Soleilmavis' paper is presented at E-Leader Conference held by CASA (Chinese American Scholars Association) and BITS (University of Business Leadership) at Dessauer Str. 3-5, 10963, Berlin, in June 2017
Many people claimed that Huang Di was the ancestor of all Chinese people and some Chinese people proudly call themselves “descendants of Dragon.” However, Shanhaijing’s records and modern archaeological discoveries have revealed that the Shao Hao People, who worshipped birds totems during the Neolithic Age, took the leading role in building ancient Chinese civilization.
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 individuals, but also the names of groups who regarded them 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. Shanhaijing reveals Shao Hao’s offspring worshipping bird totems, mastering the most advanced technologies during the Neolithic Age and playing the leading role in making the Yellow River Valley Cultural System the root of ancient Chinese civilization. Modern archaeological discoveries have revealed the authenticity of Shanhaijing’s records.
Keywords: Shanhaijing; Neolithic China, Shao Hao, Dong-Yi Culture, Ancient Chinese Civilization
Introduction
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 individuals, but also the names of tribes who regarded them as common 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.
This article introduces main Chinese Neolithic cultures, Shanhaijing and its records of the Shao Hao People. Shanhaijing reveals Shao Hao’s offspring worshipping bird totems, mastering the most advanced technologies during the Neolithic Age and playing the leading role in making the Yellow River Valley Cultural System the root of ancient Chinese civilization. Modern archaeological discoveries have revealed the authenticity of Shanhaijing’s records.
Ancient Chinese Civilizations
Archaeologists and historians commonly agree that Neolithic China had two main ancient cultural systems: the Yellow River Valley and Changjiang River Valley Cultural Systems. Starting from the lower reaches areas of the Yellow and Changjiang rivers, these cultures spread to surrounding areas.
The Yellow River Valley Cultural System
The Yellow River Valley Cultural System, which included Di Qiang and Dong Yi cultures, was established on millet cultivation in the early and middle stages of the Neolithic Age and divided with wheat cultivation in the Shandong Peninsula and eastern Henan Province and millet cultivation in other areas, during the period of Longshan Culture (about 3200-1900BCE).
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.
Di Qiang Culture
Di Qiang Neolithic Culture contained seven phases:
Laoguantai Culture (about 6000-5000BCE) existed in the Weihe River Valley, or Guanzhong Plain, in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Laoguantai people lived predominantly by primitive agriculture, mainly planting millet.
Qin’an Dadiwan First Culture (about 6200-3000BCE) included pre-Yangshao Culture, Yangshao Culture and Changshan Under-layer Culture. Dating from at least 6000BCE, Qin’an First Culture is the earliest Neolithic culture so far discovered in archaeological digs in the northwestern China. In a site of Dadiwan First Culture from around 6200BCE, archaeologists found the earliest cultivated millet.
Yangshao Culture (about 5000-3000BCE), also called Painted-Pottery Culture, existed in the middle reach of the Yellow River. Centered in Huashan, it reached east to eastern Henan Province, west to Gansu and Qinghai provinces, north to the Hetao area, the Great Band of Yellow River and the Great Wall near Inner Mongolia, and south to the Jianghan Plain. Its core areas were Guanzhong and northern Shaanxi Province. Like Laoguantai Culture, it was based predominantly on primitive agriculture, mainly the planting of millet.
Cishan-peiligang Culture (about 6200-4600BCE) existed in modern-day Henan Province and southern Hebei Province. Yangshao Culture later developed from this culture. The people subsisted on agriculture and livestock husbandry, planting millet and raising pigs.
Majiayao Culture (about 3000-2000BCE) was distributed throughout central and southern Gansu Province, centered in the Loess Plateau of western Gansu Province and spreading east to the upper reaches of the Weihe River, west to the Hexi (Gansu) Corridor and northeastern Qinghai Province, north to the southern Ningxia autonomous region and south Sichuan Province. From Majiayao Culture came the earliest Chinese bronzes and early writing characters, which evolved from Yangshao Culture’s written language. Maijayao people planted millet and raised pigs, dogs and goats.
Qijia Culture (about 2000-1000BCE) is also known as Early Bronze Culture. Its inhabitation areas were essentially coincident with Majiayao Culture. It had roots not only in Majiayao Culture, but also influences from cultures in the east of Longshan and the central Shaanxi Plain. Qijia Culture exhibited advanced pottery making. Copper-smelting had also appeared and Qijia people made small red bronzewares, such as knives, awls, mirrors and finger rings. The economy was based on planting millet and raising pigs, dogs, goats, cows and horses. Qijia Culture had a patriarchal clan society featuring monogamous families and polygamy. Class polarization had emerged.
Siwa Culture (about 1400-700BCE) existed mainly in the east of Lanzhou in Gansu Province and the Qianshui River and Jingshui River valleys in Shaanxi Province. Siwa settlements were of significant size and held a mixture of citizens and slaves. The Siwa people produced pottery with distinctive saddle-shaped mouths and bronzeware including dagger-axes, spears, arrowheads, knives and bells.
Dong Yi Culture
Dong Yi Culture was the most advanced culture in Neolithic China and built by the Neolithic Shao Hao People, who lived in the Shandong Peninsula. First located in the Shandong Peninsula, its influence later spread to the lower reaches of the Yellow and Huai rivers. Dawenkou Dong Yi Culture spread out to the lower reach of the Changjiang River and even the southeastern China. 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.
Dong Yi Neolithic Culture contained five evolutionary phases:
Houli Culture (about 6400-5700BCE) was a millet-growing culture in the Shandong Peninsula during the Neolithic Age. The original site at Houli in the Linzi District of Shandong, was excavated from 1989 to 1990.
Beixin Culture (about 5300-4100BCE) was a millet-growing Neolithic culture in the Shandong Peninsula. The original site at Beixin, in Tengzhou of Shandong Province, was excavated from 1978 to 1979.
Dawenkou Culture (about 4100-2600BCE) existed primarily in the Shandong Peninsula, but also appeared in Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu provinces. The typical site at Dawenkou, located in Tai’an of Shandong Province, was excavated in 1959, 1974 and 1978. As with Beixin and Houli cultures, the main food was millet.
Yueshi Culture (about 2000-1600BCE) appeared in the same areas as Longshan Culture. The original site at Yueshi, in Pingdu of Shandong Province, was excavated in 1959.
Longshan Culture (about 3200-1900BCE) was centered on the central and lower Yellow River, including Shandong, Henan and Shaanxi provinces, during the late Neolithic period. Longshan Culture was named after the town of Longshan in Jinan, Shandong Province, where the first site containing distinctive cultural artifacts was found in 1928 and excavated from 1930 and 1931.
Wheat was widely cultivated in the Shandong Peninsula and eastern Henan during Longshan Culture. An implied code of etiquette in Longshan Culture shows social stratification and formation of the nation.
