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Part One: https://peacepink.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-shao-hao-people-took-the-leading-role-in-building-ancient-chi

Archaeological Discoveries Prove the Shao Hao 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 and were sole founders of Dong-Yi Culture. Archaeological discoveries prove Dong Yi Culture, which was built by the Shao Hao 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 Chang-Jiang River Valley Culture and early cultures in Taiwan, South Asia, Malaysia, Philippines and Polynesia.

Dong Yi Culture was the Root of the Xia’s Culture.

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. The dynasty was established by the Great Yu after the legendary King Shun, the last of the Five Kings, gave his throne to him. The Great Yu and King Shun were offspring of the Di Jun People. The Xia covered an area of northern Henan, southern Hebei and Shanxi and western Shaanxi provinces, along the Yellow River. The Xia was later succeeded by the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BCE).

The Classic of the Mountains: Central records the Great Yu’s capital, named Mi, was located in the Qing Yao Mountain in the south of the Yellow River near its big bend, which is near today’s Tongguan in the boundary of Shaanxi and Henan provinces.

Longshan Dong Yi Culture (3200-1900BCE) had spread out to the inhabitation areas of early Cishan-peiligang (6200-4600BCE) and Yangshao (5000-3000BCE) Di Qiang cultures and turned these regions into outposts of Dong Yi Culture, before the Xia was built in about 2070BCE in these regions. Clearly, Dong Yi Culture was the leading culture of the Xia Dynasty.

Chinese archaeologists generally identify Erlitou as the site of the Xia Dynasty, but there is no firm evidence, such as writing, to substantiate such a linkage. Erlitou Culture, discovered in Erlitou, Yanshi of Henan Province, was an Early Bronze Age urban society that existed from approximately 1900BCE to 1500BCE and which spread widely throughout Henan and Shanxi provinces even later appearing in Shaanxi and Hubei provinces. There is evidence that the Erlitou Culture has evolved from the matrix of Longshan Culture. Archaeological remains of crops from Erlitou Culture consist about half of millet and one-third rice, potato and others.

Hua Xia was the name of China before the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE). Today Chinese still call China “Hua Xia” or “Zhong (central) Hua.” Literally, “Xia” means a big land (nation) of ceremony and decorum. From its original meaning of Paulownia’s blooms flourishing, the meanings of “Hua” extend to flowery, illustrious, grand and even the integrity of sovereign.

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. There are no historical records of the Hua and the Xia People, but the legends hint us 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.

From the little surviving remains of the Shang oracle bone script and the Changle Bone Inscriptions, which were 1,000 years earlier than the Shang oracle bone script, we could not find written records of the nation of Hua. Ancient historical chronicles (after Shang oracle bone script) also have no record of Nation of Hua and archaeologists have not discovered evidence of the exact location of Nation of Hua. However, archaeologists agree that Dong Yi Culture was the most advanced culture during the Neolithic Age. Meanwhile, archaeologists have discovered some sites with an implied code of etiquette in Longshan Culture, showing social stratification and formation of the nation, in the Shandong Peninsula, suggesting the Shao Hao People had developed the earliest nations in China. We can ascertain that Hua was almost certainly a Dong Yi nation in the Shandong Peninsula, which was earlier and even more developed than the Xia Dynasty.

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. All Shao Hao nations in the western Shandong Peninsula were destroyed by the Zhou Dynasty, such as the nation of Lai (?-567BCE) and nation of Ji (?-690BCE), however it is believed that some of Nü He nations in the eastern Shandong Peninsula lasted until the end of the Zhou Dynasty.

Before the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were no written records of the Xia Dynasty, who were offspring of the Di Jun People. 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.

Dong Yi Culture was the Root of the Shang’s Culture.

The Shang Dynasty (about 1600-1046BCE) or Yin Dynasty, according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BCE, succeeding the Xia Dynasty and followed by the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256BCE).

Most people believe that the Shang was offspring of the Shao Hao People for worshipping bird totem. The Classic of Poetry, or Shijing, records, “God orders the Xuan (black) Bird to give birth to the Shang.”[11] Historians agree that Emperor Pangeng of the Shang moved the capital from Qufu of Shandong to Shangqiu of Henan in about 1300BCE, later moved the capital to Yin, today’s Anyang of Henan. The name “Shang” came from Shangqiu and the Shang Dynasty was also called the Yin Dynasty. Living in Qufu of Shandong suggests that the Shang’s ancestors were offspring of the Shao Hao People.

