Soleilmavis presented this paper at E-Leader Conference held by CASA (Chinese American Scholars Association) and Kogakuin University, 1-24-2, Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo in Jan 2019.
From (Part I) The Nü He People were the Funders of the Earliest Neolithic Chinese Astronomy, Calendar, Maritime Culture and “He” Culture. https://peacepink.ning.com/profiles/blogs/part1nvhe
Abstract:
Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas) records many ancient groups of people in Neolithic China. The five biggest were: Zhuan Xu, Di Jun, Huang Di, Yan Di and Shao Hao. These were not only the names of groups of people, but also the names of individuals, who were regarded by many groups as common male ancestors. These groups used to live in the Pamirs Plateau, later spread to other places of China and built their unique ancient cultures during the Neolithic Age. The Shao Hao’s offspring spread out from the west of the Qinghai Lake to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Shandong Peninsula. Modern archaeological discoveries have revealed the authenticity of Shanhaijing’s records. Shanhaijing’s records and archaeological discoveries reveal that the Nü He People, one group of the Shao Hao People, was called Mother of Yue (moon), lived in the eastern Shandong Peninsula, held the most advanced science and technologies and built unique Jiaodong coastal and maritime cultures during the Neolithic Age. It is believed that the Nü He People were the funders of the earliest Neolithic Chinese astronomy, Calendar and Maritime Culture. The Nü He People were also the root of Chinese “He” Culture, which is the quintessence of Chinese Han Culture.
The Nü He People
Archaeological findings reveal that Neolithic Chinese people had reached the Shandong Peninsula during about 16,000-14,000 years BP, when the world’s sea level was about 120 meters lower than today. The Shao Hao People, who moved to today’s Shandong Peninsula, branched out to many groups, living a nomadic lifestyle from about 16,000 years BP to around 11,000 years BP, when many China Neolithic archaeological sites have found evidence of cultivated millet. 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 in today’s Jiaodong (also called eastern Shandong) Peninsula, and from where spread out along the coastlines to the south and north, having deep influences to the Liaodong Peninsula, Korea Peninsula and Japanese archipelago.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: East records, “The Nü He People were called Mother of Yue. Someone was named Yuan, living in the East End of the Earth and controlling the sun and the moon to make them rise in order.” The literal meaning of the Chinese character “Yue” is moon. The literal meaning of the Chinese character “Yuan” was a kind of phoenix. Literally, “Nü” means female and “Nü He” means the He People having female as leader. This record tells that the Nü He People were mothers of the Yue (moon) People, lived near the East End of the Earth and worshipped the Yuan (phoenix), which could control the sun and the moon. Ancient Chinese also called the Yuan, red phoenix or fire phoenix.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West records that the Chang Xi women found the Di Jun men to be their husbands and gave birth to twelve groups of the Yue (moon) People, who lived in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau, where also lived the Zhuan Xu’s offspring, Chong and Li. The literal meaning of the Chinese character “Chang” is invariable.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South goes the Xi He People lived in the upper reach of the Ganshui River. Some women from the Xi He, moved to the lower reach of the Ganshui River, found the Di Jun men to be their husbands and gave birth to ten groups of the Ri (sun) People, who lived near the Ganyuan Lake. The Xi He were mothers of the Ri (sun) People. The Classic of the Great Wilderness: East also records, “The Shao Hao People lived in the Gan Mountains, where the Ganshui River came from.” Modern scholars commonly agree that the Gan Mountain was located in today’s Taishan and Yimeng Shan Mountains. The Ganshui River came from these mountains and went to the Ganyuan Lake, almost certainly today’s four lakes of Nanyang, Dushan, Zhaoyang and Weishan.
Both the Nü He and Chang Xi People were mothers of the Yue (moon) People, suggesting the Chang Xi People came from the Nü He People. The Nü He’s and Xi He’s locations in today’s Shandong Peninsula suggest they were the Shao Hao’s offspring. Both Chang Xi and Xi He had the same word “Xi” in their names and both Xi He and Nü He had the same word “He” in their names, suggesting the Nü He, Chang Xi and Xi He shared the same origin and both the Chang Xi and Xi He came from the Nü He.
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.
It is believed that the famous stories of “Hou Yi shooting the suns” and “Chang E 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. Literally, “E” means lady; “Hou” means sovereign of a group of people and most of the sovereigns were females during the matriarchal clan society. Much later “Hou” was specially used to name the male sovereign’s wife.
Gui Zang: Gui Mei records, “In the past, Heng E (another name of Chang E) stole the secret prescription, which could keep her alive forever, from the Western Queen Mother. She followed the prescription and went to the moon. She went to Diviner You Huang for divination before departure. You Huang said, ‘A lucky divinatory symbol. It is a cushy Gui Mei divinatory (which indicates you are going to get married in a subordinate position). You will go to the west alone. If there will be darkness, don’t be afraid and the future will be prosperous.’ Heng E then dwelled and became the Yue (moon), it was like chanzhu (a toad, also called Xiamo).” Gui Mei is a divinatory that forebodes matrimony, normally means marrying with a man in the status of concubine or the subordinate position. Here, when Diviner You Huang was divining, the divinatory of Gui Mei appeared, indicating Chang E was going to get married in a subordinate position.
Gui Zang:Lü Yue records, “In the past, Yi shot in the islets of the water. Yi was a good shooter; Yi shot the ten suns.” Shanhaijing records the story of the Xi He women moving to the lower reach of the Ganshui River, marring with the Di Jun men and giving birth to ten groups of the Ri (sun) People. We can grasp some historical truths from these records and Gui Zang: Lü Yue.
Archaeological discoveries reveal that the Nü He People, who had suffered a lot due to the sea level rising, moved to the elevated grounds and mountain areas, such as Baishi site of Yantai, whose altitude is 23 meters today. However, the Nü He still 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 Queen 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 four lakes of Nanyang, Dushan, Zhaoyang and Weishan. Other Xi He women, who still married with the Shao Hao men, remained in the upper reach of the Ganshui River. Through this way, the Nü He People expanded the scope of their territories.
Much later, the sovereign Yi, an offspring of the Ri (sun) People, and his people, who were good shooters, often shot in the islets of the four lakes. When Yi saw that there were ten Ri (sun) tribes, which were in chaos, he abolished all other nine Ri (sun) tribes, united them and became one group.
The story of Gui Mei bears uncanny resemblance to Shanhaijing’s record of the Chang Xi women moving to the west, finding the Di Jun men to be their husbands and giving birth to twelve groups of the Yue (moon) People, who lived in the western Kunlun Mountains.
