The legendary Xia Dynasty, the so-called earliest time is "about 2070 BC" is at most 4000 years, which is still the largest value chosen. This period of history in the historical records is strange and abnormal, and it can be used as a mythological story. The excavation of oracle bones proves the existence of the Shang Dynasty, which is also the first dynasty recorded in the history of the mainland, so we call it the Yin Shang Civilization, which is about to move the capital to Yin.
The strange thing is that the hundreds of thousands of oracle bones unearthed by the Shang Dynasty actually do not have the slightest record of the Xia Dynasty, but are recorded in the history of the Han Dynasty after 2000 years. The earliest time recorded since the beginning of the record is: "King Wu cut down the silk, carved the celestial signs recorded in the stele, thus introducing the first accurate time in history" Chinese civilization is estimated to be between 3800-2900 years, although the time is not the longest, but the culture is brilliant.
The 5,000 years of Chinese civilization are bragging and boasting, and there is only light on the face when they say it. Mainstream historians in China generally believe that 3700 years is the right solution. History and archaeology are serious sciences, and they cannot be concluded by telling a few mythical stories of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors. Among the four ancient civilizations, China has the shortest history of civilization, which is an indisputable fact. However, Chinese civilization has indeed continued without interruption.
When civilization originated, the international has a unified standard, that is, there must be physical evidence that exists today. Ancient Egypt had pyramids from 3,000 BC and valley of the kings tombs from 4,000 BC, which showed the superb architectural art of the time, some of which are incomparable to our modern civilization. The 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization (including the Xia Dynasty) lacks real physical evidence, at least so far, the existence of the Mainland Xia Dynasty is not recognized internationally. I think yi Zhongtian is not wrong based on this academic point of view. Legends cannot be corroborated by the history of civilization. Only when there is debate can there be progress, which can motivate us to explore and find the true origin of the history of our civilization.
The Xia Dynasty may not necessarily represent ancient China, the Shang Dynasty covered the area mainly in the Central Plains, and there must have been other civilizations or cultures in the vast Chinese region during the same period, but these tribes were not as developed as the Shang Dynasty. Jiangsu Danyang unearthed a 6,000-year-old phoenix pattern, which belongs to the northernmost extension of the Shajiabang culture. By analogy, Xia is likely to be a smaller tribal culture in the region around the Central Plains. Xia may have been more culturally advanced than other regions of the same period, or it may have lagged behind other regions. The scope of the business cannot yet cover the whole of China. Besides, Xia is likely to be just a branch of China's ancient diverse culture. Whether it can represent the starting point of Chinese civilization needs to be examined.
Ten thousand years ago was the Neolithic Age, and the birth of civilization is not only to see the development, but also to see the standard, otherwise most of the apes in the world at that time, Homo erectus people are in a development process, that is the development process of human beings, not the development of civilization alone, at least a civilization needs its own written language, but also a mature script, the Shang Dynasty did not discuss because the oracle bone script has been regarded as a mature script. And like our more intense discussion at home and abroad is the Xia Dynasty, foreigners believe that the Xia Dynasty does not exist, or should not be included in the history of civilization, mainly because the Xia Dynasty has no written records, even if mainland experts strive, in the end there is still controversy.
Civilization is marked by the presence of a state, not by the presence of writing. The history of China with writing can be considered to be roughly 3700 years, but there is a history of state forms, at least no later than 5000 years ago, as evidenced by the discovery of Liangzhucheng. In fact, it should be considered that civilization has begun since there were exquisitely crafted jades, because it is difficult to imagine that there is no highly developed organizational form that can produce such exquisite jade. According to this, it can be considered that Chinese civilization began as early as the Hongshan period.
Bold speculation: Chinese civilization is far beyond five thousand years. Archaeology is nothing more than current physical evidence. Moreover, modern technology and the possibility of digging in large quantities, there are still many things that cannot be interpreted or misinterpreted. The development of human society is a long process, and the emergence of words cannot be sudden and short-term. At least a thousand years, so the future will surely prove that Chinese civilization is far beyond five thousand years.