Longshan artifacts reveal a high level of technical skill in pottery making, including the use of pottery wheels. Longshan Culture is noted for its highly polished egg-shell pottery. This type of thin-walled and polished black pottery has also been discovered in the Yangtze River Valley and as far away as today’s southeastern coast of China. It is a clear indication of how Neolithic agricultural sub-groups of the greater Longshan Culture spread out across the ancient boundaries of China.
The Neolithic population in China reached its peak during the time of Longshan Culture. Towards the end of the Longshan cultural period, the population decreased sharply; this was matched by the disappearance of high-quality black pottery from ritual burials.
Archaeologists and historians agree that so-called Longshan Culture is actually made up of different cultures from multiple sources. Longshan Culture is now identified as four different cultures according to inhabitation areas and appearance: Shandong Longshan Culture, Miaodigou Second Culture, Henan Longshan Culture and Shaanxi Longshan Culture. Only the Shandong Longshan Culture came purely from Yueshi (Dong Yi) Culture; the three other Longshan cultures were rooted in Di Qiang Culture, but deeply influenced by Dong Yi Culture, which had also influenced Di Qiang Culture earlier in the Neolithic age.
Shandong Longshan Culture (also called representative Longshan Culture, about 2500-2000BCE), was named after the town of Longshan in Jinan, Shandong Province, where the first archaeological site was found in 1928 and excavated from 1930 and 1931.
Miaodigou Second Culture (about 2900-2800BCE) was mainly distributed throughout western Henan Province and came from Yangshao Culture.
Henan Longshan Culture (about 2600-2000BCE) was mainly distributed in western, northern and eastern Henan Province and came from Miaodigou Second Culture.
Shaanxi Longshan Culture (about 2300-2000BCE) was mainly distributed in the Jinghe and Weihe River Valley in Shaanxi Province.
There were also several differences between Chinese Neolithic cultures in the eastern and western Shandong Peninsula. While most archaeologists and scientists regard Chinese Neolithic culture in the Shandong Peninsula and Eastern China as a big system called Dong Yi Culture, Dawenkou- Longshan Culture in the eastern and western Shandong Peninsula had major differences from each other. An article from Yantai Museum, Archaeological Discoveries of the Neolithic Age in the Shandong Peninsula, compares aspects of the Neolithic culture in the eastern Shandong with the co-existing Dawenkou-Longshan Culture in the western Shandong. [2] Many scholars thought the Neolithic culture in the eastern Shandong had its own special features and became an independent system based on its own resources. During the time of late Dawenkou and Longshan cultures, Shandong and Eastern China formed a large area of Dong Yi influence; meanwhile, the Neolithic culture in the eastern Shandong still kept its own local features. The reason Neolithic culture in the eastern Shandong was different from that of the western Shandong was because Dawenkou-Longshan Culture in the eastern Shandong came from its own source - the Shao Hao People, who first built Dong Yi Culture; while Dawenkou-Longshan Culture in the western Shandong came from the Shao Hao People but also had roots in the Di Jun and others, who contributed Di Qiang Culture.
Dong-Yi Culture was the Most Advanced Culture in Neolithic China
1) The writing system of the Dong-Yi is one of the oldest in Neolithic China. It was an important source of the Shang oracle bone script. Some of the characters continued to be used in modern Chinese writing, such as:
The Changle Bone Inscriptions, found in Changle, Qingzhou, Shouguang, Huantai, Linzi and Zouping in Shandong Province, belonged to Longshan Culture and are regarded as recording characters used 1,000 years earlier than Shang oracle bone script. [4]
2) The Shao Hao People were the inventors of arrows in China. Zuozhuan has the similar records as Shuowen Jiezi: Shibu, saying, “In ancient times, Yi Mu started making the bow and arrow.” Liji: Sheyi says, “Hui made the bow and Yi Mu made the arrow.”
3) The Shao Hao People had great skill in making pottery. Longshan Culture’s eggshell black pottery is regarded as one of the best ancient Chinese pottery.
4) The Shao Hao People were the earliest users of copper and iron in Neolithic China.
5) The earliest human brain operation in Neolithic China was believed to be conducted about 5,000 years ago in Guangrao of Shandong. In an archaeological site of Dawenkou Culture in Fujia, Guangrao of Shandong, an adult male skull was discovered. A hole on the skull with very neat edges was believed by scientists to have been created by a craniotomy. The man recovered from the surgery and had lived for a long time after it, before he died.
6) The Shao Hao People firstly developed etiquette in Neolithic China. A code of etiquette in Longshan Culture, implied by artifacts, such as Ceremonial architecture, sacrificial vessels (Eggshell black pottery and Ritual Jade) and animal bones used to practice divination, shows social stratification and formation of the Shao Hao nation. Clearly, the earliest nation of Neolithic China was built in the Shandong Peninsula by the Shao Hao People.
The Changjiang River Valley Cultural System included:
The rice-growing cultures in the lower reach of the Changjiang River, such as:Their main cultivated food was rice. Many painted-potteries and also a large numbers of black potteries, discovered in these sites, suggests they had been influenced by Dawenkou Culture, which had spread out from the Shandong Peninsula to the eastern Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu. Hemudu Culture (about 5000-3300BCE) in Yuyao of Zhejiang; Majiabang Culture (about 5000-4000BCE) in Jiaxing of Zhejiang and its successors, Songze Culture (about 3800-2900BCE) in Qingpu District of Shanghai, and Liangzhu Culture (about 5300-4200BCE) near Taihu of Zhejiang.
The rice-growing cultures in the middle reach of the Changjiang River, such as:Their main cultivated food was rice. Potteries discovered in Pengtoushan are only red brown painted-pottery and in Daxi are mainly red painted-pottery, but in Qujialing are mainly black and grey pottery. Patterns of painted-potteries in Daxi show clear connection with Miaodigou type of Yangshao Culture, suggesting that Yangshao Culture had deeply influenced Daxi Culture. Black potteries discovered in Qujialing have some similarities with Longshan Culture, suggesting that Longshan Culture had deeply influenced Qujialing Culture and its successors.
Other Cultural Systems included:
- Pengtoushan Culture (about 8200-7800BCE) in Li County of Hunan, Daxi Culture (about 4400-3300BCE) in Wushan County of Chongqing and Qujialing (about 2550-2195BCE) in Jingshan County of Hubei.
- The millet-growing cultures in the southeastern Da Xing’an Ling Mountains, include: Xinglongwa sites discover the earliest jade objects and a stone pile with dragon shape. Clay figurines, including figurines of pregnant women, are found throughout Hongshan sites. Hongshan burial artifacts include small copper rings and some of the earliest known examples of jade working, especially its jade pig dragons and embryo dragons. The dragon shape stone pile in Xinglongwa and jade dragons in Hongshan suggest the earliest dragon worship in ancient China. Xiaohexi Culture (about 6500BCE) in Aohan Banner; Xinglongwa Culture (about 6200-5400BCE) in Xinglongwa Village of Baoguotu Township in Aohan Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and its successors, Zhaojiagou Culture (about 5200-4400BCE) in Aohan Banner and Hongshan Culture (about 4000-3000BCE), which have been found in an area stretching from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning. Their main cultivated food was millet.
