游客在良渚博物院駐足觀展。

上下五千年，這是為中國(guó)人熟悉的歷史提法，但是，“五千年”的依據(jù)到底是什么？

司馬遷在《史記》中把黃帝列為《五帝本紀(jì)》之首，作為古史的開(kāi)端，才有了5000年的說(shuō)法，但這只是一個(gè)沒(méi)有被科學(xué)證實(shí)的傳說(shuō)。

20世紀(jì)20年代，考古學(xué)作為一門近代科學(xué)傳入中國(guó)，中國(guó)的考古學(xué)者一直在解決一個(gè)問(wèn)題，便是對(duì)“中華五千年文明”一說(shuō)作出科學(xué)的驗(yàn)證。

如今，謎底解開(kāi)——良渚文明所處的長(zhǎng)江下游環(huán)太湖流域，與那些世界古代著名的文明發(fā)源地所處的緯度相當(dāng)。

根據(jù)歷史文獻(xiàn)，中國(guó)的文明都是以大一統(tǒng)的夏王朝作為開(kāi)始。根據(jù)夏商周斷代工程，夏代開(kāi)始的年代被暫定為公元前2070年。

但是，由于在于晚商階段的殷墟發(fā)現(xiàn)了大量青銅器以及銘刻有文字的甲骨等遺物才被發(fā)現(xiàn)，因此，國(guó)際學(xué)術(shù)界一般都認(rèn)為中華文明僅始于殷商時(shí)期，距今3600多年。

從良渚到商周，是中華文明從區(qū)域性文明向大一統(tǒng)逐步匯聚的一個(gè)連續(xù)不斷的過(guò)程。

走過(guò)83年的良渚古城及水利系統(tǒng)的發(fā)現(xiàn)和持續(xù)性的考古工作，推動(dòng)了學(xué)術(shù)界關(guān)于良渚文明和早期國(guó)家的討論。

考古學(xué)者在世界早期文明的發(fā)生及中國(guó)文明化歷程基礎(chǔ)上，不斷論述著良渚文明在城市規(guī)劃與建設(shè)、土筑工程、水利、玉器、刻符、稻作、手工業(yè)、聚落分化等方面所取得的成就，指出良渚已進(jìn)入成熟文明和早期國(guó)家階段。

在距今5000年同時(shí)期的區(qū)域文明中，良渚文明的發(fā)育程度最高。

同時(shí)期蘇北的大汶口文化和廣東的石峽文化，以及更晚的龍山時(shí)代以至商代的玉器文化，都接受了來(lái)自“良渚”的巨大影響。

比如，江蘇新沂花廳遺址和多處石峽文化遺址中，都可以看到良渚文化玉器、陶器與本地文化共存。

良渚文化的玉石器對(duì)稍晚的龍山時(shí)代諸文化產(chǎn)生了極大的影響，分布范圍達(dá)到大半個(gè)中國(guó)，如山西陶寺遺址中的玉琮、“石廚刀”，陜北延安蘆山峁、神木石峁的玉鉞、玉璧，甘青地區(qū)齊家文化的玉琮、玉璧，都是良渚玉文化傳播的產(chǎn)物。

因此，良渚文明是中華文明的一個(gè)重要源頭，是中華文明多元一體中的重要一元。

（本文圖片：CFP提供）

Liangzhu Culture：A Key Cradle of Chinese Civilization

“Five Thousand Years” is a concept about Chinese history familiar to most Chinese people in modern times. But is this understanding supported by facts？ Where did this understanding first come from？

2017年12月，國(guó)際考古大咖實(shí)地考察良渚古城外圍水利系統(tǒng)老虎嶺水壩。

Sima Qian （c.145-c.86BC）， a historian of the early Han Dynasty， mentions Yellow Emperor in his Records of the Grand Historian. The historian considered the emperor as the beginning of Chinese history， thus the 5，000 years. However， it is only a legend not supported by archaeological finds.

Since the 1920s when archaeology landed in China as a modern science， Chinese archaeologists have been trying to solve the 5，000-year myth. But for a long time， the archaeological research done by some Chinese scholars traced the Chinese civilization only to the Xia Dynasty which presumably started in 2070 BC. However， this study was controversial. The consensus of the international archaeological community was that the Chinese civilization started with the Shang Dynasty about 3，600 years ago.

Today， the genesis problem has been solved by the archaeological discovery of Liangzhu City in the Taihu Lake basin which is in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in eastern China.

良渚古城遺址公園，一處良渚古人的雕像栩栩如生。

The Liangzhu Culture， unearthed and explored over a period of 83 years and still counting， boasts a city and a peripheral water conservancy system， among other important discoveries， which existed for about 1，000 years between 3，300 and 2，300 BC. The archaeological discoveries and studies have helped advance the discussion of issues such as the Liangzhu Culture and the regional early state.

On the basis of undisputable material evidence， archaeologists have long since concluded that Liangzhu was a mature civilization and a regional early state. Of all the regional cultures of that time in China， the Liangzhu Civilization was most advanced as evidenced by the palatial terraces， the city walls， the mega water-control system， and thousands of fine jade artifacts. Moreover， the social development of the Liangzhu State 5，000 years ago can stand side by side with ancient civilizations in other parts of the world.

The contemporary regional cultures， say， the Dawenkou Culture in the north of Jiangsu and the Shixia Culture in Guangdong， were all influenced by the Liangzhu Culture. Unearthed from these sites were local pottery pieces as well as jade and potteries from the Liangzhu Culture. The jade artifacts influenced many other younger cultures. The influences of Liangzhu reached many other regions of China， as testified by unearthed objects.

It is therefore safe to say that the Liangzhu Civilization is a key origin of the Chinese civilization and a key part representative of the “diversity in unity” of the Chinese civilization.

Liangzhu Culture around the Taihu Lake， the Hongshan Culture in Liaoning in northeastern China， the Shijiahe Culture in the north， the Taosi Culture in the south of Shaanxi， the Shimao Culture in the north of Shanxi， just to name a few important regional cultures across China.

About 6，000 years ago， regional cultures in China experienced fast and complex social and cultural development and urbanization. From 5，500 years to 4，000 years ago， many regional cultures became powerful. For a long time， the archaeological community thought that the Chinese civilization was largely along the Yellow River basin in the north and that the Xia and the Shang were the beginning of the Chinese civilization. This understanding diminished the historical significance of regional cultures far away from the Yellow River basin. Ample and convincing material evidences from recent archaeological excavations have changed peoples understanding of the Chinese civilization. Now it is agreed that Liangzhu is a perfect case study and that it is the first state civilization in China.