We must pay attention to three important facts of the divinatory Gui Mei - Chang E went to the “WEST,” “going to get married in a subordinate position,” and “the Western Queen Mother.” We know that the moon rises from the east. If Chang E flied to the moon in the sky, why did not she fly to the east, instead of west? Clearly, the moon in this story refers to the Moon (Yue) People instead of the moon in the sky. Chang E refers to the Chang Xi women.
Gui Mei says, “Heng E (another name of Chang E) stole the secret prescription, which could keep her alive forever, from the Western Queen Mother.” What was the secret prescription? The Western Queen Mother, recorded in Shanhaijing, had female as leader and lived in Mount Yu in the western Pamirs Plateau. Living a good life in the Pamirs Plateau, the highest place of China, and keeping the tradition of having female as leader while most groups of people had entered patriarchal clan society were the secret prescriptions, which would let the Chang Xi (Chang E) People live forever and keep their tradition of having female as leader.
The Nü He Queen ordered Chang Xi (a female leader) to find out the secret and lead some people, re-named them “Chang Xi People,” to move to the “west.” Before departure, they asked divination from Diviner You Huang, who said, “It is a cushy Gui Mei divinatory, which indicates that you are going to get married with men who are not subordinate to you. You will go to the west alone.” 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. The divinatory of Gui Mei means the Chang Xi women, who moved to the west and married with the Di Jun men, lost the absolute superiority of being a dominating group in the eastern Shandong Peninsula and were in subordinate position living among the Di Jun and Zhuan Xu Peoples. 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 the Yue (moon) People, they “became like Chanzhu (or Xiamo) toad.”
According to Wang Jing-gong Zishuo, or Wang Jing-gong Word Interpretation, author Wang An-shi (1021-1086), a Prime Minister of the North Song Dynasty (960-1127), “As the saying goes, Xiamo (Chanzhu toad) is homesick, once it is taken far away, it will return home within one night. Even it is taken to a foreign land, it often miss home and will return home. People therefore call it Xiamo.” In the Gui Mei divinatory, the Chang Xi People dwelled in the western Kunlun Mountains and became the Yue (moon) People, but they deeply missed their hometown of the Shandong Peninsula, becoming like Chanzhu toad. This hints that 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.
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 literal meaning of the Chinese character “Xi,” recorded in Shuowen Jiezi, is qi (gas), which has no definite shape and volume, and spread freely. Chinese legend tells that Chang E (another name Chang Xi) flied to the moon and became the Goddess of the moon. This rooted in Shanhaijing’s records of the Chang Xi being mothers of the Yue (moon) People. Ancient Chinese people used “Xi” to name Mother of the Sun, or Goddess of the sun, or simply called the Sun with “Xi.” This rooted in Shanhaijing’s records of the Xi He being mothers of the Ri (sun) People.
Ancient Chinese people also used “Xi” to name “Fuxi,” a Chinese legendary King, who could not be proved by archaeology, but was described as the first King of ancient China in many historical chronicles, such as Gangjianyizhilu, written during 1705-1711 by Wu Bing-quan. Gao You in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220CE) said, “Nüwa, Goddess, helped Fuxi to govern people.” There is another explanation of Gao You’s words today - “Nüwa, Goddess, with the help of Fuxi, governed mankind.”
The Xi He and Chang Xi People were believed the source of the name and legend of “Fuxi,” also called Tai Hao. The Xi He’s and Chang Xi’s offspring, who entered the patriarchal clan society much later than other groups of people, fabricated a legendary King “Fuxi” to be their common male ancestor. According to the legend, Fuxi’s mother lived in Huaxu, today’s Lantian of Shaanxi and gave birth to Fuxi in Chengji, today’s Chengan of Gansu. Fuxi built his capital in Chen, today’s Huaiyang of Henan. Clearly, the moving route of Fuxi’s group was from the upper to the middle then lower reaches of the Yellow River, matching the moving route of the Shao Hao’s offspring.
Both Shao Hao and Tai Hao (Fuxi) had the same word “Hao” in their names, suggesting they shared the same origin. Literally, “Tai” means identity of the highest or seniority in the higher; “Hao” means the expansive and limitless sky; “Shao” means subordinated, indicating that the Shao Hao People, whose name means the subordinate of Heaven, were real historical figures. Human beings cannot be the highest in the sky or higher than the sky. The name of “Tai Hao,” which means the highest in the sky (or heaven), is the extravagant praise of Fuxi’s position, when those people fabricated Fuxi being their ancestor and wanted to make him the supremacy, higher than Shao Hao. Thus, Tai Hao (Fuxi) was a fabricated figure. There was a folk version saying that Fuxi was Nüwa’s husband.
Many people agree that the Kushan Empire (55-425CE) was established by Da (big) Yue (moon) Zhi (familyname), a Chinese ancient minority, who used to live in the northwestern China and during about 177BCE to 129BCE migrated westward to Central Asia. The Da Yue Zhi People were almost certainly offspring of the Yue (moon) People. (Another pronunciation of Dayuezhi is Da Rou Zhi.)
The Nü He People were the Inventors of Neolithic Chinese Astronomy and Calendar.
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.
Chinese legends tell that “Xi” and “He” were officials who mastered astronomy & calendar. Shanhaijing’s story of the Yuan (red phoenix) controlling the sun and the moon and letting them rise in order, coincides with the Nü He, who worshipped the Yuan, controlling the Ri (sun) People and the Yue (moon) People. These stories tell that the Nü He had known that the rising of the sun and the moon was at a regular, suggesting that the Nü He People had knowledges of astronomy. Therefore, we can say that the Nü He, Xi He and Chang Xi People were the earliest astronomers, who mastered the most advanced sciences and technologies during the Neolithic Age.
The Nü He People Took the Vital Role in Developing Dong Yi Culture and Spreading it to the Di Jun and Other Peoples.
Shanhaijing’s records and archaeological discoveries reveal that the Shao Hao People, including the Nü He People, mastered the advanced technologies and developed the most advanced Neolithic Dong Yi Culture in the Shandong Peninsula. Dawenkou Dong Yi Culture spread out to the lower reach of the Changjiang River and even the southeastern China. In the Yellow River Valley, Dong Yi Culture had greatly impacted Di Qiang Culture since the earliest time. Longshan Dong Yi Culture spread out to the inhabitation areas of Cishan-peiligang and Yangshao Di Qiang cultures and turned these regions into outposts of Dong Yi Culture. Therefore, 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.