- Dalongtan Culture (about 4500BCE）situated at Long’an County of Guangxi Province. Main cultivated food was rice.
- Dabenkeng Culture (about 4000-3000BCE) appeared in northern Taiwan and spread around the coast of the island, as well as the Penghu islands to the west. The rope figure potteries found in Dabenkeng are similar with Hemudu, Majiabang and Liangzhu. German archaeologist Robert Heine Geldern thought that Dabenkeng Culture also spread from Taiwan to Philippines and Polynesia.
Shanhaijing, the Classic of Mountains and Seas
Shanhaijing, or Classic of Mountains and Seas, is a classic Chinese text compiling early geography and myth. Some people believe it is the first geography and history book in China. It is largely a fabulous geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology. The book is about 31,000 words long and is divided into eighteen sections. It describes, among other things, over 550 mountains and 300 rivers. Versions of the text have existed since the fourth century BCE, but the present form was not reached until the early Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE), a few centuries later.
The exact author(s) of the book and the time in which it was written are still undetermined. It was originally thought that mythical figures, such as the Great Yu, or Boyi, wrote the book. However, the consensus among modern Sinologists is that the book was not written at a single time by a single author, but rather by numerous people from the period of the Warring States (about 476-221BCE) to the beginning of the Han Dynasty.
It is also commonly accepted that Shanhaijing is a compilation of four original books:
1): Wu Zang Shan Jing, or Classic of the Five Hidden Mountains, written in the Great Yu’s Time (before 2200BCE);
2): Hai Wai Si Jing, or Four Classic of Regions Beyond the Seas, written during the Xia Dynasty (about 2070-1600BCE);
3): Da Huang Si Jing, or Four Classic of the Great Wilderness, written during the Shang Dynasty (about 1600-1046BCE); and
4): Hai Nei Wu Jing, or Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas, written during the Zhou Dynasty (about 1046-256BCE).
The first known editor of Shanhaijing was Liu Xiang (77-6BCE) in the Han Dynasty, who was particularly well-known for his bibliographic work in cataloging and editing the extensive imperial library. [5] Later, Guo Pu (276-324CE), a scholar from the Jin Dynasty (also known as Sima Jin, 265-420CE), further annotated the work.
Where was the Great Wilderness recorded in Shanhaijing? According to Shanhaijing, the Great Wilderness was a large tract of savage land that unfit for human habitation and was in the south of the Mobile Desert, today’s Taklamakan Desert. Clearly, it included today’s Tibetan Plateau, west areas of the Sichuan Basin and western Yungui Plateau. Shanhaijing also mentioned “east wilderness” and “other wilderness,” which were not today’s Tibetan Plateau, but other savage lands that unfit for human habitation.
In Shanhaijing, the River refers to the Yellow River, which rises in the northern Bayankala Mountains, and the Jiang refers to the Changjiang River, which rises in the southern Bayankala Mountains which is located in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.
The Mobile Desert in Shanhaijing refers to today’s Taklamakan Desert, the Asia’s biggest and world’s second biggest mobile desert, while the Rub Al Khal Desert in the Arabian Peninsula is the world’s biggest desert.
The Chishui River in Shanhaijing was located in the east of the Mobile Desert, today’s Taklamakan Desert, and the west of the Northwest Sea. Shanhaijing uses “sea” to name saltwater lake and uses “deep pool” or “lake” to name freshwater lake.
The Northwest Sea is today’s Qinghai Lake. The Qinghai Lake, also called Kokonor Lake, is a saltwater lake and used to be very big, but it had reduced to 1,000 kilometers in perimeter in the North Wei Dynasty (386-557CE) and kept reducing to 400 kilometers in perimeter in the Tang Dynasty (618-907CE) and 360 kilometers in perimeter today.
The areas to the west of today’s Dunhuang have been called the Western Regions of China since the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE).
Shanhaijing’s records of the Shao Hao People
Shao Hao’s group first lived in Mount Changliu in the western Pamirs Plateau, their offspring moved to the west of the Qinghai Lake, later spread out to the lower reach of the Yellow River and the Shandong Peninsula, much later also spread out to other places along the coastlines. The literal meaning of the Chinese characters “Shao Hao” was “Subordinate of Heaven.”
Shanhaijing clearly identified the following people who were from the Shao Hao People.
The Classic of the Mountains: West records:
“From Mount Le You 350 li to the northwest is Mount Yu, where the Western Queen Mother lived in; another 480 li to the west is Xuan Yuan Mound; another 300 li to the west is Mount Ji Shi; another 200 li to the west is Mount Changliu, where Shao Hao was respected as Bai Di.” The literal meaning of the Chinese characters “Bai Di” was “White King” or “White Ancestor-god.” The word “white” suggests that Shao Hao had a clear Caucasoid racial characteristic - white skin. Mount Changliu was located in the northwest of Mount Buzhou in the Pamirs Plateau. The Chang Liu People regarding Shao Hao as their “White King” or “White Ancestor-god” indicates that Shao Hao’s group used to live in Mount Changliu and the Chang Liu People were offspring of the Shao Hao People.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: North records:
“The Wei People with the surname of Wei ate millet and lived in the west of the Qinghai Lake and east of the Taklamakan Desert. They were offspring of Wei, who was Shao Hao’s son and had only one eye in the center of his face.”
The literal meaning of the Chinese character “Wei” is mystical and awesome boldness of vision and strength.
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. The Nü He People were mothers of the Yue (moon) People and lived in the Eastern Shandong Peninsula near the East End of the Earth.
“There was a big water beyond the Eastern Sea (today’s Sea of Japan). There were the Shao Hao People, who used to nurture the more immature Zhuan Xu People and the Zhuan Xu discarded their musical instruments - Qin and Se. The Ganshui River came from the Gan Mountain and went to the Ganyuan Lake.” The Shao Hao People nurturing the more immature Zhuan Xu People indicates that the Shao Hao had taught the Zhuan Xu with the most advanced technologies in their early time. The Zhuan Xu learned eagerly, had no time for music and discarded the musical instruments - Qin and Se. Tai Zi Chang Qin, son of Zhu Rong, first made music and musical instruments; Zhuan Xu begat Lao Tong, who begat Zhu Rong, recorded in the Classic of the Great Wilderness: West. We could put it another way: that the early Shao Hao Culture had nurtured the early Zhuan Xu Culture. These records reveal that the Shao Hao and Zhuan Xu People built close connection when they lived as neighbors in the west of the Qinghai Lake, while later the Shao Hao moved to the lower reach of the Yellow River and the Shandong Peninsula.
“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, highly possible today’s four lakes of Nanyang, Dushan, Zhaoyang and Weishan.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South records:
“The Bei People, who fought with the Di Jun People and lost the fight, moved to the Mei Yuan Lake. The Bei People were descendants of the Shao Hao People.”
