China belongs to the four ancient civilizations，This is common sense。But there is a question that still needs a serious answer，This is how far back the "ancient" of our ancient civilization can be traced？Some scholars，Mainly foreign scholars，Only recognize our country’s Shang Dynasty as a civilization，To the previous bet365 voucher，But refuse to believe it is civilization，Or simply deny its existence in history。This question，It is not only related to the "quality" of our ancient civilization，It is also related to the issue of how to understand the particularity of ancient Chinese civilization，Must be clear。

　Let’s start with the understanding of the four bet365 voucher civilizations

The proposition of "Four bet365 voucher Civilizations" was proposed by Liang Qichao, an advocate of new history。Two of the more influential contemporary world history books，One is "Global History" written by American scholar Stavrianos，The other is "History of World Civilizations" written by American scholar William McGaughey，They all regard China as one of the earliest bet365 voucher civilizations in the world。

Summarize the narratives of domestic and foreign scholars about the four bet365 voucher civilizations，We can summarize several basic characteristics of bet365 voucher civilizations: First，They are all native civilizations，It’s Asia in the future、Europe、A series of bet365 voucher countries in northern Africa、The source of bet365 voucher civilization；Second，They are all located in the fertile plain areas of large river basins，It is the bet365 voucher civilization that was born from this special natural geographical environment；Third，They were all produced very early，The Middle East where they are located、North Africa、South Asia、The earliest civilization in several regions of East Asia。The time period when they were produced is between 3500 BC and 2000 BC，It can indeed be called the earliest civilizations in world history。

It’s worth noting，Should we consider bet365 voucher or the Shang Dynasty in China as the earliest country, that is, the earliest civilization，There are different opinions among scholars。McGaughey takes the establishment of bet365 voucher as the beginning of China's entry into a civilized society。Stavrianos took the establishment of the Shang Dynasty as the beginning of China's entry into a civilized society，This statement conflicts with his assertion that Chinese civilization arose in fertile river basins and plains。We agree with McGaughey’s proposition，Recognize bet365 voucher as the earliest ancient civilization in China。

　　Where to explore bet365 voucher Civilization

Foreign scholars and some domestic scholars do not recognize the existence of bet365 voucher in China，Of course due to the limitations of their understanding of Chinese history and ancient Chinese documents，But more importantly，I’m afraid we still failed to let them see the real Xia civilization from archeology。

The Erlitou site in Yanshi, located near present-day Luoyang, Henan, is the first archaeological site we have that can prove the existence of bet365 voucher。The archaeological site that continues to be excavated there does indeed show the atmosphere of a royal capital，It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a city in a "wide area country"。But Erlitou was just a city in the late Xia Dynasty。Because the Erlitou culture is no earlier than 1750 BC，The literature only records that bet365 voucher expanded its power to the Heluo area in the late Xia Dynasty。As for where to live in early and mid-summer，Especially in the areas where it emerged，It still takes a lot of effort to find。

Actually，As long as we include bet365 voucher into the scope of the "Four Ancient Civilizations"，This problem is not difficult to solve。The country of Xia Dynasty or the location of Xia civilization，It should be the same as other ancient civilizations，Located in the fertile plain area of ​​a large river basin。Under the specific historical conditions at that time，This should be the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Plain in China。The terrain here is vast and flat，Rivers and lakes，Fertile land，A special loess accumulation formed by the alluvial accumulation of the Yellow River，The most suitable development for agriculture。Longshan Culture Period near bet365 voucher，As the climate in northern China turns drier and cooler，Promotes new river terraces in this area、Alluvial plains and estuary deltas are developing rapidly，The area of ​​lakes and swamps has shrunk sharply，The entire eastern Henan and western Lu plains have become more suitable for human habitation。Yu is，A square convergence was quickly formed here、An economic and cultural development center with a prosperous population。

Echoing this，Documents record that the administrative area of ​​bet365 voucher in China was also in this area。Wang Guowei once pointed out in "On the System of Yin and Zhou Dynasty": "Xia started from Taikang to Houjie，Those whose cities and other place names are found in classics，The rate is in the east，The misunderstanding with the merchant in Heji lasted for hundreds of years。”The so-called “Heji Room”，It mainly refers to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River plains in the present-day eastern Henan and western Shandong areas。It is necessary to point out that，Not only the area of ​​Danxia is in this area，Even the area where Yu controlled floods recorded in the literature，Also in this area。

What’s more important is，Today’s archaeological excavation can also provide strong evidence for the rise of Xia in the ancient Heji period。According to documents such as "Zuo Zhuan", there are records that "the Prime Minister of bet365 voucher was in the ancient emperor's hill", which is now Puyang，The capital of the Wei Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period (i.e. Emperor Qiu) was built on the site of the former capital of the Xia Hou Prime Minister。Just right，The Puyang Gaocheng ruins excavated in recent years are also shown，The huge Weiguo capital city above it is stacked on a series of rammed earth foundations started in early summer (or earlier)。Puyang is the center of the ancient Heji region，This clearly shows the historical fact that the Xiahou clan once lived in the eastern Henan and western Shandong areas。