Archaeologists regard Houli Culture (about 6400-5700BCE), whose typical site is Houli of Linzi, as the earliest phase of Dong Yi Culture, and Beixin Culture (about 5300-4100BCE), whose typical site is Beixin of Tengzhou, as Houli’s successor.
Shanhaijing records that the Shao Hao People lived in Gan Mountain, today’s Taishan Mountains; meanwhile, Sima Qian (145-87BCE) told that the Lai People, a big group of the Shao Hao People, lived near the Wei and Zi River valleys, where archaeologists discover the Houli site in Linzi in the northeastern Taishan Mountains. The original inhabitation areas of Houli Culture were at Houli of Linzi, Zouping and Zhangqiu areas, matching the Shao Hao People’s (or named Lai People by Sima Qian) inhabitation areas. Houli Culture spread out around the northern and northeastern Taishan Mountains, also to Changqing in the northwest of Tai’an and Hanting of Weifang.
Shanhaijing also goes the Xi He People, one group of the Nü He People, lived in the southwestern Taishan and Yimengshan Mountains, where archaeologists discover the Beixin site in Tengzhou. The original inhabitation areas of Beixin Culture were at Tengzhou, Qufu, Yanzhou and Wenshang areas, matching the Xi He People’s inhabitation areas. Beixin Culture spread out to the north of the Taishan mountains, turned the inhabitation areas of Houli Culture into outposts of Beixin Culture, also spread out to the south to Lanlin, Linshu, Juxian, Lianyungang and Tanxi County of Anhui.
While most archaeologists and scientists regard Chinese Neolithic culture in the Shandong Peninsula and Eastern China as a big system called Dong Yi Culture, Dong Yi Culture in the eastern and western Shandong had major differences from each other and scholars thought the Neolithic culture in the eastern Shandong had its own special features and became an independent system based on its own resources. Dong Yi Culture began in the eastern Shandong as early as the western Shandong Peninsula.
Archaeologists agree Beixin Culture, an inland culture, and Baishi Culture (about 7,000 years BP), a coastal culture, whose typical site is Baishi of Yantai, were in the same period, had some similarities, but also had major differences. The differences tells that Baishi Culture had its own resources - the earliest coastal and maritime cultures along the coastline in the Jiaodong Peninsula, which had been drowned by sea water during the sea level rising. Shanhaijing’s records and Chinese legends reveal that the Xi He, Ri (sun), Chang Xi and Yue (moon) People regarded the Nü He People, who lived in the Jiaodong Peninsula, as their mother group, kept close connections with the Nü He and were tributary groups of the Nü He. Therefore, Baishi Culture, developed by the Nü He People, and Beixin Culture, developed by the Xi He People, have some similarities.
We can grasp some historical truths from Shanhaijing’s records and archaeological discoveries. The Shao Hao (also named Lai) People first lived in the Wei and Zi River valleys in the west of the Jiaolai River, and were the founders of Houli Culture. However, during about 7,000-5,000 years BP, when the sea level was 2-5 meters higher than today and most areas of the Shandong Peninsula were under sea water, the Shao Hao People moved to the northern Taishan Moutains.
The Nü He People, who lived in the Jiaodong Peninsula, were the founders of Baishi Culture, 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 and the earliest Jiaodong’s coastal and maritime cultures, and developed the more advanced inland culture - Beixin Culture, 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 Dong Yi Culture spread out to the inhabitation areas of Cishan-peiligang and Yangshao Di Qiang cultures and turned these regions into outposts of Dong Yi Culture.
The Nü He People Built the Earliest Nations in the Jiaodong Peninsula.
Historical records reveal that there were many groups of the “Yi” People, who lived in the east and might belonged to the Shao Hao People, such as Huai-Yi, Lan-Yi and Lai-Yi. The Bamboo Annals records that there were two groups of people, named Huai-Yi and Lan-Yi, who lived in the south of today’s Shandong during the Xia Dynasty. The Records of the Grand Historian: Second Xia Benji state, “Lai-Yi grazed in the Zi River and Wei River valleys (during the Xia’s time); mulberry silk was full in their basket.”
The Shang oracle bones spoke of a hostile nation, written as Ren-fang or Shi-fang, which was not the Shang’s principality, located to the east of the Shang Dynasty. The literal meaning of “fang” was nation. The hostile nation of Shi also appears in the Zhou’s Lü Ding (a kind of bronze ware made for the sacrifice at the army), which was excavated in 1896 in Laiyang and now is collected by National Museum of China. The inscriptions say that during Emperor Kang (?-996BCE)’s time, Shaogong (Taibao Ji Shi, brother of Ji Fa) went to fight the hostile Shi (nation). The troops were marshaled in Zhou (today’s Zhouzhi of Shaanxi); Shaogong gave the troops ten clusters of Bei (money) and the troops made the Lü Ding.
Clearly, the Shi (or Ren) nation was a Shao Hao nation and lasted until the early Zhou Dynasty. The Shi was the Shang’s and early Zhou’s major enemy in the east, suggesting it was a big and advanced independent nation. There were no historical records about when the Shi (or Ren) nation was destroyed.
The Records of the Grand Historian: Qitaigong Shijia record, “At the early time of the Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Wu (Ji Fa), the second Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, made his Prime Minister Lü Shang (also called Jiang Zi-ya, or Jiang Tai-gong,) the duke of Qi in Yingqiu (today’s Linzi of Shandong Province)… The King of Lai fought with Lü Shang for Yingqiu … Because Zhou had just been established, they did not have the ability to make wars in the frontier regions. The Lai king fought with Lü Shang for the territory of Qi.” Wang Xian-tang believed that the Lai’s capital in the early Zhou Dynasty was located between today’s Linqu and Changle.
Another historical record reveal that the Lai Nation was a large and powerful nation. During the time of Shang Emperor Di (King) Xin (1105-1045BCE), the Lai Nation (?-567BCE) and Shang fought a series of wars for territory and caused destruction to both sides. Most of the Shang’s troops went to the east to fight with the Lai, leaving only a little troop in the capital, the Zhou’s troops, led by Ji Fa (1057-1027BCE), took the chance to swoop in the Shang’s territory, destroyed the unprepared Shang and Emperor Di Xin committed suicide.
During the Zhou Dynasty, the central regime tried to annihilate the Shao Hao nations in the Shandong Peninsula. Zuozhuan: Zhuanggong Fourth Year record the State of Qi cracked the city of the Ji Nation (in today’s Shouguang, east of Zibo and west of Weifang) and wiped out the main forces of Ji in 690BCE. Many bronze wares of Ji, discovered in Yantai and Laiyang, prove that the remaining people of the Ji Nation moved to the east of the Jiaolai River after the war. Historians agree that the Qianhe site in Laiyang was a big ancient city, built by the remaining Ji people.
