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Ancient China, before entering the class society, went through a long period of primitive social stage. At that time, there was no writing, and the social situation at that time could not be recorded, and it could only be passed on by word of mouth from generation to generation.
The legendary mysterious "Youchao Clan", "Fuxi Clan", "Shennong Clan" are some representative figures of that period in history.
Modern archaeological science proves that as long as some of the mysteries added by later generations are removed and their original appearances are returned, these representative figures and their deeds can basically reflect the economic, cultural and living conditions of certain historical stages of China's primitive society.
In this article, I will try to introduce and analyze the situation and deeds of these representative figures, and what they all got their name for, and what historical situation they reflect.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > has a nest</h1>
Legend has it that the Nest clan "built a tree for a nest", which also reflects the fact that our ancestors struggled to run their own dwellings in that era.
Early primitive humans, in the shaded forests and in the wilderness of birds and beasts, used the rough stone tools they made themselves and used the power of the group to hunt various beasts and dig up plant roots and fruits to maintain their own difficult lives.
In order to survive in this environment, at least some of them maintained the habit of living in trees at the beginning, which is the original meaning of "building trees as nests".
Later, perhaps at the same time, people used natural caves, or dug their own caves under the rocks on the side of the mountain to live, so that they could defend themselves from the invasion of wind, rain, cold and heat and poisonous snakes and beasts, and had a more fixed hiding place.
The archaeological excavations of the "Peking Man" and "Hilltop Cave Man" in The site of Zhoukoudian in Beijing is a cave, which is also the habitation of human beings throughout the Paleolithic Period. For a long time afterwards, people also built shacks and other shelters on the ground.
In the Neolithic Age, with the progress of production tools and the development of agriculture, fishing, hunting, animal husbandry and other economies, clan communes also gradually developed and prospered, and people lived and worked in peace and contentment. So he gradually learned to build wood and earth, and built a semi-crypt-like circular, square hut and a rectangular house. Later, it was further developed into a pure ground building, and the structure became increasingly complex and applicable, which also became the prototype of the house and palace in later generations.
Therefore, the nested clan that "builds a tree as a nest" can be said to summarize the human habitation situation at all stages of primitive society.
△ There is a picture of the Nest Clan who lives in the tree house
< h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" ></h1>
The Flintstone clan is named after the "drilling wood for fire".
The earliest primitive humans did not know cooked food, they hunted birds and animals and collected fruits and rhizomes were eaten raw, there was a period of so-called "ru mao drinking blood".
Later, after long-term repeated observation, people saw that the forest fire caused by lightning or volcanic eruptions could not only keep warm, but also scare away wild beasts, and found that the meat of the beast roasted by the fire was delicious and easy to digest, so people began to learn to use fire.
At first, only natural fire was used and preserved, and after many years of life practice, people found that through flint processing or long-term drilling of a hard piece of wood, it often heated up and smoked and burst out of the fire, and since then they have learned to "drill wood for fire" and other artificial fire methods.
Before liberation, some ethnic minorities in China also used flint strikes, drilling bamboo and drilling wood to make fires, and in the ancient tombs and ruins of some ethnic minorities, relics that were drilled and burned in wood chips were also found, which are all examples.
Ash accumulation layers have been found in sites such as "Peking People", "Hetao People", "Peak Cave People" and "Xiaonanhai Culture" in our country, indicating that the era of human use of fire is very early. Judging from the fire sites such as the "Hetao People" and the "Cave People on the Top of the Mountain", it is likely that humans have learned the method of artificial fire making during this period.
Since the advent of fire, especially artificial fire, human life has undergone a huge leap forward. The widespread use of fire has enabled humans to expand the range of hunting objects and food, and to enhance their defense capabilities; they have made new developments in human bodies and enhanced brain capacity. Human beings evolved from the "ape man" to the "ancient" stage, and then further to the "new man" stage, and the society moved from the primitive population to the early clan commune.
Therefore, the representative of "drilling wood for fire" shows that human beings have learned to use artificial fire as a huge progress.
