Haimenkou, Jianchuan, Yunnan. The house was similar to that of Gan Lan, and pottery and bronzes were unearthed. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Dulong people in Yunnan still retained the vestiges of patriarchal clan society, with men as the head of the family, and the land was publicly owned. Collective labor. Individual families have not formed social production units. According to the Survey Report on the Social History of Qideng People by the Institute of Ethnology, China Academy of Social Sciences, the Zaozzideng people in southeast Tibet have also preserved the patriarchal family commune for a long time, and their wives live in their husbands' long-term houses. Each wife and her children live in a small room and have their own fireplace.

The folk culture of clan society is simple and natural. The residential buildings in Hemudu are decorated with art, and archaeological discoveries show that there are morning birds carved in ivory, fish-shaped handles in wood carvings, heads of pottery figures, etc., which show people's concept of nature worship.

The folk culture of clan society pays attention to the choice of environment. Archaeological sites found in the Yangtze River basin are all in places with convenient transportation, abundant water resources and rich products.

Many houses of clan society were found in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. For example, 196 1, five houses with circular foundation and stone pillar foundation under the wall were found in Qinglongquan site in Yunxian County, Hubei Province. The wall is made of bamboo and wood, covered with fine mud, and the ground is leveled with fine mud. One-bedroom and two-bedroom houses were found at Zhujiatai site in Xunxian County (now danjiangkou city), Hubei Province. It was originally used to support the roof truss. 1982, an apartment was found at the site of Guanmiao Mountain in Zhijiang, Hubei Province. Presumably, the house has a four-slope roof, and the walls are obviously separated. Archaeologists classify this site as Daxi culture. Mr. Gao Jiehua believes that the indigenous residential buildings in Chu area in Neolithic age have seven characteristics (see Chapter 1 of Cities and Buildings in Chu for details): First, from the semi-crypt, the ground and platform buildings sprouted. Secondly, the plane form evolved from a single geometric figure to a non-single combined geometric figure. Thirdly, different building structural systems have been bred, including wooden frames bearing the weight of walkways and masonry structures bearing the weight of walls. Fourth, all kinds of roofs are generally formed. Fifthly, the properties of building materials are preliminarily understood. Sixth, waterproof, moistureproof, mechanical and building thermal engineering.

The folk culture of clan society is peaceful, without class and war. People are simple in thought and morality and live in harmony. Li Yun, written more than 2,000 years ago, gave a beautiful description of this kind of social life: the trip to the avenue, the world is public, talents are chosen, and faith is cultivated, so old people are not only close relatives, but also only children, so as to end their old age. Not necessarily for yourself, but not necessarily for yourself. It's a great harmony to seek closure rather than prosperity, to steal thieves and not to do it, and to leave the house.

This piece of material is the reminiscence and yearning of Zhou literati for ancient social life. In the initial process, human society has experienced such an era of great harmony. People are selfless and care for each other at night. This is a chaotic state in the underdeveloped period of society. With the progress of productive forces, mankind has finally stepped into the threshold of civilization.

Second, within the threshold of civilization.

Civilization is a historical concept. It is generally believed that there are three main signs that determine civilization, one is metal tools, the other is writing, and the third is the disparity between the rich and the poor. With the rich and poor, there will be palaces and classes. The Chinese nation gradually stepped into the threshold of civilization in the era of the Yellow Emperor. By the time the son of Dayu ascended the throne, the Chinese nation had a country-the remains of the Xia Dynasty were found in many places in the Yellow River basin, but not in the Yangtze River basin.

There were Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, and the bronzes were developed, which basically defined the Wang Shi family of Shang Dynasty, and the academic circles had a further understanding of Shang Dynasty. Many Shang Dynasty sites have been found in the Yangtze River valley. Take Wuhan as an example. There is a slope on the expressway leading to Tianhe Airport, surrounded by water on three sides. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of the Shang Dynasty palace here-Panlongcheng, with beautiful scenery. Shamao Mountain in Hannan District of Wuhan is close to the Yangtze River. Except for the base site of the city wall, the bricks and beams of these sites can no longer be seen in these places. Looking through ancient books, there is no record of these sites. Historians have always wanted to know: How did the palaces of Shang Dynasty appear along the Yangtze River? Why did it suddenly disappear? This has always been a mystery.

Other areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have also found residential sites in the Shang Dynasty. For example, 1957 Huanggaomiao site was discovered in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, including stone axes, stone sickles, pottery, pots, pottery, sacrificial places, Oracle bones, etc. It can be inferred that this used to be a residential area.

1973 ~ 1975, Shang tombs, including bronzes, pottery and stone models, were discovered in Wucheng, Qingjiang, Jiangxi.

From the Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, there are already words about the Shang folk houses, such as the word "Xi" similar to "靗靗", like the traditional hard mountain and hanging mountain buildings; The word "Xiang" means that a window has been opened on the wall; The word "household" means that there is only one door in the house; The word "door" means there are two doors; "Palace" means that the house has compartments; "High" means balcony; "City" means the existence of a city.

From the archaeological sites of Shang dynasty, we can infer the situation in the south from the sites in the north. The houses in Shang Dynasty pay attention to the orientation of the houses, which can be determined by the shadow of the sun, that is, they can be measured by instruments such as Guiyu and Watch. The foundation soil is dry and clean, and many houses are semi-cave-style. The foundation and wall of the semi-cave house are relatively stable, and it is warm in winter and cool in summer when living. All large buildings, such as palaces and ancestral halls, are very particular in design and made of stone or copper.