Zuozhuan records, “Qi Jiang (Jiang was Qi King’s surname) died, Qi Hou (Hou means King) asked all Jiang’s Zong Fu (people who married with Qi Kings’ daughters) to attend the burial ceremony, but Lai Zi did not come.” This tells that the (Later) Lai King married with a daughter of the Qi King and the Lai King’s surname was Zi. Zi was also the surname of the Shang’s emperors.
The Chronicle of Zuo: the Sixth Year of Shanggong records, “In November (567BCE), Qi wiped out Lai. The Lai People were moved to Ni.” According to Kong Ying-da (574-648CE), a famous scholar of the Tang Dynasty who annotated The Chronicle of Zuo, “Ni was in the State of Zhu,” a minor state that existed in present-day Zoucheng County and Tengzhou of Shandong Province and had been an affiliate state of Lu. Zhu was later annexed by the state of Chu during the reign of King Xuan of Chu (about 369-340BCE). The State of Qi (1122-221BCE) destroyed the Later Lai completely, killing the Lai king and many Lai people, burning the Lai capital, temples and all historical records and forcing the remaining Lai people to move to Ni County. Some of the Later Lai People might have escaped to the east of the Jiaolai River and possibly brought with them some Later Lai’s bronze wares.
The historical records and archaeological discoveries reveal that during the Xia Dynasty, a Shao Hao nation, named “(Previous) Lai,” whose people were the Lai People (a big group of the Shao Hao People), was located in the Wei and Zi river vellays and surrounding areas in the north of the Taishan Mountains and west of the Jiaolai River. However there might be also other nations, including Xi He nations, who were located in the south of the Taishan Mountains. During the Shang, the Lai Nation was named “Shi” (but Sima Qian still named it Lai), located in the west of the Jiaolai River.
In the early Zhou Dynasty, the Lai Nation might have ruled an big area in the west of the Jiaolai River. However, due to many wars with the Zhou, the Lai Nation kept losing its territories and divided into two independent nations: Ji and (Later) Lai. Jia Xiao-kong says in his article Some Ji Bronze Wares are Discovered in Shouguang of Shandong, published in the 3rd edition of Cultural Relics 1985, “The Ji Nation was located in today’s Shouguang.” Clearly, the Ji Nation ruled an area in the north of the Taishan Mountains while the (Later) Lai Nation ruled in the south of the Taishan Mountains in the west of the Jiaolai River, until the Zhou destroyed both of them. Also, the emperors’ clans of the (Later) Lai and (Previous) Lai or Shi might not be the same.
In 555BCE, the allied forces of twelve states of the Zhou defeated the State of Qi utterly. Since then, the State of Qi was busy with the domestic disputes and wars with other states of the Zhou, and never launched any wars with the Shao Hao’s offspring in the east of the Jiaolai River, where was the inhabitation area of the Nü He People. Therefore, the Zhou had never controlled the Jiaolai Peninsula.
About 6,000 years BP, the sea level was two to five meters higher than today’s present sea level, the Jiaolai River Valley was a sea strait and the sea level dropped during 5,000 years BP, when the Jiaolai River became a water channel and the river valley was a large swamp. Today, the elevations of most areas around the Jiaolai River Valley are below ten meters, while Qingdao’s elevation is 0 meter. The Jiaolai River had been a natural barrier for the Jiaodong (Nü He) People during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.
Dong Yi Culture, which was developed by the Shao Hao (including the 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 began in the eastern Shandong as early as the western Shandong. Archaeologists have discovered some sites with an implied code of etiquette, including bronze wares and jade projects, in Longshan Culture (3200-1900BCE) in both of the eastern and western Shandong Peninsula, showing social stratification and formation of the nation, suggesting the earliest nations, whose founding times could trace back to the period of Longshan Culture, earlier than the Xia Dynasty.
Zhu Feng-han, a history professor of Beijing University, says that the Western Zhou’s bronze wares mainly appear in the archaeological sites, which were the capitals or cemeteries of the Zhou’s vassal states. Many archaeological sites in the Jiaodong Peninsula, such as Qianhe of Laiyang, Houjia of Laizhou, Guicheng of Longkou, Cunliji of Penglai, Beicheng of Changdao, Qucheng of Zhaoyuan, Bancheng of Muping, Yuli of Fushan, Changyang of Wendeng, Buye of Rongcheng, have discovered many bronze wares which were made during the late Shang (1600-1046BCE) to the Western Zhou (1046-771BCE), indicating the capitals or cemeteries of ancient nations, who were independent nations and lasted until the end of the Zhou Dynasty. The Shang and Zhou Dynasties had records of big hostile nations in the east of their territories but did not have any records of setting vassal states in the Jiaodong Peninsula. The Jiaodong independent nations were not set up by the Shang and Zhou, but set up by the Jiaodong People, offspring 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.
The original meaning of Hua is the Paulownia blooms flourishing. Shuowen Jiezi says, “Hua is Rong” and “Rong is Paulownia.” Paulownia is also named phoenix tree in China. The Paulownia had been regarded as sacred tree before the Qin Dynasty and it was said that the phoenixes perched only on Paulownia (Hua) trees, therefore, the Paulownia was named phoenix tree. From its original meaning of Paulownia blooms flourishing, the meanings of “Hua” extend to flowery, illustrious, grand and even the integrity of sovereign. Erya Shiyan says, “Hua is Huang and Huang is upright.” Erya Shigu says, “Huang is sovereign.” Hua also means magnificent costumes when it is used in the name of Hua Xia (recorded in Zuozhuan and Shangshu). 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. Today Chinese still call China “Hua Xia” or “Zhong (central) Hua.”
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, suggesting the Shang’s emperors regarded the Hua People, one group of the Nü He People in Jiaodong Peninsula, as their ancestors. He Jing-cheng, professor of Jilin University, thinks that Hua looks like a bright burning torch, which is tied up with reeds.
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 tell that the nations of Hua and Xia were built by different groups of people and the Hua People learned to farm earlier than the Xia People, suggesting the Hua People mastered more advanced science and technologies than the Xia.
The legends and archaeological discoveries suggest that the Hua Nation was founded earlier than the Xia Dynasty, matching the name of Hua Xia, which puts Hua in the front of Xia; the legends, which tell that the Hua People mastered more advanced science and technologies than the Xia People; and archaeological discoveries, which reveal that the earliest nations were founded by the Shao Hao (including Nü He) in the Shandong Peninsula. The famous Chinese legend of the phoenix perching only on Paulownia (Hua) tree derived from the Hua People worshipping phoenix, matching Shanhaijing’s records of the Nü He People worshipping fire phoenix and archaeological discoveries of the Shao Hao (including the Nü He) People worshipping bird totems.
