中国历史专业英语.docxVIP

/ Chinese History The Ancient Dynasties Chinese civilization, as described in mythology, begins with Pangu (■古)， the creator of the universe, and a succession of legendary sage-emperors and culture heroes (among them are Huang Di 箕常,Yao, and Shun) who taught the ancient Chinese to communicate and to find sustenance, clothing, and sheIter. 夏 The first prehistoric dynasty is said to be Xia (M), from about the twenty一first to the sixteenth century B. C. Unti1 scientific excavations were made at early bronze-age sites at Anyang (交 IB), Henan (河 Pff) Province, in 192 it was difficult to separate myth from reality in regard to the Xia. But since then, and especially in the 1960s and 1970s, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the existence of Xia civilization in the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts- At minimum, the Xia period marked an evolutionsTy stage between the late neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang dynasty. The Dawn of History 商 Thousands of archaeological finds in the Huang He (黄 河)，Henan Valley (河 FM) --the apparent cradle of Chinese civilization--provide evidence about the Shang (ff) dynasty, which endured roughly from 1700 to 1027 B. C. The Shang dynasty (also called the Yin (W) dynasty in its later stages) bones(commonly called orac1ebones or 甲骨文),and the use of bronzeis believed to have been founded by a rebel leader who overthrew the last Xia ruler. Its civilization was based on agri culture, augmented by hunting and animal husbandry. Two important events of the period the development of a writing system, as revealed in archaic Chinese inscriptions found on tortoise shells and flat cattle metallurgy. A number of ceremonial bronze vessels with inscriptions date from the Shang period; the workmanship on the bronzes attests to a high 1evel of civilization. bones (commonly called orac1e bones or 甲骨文), and the use of bronze A line of hered it ary S