The Zhou Dynasty is divided into the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty is divided into the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. To understand the Zhou Dynasty, there are two literary works that must be read, one is The Book of Songs, and the other is Songs of the South. Both books have materials about folk houses, but The Book of Songs focuses on the Yellow River valley, and The Songs of Chu generally reflects Chu culture.

The folk culture in The Book of Songs is very rich, sometimes some of them are based on the Yangtze River valley, and some are based on the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. As recorded in The Book of Songs, in 658 BC, Wei moved its capital to Chuqiu (now northeast of hua county, Henan Province) and later revived the country: The Book of Songs was written in the Chu Palace. It was written in the Chu Palace. ”？

There is an article "Evocation of the Soul" in The Songs of Chu, which describes the houses in the State of Chu beautifully and says that the Yangtze River valley is the most suitable place to live. The East can't settle down. There are thousands of giants who specialize in searching for people's souls, and ten suns come out to bask in stones in turn. You can't live in the south, barbarians sacrifice human flesh, and poisonous snakes and foxes suddenly come into contact; Sha Qianli flows in the west, with red ants like elephants and mysterious bees like pots, which are seriously short of water; There are thousands of miles of snow and mountains of ice in the north. Only Chu is the best, because: high halls (high houses and deep courtyards) have some tall floors (layers of halls and railings around them), some pavilions (overlapping pavilions), some high mountains (near mountains), some surfers (with squares painted red on the doors), and even some carved squares (connected with squares) in winter. However, the rooms of the nobles of Chu state are probably not much worse than those described in the article. Scholars seldom pay attention to the realistic side of evocation. If we put aside the fantasy side, this article is to study the houses in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, so as to explore the precious historical materials of the ecological environment at that time.

There is another chapter in The Songs of Chu, Buju. Living means not living, but the way and attitude towards the world. In this article, Qu Yuan proposed: Should a person be honest and clean, or should he flatter the world? Should we settle for farming, or should we swim around and talk about it in Kan Kan? Should we be outspoken or drag out an ignoble existence? These problems reflected the literati's exploration of life norms at that time, and actually embodied the concept of life.

In addition to literary works, archaeology also provides information about the architecture and folk life of the Zhou Dynasty: during the Western Zhou Dynasty, some cultural remains were discovered along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu and Anhui, and archaeologists named a number of lake-cooked cultural sites according to the Jiangning Lake site, which can basically be identified as the cultural remains of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the southeast.

Stone tools and pottery, as well as Oracle bones and Jiabu, were found in Suojin Village in Nanjing and Gecun Village in Dantu. During the 400 years from 689 BC to 278 AD, the Chu people built the capital of Jinan in Jiangling, Hubei Province. It should be admitted that this was once the most concentrated and prosperous city in the Yangtze River Basin. Since 1976, archaeologists have made a comprehensive investigation and study of Jinan city.

From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, Wuxi has Wuhe Greentown, Suzhou has Wangwucheng, Shaoxing has Yuecheng, and Yangzhou has Hancheng, all of which are concentrated places of residence.

Among the mountains on the east and south banks of Taihu Lake, there are some sites called "bonfire wharf" by local people, such as Wufeng Mountain in Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province, Canshan Mountain in Wuxi, Cangshan Mountain in Xing Wu, Zhejiang Province, etc.

The Qin Dynasty unified China and strengthened its control over the grass roots. Archaeologists found Qin Dynasty cultural relics in Shuihudi, the western suburb of Chengguan, Yunmeng County, Hubei Province. Some lacquerware were marked with names such as "XX City", "XX Pavilion", "XX Li" and "XX Township".

Archaeological sites of urban settlements in Han Dynasty are all over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including Yicheng, Jiangling and Ezhou in Hubei, Xiangyin and Ningyuan in Hunan, Xinjian and Duchang in Jiangxi, Suxian and Boxian in Anhui, Xuzhou and Xuyi in Jiangsu, which shows that these places are densely populated. A village site at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was found in Gaoyou City, Jiangsu Province, including wells and caves. 36860.8886888866 1

From Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to Qin and Han Dynasties, the information of houses in the Yangtze River valley was less than that in the Yellow River valley, which brought difficulties to our research. At that time, the political, economic and cultural centers of China were all in the Yellow River valley, and people from wuyue and Chu were despised, ridiculed as uncivilized, or dismissed as Man Zi. In fact, the culture in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is not only exquisite, but also rich in architecture, silk weaving, smelting, art and philosophy.

By the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the culture of the Yangtze River basin had developed greatly on the original basis. On the one hand, it is the accumulation of primitive culture, on the other hand, it is the injection of Central Plains culture, both of which contribute to the diversity and vitality of culture. At this time, folk culture also reappeared an unprecedented scene.

According to the research of geographers and meteorologists, the cold climate and frequent disasters in the north during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties led nomadic people to advance from the north to the Central Plains, while the farming people in the Central Plains were forced to migrate to the Yangtze River basin. As early as 1934, Mr. Tan Qixiang published the article "Ethnic Migration after Jin Yongjia's Funeral" in Yanjing Daily, pointing out that in the early years of Yongjia, refugees from Shandong and Shanxi crossed the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River. Northerners in Huainan moved south across the river, and many people in Shaanxi and Gansu moved south to Hanshui River Basin or Sichuan Basin. During the Liu and Song Dynasties, a large number of refugees moved south. Today, Jiangsu accepts the largest number of immigrants from the north, and Anhui, Hubei and Sichuan also accept different numbers of immigrants.

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