Soleilmavis presented this paper at E-Leader Conference held by CASA (Chinese American Scholars Association) and Masaryk University, BRNO, Czech Republic, in Jun 2019.
From (Part I) Originally, the Descendants of Hua Xia were not the Descendants of Yan Huang
https://peacepink.ning.com/profiles/blogs/hua-xia-yan-huang1
Archaeological Findings Match Shanhaijing’s Records of Ancient Groups of Chinese People.
Current humans share a common group of ancestors who were late Modern Humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and who became the only surviving human species on Earth about 20,000 years ago. This latest human species, Homo sapiens sapiens, our ancestors, soon entered the Neolithic, a period in the development of human technology. The Neolithic period began in some parts of the Middle East about 18,000 years BP according to the ASPRO chronology and later in other parts of the world and ended between 4500BCE and 2000BCE.
About 20,000-19,000 years BP, in the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) period, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and Asia; many high mountains were covered by snow and ice. The world’s sea level was about 130 meters lower than today, due to the large amount of sea water that had evaporated and been deposited as snow and ice, mostly in the Laurentide ice sheet. At the later stage of the Pleistocene since about 18,000 years BP, temperature rose quickly and snow and ice started melting, including the Pamirs Plateau and Tibetan Plateau. [2]
Shanhaijing records Huang Di’s, Yan Di’s, Di Jun’s, Zhuan Xu’s and Shao Hao’s group lived in the Pamirs Plateau and their offspring moved to the east and spread out to all over China. Many recent Chinese Neolithic archaeological discoveries have included cultivated rice from as early as 14,000 years BP. These include sites in Dao County of Hunan Province (about 12,000BCE), Wannian County of Jiangxi Province (about 10,000 years BP) and Yingde of Guangdong Province (about 9000-6000BCE). Archaeologists have found a lot of remains of human activity 10,000 years ago in China, including Bianbian cave of Yiyuan in Shandong (about 9,000-12,000 years BP), Nazhuantou of Xushui in Henan, Yuchanyan of Dao County in Hunan, Diaotonghuan in Jiangxi, Baozitou of Nanning in Guangxi, Ji County of Tianjin and Qinglong County of Guizhou. In 2013, Hou Guang-liang, the professor of the School of Life and Geography Science of Qinghai Normal University, and other archaeologists of the Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute of Qinghai discovered remains of human activity about 11,200-10,000 years BP in Xiadawu of Maqin County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province.
Shanhaijing’s records and archaeological findings bring us a scientific conclusion. The Pamirs Plateau was very cold and unfit for human habitation before 16,000 years BP. As temperature rising, people, who came from the Middle East, began to enter the Pamirs Plateau around 16,000-15,000 years BP, soon they found that in the east of the Pamirs, there were vast fertile lands, they moved quickly from the Pamirs to the east and spread out to many places of China during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. The early ancient Chinese people lived nomadic lifestyle, moved frequently and were not able to leave much archaeological remains to us. However, when the Neolithic Chinese people started cultivating grains, they were able to settle down and left many archaeological remains.
Archaeologists agree that ancient Chinese people were in the matriarchal clan society before about 8,000 years BP, when human knew only mother, not father and accepted only endogamy. It made it possible to ascertain the patriarchal clan of a group of people instead of an individual.
In prehistoric China, people usually named their groups after certain ancestors. Shanhaijing records many ancient groups of people and names a group of people with “Guo,” its literal meaning is nation or tribe. Shanhaijing does not identify the patriarchal ancestors of most ancient groups of people due to the long-time of the matriarchal clan society. However, Shanhaijing clearly identifies some individual’s patriarchal clans and around 150 groups of Neolithic people, which came from the five biggest groups of people: Yan Di, Huang Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Shao Hao. These were not only the names of groups, but also the names of individuals, who were regarded by many groups as common male ancestors.
When the patriarchal clan society began in about 8,000 years BP, almost all ancient Chinese people still accepted only endogamy, those people, who believed that they were offspring of Huang Di’s group, tried to compile their patriarchal clans and claimed Huang Di was their common male ancestor. However, they were not able to ascertain which particular individual was Huang Di, due to Huang Di living in the matriarchal clan society - his group had female as a leader and he, a male, was not able to be a leader. Clearly, Huang Di was only a figure from compilation, not a real person. Or, Huang (Yellow) Di (King or Queen) originally was a female leader but people in the patriarchal clan society claimed that he was a male leader. Today, we shall comprehend that Huang Di refers to Huang Di’s group. The Huang Di People refer to all people who were offspring of Huang Di’s group and regarded Huang Di as their common male ancestor. So did Yan Di, Shao Hao, Zhuan Xu and Di Jun.
While most geographical positions written in Shanhaijing cannot be verified, Shanhaijing still provides some hints to let us know the homelands of ancient groups of people.
The Falsified Stories in the Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas of Shanhaijing
In the earliest records of Shanhaijing, Yan Di, Huang Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Shao Hao were regarded as ancestors of different groups of Neolithic Chinese people. Today, we shall comprehend that Huang Di refers to Huang Di’s group. The Huang Di People refer to all people who were offspring of Huang Di’s group and regarded Huang Di as their common male ancestor. So did Yan Di, Shao Hao, Zhuan Xu and Di Jun.
Many historians agree that the ancient Kings Yan Di and Huang Di did not descend from Han Chinese stock. Scholars of the Zhou Dynasty (about 1046-256BCE) fabricated stories of Yan Di and Huang Di’s lineage for political purposes.
Historians commonly agree that the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty united China with help from the Huang Di People (especially, Bei (north) Di and Xi (west) Rong People) and the Yan Di People (especially, Di Qiang People). To encourage the assimilation of all Chinese people, the Zhou fabricated several new stories, which could not be found in the previous three books of Shanhaijing, and added these stories into one more part to Shanhaijing - Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas, declaring King Yan Di and Huang Di to be the common ancestors of all Chinese people and falsely claiming that Di Jun, Zhuan Xu and Shao Hao were descendants of Huang Di and Yan Di.
The Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas records:
Huang Di was the father of Luo Ming; Luo Ming was the father of Bai Ma (white horse); Bai Ma was also known as Gun. Gun was the father of the Great Yu. Huang Di ordered Zhu Rong to kill Gun in Yu Jiao. After Gun had been killed, the Great Yu came out from his belly.
Yan Di and his wife Ting Yao, who came from the Chi Shui People, were the parents of Yan Ju; Yan Ju begat Jie Bing; Jie Bing begat Xi Qi; Xi Qi begat Zhu Rong; Zhu Rong begat Gong Gong, who lived along the Changjiang River; Gong Gong begat Shu Qi; Shu Qi begat Fang Dian. Gong Gong begat Hou Tu; Hou Tu begat Ye Ming; Ye Ming begat Shui; Shui was the ancestor of twelve groups of people.
Yan Di’s grandson Bo Ling and his wife Yuan Fu were the parents of Gu, Yan and Shu.
Huang Di and his wife Lei Zu were the parents of Chang Yi; Chang Yi was the father of Han Liu in Ruo Shui River; Han Liu and his wife A Nü were the parents of Zhuan Xu.
The Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas gave Di Jun the following offspring.