“There was the Ganshui River beyond the Southeastern Sea (today’s Yellow Sea of China); there were the Xi He People, living in the upper reach of the Ganshui River. The Xi He women married with the Di Jun men and gave birth to ten groups of people, named Ri. The Xi He just bathed Ri in the Ganyuan Lake.” This suggests that some Xi He women moved to the lower reach of the Ganshui River, found the Di Jun men as their husbands and gave birth to ten groups of the Ri People, who lived near the Ganyuan Lake. The literal meaning of the Chinese character “Ri” is sun.
The Zhou Dynasty’s new stories of the Shao Hao People in The Five Classic of Regions Within the Seas.
Shao Gao (another name of Shao Hao) was the ancestor of Ban, who made the first bow and arrow.
Shanhaijing’s records of Neolithic Chinese People
Five Biggest Groups of Neolithic Chinese People had Lived in the Pamirs Plateau before They Moved to other Places of China.
The Classic of the Mountains: West records that Huang Di (Yellow King) lived in Mount Mi. The word “Huang (yellow)” suggests that Huang Di had a clear Mongoloid racial characteristic - yellow skin. It also records that Shao Hao was respected as Bai Di, “White King” or “White Ancestor-god,” by people in Mount Changliu. The word “Bai (white)” suggests that Shao Hao had a clear Caucasoid racial characteristic - white skin. The Chang Liu People regarding Shao Hao as their “White King” or “White Ancestor-god” indicates the Chang Liu People were offspring of the Shao Hao. Mount Mi and Changliu were located in today’s Pamirs Plateau. Today, we shall comprehend that Huang Di refers to Huang Di’s group due to they living in the matriarchal clan society, so did Yan Di, Shao Hao, Zhuan Xu and Di Jun.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: East tells that Shu Shi, Zhuan Xu’s son, lived near Mount Buzhou, also The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West says, “The Yu People (Di Jun’s offspring) fought with the Gong Gong People (Zhuan Xu’s offspring) in the Guo Mountain near Mount Buzhou,” suggesting Zhuan Xu’s group lived near Mount Buzhou in the Pamirs.
Shanhaijing does not give information about Di Jun living in the Pamirs Plateau, but records many groups of the Di Jun’s offspring lived in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau, including King Shun’s group and the Yu People, who lived near Mount Buzhou. Clearly, Di Jun’s group used to live near Mount Buzhou, their offspring moved to the northern Tibetan Plateau and had a lot of wars with Zhuan Xu’s offspring.
Shanhaijing does not contain any detail of Yan Di living in the Pamirs Plateau, but clearly records Ling Jia, Yan Di’s great-grandson, and Hu Ren, Yan Di’s great-great-grandson, lived in the west of the Taklamakan Desert. Drawing inferences about other cases from Huang Di, Shao Hao, Zhuan Xu and Di Jun, we can say that Yan Di’s group used to live near the Pamirs Plateau, later his offspring moved to the west of the Taklamakan Desert.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West tells us, “In the west of the Qinghai Lake and a corner of the Tibetan Plateau, there was Mount Buzhou. There were ten spirits (gods). It said that Nüwa’s intestines scattered into ten spirits; they lived in millet fields and slept on roads.” “Ten spirits” came from Nüwa and under her jurisdiction, lived near Mount Buzhou. This reveals that all ancient Chinese people, including the five biggest groups, regarded Nüwa as the Goddess since their early time.
Due to all ancient groups of Chinese people used to live in the Pamirs Plateau, they might have moved to the south areas of the Himalayan Mountains to the Indo-Gangetic Plain and contributed as some origins of the Ancient Indus Valley civilizations (about 3000-1700BCE). In this article, I will not discuss this. I will only talk about those ancient groups of people who moved to China and built ancient Chinese civilizations.
The Second Gathering Areas of Neolithic Chinese People were the West of the Qinghai Lake, East of the Taklamakan Desert and North of the Tibetan Plateau.
Shanhaijing records many groups of people lived in the west of the Qinghai Lake and north of the Tibetan Plateau, including offspring of the Zhuan Xu, Di Jun, Huang Di, Shao Hao, Yan Di and other peoples, such as the Xi (west) Zhou, Bei (north) Qi and Xuan Yuan People. Here I mainly cite some people from the five biggest groups.
In the west of the Taklamakan Desert, there lived:
People recorded in The Classic of the Mountains: West -
The Western Queen Mother lived in Mount Yu; the Xuan Yuan People lived in the Xuan Yuan Mound; Huang Di lived in Mount Mi and Shao Hao lived in Mount Changliu. They were all in today’s Pamirs Plateau.
People recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West -
The Western Queen Mother lived in Mount Yu.
The Hu Ren (also called Di Ren) People were the ancestors of the Di Qiang People. Yan Di’s grandson was the father of Ling Jia; Ling Jia was the father of Hu Ren.
Yu Fu was the son of Zhuan Xu. Later the Yu Fu People turned their totem from snake to fish and recovered from death.
In the northwest of the Tibetan Plateau, near Mount Buzhou, there lived:
Shu Shi, son of Zhuan Xu, recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West. Also “The Yu People (Di Jun’s offspring) fought with the Gong Gong People (Zhuan Xu’s offspring) in the Guo Mountain near Mount Buzhou.”
In the west of the Chishui River and east of the Taklamakan Desert, there lived:
People recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West -
The Bei (north) Di People were offspring of Shi Jun, who was grandson of Huang Di.
Tai Zi Chang Qin, who lived in Mount Yao and started making music, was the son of Zhu Rong. Zhuan Xu was the father of Lao Tong; Lao Tong was the father of Zhu Rong. Later, the Zhu Rong People moved to the east of the Chishui River, recorded in The Classic of Regions Beyond the Sea: South.
People recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: North -
The Zhong Bian People were descendants of Zhong Bian, son of Zhuan Xu.
In the northern Tibetan Plateau, there lived:
People recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West -
The Xuan Yuan People moved from the Xuan Yuan Mound in the Pamirs Plateau to the northern Tibetan Plateau and their life-span was more than 800 years. (In ancient China, people often used eight, eighty or eight hundreds to mean a lot.)
The San Mian People were descendants of San Mian, son of Zhuan Xu.
The Ye People, who lived in the westernmost place of the Tibetan Plateau, were offspring of Li. Zhuan Xu was the father of Lao Tong; Lao Tong was the father of Chong and Li.
People recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: North -
Shao Hao was the father of Wei, who had only one eye in the center of his face. The Wei People, with the surname of Wei, ate millet.
The Bei (north) Qi People (Jiang Zi-ya’s ancestors).
The Shu Chu People were descendants of Shu Chu, son of Zhuan Xu.
The Quan Rong People ate meat. Huang Di was the father of Miao Long; Miao Long was the father of Rong Wu; Rong Wu was the father of Nong Ming; Nong Ming was the father of Bai Quan, also called Quan Rong.
The Kua Fu People. Hou Tu was the father of Sin; Sin was the father of Kua Fu.
The Ba People (descended from Ba, Huang Di’s daughter).
People recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South
King Shun’s group (Di Jun’s offspring) bathed in the Chong Yuan Lake.
