china-10-history-culture_v1_m56577569830510981.pdfVIP

© Lonely Planet Publications 35 History Korina Miller Damian Harper Littered with sieges, cults, kidnappings, indolent emperors, magnificent in- ventions, works of genius and grand gestures like the Terracotta Warriors of the Qin dynasty and the communists’ Long March, Chinese history twists its way through nearly 6000 years. Often touted as the world’s oldest surviving civilisation, China has seen as many changes as the Great Wall has bricks. The territorial reach of the state, the origin of its rulers, how people speak and dress, and even what they eat, have all changed beyond recognition more than once. Together, the history of the many societies that have flourished on this country’s soil form the tale the Chinese tell about their origins. LEGENDS OF YORE While China’s earliest history is made up of the stuff of legends and has no contemporary written record, archaeology confirms that societies have been putting down roots in China since antiquity. Excavations at Bànpō ( p430 ), not far from present-day Xī’ān, show that a sedentary agricultural community flourished nearly 6000 years ago. A second early culture was discovered in present-day Shāndōng. Known as Longshan culture, it shows the beginning of metallurgy and appears to have been the driving force behind the Bronze Age Shang dynasty. TELLTALE SIGNS: THE SHANG In 1899 peasants working near present-day Ānyáng unearthed pieces of Bones found near Ānyáng polished bone and turtle shells. These relics were inscribed with characters in 1899 were Shang and dated back to around 1500 BC, the time of the Shang dynasty. Housed dynasty oracle bones. The in Ānyáng’s museum ( p467 ), these are the earliest