Yu Hao was the father of Yin Liang; Yin Liang was the father of Fan Yu, who made the first boat; Fan Yu was the father of Xi Zhong; Xi Zhong was the father of Ji Guang, who made the first cart with wood.
Shao Gao (Shao Hao) was the father of Ban, who made the first bow and arrow.
Yan Long first made the Qin and Se, ancient music instruments.
San Shen was the father of Yi Jun, who first made Qiao Chui (tools, such as ploughs and plowshares); since then, people have made handicrafts.
Hou Ji first cultivated grains. His grandson, Shu Jun, first cultivated grains with the help of cattle.
Due to the long period over which China was ruled by the Zhou Dynasty from 1046BCE to 256BCE, the falsified stories created by this dynasty had deeply influenced later historians and scholars, including the Book of Documents (ShangShu) (author unknown, written during the the Zhou Dynasty), Bamboo Annals (written during the Zhou Dynasty), GuoYu (author Zuo Qiu-ming, records the history from 990BCE to 453BCE), ChunQiu (author Confucius, records the history of the State of Lu from 722BCE to 481BCE) and even Sima Qian (145-87BCE), author of The Records of the Grand Historian, or Shiji. Sima Qian, who had read all famous historical records and integrated views from various books, wrote Wudi Benji, or Annals of the Five Kings, as the first chapter of his book. Sima Qian informs us, “The written records about Huang Di provided by many historians and scholars were not precise. Even a learned man cannot make it clear. I carefully chose records with rigorous diction from historical books to compile the Wudi Beiji.” Sima Qian also could not completely certain which record was accurate. However, today, the historical truth has unfolded in front of us with the aid of modern advanced archaeology.
The Movement of the Yan Di and Huang Di People During the Neolithic Age.
The Yan Di People spread out from the Pamirs Plateau to the west and north of the Taklamakan Desert, later spread out to the north and northwest of the Tianshan Mountains.
Huang Di’s group first lived in Mount Mi in the Pamirs Plateau, then moved to the west of the Qinghai Lake and east of the Taklamakan Desert.
Shanhaijing records many famous wars between the Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Huang Di People, such as the Ying Long People (offspring of Huang Di) killed the Chi You People (offspring of Zhuan Xu) and Kua Fu People (offspring of Zhuan Xu); the Yu People (offspring of Di Jun) destroyed the Gong Gong and Xiang Yao (offspring of Zhuan Xu); the Ba People (offspring of Huang Di) fought with the Shu Jun People (offspring of Di Jun). After these wars, ancient groups of Chinese people made an agreement that the Huang Di People would live in the north of the Chishui River, later, they spread to the north of the Yellow River and north of the Yinshan Mountains. Their migration routes were:
1) To the north, to the Kazakhskiy Melkosopochnik and its surrounding areas; then to the further north to the Baraba steppe and the Ishim Grassland, also to the Yablonovyy Khrebet Mountains and the further northern areas.
Huang Di’s offspring, who lived in these areas, were nomadic people and did not develop agriculture during the Neolithic Age.
2) To the Altun Mountains, Qilian Mountains, Helan Mountains and Yinshan Mountains.
The Huang Di People spread to the north of the middle reach of the Yellow River and north of the Yinshan Mountains. Huang Di’s offspring, who lived in these areas, were nomadic people and did not develop agriculture during the Neolithic Age. The Mount Helan Rock Paintings of Ningxia represent ancient hunting cultures from different northern nomadic tribes. Most of these tribes were Huang Di’s offspring; however, some nomadic groups from the Di Jun, Zhuan Xu, or other peoples also had the ability to reach this area.
3) First to the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, then to the Altay Shan Mountains and its surrounding areas, and from there to the northeast, to the Mongolian Plateau, then to the east to the Da Xing’an Ling Mountains, the Northeast Plain and the Changbai Mountains, until they reached the Bohai Sea and Sea of Japan. They also went to the Korean Peninsula, which was named Liu Bo Mountains in Shanhaijing. There were some Huang Di’s offspring spread out to the Japanese archipelago.
Huang Di’s offspring, who lived in these areas, were nomadic people and did not develop agriculture during the Neolithic Age. However, some Huang Di’s groups, who moved to the east of the Da Xing’an Ling Mountains, turned from nomadic to agricultural lifestyles.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: East tells the Yu Hu People and Yu Jing People spread to the northeast and reached the Liu Bo Mountain (today’s Korea Peninsula) and the Eastern Sea (today’s Sea of Japan). The Yu Hu and Yu Jing were offspring of Yu Hao (offspring of Huang Di), who used to live in the west of the Qinghai Lake and might have learned the early farming technologies from the Di Jun People.
Archaeologists have discovered that Xiaohexi Culture (about 6500BCE), Xinglongwa Culture (6200-5400BCE) and Zhaojiagou Culture (5200-4400BCE) in Aohan Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the southeast of the Da Xing’an Ling Mountains, and Hongshan Culture (4000-3000BCE), which have been found in an area stretching from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning, had built farming civilizations, mainly cultivated millet and had reared livestock. The Yu Hu and Yu Jing People were origins of direct founders of the Xiaohexi, Xinglongwa, Zhaojiagou and Hongshan cultures. These cultures did not contribute to the development of the Yellow River Valley Cultural System.
The Movement of the Shao Hao and Di Jun Peoples During the Neolithic Age.
The Shao Hao and Di Jun People spread out from the Pamirs Plateau to the east of the Taklamakan Desert and west of the Qinghai Lake, later spread out to the Weihe River Valley, then to the lower reach of the Yellow River and the Shandong Peninsula, living a nomadic lifestyle, collecting millet and hunting animal during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. The Di Jun People, who followed the Shao Hao’s migration route to the east, lived in the west of the Shao Hao’s inhabitation areas. The migration route of Shao Hao’s groups was exactly the later Old Silk Road, which was built during the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE).
Shanhaijing records many wars between different groups of people but no wars between the Shao Hao and other peoples in their early time; instead, the early Zhuan Xu People learning eagerly from the Shao Hao and having no time for their musical instruments, reveals the Shao Hao had mastered most advanced sciences and technologies, all other groups of Neolithic Chinese people would like to build close relationships with them. Thereby the Shao Hao had greatly influenced other groups of Neolithic Chinese people with their advanced technologies since their early time.
Around 11,000 years BP, Neolithic Chinese people went from gathering to cultivating millet. The Shao Hao and Di Jun People became origins of direct founders of the Weihe River Valley Culture, including Laoguantai Culture (6000-5000BCE), Qin’an Dadiwan First Culture (6200-3000BCE) in Qinan County of Gansu and it successor, Yangshao Culture (5000-3000BCE), also called Painted-Pottery Culture, centered in Huashan and existed in the middle reach of the Yellow River, and the Cishan-peiligang Culture (6200-4600BCE), another origin of Yangshao Culture, in modern-day Henan and southern Hebei. These cultures were named “Di Qiang Culture” by modern historians. The Shao Hao People, who mastered the most advanced sciences and technologies during the Neolithic Age, were the leading developers of Di Qiang Culture.