In the west of the Qinghai Lake and east of the Chishui River, there lived the Xi (west) Zhou People (the Zhou Dynasty’s ancestors) with the surname of Ji, who ate millet, recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West.
Shu Jun started practicing cultivating grains. Di Jun was the father of Hou Ji and Tai Xi; Tai Xi was the father of Shu Jun.
Yu Hao was the father of Yan Er. Yan Er was the father of Wu Gu. Wu Gu was the father of Ji Wu Min. Both the Yan Er People, who ate millet, and the Ji Wu Min People, who ate fish, had the surname of Ren.
The Guan Tou People and Miao Min People had the surname of Li. Zhuan Xu was the ancestor of Guan Tou; The Guan Tou were the ancestors of Miao Min.
Later the Guan Tou People moved to the south of today’s Tibetan Plateau and fish in the sea (highly possible today’s sea near Dhaka of Bangladesh), recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South. Gun’s wife Shi Jing gave birth to Yan Rong; Yan Rong was the father of Guan Tou.
Shanhaijing does not give time sequence when recording locations of ancient groups of people, but gives us clues to find out the time sequence. These clues lead to a conclusion that Huang Di’s, Yan Di’s, Zhuan Xu’s, Di Jun’s and Shao Hao’s groups spread out from the Pamirs Plateau to the north of the Tibetan Plateau, west of the Qinghai Lake and east of the Taklamakan Desert, excepting Yan Di’s offspring, who spread out to the west and north of the Taklamakan Desert; Yu Fu’s group (offspring of Zhuan Xu) also moved to that area.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: North tells that Wei, son of Shao Hao, lived in the north of the Tibetan Plateau, suggesting the Shao Hao People spread out from Mount Changliu in the Pamirs Plateau to the north of the Tibetan Plateau.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: North goes Zhuan Xu and his nine wives were buried on Mount Fuyu, which was located between the Yellow River beyond the Qinghai Lake, suggesting that the Zhuan Xu People spread out from the eastern Pamirs to Mount Fuyu in today’s Aemye Ma-chhen Range.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South says King Shun lived in the northwestern Tibetan Plateau; also Di Jun (Di Ku), King Yao, King Shun and Shu Jun (grandson of Di Jun) were buried in the same place on the Yueshan Mountain. The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West says the Yu People fought with the Gong Gong People in the Guo Mountain near Mount Buzhou; also Shu Jun’s group lived in the west of the Qinghai Lake and east of the Chishui River. These records hint us that the Di Jun People spread out from the Pamirs to the northern Tibetan Plateau and begat many groups, such as the Yao, Shun and Yu People, also the Hou Ji, Tai Xi and Shu Jun People, who lived in the east of the Chishui River and west of the Qinghai Lake.
Huang Di’s group lived in Mount Mi in the Pamirs Plateau, while their offspring, the Miao Long, Rong Wu, Nong Ming, Bai Quan, or Quan (Xi) Rong, lived in the north of the Tibetan Plateau and the Shi Jun and Bei (north) Di lived in the west of the Chishui River. Shanhaijing records a famous war happened between the Ba People (the Huang Di’s offspring) and Shu Jun People (offspring of the Di Jun), and the Ba moved to the north of the Chishui River after the war. The story hints us that ancient groups of Chinese people made an agreement after wars, that the Huang Di’s offspring would live in the north of the Chishui River and move to the northern areas, matching Shanhaijing’s records of their later inhabitation areas.
The Xuan Yuan People spread out from the Xuan Yuan Mound in the Pamirs Plateau to the northern Tibetan Plateau.
The Third Gathering Area of Neolithic Chinese People was the Weihe River Valley.
The Shao Hao and Di Jun People spread out to the Weihe River Valley.
The Zhuan Xu People, who lived in the Aemye Ma-chhen Range, were very near the Weihe River Valley and had the ability to move to the Weihe Plain. However, due to the Zhuan Xu People had many wars with the Di Jun, it is highly possible that the Di Jun People did not allow the Zhuan Xu People to enter the Weihe Plain. This matches Shanhaijing having no records of the Zhuan Xu People living in the central and eastern areas.
Archaeological Findings Match Shanhaijing’s Records of Ancient Groups of Chinese People
Current humans share a common group of ancestors who were late Modern Humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and who became the only surviving human species on Earth about 20,000 years ago. This latest human species, Homo sapiens sapiens, our ancestors, soon entered the Neolithic, a period in the development of human technology. The Neolithic period began in some parts of the Middle East about 18,000 years BP according to the ASPRO chronology and later in other parts of the world and ended between 4500BCE and 2000BCE.
About 20,000-19,000 years BP, the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) period, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and Asia; many high mountains were covered by snow and ice. The world’s sea level was about 130 meters lower than today, due to the large amount of sea water that had evaporated and been deposited as snow and ice, mostly in the Laurentide ice sheet. At the later stage of the Pleistocene since about 18,000 years BP, temperature rose quickly and snow and ice started melting, including the Pamirs Plateau and Tibetan Plateau. [9]
Shanhaijing records Huang Di’s, Yan Di’s, Di Jun’s, Zhuan Xu’s and Shao Hao’s group lived in the Pamirs Plateau and their offspring moved to the east and spread out to all over China. Many recent Chinese Neolithic archaeological discoveries have included cultivated rice from as early as 14,000 years BP. These include sites in Dao County of Hunan Province (about 12,000BCE), Wannian County of Jiangxi Province (about 10,000 years BP) and Yingde of Guangdong Province (about 9000-6000BCE). Archaeologists have found a lot of remains of human activity 10,000 years ago in China, including Bianbian cave of Yiyuan in Shandong (about 9,000-12,000 years BP), Nazhuantou of Xushui in Henan, Yuchanyan of Dao County in Hunan, Diaotonghuan in Jiangxi, Baozitou of Nanning in Guangxi, Ji County of Tianjin and Qinglong County of Guizhou. In 2013, Hou Guang-liang, the professor of the School of Life and Geography Science of Qinghai Normal University, and other archaeologists of the Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute of Qinghai discovered remains of human activity about 11,200-10,000 years BP in Xiadawu of Maqin County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province.
Shanhaijing’s records and archaeological findings bring us a scientific conclusion. The Pamirs Plateau was very cold and unfit for human habitation before 16,000 years BP. As temperature rising, people, who came from the Middle East, began to enter the Pamirs Plateau around 16,000-15,000 years BP, soon they found that in the east of the Pamirs, there were vast fertile lands, they moved quickly from the Pamirs to the east and spread out to many places of China during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. The early ancient Chinese people lived nomadic lifestyle, moved frequently and were not able to leave much archaeological remains to us. However, when the Neolithic Chinese people started cultivating grains, they were able to settle down and left many archaeological remains.
Archaeologists agree that ancient Chinese people were in the matriarchal clan society before about 8,000 years BP, when human knew only mother not father and accepted only endogamy. It was able to ascertain the patriarchal clan of a group of people instead of an individual.
