1.1.1 Pre-Xia Culture
The era of pre-Xia culture refers to the extended period of maturation before the Qin and Han dynasties more effectively formed the foundation of the Chinese culture that we have to come to appreciate in more modern times. During this early period, China experienced a transition from a relatively primitive society to that of a feudal and self-sustaining agricultural and hierarchical society.
Before the emergence of separate states, there were three clans in the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins. These were referred to as the Huaxia, Barbaroi, and Miaoman. However, with increasing productivity and innovation, these three tribes began to pursue their societal ambitions and dealt with conflicts through a spate of brutal wars.
This regressive development first saw the Huaxia clan, having successfully won several convincing major battles against the other clans, become pre-eminent, such that the Yellow Emperors armies conquered and enslaved the Miaoman clan and, through the endeavors of several generations of Huaxia emperors (Yao, Shun, and Yu) in a successive string of victories, consolidated their dominance among Chinas major ethnic groups and other, minority groups of that period. Hence the term huaxia became a historically accepted descriptor to refer to individuals of ancient Chinese ethnicity, and the Yellow Emperors came to be regarded as the primary cultural ancestors of most Chinese, both at home and abroad.
1.1.2 Culture of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties
Chinas recorded history is considered today to have commenced during the Xia Dynasty (21001600 bc ), followed by the Shang (16001046 bc ) and later the Western and Eastern Zhou dynasties, with the latter consisting of the Spring and Autumn period (770476 bc ) and the Warring States period (475221 bc ). These were all critical periods in the development of Chinas iconic cultural history. It should be noted that these three dynasties covered a span of over 1800 years. During this extended period of succeeding dynasties, the Huaxia peoples formed a relatively stable and sophisticated community. They established Chinas first system of slavery, which marked the beginning of its switch from barbarism to more cultivated ritualistic practices. The Shang Dynasty is regarded by historians as the high point of Chinas slave-holding society, which gradually came to an end during the Western Zhou Dynasty with the emergence of a more agrarian, feudalistic system of governance.
1.1.2.1 Rites and Music
As mentioned above, Chinas notable propensity for ritualistic ceremonies first emerged during the Xia Dynasty and was later refined during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Drawing on this wealth of precedent, the Duke of Zhou, the chief assistant to the king, perfected and promoted political and cultural patterns such as the nine-square field system, the system of enfeoffment, patriarchal clans, and detailed ritual systems, which is referred to today as the splendor of the Western Zhou period. Such culture-driven mindsets covered politics, ways of thinking, family life, and education.
Literature flourished during this period, as is recorded in Rites of Zhou ( Zhou Li ), Etiquettes and Ceremonies ( Yi Li ) and the Book of Rites ( Li Ji ). Hence it can be said that the establishment and consolidation of Chinas ceremonial culture, as we understand it today, was largely formulated in the course of the Zhou Dynasty, and over the next 3000 years became the accepted cultural pattern pursued by later monarchs in the Qin and Han dynasties.
1.1.2.2 Religion and Belief
The system of rule by divine right was prevalent in ancient China for millennia. Likewise, belief in the gods is recorded repeatedly in ancient classics such as The Book of Documents ( Shang Shu ), The Book of Songs ( Shi Jing ), and others. The worship of ghosts and gods was most prominent in the Shang Dynasty, when people would consult with the gods through means of divination on literally every decision they made, both critical and trivial. Most of the nearly 100 000 oracle bones found in Yin Dynasty ruins are records of sacrifice and divination.
1.1.2.3 Birth of Chinese Character Writing
Chinas unique character-style writing has a long history. The oracle inscriptions found in the Yin ruins are considered the first Chinese characters that have been re-discovered to date. In the sixteenth century bc , the Shang Dynasty established an unprecedentedly powerful system based on slavery, which over time put an end to their nomadic ways. This in turn created a less nomadic cultural focus, and they chose the city of Yin as their established capital. As their way of life became more settled, a more complex and civilized set of cultural values developed. The appearance of oracle inscriptions marked the maturity of Chinese characters as a form of writing. This in turn initiated great advances in the natural sciences and scholastic thinking.
During the Shang Dynasty, with the improvement of casting techniques, bronze wares became a commonly manufactured item, with stylish characters called epigraphs carved into them. During the Zhou Dynasty, the forms of such inscriptions underwent many changes, and the typeface was gradually fixed and increasingly standardized. Such developments then paved the way for the unification of Chinese characters, which had come to full fruition by the time of the Qin Dynasty.
1.1.2.4 Bronze Wares
An important development during the Xia Dynasty was the emergence of the smelting and casting of metal wares in bronze wares. In the later Shang and Zhou dynasties, such materials were mainly used for sacrificial vessels and weapons. For example, the tripod symbolized the monarchy and hierarchy in sacrifices. This sophisticated manufacturing technique is exemplified by the Simuwu Cauldron, created during the late Shang Dynasty (16001046 bc ), which weighed in excess of 800 kilograms.
1.1.2.5 Astronomy and Calendar
Chinese astronomy was fairly well developed in the Xia Dynasty. The first calendar of China, the Xia Xiao Zheng, was invented at this time and further matured in the Shang Dynasty. The calendar of the Shang Dynasty was divided into a solar calendar and a lunar one. Hence during the Spring and Autumn period (770476 bc ) and the Warring States period (475221 bc ), the twenty-four solar terms gradually evolved and are still in use today.