The Shao Hao People, who moved to the Shandong Peninsula, branched out to many groups, living a nomadic lifestyle during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. About 11,000 years BP, they went from gathering to cultivating millet and soon developed the most advanced Neolithic cultures in the Shandong Peninsula, including Houli Culture (about 6400-5700BCE), a millet-growing culture in Linzi, and its successor - Beixin Culture (about 5300-4100BCE), a millet-growing culture in Tengzhou. The potteries discovered in Houli Culture are main painted-potteries, but also have some black potteries, which used more advanced technologies. Dawenkou Culture (about 4100-2600BCE) existed primarily in the Shandong Peninsula, but also appeared in eastern Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu and affected deeply the cultures in the lower reach of the Changjiang River. It overlapped with the territory of Shao Hao People.
Houli, Beixin and Dawenkou cultures and their successor Longshan Culture were named “Dong Yi Culture” by modern archaeologists and historians, who also agree that Dong Yi Culture was the most advanced culture in Neolithic China. The Shao Hao People were sole founders of Dong Yi Culture. The technologies of making black potteries were developed only in the Shandong Peninsula and later spread out to other places of China. Longshan Dong Yi Culture (3200-1900BCE) spread out to the territories of the Cishan-peiligang and Yangshao Di Qiang cultures and turned these areas into outposts of Dong Yi Culture. Through this diffusion, Dong Yi Culture greatly influenced ancient China and had the leading role in making the Yellow River Valley Cultural System the root of ancient Chinese civilization.
The Shao Hao People also spread out from the Shandong Peninsula to other places of China along the coastlines, including the Changjiang River estuary, Taiwan and southeast Asia, even Philippines and Polynesia during about 16,000-14,000 years BP.
The Shao Hao People lived near the sea in the east of the Di Jun’s territories in the lower reach of the Changjiang River. The Shao Hao and Di Jun were origins of direct founders of the rice-growing cultures, including Hemudu (5000-3300BCE) in Yuyao of Zhejiang, Majiabang (5000-4000BCE) in Jiaxing of Zhejiang and its successors, Songze (3800-2900BCE) in Qingpu District of Shanghai, and Liangzhu (5300-4200BCE) near Taihu of Zhejiang. The Jade Statues in Lingjiatan Culture (3500-3300BCE) in Hanshan County of Anhui Province have big eyes with double eyelids, the obvious non- Mongoloid characteristics, suggesting the Shao Hao were direct founders of this culture. Many painted-potteries and a large numbers of black potteries discovered in the lower reach of the Changjiang River, prove the deep influence by Dawenkou Dong Yi Culture (4100-2600BCE).
The Shao Hao People spread out along the coastline to the southeastern China, including Taiwan, where Dabenkeng (4000-3000BCE) Culture was developed, later spread out to the Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Polynesia and Australia. The Di Jun People had the ability to follow the Shao Hao’s migration routes, while the Zhuan Xu People also had the ability to reach the Southeast Asia and follow the Shao Hao’s migration routes.
Archaeologists confirm that rope figure potteries found in Dabenkeng were similar with Hemudu, Majiabang and Liangzhu cultures. German archaeologist Robert Heine Geldern thought that Dabenkeng Culture also spread from Taiwan to Philippines and Polynesia. Dawenkou Culture (4100-2600BCE), which greatly influenced cultures in the lower reach of the Changjiang River, also deeply influenced Dabenkeng and cultures in the southeastern Asia, Philippines and Polynesia.
The Shao Hao People, who spread out from the Shandong Peninsula to the north, Arctic Cycle and Americas along the coastline or through the sea by boat during about 16,000-5,000 years BP, did not leave many archaeological remains for us, due to their migration routes being drowned by sea water while the sea level rising.[10]
Archaeological discoveries match the Shao Hao’s inhabitation areas recorded in Shanhaijing, which also reveal that the sea level rising forced the Shao Hao to move to mountain areas. The biggest group of the Shao Hao’s offspring, called “Shao Hao People,” lived in the northern Taishan Mountains. The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South records the Bei People (Shao Hao’s offspring) fought with the Di Jun People for territory, lost the fight and moved to the Mei Yuan Lake. This story tells us that the Shao Hao People, who had moved to the south of the Changjiang River, moved to the west when the sea level rising, entered the territories of the Di Jun People and caused conflicts.
The Nü He People
The Shao Hao People, who moved to today’s Shandong Peninsula, branched out to many groups. One of these Shao Hao Groups was named Nü He. The early inhabitation areas of the Nü He People covered a large areas including today’s eastern Shandong Peninsula and its east areas, also spread out to the north to today’s Liaodong Peninsula, Korea Peninsula, Japanese archipelago, Kamchatka Peninsula, Aleutian Islands and Americas, and the south to Eastern and Southeastern China, including Taiwan, then to Southeastern Asia and Australia, until the sea level rising drowned most of their inhabitation areas. The Nü He People, who lived near the coastlines, turned from nomadic to coastal and maritime lifestyles, developed the earliest coastal and maritime cultures. Literally, “Nü” means female and “Nü He” means the He People having female as leader.
About 6,000 years BP, the sea level was two to five meters higher than today’s present sea level and it dropped during 5,000 years BP. Archaeologists agree that the Baishi Culture (about 7,000 years BP), which was named after the Baishi site in Yantai was found in 2006, was a kind of coastal culture and had its own sources - the earliest Neolithic coastal and maritime cultures, which were built before 7,000 years BP by the Baishi’s ancestors along the coastline in the Jiaodong Peninsula and were drowned by sea water during the sea level rising. The earliest Neolithic coastal cultures of the Jiaodong Peninsula spread out from the Jiaodong Peninsula to the Liaodong Peninsula, Korea Peninsula and Japanese archipelago, also to be able to the Kamchatka Peninsula, Aleutian Islands and Americas. The Nü He People who lived near the East End of the Earth recorded in Shanhaijing, were ancestors the Baishi People. The Baishi Site, whose altitude is 23 meters today, proves that the Jiaodong Peninsula was the important birthplace of Neolithic Chinese Maritime Culture and the Nü He People were the funders of the earliest Neolithic Chinese Maritime Culture.
Worried about the sea level keeping rising that the whole Shandong Peninsula would be drowned by sea water, during about 7,500-7,000 years BP, the Nü He People ordered Xi He (a female leader) to lead some people, re-named them “Xi He People,” to move to the upper reach of the Ganshui River in the southwest of the Shao Hao People’s territory in the Taishan and Yimeng Shan Mountains, where they developed Beixin Culture (5300-4100BCE). Some Xi He women discarded their tradition of endogamy with the Shao Hao men and found the Di Jun men to be their husbands, moved to the lower reach of the Ganshui River and set up ten groups of people, named them Ri (sun), near the Weishan Lake. Through this way, the Nü He People expanded the scope of their territories.
The Nü He People also ordered Chang Xi (a female leader) to lead some people, re-named them “Chang Xi People,” to move to the western Kunlun Mountains. In order to get help from the Di Jun People in the long and rough route, the Chang Xi women had to found the Di Jun men to be their husbands. Through this way, the Nü He People would build an inhabitation base area near the Pamirs Plateau for the future. The Chang Xi People dwelled in the western Kunlun Mountains and became twelve groups of the Yue (moon) People. The Yue (moon) People regarded themselves as invariable (Chang) tributary groups to the Nü He People, who were their mothers, and often went back the eastern Shandong Peninsula to visit the Nü He People.
