The Oldest Civilization in East Asia

It is often said that China is the world's longest continuous civilization.  Evidence for this view is suggested by the fact that ancestors of the Chinese people were living in settled communities in the area we know today as "China" no later than 5000 BCE.  Of course, China is "continental" in every respect of the term.  It encompasses most of the East Asian land area, which includes every climatic and topographical feature that you would expect to find.  However, while the present day China may stretch from the deserts of Central Asia to the grasslands of Mongolia, the China of antiquity is generally thought to have been settled in the corner of the Yellow River.

So... who exactly were the ancient Chinese people?  A generation or two ago, it was believed that archaeology would give the correct answer to this question.  The oldest civilization in China seemed to be the Yangshao and Longshan cultures of neolithic times.  They were located in the western and eastern stretches of the Yellow River Valley.  According to the then-prevailing theory of historical development, Chinese civilization spread out from this source.  Today, it is usually accepted that Chinese civilization had many origins.  Numerous cultures actually co-existed, even to the point of contact between them.  Sometimes the ancient cultures remained isolated.  Some came to have predominance over others while a few vanished without a trace.  Therefore, the safest answer nowadays must be that China is the result of many ancient cultures.  In any case, this fact in no way diminishes China's long and continuous history in East Asia.

Best regards from the East,

Harlan Urwiler

For more information, feel free to visit my website at:  http://www.myorientalgallery.com/.