Archaeologitsts have not yet found any written records of the Hua Nation due to the following reasons. First of all, due to the Shao Hao’s nations in the west of the Jiaolai River being hostile nations to the Shang and Zhou, the Nü He (including the Hua) Nations in the Jiaodong Peninsula were isolated from the world except having connections with the Shao Hao’s nations. The Shang and Zhou were difficult to have connections with the Hua Nation, therefore, there were no written records of the Hua in the Shang’s and Zhou’s historical records. Sencondly, the Xia Dynasty had no ancient writtings. However, during and before the Xia, the Shao Hao nations were not hostile nations of the Xia, the Nü He People in the Jiaodong Peninsula had the ability to have connections with the Xia People and other peoples all over the world.
Dong Yi Culture was the Root of the Xia Culture.
The Xia Dynasty (about 2070-1600BCE) was the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles, such as Bamboo Annals and Classic of History, both were written during the Zhou Dynasty, and Records of the Grand Historian (written during 109-91BCE). The dynasty was established by the Great Yu, an offspring of the Di Jun People, during about 4500 years BP. The Xia covered an area of northern Henan, southern Hebei, southern Shanxi and western Shaanxi provinces, along the Yellow River. Literally, “Xia” means a big land (nation) of ceremony and decorum. 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.
There are no historical records of the Xia 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 Xia Dynasty.
Chinese archaeologists agree that the Taoshi site (2450-1900BCE) in Xiangfen of Shanxi was the outpost of Longshan Culture. The site discovered in 1978 has sumptuous funerary objects, such as coloured painted dragon plate and jade Yue (broad-axe). The site has fortified city, functional partitioning in the city, large palace and obvious polarization between the rich and the poor, suggesting a early form of a nation.
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. Archaeologists have found carved marks on potteries but did not find ancient writtings. Archaeological remains of crops from Erlitou Culture consist about half of millet and one-third rice, potato and others.
Dong Yi Culture began in the Shandong Peninsula and later spread out to other places of China. The Shao Hao People, the founders of Dong Yi Culture, developed the earliest nations, earlier than the Xia, in the Shandong Peninsula. Therefore, the Xia Dynasty was not the first nation of China and archaeologists agree that many nations had been set up by different groups of Neolithic Chinese people during the Xia’s time.
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.
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. Qufu was located in the Xi He People’s territory. The Shang’s ancestors living in Qufu of Shandong 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, who were offspring of the Xi He People, regarded the Hua People as their ancestors, therefore, the Xi He People came from the Hua People. 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, who was one group of the Nü He People in the Jiaodong Peninsula.
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 fief of Shang, today’s Shangqiu of Henan.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South records King Shun bathed in the “Chong Yuan Lake” near the northwestern Tibetan Plateau, also King Yao, Di Ku (another name of Di Jun) and King Shun were buried in the Yueshan Mountain in the east of the Chishui River and west of the Qinghai Lake. During King Shun’s time, which was about 16,000 years BP, all groups Chinese People lived only in the west of the Qinghai Lake and had not yet spread out to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. King Shun was not able to give the fief of Shang.
The story of Di Ku marrying with Jian Di and giving birth to Qi(1) 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, who lived near the four lakes of Nanyang, Dushan, Zhaoyang and Weishan. 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. 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.
During Emperor Pangeng’s time, the people in the Shangqiu area, which was near the four lakes, were offspring of either the Di Jun or the Ri People. When Emperor Pangeng moved from Qufu to Shangqiu, he fabricated the stories of Qi(1) being a son of Di Jun and Jian Di and Shangqiu being Qi(1)’s fief given by King Shun and King Great Yu. Emperor Pangeng claimed that Qi(1)’s offspring had moved to other places and Qufu due to some reasons, but now they returned back to Shangqiu. These stories would let native people in Shangqiu believe that the Shangqiu area belonged to Pangeng’s ancestors.
The Shang emperors, offspring of the Xi He, regarded the Hua People as their ancestors, but also claimed they were offspring of the Di Jun People to make a united nation. Therefore the Shang was the first dynasty who united the Hua People (Nü He’s offspring) and the Xia People (Di Jun’s offspring) to be one big group - the Hua Xia People.
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 “Shi,” “Yi” or “Dong Yi” People.
The Shang Dynasty, offspring of the Xi He People, who were founders of the early phase of Dong Yi Culture - Beixin Culture (5300-4100BCE), was built in the inhabitation areas of Longshan Dong Yi Culture (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, Xi (west) Zhou People who had the surname of Ji and ate millet, Shu Shi People (offspring of Zhuan Xu) and Shu Jun People (offspring of Di Jun).” “In the west of the Chishui River, there were the Xian Min People and Bei (north) Di People (offspring of Huang Di).” The Classic of the Great Wilderness: North records, “In the north of the Tibetan Plateau and south of the Taklamakan Desert, there lived the Bei (north) Qi People.” Those peoples lived as neighbors in the west of Qinghai Lake. Due to Shanhaijing did not clearly identify the Xi 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 (west) Rong and Bei (north) Di Peoples, often attacked and looted the Ji People. The Bei Di, also called Di People, and the Xi Rong, also called Rong People, were the Huang Di’s offspring, living nomadic lifestyle. 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.
Guoyu: Zhouyu records, Tai Kang of the Xia Dynasty “repealed the official of Hou Ji (a high official of agriculture), Bu Ku, 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 say, “Bu Ku 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 Di Qiang Culture, including Laoguantai (about 6000-5000BCE) and Qin’an Dadiwan First (about 6200-3000BCE) in the Weihe Plain, and Cishan-peiligang (about 6200-4600BCE) and Yangshao (about 5000-3000BCE) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Valley.
The Shang’s emperor, Wen Ding (ruling about 1112-1101BCE), made Ji Li (son of Gugong Danfu) the leader of Shang’s dukes in 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 Shang’s peerage to lead his group, (who were the ancestors of the later Qin Dynasty), 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 in Qishan.
During the time of Shang Emperor Di (King) Xin (1105-1045BCE), the Shang and Shi Fang, or (previous) Lai Nation, a Shao Hao nation in the Shandong Peninsula, fought a series of wars for territory and caused destruction to both sides. Ji Fa (1057-1027BCE, Ji Chang’s son), who had intensified intelligence gathering in the Shang, learned that most of the Shang’s troops went to the east to fight with the Shi (or 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. During January 26 - February 28, 1046BCE, 45,000 allied forces, led by Ji Fa, moved quickly from Feng (today’s Xi’an) to Muye (today’s Xinxiang of Henan), where the war broke. The Blitzkrieg of Muye destroyed the unprepared Shang and Emperor Di Xin committed suicide. The Qin’s ancestors became slaves of the Zhou People after this war.