It is believed that the famous stories of “Hou (sovereign) Yi shooting the suns” and “Chang E (lady) going to the moon” came from the Xi He and Chang Xi People. The earliest records of these stories were written in the bamboo-slips book of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BCE), “Gui Zang,” discovered in the No. 15 Qin’s tomb in Wangjiatai of Jianglin, Hubei. Originally, the story of “Hou Yi shooting the suns” said the Hou Yi People abolished the other nine Sun (Ri) tribes, united them to one Sun (Ri) tribe, instead of shooting the nine suns in the sky; the story of “Chang E going to the moon” said the Chang E (Chang Xi) People went to the west to set up the twelve Moon (Yue) tribes, instead of flying to the moon in the sky. But later, mankind continued enriching the stories of Hou Yi and Chang E by adding in more fancies, finally Hou Yi’s story became a myth of Hou Yi shooting down nine suns and leaving only one in the sky; Chang E’s story became a myth of Chang E stealing secret prescription, which could make her alive forever, from the Western Queen Mother and then flying to the moon in the sky. Also, Hou Yi became Chang E’s husband in later’s fancies.
The ten Ri (sun) and twelve Yue (moon) coincide with the ten Heavenly Stems (Tian Gan) and the twelve Earthly Branches (Di Zhi) in the traditional Chinese Calendar, the Stems-and-Branches or the Chinese sexagenary cycle. It is a cycle of sixty terms for recording days or years. Each term in the sexagenary cycle consists of two characters, the first from a cycle of ten, known as the Heavenly Stems (Tian Gan) and the second from a cycle of twelve, known as the Earthly Branches (Di Zhi). It also includes twelve months in a year and twelve two-hour segments of a day. The ten Ri (sun) and twelve Yue (moon) coming from their mothers, the Nü He People, hints that the Nü He People were the inventors of the traditional Chinese Calendar.
Archaeological Discoveries Prove the Shao Hao and Nü He People Taking the Leading Role in Making the Yellow River Valley Culture, the Root of Chinese Civilization.
Shanhaijing’s records reveal that the Shao Hao People mastered the advanced technologies during the Neolithic Age. Archaeological discoveries prove Dong Yi Culture, which was built by the Shao Hao (including Nü He) People in the Shandong Peninsula, was one of the most advanced Neolithic cultures, greatly influenced ancient China and had the leading role in making the Yellow River Valley Cultural System the root of ancient Chinese civilization. Meanwhile, the Shao Hao People took the leading role in developing the early Di Qiang Culture, including Weihe River Valley Culture and Cishan-peiligang Culture, early lower reach of Changjiang River Valley Culture and early cultures in Taiwan, South Asia, Malaysia, Philippines and Polynesia.
The Nü He People, who lived in the Jiaodong (eastern Shandong) Peninsula, were the founders of Baishi Culture (about 7,000 years BP), its resources - the earliest coastal and maritime cultures, and its successors - Dawenkou-Longshan Culture in the Jiaodong Peninsula. Before 7,500-7,000 years BP, the Xi He People, who carried the Nü He’s advanced technologies, moved from the Jiaodong Peninsula to the southwestern Taishan and Yimengshan Mountains, turned from coastal and maritime to agricultural lifestyles, learned from both Houli inland culture, which was developed by the Shao Hao People in the Taishan Mountains, and the earliest Jiaodong’s coastal and maritime cultures, which were developed by the Nü He People, and developed the more advanced inland culture - Beixin Culture (5300-4100BCE), which deeply influenced other Shao Hao People and turned them into outposts of Beixin Culture. The Xi He People were the founders of Beixin Culture and its successors - Dawenkou-Longshan Culture in the western Shandong.
We can say that the Nü He People were the root of Baishi, Beixin and Dawenkou-Longshan Cultures in the Shandong Peninsula. After the Xi He People accepted exogamy with the Di Jun People and gave birth to ten groups of the Ri (sun) People, who lived near today’s four lakes of Weishan, Dawenkou-Longshan Culture spread out quickly from the Shandong Peninsula to the Di Jun People’s territories, which were in the west of the Shao Hao’s territories. By letting the Chang Xi and Xi He women find the Di Jun men to be their husbands, the Nü He People expanded their territories, spread their most advanced sciences and technologies to other Shao Hao People, the Di Jun People and even to the western places. This helps Longshan Dong Yi Culture (3200-1900BCE) spread out to the inhabitation areas of Cishan-peiligang and Yangshao Di Qiang cultures and turned these regions into outposts of Dong Yi Culture.
Dong Yi Culture was the Root of the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han Cultures.
The Xia Dynasty (about 2070-1600BCE) was the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles, such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. Historians agree that an offspring of the Di Jun People, the Great Yu, who lived near today’s Tongguan recorded in Shanhaijing, founded the Xia. Many Chinese archaeologists generally identify Erlitou (1900-1500BCE), Yanshi of Henan Province, as the site of the Xia. The Xia covered an area of northern Henan, southern Hebei, southern Shanxi and western Shaanxi provinces, along the Yellow River, where was the inhabitation areas of early Cishan-peiligang (6200-4600BCE) and Yangshao (5000-3000BCE) Di Qiang cultures, but had been turned into outposts of Longshan Dong Yi Culture during 3200-1900BCE.
The Shang’s ancestors living in Qufu of Shandong suggests that they were offspring of the Xi He People, the founders of Beixin and Dawenkou-Longshan Cultures.
The Zhou People moved from the west of the Qinghai Lake to the Weihe Plain during Gugong Danfu’s time, about 1250-1150BCE, turned from nomadic to agricultural lifestyles, learned eagerly from the most advanced Dong Yi Culture and developed quickly into a state. Clearly, Dong Yi Culture was the root of the Zhou’s Culture. Zhou Gong-dan (about 1100BCE ago) made The Rites of Zhou by renovating the rites of Xia and Shang to record ceremonial rites, etiquette and regulations in the official and political system of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256BCE). The Rites of Zhou inherited and carried forward cultures of the Xia and Shang dynasties, thus we can say Dong Yi Culture was the root of the Zhou’s Culture. Confucius venerated Zhou Gong-dan as a pioneer of Confucianism.
The ancestors of the Qin’s leaders were the Shang’s peerages and lived in the Shandong Peninsula, suggesting they were offspring of either the Xi He or Shao Hao People, who surrendered to the Shang. The Shang emperor ordered the Qin’s ancestors to move from the Shandong Peninsula to the Weihe River Valley to resist the Zhou, Di and Rong Peoples. In 1046BCE, the war between the Zhou and Shang destroyed the Shang, the Qin’s ancestors became slaves of the Zhou Dynasty. Dong Yi Culture was the root of the Qin (221-206BCE), offspring of the Shao Hao People.
Dong Yi Culture was the root of The Hundred Schools of Thought, literally All Philosophers’ Hundred Schools, which were philosophers and schools that flourished in the Shandong Peninsula and eastern Henan area during an era of great cultural and intellectual expansion in China from 771BCE to 221BCE. Founders of most of The Hundred Schools of Thought were from the states of Lu, Qi, or Song, as well as other states located in today’s Shandong Province or near the Shandong Peninsula. Micius’, Confucius’ and Zhuang-zi’s ancestors were the Shang emperors’ offspring who lived in the State of Song.