In prehistoric China, people usually named their groups after certain ancestors. Shanhaijing records many ancient groups of people and name a group of people with “Guo,” its literal meaning is nation or tribe. Shanhaijing does not identify the patriarchal ancestors of most ancient groups of people due to the long-time of the matriarchal clan society. However, Shanhaijing clearly identifies some individual’s patriarchal clans and around 150 groups of Neolithic people, which came from the five biggest groups of people: Huang Di, Yan Di, Zhuan Xu, Di Jun and Shao Hao. These were not only the names of individuals, but also the names of groups who regarded them as common male ancestors.
When the patriarchal clan society began in about 8,000 years BP, almost all ancient Chinese people still accepted only endogamy, those people, who believed that they were offspring of Huang Di’s group, tried to compile their patriarchal clans and claimed Huang Di was their common male ancestor. However, they were not able to ascertain which particular individual was Huang Di, due to Huang Di living in the matriarchal clan society - his group had female as leader and he was not able to be the male leader of his group. Clearly, Huang Di was only a figure from compilation, not a real person. Or, Huang Di originally was a female leader but people in the patriarchal clan society claimed that he was a male leader. Today, we shall comprehend that Huang Di refers to Huang Di’s group. The Huang Di People refer to all people who were offspring of Huang Di’s group and regarded Huang Di as their common male ancestor. So did Yan Di, Shao Hao, Zhuan Xu and Di Jun.
While most geographical positions written in Shanhaijing cannot be verified, Shanhaijing still provides some hints to let us know the homelands of ancient groups of people.
The Movement of the Shao Hao People During the Neolithic Age.
The Shao Hao People spread out from Mount Changliu in the western Pamirs Plateau to the east of the Taklamakan Desert and west of the Qinghai Lake. The remaining Shao Hao People in Mount Changliu were called “Chang Liu People.”
Shanhaijing records many wars between different groups of people but no wars between the Shao Hao and other peoples in their early time; instead, the early Zhuan Xu People learning eagerly from the Shao Hao and having no time for their musical instruments, reveals the Shao Hao had mastered most advanced sciences and technologies, all other groups of Neolithic Chinese people would like to build close relationships with them. Thereby the Shao Hao had greatly influenced other groups of Neolithic Chinese people with their advanced technologies since their early time.
The Shao Hao People spread out to the Weihe River Valley with some groups of the Di Jun People following them, later to the lower reach of the Yellow River and the Shandong Peninsula, living a nomadic lifestyle, collecting millet and hunting animal during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. The Di Jun People, who followed the Shao Hao’s migration route to the east, lived in the west of the Shao Hao’s inhabitation areas. The migration route of Shao Hao’s groups was exactly the later Old Silk Road, which was built during the Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE).
Around 11,000 years BP, Neolithic Chinese people went from gathering to cultivating millet. The Shao Hao and Di Jun People became origins of direct founders of the Weihe River Valley Culture, including Laoguantai Culture (6000-5000BCE), Qin’an Dadiwan First Culture (6200-3000BCE) in Qinan County of Gansu and it successor, Yangshao Culture (5000-3000BCE), also called Painted-Pottery Culture, centered in Huashan and existed in the middle reach of the Yellow River, and the Cishan-peiligang Culture (6200-4600BCE), another origin of Yangshao Culture, in modern-day Henan and southern Hebei. These cultures were named “Di Qiang Culture” by modern historians. The Shao Hao People, who mastered the most advanced sciences and technologies during the Neolithic Age, were the leading developers of Di Qiang Culture.
The Shao Hao People, who moved to the Shandong Peninsula, branched out to many groups, living a nomadic lifestyle during about 16,000-14,000 years BP. About 11,000 years BP, they went from gathering to cultivating millet and soon developed the most advanced Neolithic cultures in the Shandong Peninsula, including Houli Culture (about 6400-5700BCE), a millet-growing culture in Linzi, and Beixin Culture (about 5300-4100BCE), a millet-growing culture in Tengzhou. The potteries discovered in Houli Culture are main painted-potteries, but also have some black potteries, which used more advanced technologies. Dawenkou Culture (about 4100-2600BCE) existed primarily in the Shandong Peninsula, but also appeared in eastern Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu and affected deeply the cultures in the lower reach of the Changjiang River. It overlapped with the territory of Shao Hao People.
Hou Li, Beixin and Dawenkou cultures and their successor Longshan Culture were named “Dong Yi Culture” by modern archaeologists and historians, who also agree that Dong Yi Culture was the most advanced culture in Neolithic China. The Shao Hao People, who mastered the most advanced sciences and technologies, were sole founders of Dong Yi Culture. The technologies of making black potteries were developed only in the Shandong Peninsula and later spread out to other places of China. Longshan Dong Yi Culture (3200-1900BCE) spread out to the territories of the Cishan-peiligang and Yangshao Di Qiang cultures and turned these areas into outposts of Dong Yi Culture. Through this diffusion, Dong Yi Culture greatly influenced ancient China and had the leading role in making the Yellow River Valley Cultural System the root of ancient Chinese civilization.
The Shao Hao People also spread out from the Shandong Peninsula to other places of China along the coastlines, including the Changjiang River estuary, Taiwan and southeast Asia, even Philippines and Polynesia during about 16,000-14,000 years BP.
The Shao Hao People lived near the sea in the east of the Di Jun’s territories in the lower reach of the Changjiang River. The Shao Hao and Di Jun were origins of direct founders of the rice-growing cultures, including Hemudu (5000-3300BCE) in Yuyao of Zhejiang, Majiabang (5000-4000BCE) in Jiaxing of Zhejiang and its successors, Songze (3800-2900BCE) in Qingpu District of Shanghai, and Liangzhu (5300-4200BCE) near Taihu of Zhejiang. The Jade Statues in Lingjiatan Culture (3500-3300BCE) in Hanshan County of Anhui Province have big eyes with double eyelids, the obvious non- Mongoloid characteristics, suggesting the Shao Hao were direct founders of this culture. Many painted-potteries and a large numbers of black potteries discovered in the lower reach of the Changjiang River, prove the deep influence by Dawenkou Dong-Yi Culture (4100-2600BCE).
The Shao Hao People spread out along the coastline to the southeastern China, including Taiwan, where Dabenkeng (4000-3000BCE) Culture was developed, later spread out to the Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Polynesia and Australia. The Di Jun People had the ability to follow the Shao Hao’s migration routes, while the Zhuan Xu People also had the ability to reach the Southeast Asia and follow the Shao Hao’s migration routes.
Archaeologists confirm that rope figure potteries found in Dabenkeng were similar with Hemudu, Majiabang and Liangzhu cultures. German archaeologist Robert Heine Geldern thought that Dabenkeng Culture also spread from Taiwan to Philippines and Polynesia. Dawenkou Culture (4100-2600BCE), which greatly influenced cultures in the lower reach of the Changjiang River, also deeply influenced Dabenkeng and cultures in the southeastern Asia, Philippines and Polynesia.
