Did Chinese Civilization Begin in 4464 B.C.?

It has been a long-held norm， in an era which holds science above all else， to determine the origins of civilizations based on archeological findings. According to such criterion， the Tigris-Euphrates River valley and the Nile River civilizations could have started around 3500 B.C.， while the Aegean and Indus River valley civilizations could have begun about 2500 B.C.

The Timeline of Chinese History in the authoritative Cihai dictionary identifies 841 B.C. as the start of recorded Chinese history. However， A Chronology of Chinese and Foreign History， compiled by Chinese historian Jian Bozan （1898-1968） in 1961， defines it as 2297 B.C. when the legendary Emperor Yao ascended to his throne as the start of Chinese civilization. Both versions allude to the fact that China has the shortest past among the major ancient civilizations of the world. Could that be true？

Returning to the records

In 1971， renowned Chinese scholar Qian Zhongshu （1910-98） expressed his suspicions that Chinese civilization began before 841 B.C.， the first year of consecutive annual dating of Chinas history identified based on the Bamboo Annals， a chronicle written during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods （770-221 B.C.）. He alerted Luan to the necessity of redrawing the timeline of Chinese history according to the Records of the Chinese Emperors， written by Huangfu Mi （A.D. 215-282）. According to Qian， the mythological period of ancient China may be possible to prove. Following Qians advice， Luan headed a research team to collect and sort out materials and conduct extensive research， taking advantage of the Digitization Project of Ancient Chinese Books and referring to numerous classical documents including the aforementioned works. Finally， Zhonghua Shibiao was published this year after 30 years strenuous work.

The book dates Chinese history back 6，477 years to 4464 B.C. or the time of Suiren， the discoverer of fire and one of the Three Sovereigns according to Chinese legend. It draws on the archeological discoveries of the Peiligang Culture（8，000 years ago）， the Yangshao Culture （5，000-7，000 years ago）， the Liangzhu Culture （6，000-7，000 years ago）， the Hongshan Culture （5，000-6，000 years ago） and the Dawenkou Culture（4，400-6，300 years ago）. The book challenges the long-established view that the period before the Shang Dynasty， which could have started around 1500 B.C.， was not well founded and looks to prove that Chinese civilization has existed for more than 6，000 years.endprint

The book begins with the mythological figure of Pangu and ends with Aisin-Gioro Puyi， the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）. It records the 996 reigning titles used by 1，262 emperors. The timeline features the name of each dynasty， the first and last year of the dynasty， the name of the emperor， the reigning title， the number of years the emperor was in power， remarks providing additional historical evidence and more. All the dates on the timeline are based upon documentations from historical books and most are specified to the day or the month. It provides evidence for the 6，000 years history of Chinese civilization， along with works such as The Emperors of Remote Antiquity， Officials and People of Remote Antiquity and A Collection of Huangfu Mis Works， the latter three of which are soon to be published by the New World Press.

Hi-tech approach

The publication of Zhonghua Shibiao was made possible by the Digitization Project of Ancient Chinese Books initiated by the late scholar Qian. The project built four databases of personal names， calendars， place names and books， in correspondence with the four core elements of history： people， time， places and events. After careful study of these databases， researchers formed a series of digital books including A Calendar of Chinese History， which later evolved into Zhonghua Shibiao， A Dictionary of Chinese Personal Names， which was derived from 400，000 biographies， A Dictionary of Chinese Place Names and An Anthology of 50，000 Authors. This project represented the latest progress in Chinese culture research aided by “big data” and cloud computing.

At the books release ceremony on July 15， many historians made their comments. Qi Shirong， former President of Beijings Capital Normal University， said Zhonghua Shibiao represents the tradition of emphasizing chronological studies in Chinese historical research. However， it seems improbable to set the start of Chinese history at such an early period.

The publication of the book represents an innovation in Chinese historical studies， said Zhang Chuanxi， a professor with the Department of History at Peking University（PKU）. However， it is unfortunate that the book is based largely on historical documents and lacks a sound archeological or ethnological basis.

Wu Rongzeng， also a professor at the Department of History at PKU， contended that it is still reasonable to assume Chinese history began with Huangdi， also known as the Yellow Emperor， who was believed to have reigned in China 4，500 years ago， and that the new book seeks to reestablish a theory that has already been discarded. For example， Pangu appeared very late in historical documents， not until in The Book of the Later Han， a history of the Eastern Han Dynasty （A.D. 25-220） written in the fifth century.endprint

Lou Yulie， a professor with the Department of Philosophy at PKU， said although there is evidence that Chinese history started with Huangdi， disputes remain. Archeological findings should be incorporated to determine the starting point of Chinese civilization.

Using the timeline format is simple but vague， said Yan Wenming， a professor with the Department of Archeology at PKU. He also suggested that Zhonghua Shibiao should draw on results of the latest archeological research if it is republished.

Answers to the discrepancies above might be found in the three historic works soon to be published by the New World Press. However， there are questions that may not have an immediate solution and call for further research.

The mysteries of history can be unearthed through archeological excavations. However， historical studies cannot rely solely on this field because it is unclear what is buried underground， where it is buried and when it will be discovered. Besides archeological excavations， there are still large numbers of historical documents that aid research in this endeavor. Furthermore， computing technology has made it possible to digitize historical documents and search for historical facts with ease.

It is hoped that this book will renew interest in Chinese history and culture and inspire scholars to reevaluate the contributions of the ancient Chinese to the progress of world civilization. All this is rendered possible by the rich and precious historical documents left by the nations ancestors. Zhonghua Shibiao is an offspring of the marriage of technology to historical documents and will provide new insights for both cultural and historical studies.endprint