Emperor Wu of Han (156-87BCE) emphasized Confucianism, after accepting suggestions from Dong Zhong-shu (179-104BCE), who was regarded as a great Confucian leader. During the Han Dynasty, the most practical elements of Confucianism and Legalism were taken and synthesized, marking the creation of a new form of government that would remain largely intact until the late nineteenth century. Dong Yi Culture and its successor, the Hundred Schools of Thought, were the roots of Han Culture, which emphasized Confucius but never banned other ancient philosophers, started during the Han Dynasty, was inherited and carried forward by the Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) and lasted in China for more than 2,000 years.
The Ancient Hua Nation was one of the Earliest Nation, earlier than the Xia Dynasty, in Neolithic China.
Hua Xia was the name of China before the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE). Today Chinese still call China “Hua Xia” or “Zhong (central) Hua.”
There are no historical records of the Hua and the Xia nations before the Zhou Dynasty. From the little surviving remains of the Shang oracle bone script and the Changle (Weifang) Bone Inscriptions, which were 1,000 years earlier than the Shang oracle bone script, we could not find written records of the Hua and Xia nations.
According to some legends, the Hua People were the earliest group who promoted picking plants as food and planting grains, while the Xia People were the earliest group who promoted cultivating grains; and the Hua planted grains earlier than the Xia. The legends tells that the nations of Hua and Xia were built by different groups of people. It is very logical that the name of “Hua Xia” came from the nations of Hua and Xia.
Archaeologists agree that Dong Yi Culture, which was developed by the Shao Hao (including Nü He) People first in the Shandong Peninsula and later spread out to other places of China, was the most advanced culture during the Neolithic Age and took the leading role in making the Yellow River Valley Cultural System the root of ancient Chinese civilization. Dong Yi Culture began in the eastern Shandong as early as the western Shandong. Archaeologists have discovered some sites with an implied code of etiquette in Longshan Culture (3200-1900BCE) in the Shandong Peninsula, showing social stratification and formation of the nation, suggesting the earliest nations of China were developed by the Shao Hao (including Nü He) People in the Shandong Peninsula, earlier than the Xia Dynasty (about 2070-1600BCE).
Archaeologists have discovered many bronze wares, which were made during about 1600-1046BCE, in the eastern Shandong Peninsula, suggesting there were ancient nations in the east of Jiaolai River, where was the settlement of the Nü He People.
In the west of Chengshantou, the easternmost place of the Shandong Peninsula, the Buye site of Buliu in Rongcheng have discovered some bronze wares which were made during the late Spring and Autumn (770-476BCE) and early Warring States (476-221BCE) periods. Historians and archaeologists commonly agree that Buye had another name “Yeyang” and had its own bronze knife-coins. The bronze knife-coins were a kind of coin money. During the Western Zhou, many vassal states of the Zhou had made knife-coins. The Yeyang knife-coins were only found in today’s Buye area and were different from the knife-coins, which were made by the Zhou’s vassal states, suggesting Yeyang was an independent nation instead of the Zhou’s vassal state.
More than 400 bronze wares, including bronze rituaI vessels made during the time of the western Zhou (1046-771BCE), discovered in the Guicheng site in Longkou of Yantai, suggesting an ancient nation. The inscriptions of a bronze Gui, 51 words, which are different from the Shang’s and Zhou’s scripts, prove that the nation had its own writing characters. The Guicheng bronze wares let us know that the Guicheng ancient nation had existed for a long time before the remaining Ji people (in 690BCE) and Lai people (in 567BCE) escaped to the east of the Jiaolai River.
One of the Guicheng bronze wares has five words of inscription, which were translated by archaeologist Chen Meng-jia (1911-1966) to be “Lai Bo made Lü Ding (tripod cauldron for army junction).” Therefore, some historians regarded Guicheng as the Lai Nation’s capital. However, Wang Xian-tang (1896-1960), former vice director of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Administration Committee, said in his book Ji Bronze Wares of Huang County (today’s Longkou), “Guicheng was not the capital of the Lai Nation,” and the scripts should be translated to be “Hua Bo made Lü Ding.” During the Shang and Zhou, “Bo” was the second peerage rank often used to name the king of a hostile nation. The “Hua Bo Lü Ding” is surely an evidence of the existing of a big ancient nation of Hua, which lasted until the end of the Zhou in the eastern Jiaodong Peninsula. The Guicheng site is highly possible the capital or a majoy city of the Hua Nation.
Clearly, the Buye or Yeyang Nation and Hua (Guicheng) Nation, which lasted until the end of the Zhou, were independent nations and their resources were the earliest Jiaodong ancient nations, which were founded by the Nü He People as early as Longshan Culture, earlier than the Xia.
Archeologists have found Chinese character Hua in ancient Shang Oracle bone scripts, which looks like a tree blooms flourishing and referred to a kind of sacrifice to Shang’s ancestors. He Jing-cheng, professor of Jilin University, thinks that it looks like a bright burning torch, which is tied up with reeds.
The original meaning of Hua is the Paulownia blooms flourishing. Paulownia, which had been regarded as sacred tree before the Qin Dynasty, is also named phoenix tree in China. It was said that the phoenixes perched only on Paulownia trees. From its original meaning of Paulownia blooms flourishing, the meanings of “Hua” extend to flowery, illustrious, grand and even the integrity of sovereign. Hua also means magnificent costumes when it is used in the name of Hua Xia (recorded in Zuozhuan and Shangshu).
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South tells that the Xi He People lived in the upper reach of the Ganshui River in the southwestern Taishan Mountains. The Shang’s ancestors living in Qufu, where was located in the Xi He People’s territory, suggests that they were offspring of the Xi He People.
Archeologists have found Chinese character Hua in ancient Shang Oracle bone scripts referred to a kind of sacrifice to Shang’s ancestors, suggesting the Shang’s emperors regarded the Hua People as their ancestors, therefore, the Xi He People came from the Hua People. Also Shanhaijing and legends say that the Xi He and Chang Xi People had the same resource - the Nü He People. Therefore, the Xi He and Chang Xi People came from the Hua People, one group of the Nü He People in the Jiaodong Peninsula.
The Nü He People chose “He,” whose literal meanings include “together with, and,” “harmonization, integration” and “peace or kindness” in some uses, as the name of their group, hinting that the Nü He had the idea of integration with other ancient groups of Chinese people. The Hua (Nü He) People inherited the “He” idea from the Nü He and began to integrated with the Di Jun People by sending the Xi He and Chang Xi People to marry with the Di Jun men and give birth to ten Ri (sun) and twelve Yue (moon) People.
The Nü He People worshipped the Yuan (red or fire phoenix), which could control the sun and the moon, recorded in Shanhaijing. Also Chinese legends say that the phoenix perched only on Paulownia (Hua) tree. This hints us that the original fire Phoenix worship was from the Nü He People, who lived in a place, where grew many Paulownia (Hua) trees, therefore, they named their place “Hua” and called themselves the Hua People.
From legends and archaeological discoveries, we can ascertain that Hua was almost certainly a Nü He nation in the eastern Shandong Peninsula, which was earlier and more developed than the Xia Dynasty. However, archaeologists have not discovered evidence of the exact location of the Hua Nation.