However, the Shang claimed Qi(1), whose father was Di Ku (Di Jun) and mother was Jian Di, was the ancestor of the Shang. Qi(1) helped the Great Yu, the successor of King Shun, to harnesses the flood and gained Shun’s trust. King Shun then nominated Qi(1) to be his “Si Tu,” a high official of agriculture, and gave him the fiefs of Shang, today’s Shangqiu of Henan. These claims made historians debate whether the Shang was offspring of Di Jun or Shao Hao.

Shanhaijing records that Di Jun and King Shun were buried in the same place of the Yueshan Mountain in the west of the Qinghai Lake, the Yu People and King Shun lived in the northern Tibetan Plateau during the same period. While the Great Yu lived in the Qing Yao Mountain in the south of the Yellow River near its big bend near today’s Tongguan. These records hint us that the Yu People, who were ancestors of the Great Yu, moved from the northern Tibetan Plateau to the middle reach of the Yellow River. The Great Yu’s time, about 4,500 years BP, was much later than King Shun’s time, about 16,000-14,000 years BP. Clearly, helping the Great Yu to harnesses the flood and accepting King Shun’s fiefs could not happened at the same time, therefore the story of Qi(1) was false. Meanwhile archaeologists have not discovered any archaeological findings to prove the existence of Qi(1).

The story of Qi(1), Di Ku marrying with Jian Di, bore 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. It is believed that the Shang was inspired by the story of Di Jun marrying with Xi He and fabricated the story of Qi(1) being the son of Di Jun and Jian Di to unite other Di Jun People to fight with the Shang against the Xia, who were offspring of the Di Jun, and make a united nation.

Shangqiu was near the four lakes of Nanyang, Dushan, Zhaoyang and Weishan, where the Ri (sun) People lived. The former Xia People would accept the Shang due to many of the Shang People accepting exogamy with the Di Jun People and bearing some resemblances to both the Di Jun and Shao Hao People in general appearance.

After the Shang was established, they regarded those people, who lived in the east of the Shang territory and did not surrender to the Shang, including the Shao Hao People and some people who came from exogamy between the Di Jun and Shao Hao People, as an important hostile minority and re-named them with “Yi” or “Dong Yi” People.

The Shang Dynasty was built in the inhabitation areas of Longshan Dong Yi Culture (about 3200-1900BCE); thus, Dong Yi Culture was the root of the Shang’s culture.

Dong-Yi Culture was the Root of the Zhou’s Culture.

The Zhou Dynasty (about1046BCE, or 1100BCE-256BCE) was founded by Ji Chang (1152-1056BCE and ruling about 1099-1056BCE), followed the Shang Dynasty (about 1600-1046BCE) and preceded the Qin Dynasty (221-206BCE).

Ancestors of the Zhou Dynasty were the Zhou People. The earliest record of the Zhou People was in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West, “In the west of the Qinghai Lake and east of the Chishui River, there were the Chang Jing People, the Xi Zhou People with the surname of Ji, who ate millet, Shu Shi People (offspring of Zhuan Xu) and Shu Jun People (offspring of Di Jun).” “In the west of the Qinghai Lake and west of the Chishui River, there were the Xian Min People and Bei (north) Di People (offspring of Huang Di).” “In the north of the Tibetan Plateau and south of the Taklamakan Desert, there lived the Bei (north) Qi People,” recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: North. They all lived as neighbors. Due to Shanhaijing did not clearly identify the Xi (west) Zhou People were offspring of Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Huang Di; clearly the Xi Zhou, also called Ji People, was an independent, small group of people.

The Records of the Grand Historian: Zhou Benji record, “Gugong Danfu and his wife had three sons: Tai Bo, Yu Zhong and Ji Li. Ji Li and his wife Tai Ren were the parents of Ji Chang (1152-1056BCE), the first emperor of the Zhou Dynasty.” Shijing: Mian records that Gugong Danfu, grandfather of Ji Chang, brought the Ji (or Xi Zhou) People to the Zhou Plain, south of the Qishan Mountain, west of today’s Guanzhong Plain, or Weihe Plain, in Shaanxi Province. The Ji People then called themselves Zhou People - people living on the Zhou Plain. According to records, the Xi Rong and Bei Di Peoples, often attacked and looted the Ji People. The Ji People, escaping these predations, moved to the Zhou Plain, where they developed agriculture. The Gugong Danfu’s time was during about 1250-1150BCE. The Bei (north) Di, also called Di People, and the Xi (west) Rong, also called Rong People, were the Huang Di’s offspring, living nomadic lifestyle.