I have been to eastern Henan and western Shandong many times，I found that there are many mounds on the vast plains there，The locals also call it the pile。Understood，They are all relics where our ancestors lived，The era can be traced back to around bet365 voucher。Why did the ancestors live on this mound？It turned out to be to avoid frequent floods。Read the literature，They are the "mulberry soil and silkworms" mentioned in "Shang Shu Yu Gong"，It is the "Qiu" of "Jiangqiu Zhaitu"。Compare this phenomenon with the natural environment in which the four ancient civilizations grew up，Original these countries，Including the two river basins、Ancient Egypt、Ancient India，All have the same situation。This has been confirmed by archaeological surveys or excavations in these places。

　　The establishment of bet365 voucher and the characteristics of early Chinese civilization

According to documentation，bet365 voucher state was established by Dayu, the leader of the Xia Hou clan, who organized the masses to participate in flood control and maintained centralized and unified leadership over them。The earlier record can be found in "Guoyu Zhouyu"。its name，Due to Yu’s success in controlling floods，"Huangtian Jiazhi，Xun Yitianxia，Given the surname ‘Si’、His name is ‘Youxia’，It is said that it can bring good things to the rich creatures of Yin" ，It can be said that the relationship between Yu's flood control and the establishment of bet365 voucher is very clearly expressed。We have no reason to doubt this record in "Guoyu"。What’s more, the Bin Gongyu inscription in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty also records Yu’s control of floods，This is also the combination of Yu's control of floods and Yu's "coordination to enjoy the people"、Being established as the king of the lower world and linked to the parents of the people。Of course，There is still a certain distance between the memories of people in the Western Zhou Dynasty and the real history of the early Xia Dynasty，But contact us for an investigation of bet365 voucher area and the geographical environment of the Yushi flood，I believe that the relevant historical records are not fabricated out of thin air。

If you believe that the emergence of bet365 voucher state recorded in the documents is historical reality，Then we should believe the following characteristics of the political and economic structure of bet365 voucher derived from this。

First，bet365 voucher should be a vast country formed by the union of many states with a vast area。It is neither a small city-state like ancient Greece and Rome，It will not cover the so-called nine states in the world，It is just a union of many states in the Furukawa region。This is because this country was originally created to control the flooding in this area。Nevertheless，We can still say that bet365 voucher laid the regional foundation for the three ancient Chinese states。

Second，bet365 voucher implemented a political system of hierarchical monarchy。So-called autocratic monarchy，It means that a monarch has sovereignty over the area under his jurisdiction，And implement autocratic rule over the residents of this area，The position of monarch is lifelong and hereditary。The king of Xia is the monarch of Xia region，He was the co-owner of "the world" at that time。But bet365 voucher country was composed of multiple ethnic states，Each tribe has its own king，The king exercises his powers within his own state，The position can also be hereditary，So bet365 voucher implemented a system of joint dictatorship between hierarchical monarchs。These are two fundamentally different systems from the republic (democratic republic or aristocratic republic) practiced in ancient Greece and Rome。

The economy of bet365 voucher country was self-sufficient，Agriculture plays a dominant role in the economy。Yu’s purpose of controlling floods was mainly to solve the problem of agricultural development in lowlands。This is from the "Guoyu·Zhouyu" that Yu's control of water "can benefit the rich creatures of Yin"、The Analects of Confucius calls Yu "the farmer who cultivates crops" and "who tries his best to clear ditches"，can be well proved。The economy of the city-states in ancient Greece and Rome was completely different style。Mountainous Ancient Greece，The land is not very fertile，The varieties of agricultural products are also relatively simple，Not all city-states are dominated by agricultural economies，Many city-states are famous for their handicrafts and commerce。Because the livelihood and natural environment of each city-state are different，Exchange is needed to meet the needs of respective material production and life，In addition, the city-states are surrounded by the Aegean Sea、The Eastern Mediterranean surrounds or surrounds this natural environment，Thus enabled the commerce of ancient Greece、Transportation，Including maritime trade, it is very developed。Ancient Greek civilization was largely based on commercial civilization。

Affecting social and economic formation，The development of slavery in bet365 voucher Greece and Rome was closely related to the commercial and trade practices there，The prevalence of slave trading is an important manifestation of the development of commerce。Slavery was underdeveloped in bet365 voucher China，Also related to the underdeveloped commodity economy in bet365 voucher China。If we want to talk about the differences in social structures between the two places，Then we can say，The basic structure of bet365 voucher Greek and Roman society was: slave owners、Citizen←→Slave、Gentiles；The basic structure of bet365 voucher Chinese society is: king、Nobles ← → Common people。

(Author’s unit: College of bet365 voucher and Culture, Hebei Normal University)