The (Bei) Di and (Xi) Rong, offspring of the Huang Di, and (Di) Qiang, offspring of the Yan Di, 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 People.
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 fief 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 was today’s Wugong of Shaanxi Province.
Guoyu: Zhouyu records, “When the Zhou Emperor held the Ji Tian (worshipping the heaven) 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 and Hou Ji was regarded as the progenitor of agricultural civilization, which formed part of Di Qiang Culture, among the Di Jun People.
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 Bu Ku was possibly the 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 the Zhuan Xu, Di Jun, Yan Di and Shao Hao were all the Huang Di’s offspring. These stories were written by the Zhou’s scholars in The Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas. Huang Di, who used to live in the west of the Qinghai Lake, later moved to the north of the Chishui River, and later was regarded as the ancestor by several small groups of people in the north, became known as the common ancestor of all groups in China.
When the Zhou Dynasty was established, the conquered land was divided into hereditary fiefs, pieces of land that eventually became powerful in their own right. Xunzi.Ruxiao (written by Xun Kuang, 313-238BCE) records that the Zhou set up 71 Kings and States and 53 of them had the surname of Ji, who were relatives of the emporers or from the Ji (Xi Zhou) People.
The main officers of the Zhou Dynasty were hereditary. In matters of inheritance, the Zhou recognized only patrilineal primogeniture as legal. Zhoushu.Emperor Wu records that the Zhou’s peerages had five-rank: Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi and Nan. Meanwhile, the Zhou built a detailed Ceremony and Ritual System to make it a well ordered state. The Zhou had four-level local administrations: Guo (capital of the state and fief), Dou (big city), Yi (small city) and Ye or Bi (the place outside a city). An area, which was about one hundred li, or fifty kilometers, away from a city, was called a suburb. The area within a suburb was named Xiang, or township; the area beyond a suburb was named Shui, or countryside. The Zhou had six Xiangs and six Shuis; a big fief state had three Xiangs and three Shuis. The people who lived in cities or Xiangs were called Guo Ren, or state people; the people who lived in Shuis were called Ye Ren, or common people. A settlement with 12,500 families was called Xiang; a settlement with 500 families was called Dang. People who lived in the same Dang were often of brotherhoods. Xiangs and Dangs were commune organizations outside cities.
The Zhou set up strict hierarchical system. 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. They bore more taxes and corvee or labor than the state people. The main source of slaves was from prisoners of wars; the main source of Ye Ren was from conquered lands. Most of the descendants of the Shao Hao and Di Jun peoples, who lived in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Changjiang River valleys, became the Zhou’s Ye Ren. At the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the discrimination of Guo Ren and Ye Ren began to fade and disappeared quickly in the Warring States Period (771-256BCE).
In some conquered large areas of the east, the Zhou did not destroy those existing commune organizations, but let those existing aristocrats owe allegiance to the Zhou Dynasty instead of replacing them. This policy enabled the Zhou had a few states, who were offspring of the Shao Hao and Di Jun Peoples, such as the State of Chu, Qin, Song and Qizi.
Mi Xiong-yi, a leader of the Chu People, who worshipped phoenix and claimed they were offspring of the Xia People, helped the Zhou Dynasty during the Blitzkrieg of Muye in 1046BCE. The Emperor Cheng (1055-1021BCE) of Zhou gave Xiong-Yi the fief of Danyang (today’s Xichuan County of Henan) and the fourth peerage rank: Zi. The Capital of the Chu shifted many times, from Danyang (Henan’s Xichuan County), to Yingdu (Hubei’s Jinsha), to Ruodu (Hubei’s Yicheng), to Yandu (Hubei’s Yicheng), to Chendu (Henan’s Huaiyang), to Juyang (Anhui’s Fuyang), to Shouchun (Anhui’s Shou County), moving from the Yellow River to Chang-jiang River Valley.
When the Zhou attached the Shang, Zi Qi (Wei-zi), brother of the Shang Emperor Di (King) Xin (1105-1045BCE), surrendered to the Zhou. The Zhou Emperor Cheng gave Zi Qi the fief of Shangqiu and the first peerage rank: Gong and set up the State of Song.
The Qin’s ancestors became slaves of the Zhou People in 1046BCE. The Zhou gave the Qin’s leader the title of “Fuyong” in Qinyi (today’s Tianshui) during about 897-886BCE, later made Qin Xiang-gong (?-766BCE) the duke of Qinyi in 771BCE and set up the State of Qin.
Qi-zi, the prime minister of the Shang, was given the fief of the northern Korea Peninsula and set up the State of Qizi.
In the east along the coastline, there were also some of the Shao Hao’s offspring, who did not surrendered to the Zhou and were called Dong (east) Yi by the Zhou. The Zhou tried to annihilate them, including the Ji Nation, destroyed in 690BCE, and the Lai Nation, destroyed in 567BCE. But the Zhou had never controlled the Jiaodong Peninsula.
Due to the Zhou claiming to be offspring of the Di Jun People, the earliest ancient historical chronicles, Book of Documents, Bamboo Annals, GuoYu and ChunQiu, which were written during the Zhou, put the Xia Dynasty (offspring of the Di Jun), to be the first dynasty in China and deliberately eliminated the important records of the Shao Hao (including the Nü He) nations, which were built as early as Longshan Culture (3200-1900BCE), earlier than the Xia. The Zhou’s falsified stories deeply influenced later historians and scholars, including Sima Qian (145-87BCE), author of The Records of the Grand Historian, or Shiji. Another historical record also 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.
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 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 (771-476BCE). The partition of Jin in the mid-fifth century BCE initiated a second phase, the “Warring States (476-221BCE).” 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.
First located in the Shandong Peninsula, Longshan Dong Yi Culture (3200-1900BCE) had spread out to the inhabitation areas of Cishan-peiligang (6200-4600BCE) and Yangshao (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.
Dong Yi Culture was the Root of the Qin Dynasty.