The Shao Hao People, who spread out from the Shandong Peninsula to the north, Arctic Cycle and Americas along the coastline or through the sea by boat during about 16,000-5,000 years BP, did not leave many archaeological remains for us, due to their migration routes being drowned by sea water while the sea level rising.[10]
Archaeological discoveries match the Shao Hao’s inhabitation areas recorded in Shanhaijing, which also reveal that the sea level rising forced the Shao Hao to move to mountain areas. The biggest group of the Shao Hao’s offspring, called “Shao Hao People,” lived in today’s Taishan and Yimeng Shan Mountains, where Houli Culture (6400-5700BCE) in Linzi was developed.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: South records the Bei People (Shao Hao’s offspring) fought with the Di Jun People for territory, lost the fight and moved to the Mei Yuan Lake. This story tells us that the Shao Hao People, who had moved to the south of the Changjiang River, moved to the west when the sea level rising, entered the territories of the Di Jun People and caused conflicts.
The Nü He People (the Shao Hao’s offspring), who lived near the easternmost place of the Shandong Peninsula, suffered a lot from the sea level rising. They expanded the scope of their territories by sending the Xi He People to move to the upper reach of the Ganshui River in the southwestern Taishan and Yimeng Shan Mountains, where Beixin Culture (5300-4100BCE) was developed in today’s Tengzhou. Some Xi He women moved to the lower reach of the Ganshui River, found the Di Jun men as their husbands and gave birth to ten groups of the Ri (sun) People near the four lakes of Nanyang, Dushan, Zhaoyang and Weishan. The Nü He also built an inhabitation base area for future near the Pamirs by sending the Chang Xi People to move to the west, marry with the Di Jun men and build ten groups of the Yue (moon) People in the western Kunlun Mountains.
The Nü He People
The Nü He People (the Shao Hao’s offspring), also called Mother of Yue (moon), lived in the eastern Shandong Peninsula, recorded in The Classic of the Great Wilderness: East. The literal meanings of the Chinese Characters of “He” include: together with, and, harmonious, cooperative, integration, peace and kindness. Literally, “Nü” means female and “Nü He” means the He People having female as leader.
The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West records that the Chang Xi women found the Di Jun men as 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. 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 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 as their husbands and gave birth to ten groups of the Ri (sun) People, who lived near the Ganyuan Lake, today’s four lakes of Nanyang, Dushan, Zhaoyang and Weishan in the southwest of the Shandong Peninsula.
The Nü He’s, Chang Xi’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.
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. Ancient Chinese people used “Xi” to name Mother of the Sun, or Goddess of the sun, or simply called the Sun with “Xi.” 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, Fuxi was a fabricated figure.
The ten Ri (sun) and twelve Yue (moon) coincide 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 inventor of the traditional Chinese Calendar. “Xi” and “He” were officials who mastered astronomy & calendar in some Chinese legends. This proves that the Nü He People mastered the most advanced sciences and technologies during the Neolithic Age, matching Dong-Yi culture was the most advanced Neolithic culture in China.
By letting the Chang Xi and Xi He women find the Di Jun men as their husbands, the Nü He People expanded their territories, also spread their most advanced sciences and technologies to 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.
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:Lü Yue records, “In the past, Yi shot in the islets of the water. Yi was a good shooter; Yi shot the ten suns.”
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.
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.
The Nü He People, who had settled in the eastern Shandong Peninsula near the easternmost place during about 16,000-14,000 year BP, suffered a lot when the sea level rising and moved to the mountain areas, but the Nü He Queen still worried about the sea level keeping rising, that the whole Shandong Peninsula would be drowned by sea water. 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 southwestern area of the Shao Hao People’s territory in the Taishan and Yimeng Shan Mountains. Some Xi He women discarded their tradition of endogamy with the Shao Hao men and found the Di Jun men as 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, offspring of the Ri People, and his people, who were good shooters and often shot in the islets of the four lakes, 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 as 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 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 Nü He People, who worried the Shandong Peninsula would be drown by sea water if the sea level kept rising, live forever.
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, the Chang Xi women had to found the Di Jun men as 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 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 often went back the Shandong Peninsula to visit the Nü He People, who were named “Mother of Yue” by Shanhaijing.
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 Nü He People chose “He,” whose literal meanings include “together with, and,” “harmonization, integration” and “peace or kindness” in some uses, as the name of their group, hinting that the Nü He had the idea of integration with other ancient groups of Chinese people. This idea let them accept exogamy while most ancient groups of people accepted only endogamy. The Nü He married only with the Shao Hao People, who covered the areas of the western Shandong Peninsula. Only after the Nü He Queen sent the Xi He and Chang Xi People to marry with the Di Jun men and build ten Ri (sun) groups and twelve Yue (moon) groups, the Nü He began to integrate with other ancient groups of people.
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.)
Some nations of the Nü He People lasted until the end of the Zhou Dynasty. During the Zhou Dynasty, the central regime tried to annihilate all Shao Hao nations in the Shandong Peninsula and successfully destroyed all Shao Hao nations in the west of the Jiaolai River. Zuozhuan: Zhuanggong Fourth Year records the State of Qi wiped out the main forces of Ji (a Shao Hao nation in Shouguang) in 690BCE. Many bronze wares of Ji, discovered in Yantai and Laiyang, prove that the State of Ji moved to the east of the Jiaolai River after the wars. The State of Qi destroyed the Shao Hao nation: Lai completely in 567BCE, 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 (today’s Tengzhou of Shandong Province). Some of the Lai People might have escaped to the east of the Jiaolai River. The first duke of the State of Qi (1122-221BCE, capital: today’s Linzi) was Jiang Zi-ya, who highly possible came from the Bei (north) Qi People and was the Prime Minister of Ji Fa, the second emperor of the Zhou. 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, including the Nü He People, in the east of the Jiaolai River. We can say that the Zhou had never controlled the east area of the Jiaolai River.
Today, the elevation of most areas around the Jiaolai River Valley is below ten meters, while Qingdao’s elevation is 0 meter. Around 6,000 years ago, the sea level was two to five meters higher than today’s present sea level; the Jiaolai River Valley was a sea strait. After 5,000 years BP, the Jiaolai River was a water channel, but the areas of the river valley were large swamps. The Jiaolai River had been a natural barrier for the Nü He People during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. This enabled the Nü He People to keep their own culture. Many scholars thought the Neolithic culture in eastern Shandong had its own special features and became an independent system based on its own resources. Many bronze wares, which were made during about 1600-1046BCE, discovered in the eastern Shandong Peninsula, suggesting there were ancient nations in the east of Jiaolai River. Unfortunately, many remains of earlier Nü He Culture were drowned by sea water during the sea level rising.
The Race of the Shao Hao People
Dr. Carleton S. Coon classified humanity into five races (major divisions of mankind) - Caucasoid race: Europiforms, Mongoloid race: Mongoliforms, Negroid race: Negriforms, Capoid race: Khoisaniforms and Australoid race: Australiforms. [5]
The Caucasoid race is defined by the Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English as “relating to a broad division of humankind covering peoples from Europe, western Asia and parts of India and North Africa,” or “white-skinned; of European origin,” or “relating to the region of the Caucasus in SE Europe.” This concept’s existence is based upon “the now disputed typological method of racial classification origin.”