Guoyu: Zhouyu records, Taikang of the Xia Dynasty “repealed the official of Hou Ji (a high official of agriculture), Buku, the Zhou’s ancestor, lost his position and lived among the (Bei) Di and (Xi) Rong Peoples.” The Records of the Grand Historian: Zhoubenji: Zhengyi says, “Buku was located in today’s Qingyang of Gansu Province.”

The early historical records have given us the clear migration route of the Zhou People, first lived in the west of the Qinghai Lake and east of the Taklamakan Desert, later possibly moved to Qingyang of Gansu; much later, during about 1250-1150BCE, the time of Gugong Danfu, moved to the Zhou Plain, where they turned from nomadic to agricultural lifestyles. Clearly, the Zhou People were not contributors to Laoguantai (about 6000-5000BCE), Qin’an Dadiwan First (about 6200-3000BCE), Cishan-peiligang (about 6200-4600BCE) and Yangshao (about 5000-3000BCE) cultures. (See attached pictures)

The Shang’s emperor, Wen Ding (ruling about 1112-1101BCE), made Gugong Danfu’s son, Ji Li, the leader of Shang’s dukes of the western region, called “Mushi,” whose mission was fighting with the Di and Rong People. With the help from the Shang central government, Ji Li conquered many groups of the Di and Rong and became a very powerful duke. However, soon, the Shang’s emperor killed Ji Li after being informed that Ji Li plotted rebellion. Later, the Shang ordered a group of the Shao Hao’s offspring (ancestors of the Qin Dynasty), who surrendered to the Shang, to move from the Shandong Peninsula to the Weihe River Valley to resist the Zhou, Di and Rong People.

During the time of Shang emperor Di (King) Yi (ruling about 1101-1076BCE), Ji Chang, Ji Li’s son, was very diligent at government matters and eagerly seeking talents. Meanwhile, Ji Chang conquered many small dukes and tribes, the Zhou’s power grew stronger. In about 1099BCE, Ji Chang claimed to be the first emperor of the Zhou Dynasty.

During the time of Shang Emperor Di (King) Xin (1105-1045BCE), the Shang and State of Lai (?-567BCE), a Shao Hao nation in the Shandong Peninsula, fought a series of wars for territory and caused destruction to both sides. Ji Chang’s son, Ji Fa (1057-1027BCE), who had intensified intelligence gathering in the Shang, learned that most of the Shang’s troops went to the east to fight with the Lai, leaving only a little troop in the capital. Ji Fa united some dukes and tribes from the Di, Rong and Di Qiang, took the chance to swoop in the Shang’s territory. The war broke in 1046BCE in Muye, today’s Xinxiang of Henan. The Shang lost the war and was destroyed; Emperor Di (King) Xin committed suicide. The Qin’s ancestors became slaves of the Zhou People after this war.

The (Bei) Di, (Xi) Rong and (Di) Qiang were nomadic peoples and strong warriors. They had coveted the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River for a long time. After the Zhou eliminated the Shang, many of the Qiang, Di and Rong peoples moved to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, where they turned from nomadic to agricultural lifestyles.

Shijing: Lusong records that Ji Chang, offspring of Qi(2), was a great King who ruled lands to the south of the Qishan Mountain and fought a battle against the Shang Dynasty. The Zhou emperors claimed that Qi(2) was their ancestor. Qi(2)’s father was Di Ku (Di Jun) and mother was Jiang Yuan, who came from a group of Qiang (or Di Qiang) People with the surname of Jiang. A common belief holds that Jiang in ancient China was sometimes read as Qiang and so this Jiang should be read as Qiang. The Qiang People came from the Hu Ren (also called Di Ren) People, who lived in the west of the Taklamakan Desert and were offspring of the Yan Di.

The Zhou claimed that King Yao nominated a man, named Qi(2), to be his “Nong Shi,” a high official of agriculture, later King Shun nominated Qi(2) to be his “Hou Ji,” a high official of agriculture, and gave him the fiefs of Tai. Qian Mu thought in his article The Geographical Notes of the Early Zhou, published in Yenching Journal of Chinese Studies, No.10 in the 1930s, Tai was located in today’s Wenxi and Jishan of Shanxi Province. Zhu Shao-hou and Liu Ze-hua believed in their book Ancient Chinese History, Tai is today’s Wugong of Shaanxi Province.