Shanhaijing’ records and archaeological discoveries reveal that the Zhou Dynasty falsified the stories of the Zhou’s ancestors being Di Jun’s offspring and all other peoples being Huang Di’s offspring to make the allied force to fight with the Zhou against the much larger Shang Dynasty, also later to rule all groups of people. The earliest records of the Xia Dynasty were during the Zhou, who put the Xia, offspring of the Di Jun People, to be the first dynasty in China and deliberately eliminated important records of the Shao Hao People, including the Hua Nation. The Zhou’s falsified stories had deeply influenced later historians and scholars, including the Book of Documents, Bamboo Annals, GuoYu, ChunQiu and even Sima Qian (145-87BCE), author of The Records of the Grand Historian, or Shiji.
Originally, the Descendants of Hua Xia were not the Descendants of Yan Huang.
Hua Xia refers to the Hua nation and Xia nation, while Yan Huang refers to Yan Di and Huang Di.
Archaeological Discoveries and Shanhaijng’s records tell us that the Yan Di People lived in the west and north of the Taklamakan Desert, later spread out to the north and northwest of the Tianshan Mountains. They did not contribute to the development of the Yellow River Valley Cultural System. The Huang Di People spread out from the Eastern Pamirs to the west of the Qinghai Lake, later spread out to the Tianshan Mountains and its north, the north of the Yellow River and north of the Yinshan Mountains. They were founders of farming cultures: Xiaohexi (about 6500BCE), Xinglongwa (6200-5400BCE) and Zhaojiagou (5200-4400BCE) in Aohan Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the southeast of the Da Xing’an Ling Mountains, and Hongshan Culture (4000-3000BCE), which have been found in an area stretching from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning. These cultures did not contribute to the development of the Yellow River Valley Cultural System.
The Hua (Nü He) and Xi He People, the root of Dong Yi Culture, had deeply influenced the early Xia People with the most advanced Dong Yi Culture. The Hua Nation was built by the Hua (Nü He) People in the eastern Shandong Peninsula during Longshan Culture, earlier than the Xia Dynasty. The Hua People inherited the “He” idea from the Nü He, being the first one to integrated with the Di Jun People by sending the Xi He and Chang Xi People to marry with the Di Jun men and give birth to ten Ri (sun) and twelve Yue (moon) People.
In order to make a united nation, the Shang Emperors claimed that their ancestors were offspring of Di Jun (father) and Jian Di (mother), bearing some resemblances with the story of Di Jun men marrying with the Xi He women and giving birth to ten groups of the Ri (sun) People. The Shang Dynasty, who were offspring of the Xi He, Hua and Nü He People, inherited the “He (integration)” idea from the Nü He People. The Shang was the first dynasty who tried to unite the Hua People (Shao Hao’s offspring) and the Xia People (Di Jun’s offspring) to be one big group - the Hua Xia People.
Before the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were no written records of the Xia Dynasty, who were offspring of the Di Jun People. An historical record proves that the Zhou’s peerages trying to eliminate all historial records of the Shao Hao People. When the State of Qi destroyed the Shao Hao nations Ji and Lai, they killed many peoples, burning their capitals, temples and all historical records and forcing their remaining peoples to move to other places.
During the Zhou Dynasty (about1046-256BCE), the Hua and Xia Peoples were already regarded as one big group - Hua Xia People. The Zhou, who fabricated the false stories that they were offspring of the Di Jun People and Huang Di were common ancestors of all the Hua Xia People, promoted that the Hua was Xia and the Xia was Hua. The Zhou claimed that all Chinese were descendants of Yan Huang, including the Hua and Xia Peoples. However, in the Zhou’s strict hierarchical system, almost all the Hua and Xia Peoples, who made up the overwhelming majority in the population in the Yellow and Changjiang River valleys, were Ye Ren or Common people and lived in the suburb and countryside. The slaves in the lowest class were often regarded as livestock; the Ye Ren in the second-lowest class had no political rights, no rights to join the army, no rights to build a school or study in a school, and no rights to write a book. While the Guo Ren or State people and all peerages, who came from the Zhou People or offspring of the Yan and Huang Peoples, had helped the Zhou to destroy the Shang, therefore lived in the cities.
Due to the Shang and Zhou claiming they were offspring of the Di Jun People, ancient historical chronicles precluded the Hua and put the Xia as the first dynasty of ancient China when compiling ancient Chinese history. The earliest records of “Hua Xia” were in the Zhou Dynasty. Shangshu.Zhou.Wucheng records, “Hua Xia and barbarians, all were in obedience.” Zhuozhuan.Dinggong (Lu 509-495BCE) year 10 records, “people from borderlands would not harm Xia and Yi peoples would not harm Hua.” Traditionally, the Shang and Zhou called people who lived in the east and south and did not surrender to them, with Yi, but called people, who lived in the north and west and did not surrender to them, with Rong and Di. Zhuozhuan.Shanggong (Lu 575-542BCE) year 14 records Jiang Rong, Zi Juzhi, “Our Rong groups’s clothes and foods were different with Hua. The money was different and languanges were different.”
The actual political and military control by the Zhou Dynasty, surnamed Ji, lasted only until 771BCE, while during the Warring States (771-256BCE) in melee, a series of states rose to prominence before each falling in turn, but Zhou was a minor player in these conflicts. In 221BCE, Qinshihuang (259-210BCE) swallowed up all other states and built the first centralization of authority in China. However due to its harshness, the Qin Dynasty (221-206BCE) did not eliminate the domestic contradictions and it lasted only 17 years.
Liu’s non-biological father and his mother were socially inferior, suggesting they were the Zhou’s Ye Ren or common people. Certainly, they were natives from the Zhou’s conqured land - they were offspring of the Xi He or Shao Hao People.
After Liu Bang (256-195BCE) set up the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE), he chose the centralization of authority system instead of the Zhou’s hereditary fiefs system. He abolished slavery, promised “everyone is equal” and let everyone become a citizen of China. Liu Bang inherited the “He (integration)” idea from the Nü He People, promoting the Huang Di, Yan Di, Zhuan Xu, Shao Hao, Di Jun, Hua and Xia Peoples were a big family. He reduced taxation and covee and let the citizens recuperate and multiply. During the Han, all Chinese people had a strong national identify with their county. The Han Dynasty achieved integration of all ancient Chinese people, including the Hua Xia majority and Yan Huang minority, and made the “He” (integration) culture become the most important part of Han Culture. The Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE) was the first dynasty who united all groups of ancient Chinese people, including the Huang Di, Yan Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Shao Hao, to be one big group - Han People or Han Nationality, commonly called Hua People until today. Hanshu.diyizhi records the first census of the Han Dynasty in 2CE. The Han population was about 63 million, 23.14% of the world population (about 272.27 million). Counting in all people of the Protectorate of the Western Regions foreigners, the Han Dynasty ruled about 30% of the world population.
The Demographic Changes between the Hua Xia People and Yan Huang People during China History.
During the Han Dynasty, the overwhelming majority of the population was the Hua Xia People in the Yellow and Changjiang River Valleys, while the Yan Huang People were in a minority. Since the Han Dynasty, all ancient groups of Chinese peoples were called the Han People.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589CE), a prolonged stand-off between the southern dynasties who controlled the southern territories of China and the northern dynasties who controlled the northern territories of China, most of the rulers of the northern dynasties coming from the northern nomadic people, who were the Yan Di’s and Huang Di’s offspring and worshipped dragon. Dragon worship first bloomed in the northern China. During this period, the descendants of the Yan Huang increased in the Yellow River Valley, but still made up a small percentage of the total population in that area.