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. About 200-hundred years later, Qin Fei-zi (?-858BCE), a son of the Qin’s leader, became famous in breeding horses, the Zhou Emperor Xiao (897-886BCE) ordered Qin Fei-zi 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, accepting 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 Xiang-gong (?-766BCE), the Qin’s leader, was meritorious in protecting Emperor Ping, who then made Xiang-gong the duke of Qinyi. The later dukes of the Qin worked very hard to make the Qin became a very powerful state. Qin Xiao-gong (381-338BCE) selected Shang Yang (395-338BCE) as his prime minister and conducted the famous Reforms of Shang Yang, which put the military affairs and agriculture in the first place. The later kings of the Qin adhered to the policy of military and agriculture first to make the Qin become a rich and powerful militarily superior state. Many famous elites of the Qin were students of the Guigu School.
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. However, the Qin’s policy let the country rich but the common people very poor and the Qin’s state control was very harsh, the Qin did not eliminate the domestic contradictions and it lasted only 17 years.
Dong Yi Culture was the root of the Qin, whose ancestors were offspring of the Shao Hao People.
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 771BCE 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) (551-479BCE) and Meng Ke (Mencius) (372-289BCE), were from the State of Lu. So was the founder of Mohism, Mo Di (Micius) (476-390BCE) and the founder of the Miscellaneous School, Shi Jiao (390-330BCE). The State of Song was the homeland of the founder of Taoism, Zhuang Zhou (Zhaung-zi) (369-286BCE) and also the founder of Logicians or the School of Names, Hui Shi (370-310BCE). Micius’, Confucius’ and Zhuang-zi’s ancestors were the Shang emperors’ offspring who lived in the State of Song.
The founder of Legalism, Guan Zhong (723-645BCE), was from the State of Qi, as was Zou Yan (324-250BCE), the founder of the School of Yin-yang. Also, the founders of the School of the Military, Sun Wu (Sun-zi) (545-470BCE) and Sun Bin (offspring of Sun Wu), were from the State of Qi. Sun Wu and Sun Bin claimed that their ancestors were offspring of the Great Yu.
The founder of the School of Diplomacy or School of Vertical and Horizontal (Alliances), Guigu-zi (510-220BCE), was located in the State of Wei (today’s Qixian of Henan Province), where is near the Shandong Peninsula.
Schools of Thought |
Founders |
State |
Confucianism |
Kong Qiu (Kong-zi or Confucius) Meng Ke (Meng-zi or Mencius) |
State of Lu |
Mohism |
Mo Di (Micius or Mo-zi) |
State of Lu |
Miscellaneous School |
Shi Jiao |
State of Lu |
Legalism |
Guan Zhong |
State of Qi |
School of Yin-yang |
Zou Yan |
State of Qi |
School of the Military |
Sun Wu (Sun-zi) Sun Bin (offspring of Sun Wu) |
State of Qi |
Taoism |
Li Er (Lao-zi, or Lao Lai-zi) Zhuang Zhou (Zhaung-zi) |
State of Chu State of Song |
Logicians or Names |
Hui Shi |
State of Song |
Diplomacy or Vertical and Horizontal (Alliances) |
Guigu-zi |
State of Wei |
Many historians, including Sima Qian, argued that another name of Li Er (about 571-471BCE) was Lao Lai-zi. Literally, Lao means old. Zi is the honorific title to teacher, moral integrity or a man of learning. Lao Lai-zi means an old teacher that named Lai or from the Lai. Sima Qian thought that Li Er or Lao-zi was born in Qurenli Village, Li Township of Ku County (today’s Luyi County of Henan Province) of the State of Chu. Li Lin-lin (Chu Mu) published an article in Hubei Jinmen Jin Chu Feng Journal in August 2010, thought that Lao-zi and Lao Lai-zi were the same person and Lao Lai-zi was from Qurenli Village, Li Township of Xiang County in the State of Song.
By coincidence, the Chinese Character Lai of Lao Lai-zi is the same with the Lai Nation, a Shao Hao nation, which was destroyed by the State of Qi in 567BCE, and the remaining Lai people was forced to move to Ni County (today’s Tengzhou), which was about 210 kilometers to Luyi County. The name of Lao Lai-zi hints that Li Er’s family was offspring of the Lai Nation (?-567BCE) and escaped to the State of Song, where the Shao Hao’s descendants were able to be peerage and Guo Ren and have education.
Historians agree that Guigu-zi (510-220BCE) was the name of a school, whose teachers were a group of scholars, instead its founder - Wang Yi (510-?BCE), who was a student of Lao-zi. More than 500 famous elites during the Warring States Period were students of the Guigu School.
The State of Lu, Song, Zhu and Wei were all near Tengzhou of Shandong Province, where Beixin Culture (5300-4100BCE) was developed by the Xi He People and the remaining Lai People resided after 567BCE. The State of Zhu, which was highly possible set up by the Shao Hao People who surrendered to the early Zhou, 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.
The Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE) was an age of economic prosperity, spanning over four centuries, widely considered the golden age of Chinese history. 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 Lao-zi (who wrote Dao De Jing) and Zhuang-zi. 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. To this day, China’s ethnic majority refers to itself as the “Han People,” or “Han Nationality.” Han Culture respected Confucius and all ancient philosophers as great teachers and thinkers. However, the Han Dynasty did not create its own religions.
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 Nü He People were the Root of Chinese “He” Culture.
“He” Culture is the quintessence of Chinese Han Culture. The literal meanings of the Chinese Characters of “He” include: together with, and, harmonious, cooperative, integration, peace and kindness. “He” Culture is a culture of integration and harmonization. The name of “He” hints that the Nü He had the idea of integration with other ancient groups of Chinese people. This idea let them accept exogamy when other ancient groups of people accepted only endogamy.
The Shang emperors, who were offspring of the Xi He People, regarded the Hua People as their ancestors, suggesting the Xi He came from the Hua People. Due to the Xi He and Chang Xi having the same resource, both of them came from the Hua People, one group of the Nü He People in the Jiaodong Peninsula. The Hua People took the key role in carrying forward the “He” idea and began to integrate with other ancient groups of people by sending the Xi He People and Chang Xi People to marry with the Di Jun men and build ten Ri (sun) groups and twelve Yue (moon) groups.
Inspired by the Xi He marrying with the Di Jun men and giving birth to the Ri (sun) People, the Shang Emperors, who were offspring of the Xi He (Hua) People, claimed that their ancestor Qi(1) was the son of Di Jun (father) and Jian Di (mother) to unite the Xia People (offspring of the Di Jun) and make a united nation. The Shang Dynasty inherited the “He” idea from the Nü He and became the first dynasty who united the Hua People (Shao Hao’s offspring) and the Xia People (Di Jun’s offspring) to be one big group - Hua Xia People.