The common accepted characteristics of Mongoloid are yellow-skinned, black and straight hair, single-fold eyelids, flat nose, shovel-shaped incisor and little body hair. Huang Di, the literal meaning of these Chinese characters was “Yellow King,” or “Yellow Ancestor-god.” The word “yellow” suggests that Huang Di had a clear Mongoloid racial characteristic - yellow skin.
Many modern historians used to classify the Shao Hao People as members of the Mongoloid race. However, archaeological discovers prove that the Shao Hao People bore resemblances to the Caucasoid race in general appearance. They were very tall people, with a high forehead, aquiline nose, pronounced facial whiskers, beard and bushy body hairs. The Shao Hao People shared genes with Caucasians.
In fact, archaeologists and scientists of molecular paleontology had discovered Caucasoid racial characteristics (HV genes) in DNA extracted from bones in ancient tombs at Linzi, as well as archaeological sites of Dawenkou (about 4000BCE) and Beizhuang (about 4500BCE) in Changdao, in the Shandong Peninsula. This offered clear evidence that the Shao Hao People and Caucasoid race shared genetic connection.
Li H, Huang Y, Mustavich LF and Zhang F, authors of “Y-chromosomes of Prehistoric People Along the Yangtze River, Human Genetic” (November 2007, 122(3-4):383-8), believe that the Neolithic residents of the Shandong Peninsula and some regions of eastern China (including parts of Henan, Hebei and Jiangsu) had clear Caucasoid characteristics. Those people might have come from the Middle East. [6]
At Beizhuang (about 4500BCE) in Changdao, archaeologists discovered a pottery mask with clear Caucasoid characteristics. [7]
Guo Mo-ruo (1892-1978), former President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discovered that the Neolithic residents of the Shandong Peninsula, during the period of Dawenkou Culture (about 4100-2600BCE), had luxuriant facial whiskers and beards, bushy body hairs, aquiline nose, thereby bearing some resemblance to the Caucasoid race in appearance.
Many Shandong Neolithic archaeological sites contain the bodies of tall Neolithic people. Guchengding (about 1000BCE) in Qingdao, revealed individuals about 1.8 and 1.9 meters tall; Beiqian Village (about 4000BCE) in Jimo in the Shandong Peninsula, had individuals as tall as two meters; Liangwangcheng (about 3000BCE) in Pizhou of Jiangsu Province, bordering Shandong Province, held bodies more than 1.8 meters tall.
The Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Laboratory for Molecular Anthropology and Molecular Evolution and Division of Anthropology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tokyo, made a co-study. They found that inconsistent with the geographical distribution, the 2,500-year-old Linzi population (in Shandong Province) showed greater genetic similarity to present-day European populations than to present-day East Asian populations. The 2,000-year-old Linzi population had features that were intermediate between the present-day European and the present-day East Asian populations, as compared to over-2,500 year old Linzi populations. [8]
Scientific research indicates incontestably that local residents in the Shandong Peninsula had Caucasoid race characteristics from the Neolithic Age until the late Spring and Autumn Period (about 770-476BCE). The State of Qi cracked the city of the State of Ji (in today’s Shouguang), wiped out the main forces of Ji in 690BCE, and forced the Ji People to move to the east of the Jiaolai River. The State of Qi destroyed the last Shao Hao nation - Lai nation - completely in 567BCE, killing the Lai king and most of the Lai People, taking control of whole territory. The Qi People, who were members of the Mongoloid race, were the reason of the proliferation of Mongoloid race in the western Shandong Peninsula.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589CE), most of the rulers of the northern dynasties came from the northern nomadic people, who were Huang Di’s offspring and were members of the Mongoloid race. After the Sui Dynasty (581-618CE) and Tang Dynasty (618-907CE), the Han People, or Han Nationality (the name of the ethnic majority in China since the Han Dynasty 202BCE-220CE) of the Shandong Peninsula, had on average far more Mongolian racial characteristics. Emperors encouraged large-scale migration throughout Chinese history, and as a result, there were a lot of exogamy between groups of people.
According to historical records, many Shandong historical figures had Caucasoid racial characteristics. Shanhaijing clearly tells us that the Shao Hao People spread out from Mount Changliu of the Pamirs Plateau to the west of the Qinghai Lake and then to the lower reach of the Yellow River and the Shandong Peninsula. The Chang Liu People in Mount Changliu respected Shao Hao, ancestor of the Shao Hao People, as the “White King” or “White Ancestor-God.” The word “white” suggests that Shao Hao had a clear Caucasoid racial characteristic - white skin.
Shanhaijing also records that the Di Jun People were fathers of the Bai Min (the literal meaning of these Chinese characters were “white people”), suggesting the Bai Min’s mothers were from the Shao Hao People, so that the Bai Min People had Caucasoid racial characteristic - white skin. The exogamy between the Xi He women (the Shao Hao’s offspring) and Di Jun men, gave birth to ten groups of the Ri (sun) People, who lived near the four lakes of Nanyang, Dushan, Zhaoyang and Weishan, while the Chang Xi women (the Shao Hao’s offspring) married with the Di Jun men and gave birth to twelve groups of the Yue (moon) People, who lived in the western Kunlun Mountains.
Emperors of the Shang Dynasty originally lived in Qufu of Shandong Province, suggesting the Shang’s ancestors were offspring of the Shao Hao. Confucius (551-479BCE), an offspring of the Shang Emperors, had clear Caucasoid racial characteristics.
Very tall (over 2.2 meters). The Records of the Grand Historian said: “Confucius was nine Chi and six Cun; everyone thought he was different and called him the tall man.” One Chi is about 23.2 centimeters; one Chi is ten Cun. However, some lacquer screen, which was found in the tomb of “Haihunhou” (Marquis of Haihun) dating back to the Western Han Dynasty (202BCE-9CE), says that Confucius was seven Chi and nine Cun (about 182 centimeters).
Enhanced strength. Liezi said: “Confucius had enhanced physical strength and could lift the sluice of a city.”
High forehead. Kongzi Jiayu said: “his eyes were like rivers; his forehead was high; his head looked like Yao; his neck looked like Gao Tao; his shoulders looked like Zi Chan; his lower body was three Cun shorter than Yu.” Zhuangzi said: “his upper body was longer than his lower body; he was humpbacked; his ears could be seen from the back.”
The Records of the Grand Historian, says, “Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (256-195BCE), who was born in Feng Town near the Weishan Lake bordering Shandong Province, had a high nose, high forehead, high brow-bone, significant facial whiskers and a beard,” bearing clear resemblances to the Caucasoid race in general appearance.
Clearly, the Shao Hao people had clear Caucasoid racial characteristics. However, due to there were no direct evidence that the Shao Hao People and European share the same origin. I refer to the Shao Hao People as the Shao Hao Race in this article, to distinguish them from other, purely Mongoloid races of Neolithic people in China.
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.
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