Guoyu: Zhouyu records, “When the Zhou Emperor held the Ji Tian (heaven worship) ceremony, the officials were arranged according to importance - Nong Shi (first), Nong Zheng (second), Hou Ji (third), Si Kong (fourth), Si Tu (fifth), Tai Bao (sixth), Tai Shi (seventh), Tai Shi (eighth), Zong Bo (ninth).” The Ji Tian ceremony included the ceremony of the emperor plowing personally and the agricultural sacrificial rite. Nong Shi, Hou Ji and Si Tu, ranked from high to low, were high officials of agriculture.

The official position of Hou Ji was for remembering of Hou Ji, Di Jun’s son and Shu Jun’s uncle recorded in Shanhaijing. The Hou Ji and Shu Jun in Shanhaijing were the earliest people that practicing cultivating grains. Hou Ji was the progenitor of agricultural civilization among the Di Jun People. This agricultural civilization formed part of Di Qiang Culture.

Di Jun, Shu Jun, King Yao and King Shun were all buried on the Yueshan Mountain and their groups lived in the west of the Qinghai Lake during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. When Hou Ji and Shu Jun started practicing cultivating grains, the Xi Zhou People lived in nomadic lifestyle in the west of the Qinghai Lake but did not have any connection with offspring of the Di Jun. The Xi Zhou People turned from nomadic to agricultural lifestyles since Gugong Danfu during about 1250-1150BCE. It is not possible that King Yao and Shun asked the Xi Zhou People to help them in agriculture and nominated Qi(2) to be their high officials of agriculture.

Many scholars believe that Buku was possibly Zhou’s real ancestor and lived a nomadic lifestyle in Qingyang of Gansu, while Qi(2) was only a figure from compilation, not a real person. Inspired by the Shang’s Qi(1) being the son of Di Jun and Jian Di, scholars of the Zhou fabricated stories of Qi(2) being the son of Di Ku (Di Jun) and Jiang Yuan. The Zhou tried to build a link between their ancestor with the Di Jun and specially fabricated that King Yao nominated Qi(2) to be his “Nong Shi” then King Shun nominated Qi(2) to be his “Hou Ji,” to evoke the association with Hou Ji (Di Jun’s son). The stories of Qi(1 and 2) (same pronunciation but different Chinese characters) were believed to be false.

The Zhou People came from a small and obscure tribe originated from the far west of China. It was very hard for Ji Chang to get support from other groups of people to fight with him against the much larger Shang Dynasty. However, Ji Chang and his son Ji Fa were clever politicians, they falsified some stories about the most powerful five ancient groups and claimed that Zhuan Xu, Di Jun, Yan Di and Shao Hao were all Huang Di’s offspring. These stories were written by the Zhou’s scholars in The Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas. Huang Di, the ancestor of several small groups of people, who used to live in the west of the Qinghai Lake and later lived in the north of the Chishui River, became known as the common ancestor of all groups in China.

First located in the Shandong Peninsula, Longshan Dong Yi Culture (about 3200-1900BCE) had spread out to the inhabitation areas of Cishan-peiligang (about 6200-4600BCE) and Yangshao (about 5000-3000BCE) Di Qiang cultures, including the Weihe River Valley, and turned these regions into outposts of Dong Yi Culture. The Zhou People moved 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 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. Originally known as Officers of Zhou, or Zhou Guan, the text was written by Zhou Gong-dan (about 1100BCE ago) to record ceremonial rites, etiquette and regulations in the official and political system of the Zhou Dynasty. Zhou Gong-dan made The Rites of Zhou by renovating the rites of Xia and Shang. Confucius venerated Zhou Gong-dan as a pioneer of Confucianism. 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.

Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasties in Chinese history, the actual political and military control by the dynasty, surnamed Ji, lasted only until 771BCE, a period known as the Western Zhou. The Zhou destroyed all Shao Hao nations in the western Shandong Peninsula, but never controlled the east area of the Jiaolai River. The Eastern Zhou (771-256BCE) was characterized by an accelerating collapse of royal authority, although the king’s ritual importance allowed over five more centuries of rule. The Confucian chronicle of the early years of this process led to its title of the “Spring and Autumn” period. The partition of Jin in the mid-fifth century BCE initiated a second phase, the “Warring States.” In 403BCE, the Zhou court recognized Han, Zhao and Wei as fully independent states; in 344BCE, the first - Duke Hui of Wei - claimed the royal title of king for himself. A series of states rose to prominence before each falling in turn, but Zhou was a minor player in these conflicts.

The last Zhou king is traditionally taken to be Nan, who was killed when the Qin captured the capital Chengzhou in 256BCE. A “King Hui” was declared, but his splinter state was fully removed by 249BCE. The Qin’s unification of China concluded in 221BCE with Qinshihuang’s annexation of Qi.