Learning from the Shang’s story of Qi(1) being the son of Di Jun and Jian Di, the Zhou fabricated a story of the Zhou’s ancestor Qi(2) being the son of Di Jun (father) and Jiang Yuan (mother). The Zhou claimed that Huang Di was the common ancestor of all groups of People including the Yan Di, Di Jun, Zhuan Xu and Shao Hao. During the Zhou Dynasty, the Hua and Xia People were already regarded as one big group - Hua Xia People. To those people who did not surrender to them, the Shang and Zhou named those, who lived in the east and south, with Yi, but named those, who lived in the north and west, with Rong and Di. The earliest written 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.” Zhuozhuan.Shanggong (Lu 575-542BCE) year 14 records Jiang Rong, Zi Ju-zhi, “Our Rong groups’ clothes and foods were different with Hua. The money was different and languanges were different.”
In the Zhou’s strict hierarchical system, almost all the Hua and Xia People, who made up the overwhelming majority in the population in the Yellow and Changjiang River valleys and were Ye Ren or Common people, lived in the suburb and countryside; while the Guo Ren or State people and peerages, who came from the Zhou People or offspring of the Yan (Di) and Huang (Di) People and had helped the Zhou to destroy the Shang, lived in the cities. Due to the Shang and Zhou claiming they were offspring of the Di Jun, the earliest historical chronicles written during the Zhou Dynasty precluded all records of the Hua Nation and put the Xia as the first dynasty of ancient China when compiling ancient Chinese history.
The Qin Dynasty (221-206BCE), offspring of the Shang’s peerage, built the first centralization of authority in China but did not eliminate the domestic contradictions and lasted only 17 years.
The first king of the State of Song (1114-286BCE) were brother of the Shang’s last emperor. The previous Shang’s people and peerages, who surrendered to the Zhou, were Guo Ren and peerages of the State of Song and lived in the cities. Liu Bang (256-195BCE), the founder of the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE), was born in Feng Town and grew up in Pei County, which were near the four lakes and in the territory of the State of Song. Liu’s mother and his non-biological father were natives of Feng Town, lived in the countryside and were socially inferior, suggesting they were the Zhou’s Ye Ren, who came from the Zhou’s conquered people. Most of the Feng natives were either offspring of the Xi He People or the Ri (sun) People (father Di Jun and mother Xi He).
The Records of the Grand Historian record, “Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, had a high nose, high forehead, high brow-bone, significant facial whiskers and a beard,” bearing clear resemblance to the Caucasoid race in general appearance. Clearly, Liu Bang and his mother, who was a farmer and Ye Ren of the Zhou, bore clear Caucasoid race characteristics, were more likely offspring of the Xi He People than the Ri (sun) People.
After Liu Bang set up the Han Dynasty, he chose the centralization of authority system instead of the Zhou’s hereditary fief system. He abolished slavery, promised “everyone is equal” and let everyone become a citizen of the country. He reduced taxation and covee and let the citizens recuperate and multiply. All the Han people had a strong national identify with the 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. 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. Liu Bang, an offspring of the Xi He People, inherited the “He (integration)” idea from the Nü He People, promoting the Huang Di, Yan Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Jun, Shao Hao, Hua, Xia and many other peoples were a big family.
Since the Han Dynasty, all ancient groups of 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 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 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 during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. The Shao Hao branched out to many groups in the Shandong Peninsula, including the Nü He People who had female as leader and lived near the East End of the Earth, recorded in Shanhaijing. The Shao Hao and Nü He also moved along the coastline from the Shandong Peninsula to other places.
The Hua People, one group of the Nü He People, lived in the Jiaodong Peninsula and were also ancestors of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BCE). Carrying forward the “He” (integration) idea from the Nü He, the Hua People, who worried about the sea level rising, sent the Xi He and Chang Xi People to marry with the Di Jun men and build ten groups of the Ri (sun) People, who lived near today’s Weishan Lake in the west of the Shandong Peninsula, and twelve groups of the Yue (moon) People, who lived in the western Kunlun Mountains near the Pamirs. The Nü He and Hua People were the funders of the earliest Neolithic Chinese astronomy, Calendar and Maritime Culture. By letting the Chang Xi and Xi He women find the Di Jun men to be their husbands, the Hua (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.
Originating in the Shandong Peninsula, Dong Yi Culture, which was built by the Shao Hao (including Nü He and Hua) People, spread out to the lower reaches of the Yellow, Huai and Changjiang rivers, greatly influencing ancient China and had the leading role in making the Yellow River Valley Culture, the root of 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. Dong Yi Culture began in the eastern Shandong as early as the western Shandong. Yantai’s Baishi Culture (about 7,000 years BP), built by the Nü He (including Hua) People, and Tengzhou’s Beixin Culture (5300-4100BCE), built by the Xi He People, had similiarity, proving the Xi He, who came from the Hua People, and the Baishi People had the same resource - the Nü He. The Nü He (including Hua) were the root of Baishi, Beixin and their successor, Dawenkou-Longshan, cultures in the Shandong Peninsula.
Longshan Dong Yi Culture (about 3200-1900BCE) had spread out to the inhabitation areas of early Cishan-peiligang (about 6200-4600BCE) and Yangshao Di Qiang (about 5000-3000BCE) cultures and turned these regions into outposts of Dong Yi Culture, when the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600BCE) was built in these regions. It is clear that Dong Yi Culture was the leading culture of the Xia Dynasty. The Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BCE) was built in the inhabitation areas of Longshan Dong Yi Culture; 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.
There is no firm archaeological evidence to prove the existence of nation of Xia, however, Chinese archaeologists generally identify Erlitou as the site of the Xia Dynasty, who were offspring of the Di Jun People. Many bronze wares and jade projects, discovered in the archaeological sites of Longshan Culture in the Shandong Peninsula, show the form of early nation, suggesting the Shao Hao, Nü He and Hua People had built the earliest nations, as early as Longshan Culture, earlier than the Xia Dynasty, in the Shandong Peninsula. “Hua Bo Lü Ding” is the evidence of the existing of a big ancient nation of Hua in the eastern Jiaodong Peninsula and lasted until the end of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256BCE). It is very logical that the name of “Hua Xia” came from the nations of Hua and Xia. 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.
Thus we could conclude that the Shao Hao, Nü He and Hua People, the main builders of Dong Yi Culture, took the leading role in building ancient Chinese civilization.The Nü He People were the root of Chinese “He” Culture, which is the quintessence of Chinese Han Culture. The Shao Hao People, including the Nü He, Hua, Xi He and Chang Xi peoples, had clear Caucasoid racial characteristics and they worshipped bird totems and the fire Phoenix.
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