Wen Shijun once wrote an article about the history of the Xia Dynasty, and today he received a private message from a reader friend and exchanged some views.
After the speech, readers and friends said that he had specifically studied the formation, development and evolution of the history of the Xia Dynasty, and had written an article specifically. Wen Shijun had the privilege of reading it. His deep study of Xia Dynasty culture is admirable.
Today, borrow the hand of Wen Shijun to release it for everyone to enjoy.
More than ten years ago, in order to protect the environment and prevent soil erosion, the state implemented a policy of closing mountains and cultivating forests. The core of the policy of closing the mountain and cultivating forests is to prohibit cattle and sheep from grazing on the mountain. What does this say?
It shows that herbivores such as cattle and sheep are the root cause of vegetation destruction. If there are no herbivores such as cattle and sheep nibbling on the mountain forest, it is difficult to remove vegetation by mere vandalism. And human beings are able to light on the temperament, if there is no persecution, will not deliberately try to overcome difficulties, in ancient times, if there is no cattle and sheep and other herbivores to eat the mountain forest, for the primeval forest that can not be started, will not strive to reclaim the land for planting, but after raising cattle and sheep, after the cattle and sheep nibble on the mountain forest.
First of all, when humans graze cattle and sheep, they will open up many roads, and then after humans watch the cattle and sheep nibble, the original vegetation is destroyed. Through slash-and-burn farming, a large amount of cultivated land will be gradually reclaimed for planting, and planting and animal husbandry will develop at the same time, which will also provide a material basis for the development of civilized society.
The tribes that raise pigs, dogs, chickens and ducks have not cultivated a lot of arable land, nor have they developed a coherent communication with the surrounding areas. People don't interact with each other. There was no fierce competition with the other tribes around him, and he could only be arrogant and did not want to make progress, so it was impossible to become the leader and the original spreader of the development of civilization.
Raising cattle, sheep and horses not only improves the high-grade meat food, but also destroys trees and shrubs, helping humans to open up convenient transportation routes. Cattle and horses (including donkeys) provided means of transport, coupled with the original water transportation, forming a complete commodity transportation system.
Fifth: climatic conditions are suitable for human life and habitation
There must be a suitable climate suitable for the development of the cultivation industry, and when the income from farming far exceeds the income from animal husbandry, human beings will do everything possible to protect their own farmland, willing to engage in slavery, voluntarily serve as slaves, voluntarily serve as military servants for the ruling class, voluntarily pay tributes and taxes to slave owners, voluntarily submit to the leadership of slave owners, voluntarily sacrifice themselves, raise slave owners' children, and voluntarily maintain the order of slave society.
That is to say, people are willing to live on this land when they grow and live on this land, and accept the rule of slave owners than in other surrounding areas to engage in nomadic and fishing and hunting. Instead, people leave to other places to engage in fishing, hunting, or nomadic life.
This requires that the area not only be a riverside alluvial plain with abundant water and grass, but also a suitable climate, not only suitable for crop growth, but also far more than other production methods such as fishing, hunting and nomadic herding. The reason why 30 degrees north latitude has become the birthplace of human civilization is because the climate of this region is suitable for farming, and it is easier to develop into arable land than the dense forests in the south.
Sixth, it must be a place that can be visited around, which is worse than the central area
There is no unprovoked love in the world, no one is willing to submit to the slave (the slave mentioned here is the "slave" and "subject" mentioned in ancient Chinese literature, although in ancient China, the "subjects and slaves" of the subordinate tribes must obey the orders of the king, but the water is easy to carry the boat, the relationship between the king and the slave is not the relationship that westerners say, and they sometimes have a relationship like brothers. Specifically how these relationships change and how they interact, we explain in other articles, and the subjection of slaves mentioned below is the same as this. It is a Chinese-style slave relationship, not a relationship in which feudal society later restricted personal freedom and arbitrarily exploited it. ）
Only when the slaves who surrendered to the center lived better than those who left the center. Only then did people willingly become slaves here, ancient Egypt and the ancient Two Rivers Valley, except for the central area, surrounded by desert. Those who are free in the desert are still not living well in the heartland.