Dong Yi Culture was the Root of the Qin Dynasty.

The Shang’s emperor ordered a group of the Shao Hao people, who were ancestors of the Qin Dynasty, to move from the Shandong Peninsula to the Weihe River Valley to resist the Zhou, Di and Rong People. In 1046BCE, the war between the Zhou and Shang destroyed the Shang, the Qin’s ancestors became slaves of the Zhou People. About 200-hundred years later, Qin Feizi (?-858BCE), son of the leader of the Qin People, became famous in breeding horses, the Zhou Emperor Xiao (897-886BCE) ordered Qin Feizi to feed horses in the Wei River and Yan River valleys, gave him a 25-kilometer fief of Qinyi (near today’s Tianshui of Gansu), granted him a surname of Ying and gave him the title of “Fuyong,” but not a duke or an aristocrat. The Qin People developed both agriculture and animal husbandry, accept exogamy with the Rong and Di People and became stronger.

In 771BCE, the princes of the Zhou contended for the throne, the Zhou Emperor You (795-771BCE) was killed, his son Emperor Ping (?-718BCE) escaped from Gaojing (Xi’an) to Luoyi (Luoyang); historians named it “Eastern Zhou.” Qin Xianggong (?-766BCE), the leader of the Qin People, was meritorious in protecting Emperor Ping, who then made Xianggong the duke of Qinyi. The later dukes of the Qin worked very hard to make the Qin became a very powerful state.

In 221BCE, Qinshihuang (259-210BCE) swallowed up all other states and built the first centralization of authority in China. Since the Qin Dynasty (221-206BCE) unified China, Qin set up several Juns (vassal states) in the Shandong Peninsula.

Dong-Yi Culture was the root of the Qin, whose ancestors were offspring of the Shao Hao People and moved from the Shandong Peninsula to the Weihe River Valley.

Dong Yi Culture was the Root of Han Culture.

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 770BCE to 221BCE. The Records of the Grand Historian: Taishigong Zixu lists six (1-6) major philosophies within The Hundred Schools of Thought. The Hanshu: Yiwenzhi adds four more (7-10) into the Ten Schools. There were mainly thirteen schools. 1. Confucianism 2. Legalism 3. Taoism 4. Mohism 5. School of Yin-yang 6. Logicians or Names 7. Diplomacy or Vertical and Horizontal (Alliances) 8. Miscellaneous School 9. School of “Minor-talks” 10. Agriculturalism 11. School of Fangji 12. School of the Military 13. Yangism

It could be said that the Shandong Peninsula was the birthplace of The Hundred Schools of Thought. 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.

The founders of Confucianism, Kong Qiu (Confucius) and Meng Ke (Mencius), were from the State of Lu. So was the founder of Mohism, Mo Di (Micius) and the founder of the Miscellaneous School, Shi Jiao.

The founder of Legalism, Guan Zhong, was from the State of Qi, as was Zou Yan, the founder of the School of Yin-yang. Also, the founders of the School of the Military, Sun Wu (Sunzi) and Sun Bin (offspring of Sun Wu), were from the State of Qi.

The State of Song was the homeland of the founder of Taoism, Zhuang Zhou (Zhaungzi) and also the founder of Logicians or the School of Names, Hui Shi.

The founder of the School of Diplomacy or School of Vertical and Horizontal (Alliances), Gui Gu Zi, was from the State of Wei (today’s Qixian of Henan Province), where is near the Shandong Peninsula.

The State of Lu, Song, Zhu and Wei were all near Tengzhou of Shandong Province, the residential areas of the remaining Lai People after 567BCE. The State of Zhu existed in present-day Zoucheng County and Tengzhou, had been an affiliate state of Lu, and later was annexed by the state of Chu during the reign of King Xuan of Chu, about 369-340BCE.

Confucius (551-479BCE), who bore some physical features that might resemble those of Caucasians, was an offspring of the Shang emperors and believed to have genes from the Shao Hao People.

Li Er, or Laozi, was born in Ku County of the State of Chu, today’s Luyi County of Henan Province, about 210 kilometers to Tengzhou. Some historians, including Sima Qian, argued that another name of Li Er was Lao Laizi, the meaning of his name was an old teacher that named Lai or from Lai. Literally, Lao means old. Zi is the honorific title to teacher, moral integrity or a man of learning. By coincidence, the Chinese Character Lai of Lao Laizi is same with the State of Lai, the last Shao Hao nation. Is it just the coincidence? or it hints that Li Er was an old teacher who was an offspring of the old Shao Hao nation of Lai.