The Tang Dynasty (618-907) followed the Han policy and achieved again integration of all ancient Chinese people. During Gaozong’s reign, the Tang’s territorial area was 1237 square kilometers, the largest in China history. During the Tang Dynasty, majority of the population was the Hua Xia People were in a majority and the Yan Huang People were in a minority in the Yellow and Changjiang River Valleys.
The Song Dynasty (960-1279) divided into the North Song (960-1127), which had 280 square kilometers, and the South Song (1127-1279), which had 200 square kilometers. The Song lived a harsh fighting time with the descendants of Yan Huang, who set up many countries in the north, including some large countries, Liao (907-1125), Xixia (1038-1227) and Jin (1115-1234). During the South Song Dynasty, the overwhelming majority of the population was the Yan Huang People in the Yellow River Valley and the overwhelming majority of the population was the Hua Xia People in the Changjiang River valley and its south.
In 1206, Borjigin Temujin (1162-1227) united all groups of the Mongolians and set up the Mongol Empire (1206-1259) and called himself Genghis Khan. The Mongol’s territorial area had reached 3300 square kilometers in 1240s, but was divided in 1259. In 1271, Borjigin Kublai (1215-1294) set up the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) with the capital of Yanjing (today’s Beijing). In 1279, the Yuan destroyed the South Song.
During the wars between the Song with the Mongol Empire and Yuan Dynasty, The Mongol general Bayan ordered the killing of the Han People and Southern People with the surnames of Liu, Li, Zhang, Wang and Zhao. The Mongolians killed 91% of the people in China and 98% in the Shandong Peninsula in a genocide that was included in the Guinness Book of World Records 1985 edition. The Mongol armies reduced China’s population from 93.47 million in 1122 to 8.87 million in 1274.
During the Yuan Dynasty, it was the first time that the overwhelming majority population of China were the descendants of Yan Huang; while the descendants of Hua Xia became the minority and were regarded as the third-class citizen.
Zhu Yuan-zhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) appealled “expel the Tatar (a disdainful appellation to Mongols) barbarians, to revive Zhong Hua.” During the Ming, large immigrations were organized or forced by the government. The most famous large-scale immigration was the Shanxi People moved to other provinces, including Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, Beijing, Anhui, Shandong and even Inner Mongolia. The Ming government chose Han and Tang’s policies to achieve integration of all ancient Chinese people. The Ming increased China’s population to 100 million in 1589. Due to the majority population in the Yellow and Changjiang River Valleys in the early Ming were the descendants of Yan Huang, the Ming emperors started wearing Dragon Robes and calling themselves “Son of God, The Real Dragon.” The dragon evolved into the imperial symbol since the Ming and became a symbol of power, strength and good luck and even a totem of China.
During the war between the Ming and Qing Dynasty (1636-1911), China’s population reduced to 14 million in 1643. The ancestors of the Qing People (Manchus) were from the previous Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), who were the descendants of Yan Huang, living in the northern grasslands. In the early Qing Dynasty, the majority population of China were the descendants of Yan Huang. In order to ease ethnic and social tensions, the Qing government adopted Han culture, proposed “Manchu and Han were one family” and the emperors selected very few girls from the Han Bannermen’s daughters to promote ethnic harmony. However, the Han People were regarded as the second-class citizen, the Han Bannermen were in low social status than the Manchu Bannermen.
Since the Emperor Kang-xi, the Qing government established the preferential policies to encourage the people to move from densely populated areas into uninhabited lands. Many descendants of the Hua Xia People, who used to escaped to the remote wild parts, came back to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow and Changjiang Rivers.
The Huaxing (Hua rising) Society, one of China Revival Societies, was founded in 1904 with notables like Huang Xing, Zhang Shi-zhao, Chen Tian-hua and Song Jiao-ren, along with 100 others.They put forward to “expel the Tatar (a disdainful appellation to Manchus) barbarians, to revive Zhong Hua.” Chinese Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmeng Society) was set up in 1905, Sun Zhong-shan promoted to “expel the Tatar barbarians, revive Zhong Hua, establish a Republic and distribute land equally among the people.” Chinese abolished the Qing Dynasty in 1912, set up a republic country and named it the “Republic of Zhong Hua,” and foreigners named it “China.”
The name of Hua was from the ancient Jiaodong nation - Hua Nation, which was built by the Hua (Nü He) People, who were the cradle of ancient Chinese Civilization and Han Culture. Today, all Chinese peoples were called the “Han People” or “Han Nationality,” also commonly called “Hua People.” The name of China, “Zhong (literally central) Hua,” indicates that all groups of Chinese people (Yan Di, Huang Di, Zhuang Xu, Di Jun and Shao Hao) unite together with the Hua People - centric.
Conclusion
Due to the long-time of the matriarchal clan society, it was difficult to ascertain an individual’s patriarchal clan. However, almost all groups of ancient Chinese People accepted only endogamy during the Neolithic Age, enabling Shanhaijing to identify about 150 groups of people, who came from the five biggest groups of people and had played important roles in making ancient Chinese civilization. The five most famous groups were the Yan Di, Huang Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Shao Hao. They first lived in the Pamirs Plateau, soon gathered in the area in the west of the Qinghai Lake and north of the Tibetan Plateau, then moved to other places of China during about 16,000-14,000 years BP.
The Yan Di People lived in the west and north of the Taklamakan Desert, later spread out to the north and northwest of the Tianshan Mountains. They did not contribute to the development of the Yellow River Valley Cultural System.
The Huang Di People moved to the north of the Yellow River, north of the Yinshan Mountains and northeastern areas. They later developed farming civilizations, including Xiaohexi Culture (about 6500BCE), Xinglongwa Culture (6200-5400BCE) and Zhaojiagou Culture (5200-4400BCE) in Aohan Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the southeast of the Da Xing’an Ling Mountains, and Hongshan Culture (4000-3000BCE), which have been found in an area stretching from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning. These cultures did not contribute to the development of the Yellow River Valley Cultural System.
The Di Jun and Shao Hao People moved along the Weihe River Valley to the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Shandong Peninsula, then to the south. The Di Jun lived in the west of the Shao Hao’s territories, which were near the sea.
Historians commonly agree that the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty united China with help from the Huang Di People (especially, Bei (north) Di and Xi (west) Rong People) and the Yan Di People (especially, Di Qiang People). To encourage the assimilation of all Chinese people, the Zhou fabricated several new stories, which could not be found in the previous three books of Shanhaijing, and added these stories into one more part to Shanhaijing - Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas, declaring King Yan Di and Huang Di to be the common ancestors of all Chinese people and falsely claiming that Di Jun, Zhuan Xu and Shao Hao were descendants of Huang Di and Yan Di.