△ Flintstone's drilling wood for fire map
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > Fuxi</h1>
The Fuxi clan, also known as the "Cu Xi clan", is named after the "sacrifice for the cook". Legend has it that he also taught people to tie nets to catch animals and domesticate livestock, and said that he also "taught the people to marry."
These legends first reflect the occurrence of primitive animal husbandry. During this period, the level of human stone tool production improved a lot, more exquisite than before, some stone tools are called fine stone tools; and began to use cutting, grinding, drilling, digging and other techniques to make bone tools and ornaments, sew clothes with bone needles; and with the increase of hunted beasts, they began to learn to domesticate wild beasts, forming a primitive animal husbandry.
At this stage, the situation between the various ethnic groups in our country is different, generally in the Neolithic Era, the combination of agriculture and animal husbandry appeared, but some ethnic groups have been developing animal husbandry.
The Chinese painting of Fuxi on the elephant stone is not unrelated to the historical legend that Fuxi was a tribal leader marked by beasts as totems, thus indicating the emergence of animal husbandry in primitive society.
Legend has it that Fuxi also looked up at the sky, looked down at the ground, drew gossip, carved words, and replaced the "Knotted Rope Chronicle" and other deeds, which means that people already knew to carve symbols on wood, stone chips and bone pieces to help memory.
At this stage of cultural sites, there are traces of symbols engraved on bone pieces, and it is really possible that the writing of later generations gradually developed from here.
△ Portrait of Fuxi
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" > Shennong</h1>
The Shennong clan is the surname of Jiang, that is, the Yan Emperor, and according to legend, their family was the first to engage in agricultural production, hence the name.
Legend has it that he used wood to cut and knead to make soil and hoe the soil, and taught people to plant grains, and his son also taught people to grow vegetables; he also said that he had tasted hundreds of herbs and invented medicine; he also said that he "cultivated and made pottery", and at the same time "ploughed and ate", he could "weave and cloth"; he also said that he set up a market and began to trade with or without, and so on. These legends depict the heyday of human society entering the "Neolithic Age".
In this era, through long-term labor practice, people have accumulated rich experience in identifying and cultivating edible plants. Because of the certain identification of crops, people at this time may have initially acquired some knowledge of herbal diseases.
Stone tool making also developed to a higher level, the blades produced were very sharp, and the shape was also very suitable, and stone knives, stone sickles, stone shovels and large stone hammers appeared, as well as wooden agricultural tools such as silk and furrows. The pottery industry has also developed further, enabling people to manufacture a variety of living utensils and more convenient for their daily lives.
At that time, people planted grain crops such as rice and millet on burned land and vegetables such as cabbage and mustard greens, which was historically called "hoe farming". The harvested grain is dehulled and ground with stone pestles, stone mortars, and stone millstones, and cooked with stove pits.
With the development of agriculture, the breeding of livestock also generally increased, and in the late stage of this stage, the "six animals" were also completed, resulting in the first large division of labor in agriculture and animal husbandry. Because of this division of labor and the difference in economic life between clans, there were occasional exchange activities between clans. People also began to sew clothes from hemp fiber weaving, a step further than before they only knew how to sew with animal skins.
In short, in this era, the creation and invention of people's labor production are becoming more and more abundant, the ability to control nature is increasing, and economic life is increasingly guaranteed.
During this period, the female lineage was still centered on the so-called Shennong era, "the people know their mother, but they don't know their father." At that time, the main production of hoe farming, livestock breeding, pottery, sewing and weaving was still undertaken by women, and women enjoyed a high status and prestige in the clan society.
At this time, all the members of the clan commune were still the same as before, working together, consuming together, abiding by the customs of the clan, helping each other and being equal, and had not yet formed a class, nor had private property, the so-called "people obey without orders" and "the people do not do wrong without rewards and punishments".
The archaeological discovery of the "Yangshao culture" site a few years ago typically reflects the socio-economic life of this historical period.
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