After the Qin, Liu Bang (256-195BCE), who had clear Caucasoid racial characteristics and therefore was believed to be an offspring of the Shao Hao People, established the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE).

During the reigns of Emperor Wen (202-157BCE) and Jing (188-141BCE) in the Han Dynasty, the Empress Dou Yi-fang (wife of Emperor Wen, mother of Emperor Jing) enjoyed the books of Laozi (who wrote Dao De Jing) and Zhuangzi. Thus, these writings strongly influenced state policies. 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. The Hundred Schools of Thought formed the root of Han Culture.

Han Culture emphasized Confucius, but never banned other ancient philosophers. Han Culture respected Confucius and all ancient philosophers as great teachers and thinkers. However, the Han Dynasty never created its own religions.

Taoism appeared as a religion only during the downfall of the Han Dynasty, a time of great national disunity. During the Wei (220-266CE) and Jin (265-420CE) dynasties, Taoism developed as a religion after absorbing the basic thoughts of Dao De Jing and taking in some ideas from the School of Naturalists (Yin Yang School), the School of Fairy, the School of Five Elements, the School of Arts of such professions as necromancy and the School of Horoscopy (Magic Arts or Fortune Telling). Dao De Jing, authored by Laozi, was not a religious book. After Taoism became a religion, Taoists regarded Dao De Jing as a repository of their important theories and Laozi as one of their Heaven Morals (Heaven Gods).

Dong Yi Culture and its successor, the Hundred Schools of Thought, were the roots of Han Culture. The Han Dynasty was an age of economic prosperity, spanning over four centuries, widely considered the golden age of Chinese history. To this day, China’s ethnic majority refers to itself as the “Han People,” or “Han Nationality.” Han Culture 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. Han Culture became deeply rooted in the Han Nationality’s minds and all aspects of life.

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 Zhuan Xu, Di Jun, Huang Di, Yan Di and Shao Hao. They used to live 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. The Shao Hao People moved along the Weihe River Valley to the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Shandong Peninsula. Later they also moved along the coastlines from the Shandong Peninsula to other places.

The Shao Hao People moved to the Shandong Peninsula during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. They developed the most advanced Dong-Yi Culture first in the Shandong Peninsula, later spread to the Yellow River and Chang-jiang 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 Chang-jiang 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 Shao Hao People and Zhuan Xu People had been forced to move by environmental disasters. Many wars occurred as they encroached on the lands of other groups of people. Exogamy between the Di Jun People and Chang Xi or Xi He women also occurred as the Shao Hao People sought new places to live.

Hua Xia was the name of China before the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE). It is very logical that the name of “Hua Xia” came from the nations of Hua and Xia. 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, and archaeological discoveries have proved that the earliest nations in China were built by the Shao Hao 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.

The Zhou Dynasty came from a small tribe in the far northwest of China. In order to unite all groups of ancient people to fight with them against the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou added a new section to Shanhaijing - The Five Classic of Regions within the Seas, which contained new stories of Huang Di and Yan Di, not found in the previous four books of Shanhaijing. The Zhou Dynasty promoted Huang Di and Yan Di to be the common ancestors of all Chinese Neolithic People and claimed Di Jun, Zhuan Xu and Shao Hao to be their descendants.

Longshan Dong-Yi Culture (about 3200-1900BCE) had spread out to the inhabitation areas of early Cishan-peiligang (about 6200BCE-4600BCE) and Yangshao Di-Qiang (about 5000BCE-3000BCE) cultures and turned these regions into outposts of Dong-Yi Culture, when the Xia Dynasty was built in these regions. It is clear that Dong-Yi Culture was the leading culture of the Xia Dynasty. The Shang Dynasty was built in the inhabitation areas of Longshan Dong-Yi Culture (about 3200-1900BCE); thus, Dong-Yi Culture was the root of the Shang’s culture. The Rites of Zhou inherited and carried forward cultures of the Xia and Shang Dynasty, thus we can say Dong-Yi Culture was the root of the Zhou’s Culture. Ancestors of the Qin Dynasty (221-207BCE), the first centralization of authority in China, were offspring of the Shao Hao People, therefore, Dong-Yi Culture was the root of the Qin Culture.

Dong-Yi Culture was 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. Thus we could conclude that the Shao Hao People, the builders of Dong-Yi Culture, took the leading role in building ancient Chinese civilization.

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.

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