Dong Yi Culture was the leading culture of the Xia Dynasty, which was built in the regions of outposts of Dong Yi Culture; the root of the Shang Dynasty, which was built in the inhabitation areas of Longshan Dong Yi Culture (about 3200-1900BCE); and the root of the Zhou’s Culture, which learned from Dong Yi Culture and built in the regions of outposts of Dong Yi Culture; the root of the Qin Dynasty (221-207BCE), whose emporers were offspring of the Shao Hao People; the root of The Hundred Schools of Thought and its successor Han Culture, which started during the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE), was inherited and carried forward by Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) and lasted in China for more than 2,000 years.
The most advanced Dong Yi Culture was built by the Shao Hao People first in the Shandong Peninsula, later spread to the Yellow River and Changjiang River valleys and other places, greatly influenced the development of other early cultures and had the leading role in making the Yellow River Valley Cultural System the root of ancient Chinese civilization. Most small regional cultures of ancient China had faded by the end of Neolithic Age, included the Changjiang River Valley Cultural System. However, the Yellow River Valley Culture became the mainstay of ancient Chinese civilization and developed to a much higher level.
The Nü He People (called Mother of Yue (moon) in Shanhaijing), who lived in the Jiaodong (eastern Shandong) Peninsula, was one group of the Shao Hao People, had worried about the sea level rising and had sent the Xi He and Chang Xi People to the west of the Shandong Peninsula to expand the scope of their territories. The Nü He held the most advanced science and technologies during the Neolithic Age and were the founders of the earliest Neolithic Chinese astronomy and Calendar. They built unique Jiaodong coastal and maritime cultures, the earliest Chinese Maritime Culture, also Dawenkou (about 4100-2600BCE) and Longshan (about 3200-1900BCE) cultures in the eastern Shandong. The Xi He were the developers of Beixin (about 5300-4100BCE), Dawenkou (about 4100-2600BCE) and Longshan (about 3200-1900BCE) cultures in the western Shandong. Therefore the Nü He were the main founders of Dong Yi Culture.
The Hua and Xi He People both were ancestors of the Shang and had the same resources - the Nü He People in the Jiaodong Peninsula, and the Xi He came from the Hua People, who were ancestors of the Chang Xi, Yue (moon), Xi He, Ri (sun) People and the Shang’s emperors. The Hua People founded the Hua Nation in the Jiaodong Peninsula, as early as Longshan Culture (3200-1900BCE), earlier than the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600BCE). Hua Bo Lü Ding (King Hua’s tripod cauldron for army junction) is the evidence of the existing of a big advanced and independent ancient nation of Hua, which was located in the eastern Jiaodong Peninsula and lasted until the end of the Zhou.
It is very logical that the name of “Hua Xia” came from the nations of Hua and Xia. Before the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were no written records of the nations of Hua and Xia. Today, there is no firm archaeological evidence to prove the existence of nations of Hua and Xia. However, Chinese archaeologists generally identify Erlitou as the site of the Xia Dynasty, who were offspring of the Di Jun People, also archaeological discoveries have proved that the earliest nations in China were built by the Shao Hao (including Hua) People in the Shandong Peninsula. Due to the Shang and Zhou claiming they were offspring of the Di Jun People, ancient historical chronicles precluded the Hua and put the Xia as the first dynasty of ancient China when compiling ancient Chinese history.
“He” Culture, a culture of integration and harmonization, is the quintessence of Chinese Han Culture. Literally, “He” means “together with, and,” “harmonization, integration” and “peace or kindness” in some uses. The Hua People inherited the “He” idea from the Nü He and began to integrated with the Di Jun People by sending the Xi He and Chang Xi People to marry with the Di Jun men and give birth to ten Ri (sun) and twelve Yue (moon) People. The Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BCE) was the first dynasty who united the Hua People and the Xia People to be one big group - Hua Xia People. The Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE) became the first dynasty who united all groups of ancient Chinese people, including the Huang Di, Yan Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Shao Hao, to be one big group - Han People or Han Nationality, also commonly called Hua People until today.
The Mongolians, offspring of Yan Huang, set up the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), killed 91% of the people in China and 98% in the Shandong Peninsula in a genocide that was included in the Guinness Book of World Records 1985 edition. The Mongol armies reduced China’s population from 93.47 million in 1122 to 8.87 million in 1274. The descendants of Hua Xia became the minority and were regarded as the third-class citizen. Zhu Yuan-zhang appealled “expel the Tatar (a disdainful appellation to Mongols) barbarians, to revive Zhong Hua,” destroyed the Yan Dynasty (1271-1368) and set up the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The ancestors of the Qing People (Manchus) were from the previous Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), who were the descendants of Yan Huang, the Qing (1636-1911) government adopted Han culture, proposed “Manchu and Han were one family,” but the Han People were regarded as the second-class citizen. The Huaxing (Hua-rising) Society, one of China Revival Societies founded in 1904, put forward to “expel the Tatar (a disdainful appellation to Manchus) barbarians, to revive Zhong Hua.” Chinese Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmeng Society) was set up in 1905, Sun Zhong-shan promoted to “expel the Tatar barbarians, revive Zhong Hua, establish a Republic and distribute land equally among the people.” Chinese abolished the Qing Dynasty in 1912, set up a republic country and named it the “Republic of Zhong Hua,” and foreigners named it “China.”
The name of “Zhong (literally central) Hua” indicates that all groups of Chinese people unite together with the Hua People - centric.
References
[1] Archaeological discoveries of Neolithic Age in Shandong Peninsula, Yantai Museum, April 3, 2007
http://www.jiaodong.net/wenhua/system/2006/12/22/000110743.shtml accessed January 19, 2014
[2] Li Xiao-ding, Collected Explanations of Shell and Bone Characters, Jiagu wenzi zhishi, 1965, 8 Volumes, The Institute of History and Philology.
[3] Liu Feng-Jun, Changle Bone Inscriptions, December 2008, Shandong Pictorial Publishing House
[4] Liu Xiang (79BCE-8BCE) and Liu Xin (53BCE-23BCE, son of Liu Xiang) were first editors of Shanhaijing (before 4200BCE-256BCE).
[5] Carleton S. Coon, The Races of Europe (1939), Greenwood Press, 1972, p.482.
[6] Li H, Huang Y, Mustavich LF, Zhang F, Y chromosomes of prehistoric people along the Yangtze River, Human Genetic, 2007 Nov;122(3-4):383-8.
[7] Excavation of the Beizhuang Site at Changdao, Shandong by the Practice Archaeological Team of Beijing University and Others, Kaogu (Archaeology) May 1987, pp.385-400, text in Chinese, Beijing.
[8] Li Wang, Hiroki Oota, Naruya Saitou, Feng Jin, Takayuki Matsushita, and Shintaroh Ueda, Genetic Structure of a 2,500-Year-Old Human Population in China and Its Spatiotemporal Changes, May 29, 2000.
[9] Vivien Gornitz, Sea Level Rise, After the Ice Melted and Today, Jan 2007, NASA,
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/gornitz_09/ accessed June 2, 2016
[10] Zhao Xi-tao, Sea-level changes of eastern China during the past 20000 years, Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 1979, I-2.
[11] Zhou Li, or The Rites of Zhou, is - along with the Book of Rites and the Etiquette and Ceremonial - one of three ancient ritual texts (the “Three Rites”) listed among the classics of Confucianism. Its first editor was Liu Xin (50BCE-23CE), who credited it to the Duke of Zhou.
Other Scholarly Papers Presented and Published by Soleilmavis.
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