Therefore, everyone is united to protect the homeland together, and since they are united, someone must be the king, and the order must be unified. Uniformly implement the laws and decrees promulgated by the king.
In China, which places meet this region and which places meet these six points?
First of all, people will think of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, today's Henan Anhui Shandong region, and in recent years, a large number of Yangshao culture, Longshan culture, Pei Ligang culture and other cultural sites have been excavated.
Today, many people associate these cultural sites with the rule of the Yellow Emperor and the rule of Yao Shunyu. However, this place does not meet the conditions for the earliest formation of human beings as a center of state and civilization.
We interpret history, we must look at it from the perspective of change, we know that the Yellow River is a river with a high sediment content, today's lower reaches of the Yellow River plain, thousands of miles of wilderness, a horse Pingchuan, which is the Yellow River tens of thousands of years of sediment silt formation.
During the Xia Dynasty, the Yellow River was below Zhengzhou, equivalent to the Yellow River Delta, although the Yellow River silt formed many "sand dunes" and "high terraces", as well as small plains formed along the edges of the mountains at higher altitudes.
However, these areas suitable for agricultural development are surrounded by rivers and lakes. There is no land transport connection into pieces. Although there are already small patches of arable land here. And the lakes and swamps have a large number of fish, birds and wild beasts that provide a rich source of animal food. Human beings have abundant food sources and rich livelihoods, but because there is no arable land, especially due to the inconvenience of transportation, the cattle and sheep of the northern nomadic peoples have not yet been introduced on a large scale.
As we said above, cattle and sheep nibbling on mountain forests are the key to promoting human reclamation of large areas of arable land. Although our archaeological discoveries today can confirm that there has been a high degree of civilization development in these places, these civilizations have developed relatively closed in one small place after another, have not formed a unity, and have developed into powerful regimes throughout the region, and although there have been class differentiation, with the initial taxation and servitude system, these superior and subordinate rules are consciously and voluntarily maintaining order, and there is no law that requires everyone to approve like ancient Egypt and ancient Babylon.
Although there is material exchange, it is not yet a commodity exchange, and there is no need for a strong national agency to use laws to maintain the normal operation of commodity exchange. Because the living environment in these places is similar, there is no continuous invasion of foreign tribes, although archaeological findings can prove that there are defensive armed personnel in these areas, but most of these armed personnel are tasked with maintaining internal order, and there is no standing "army" to protect the country from external intrusion.
One of the most critical points is that because there are many rivers and lakes in these places, people can easily escape. These people who go out are also welcomed by people from other places. After all, the addition of new bloodlines is conducive to the development and continuation of the tribe, and the lower reaches of the Yellow River are too big to be there. And it's popular in other places. Why not? Chasing fugitives is also more than worth the loss.
Therefore, at that time, the lower reaches of the Yellow River did not have the ability to form a unified state, and there was no unified written language, calendar, and ritual law. There is no complete taxation system, so today's Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, and Zhejiang, the sites they found are not Yao Shunyu. Their culture may later have been covered by the Xia Dynasty tribes that moved in.
Let's talk about the northwest region, especially the Ningxia region and the Inner Mongolia Hetao region, the geographical environment is similar to that of the Two Rivers Valley and the Egyptian region, and archaeological findings also prove that cattle, sheep and horses were once raised here, and in ancient times, there may have been tribal alliances, but these places are located in the north.
Climatic conditions, agricultural cultivation, living conditions, are more difficult, especially in the loess plateau southeast of it, the people prefer to enter the loess plateau to live, not so strong desire, have to return to the Hetao region to submit to the original chief, as vassals (slaves) under the rule of others. Therefore, this place may not be the birthplace of our ancestors, the area ruled by the legendary Yao Shunyu.
Where is the birthplace of our ancestors, yao shunyu' ruling area? The only place is: the junction of Jin, Shaanxi and Yu, the Fenwei Basin.
Now that we have said so much, which region meets the above requirements, that is, Yao Shunyu and the area ruled by the early Xia Dynasty? The answer is: the Gufenwei Basin at the bend of the Yellow River at the junction of Jin, Shaanxi and Yu.
Readers, what do you think about the historically confusing Xia Dynasty? If you like this article, please forward it to your favorite