What makes a civilisation and an early state?
A civilisation is a large society with towns, many kinds of work, a ruler and usually writing. A state is a government that rules a region with laws, officials and an army.
Historians look for these signs: farming surplus (spare food), towns with walls, specialists such as potters and metal workers, rulers and religion, writing and trade. The same steps appeared, at different times, in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus valley and China.
Prehistoric cultures in China
The people of the Neolithic (New Stone) Age farmed and made pottery. Three well-known groups of sites:
- Yangshao (about 5000 to 3000 BCE): villages along the middle Yellow River. People grew millet, kept pigs and made painted pottery. A village such as Banpo had round huts and a ditch.
- Liangzhu (about 3300 to 2300 BCE): in the lower Yangtze region. People grew rice, carved fine jade objects and built big water-control works. The jade and large buildings show rulers and skilled workers.
- Longshan (about 3000 to 2000 BCE): many walled towns, shiny black pottery, and rich and poor graves. Some people had much more than others.
These cultures were not one country. They were many groups that traded ideas and goods. Together they are the roots of later Chinese civilisation.
The Xia: a dynasty from tradition
Old Chinese books say the first dynasty was the Xia (traditionally from about 2070 BCE), begun by a leader named Yu who controlled floods. A dynasty is a line of rulers from one family.
No Xia writing has been found. A large site called Erlitou (about 1750 to 1520 BCE) has palace-like foundations and bronze workshops. Many historians think it may be linked to the Xia, but they still debate it. A careful student says: the Xia is known from later tradition, and archaeology gives some support but not proof.
The Shang: bronze and writing
The Shang ruled about 1600 to 1046 BCE, mainly in the Yellow River plain. Their last capital was near modern Anyang.
- Bronze: metal workers made fine vessels for ceremonies and weapons. Bronze needed mining, many workers and a strong ruler, so it was a sign of power.
- Oracle bones: the king asked spirits questions about harvest, war or sickness. The questions were cut on ox bones or turtle shells, which were heated until they cracked. These are the earliest known Chinese writing and a gold mine for historians.
- Army and chariots: the king led soldiers, and nobles fought on chariots.
- Religion: kings honoured their ancestors, and rich tombs show a strong gap between ruler and people.
The Western Zhou: a state of lords
The Zhou, a people from the west, defeated the Shang in about 1046 BCE. They had to explain why they had the right to rule, so they taught the Mandate of Heaven: Heaven gives the right to rule to a good king, and takes it away from a bad one. This idea lasted for thousands of years.
The Zhou kingdom was too big to rule from one place. The king gave land to relatives and helpers, called lords. In return, lords sent soldiers, gifts and loyalty. This is called fengjian (land-sharing rule). It worked while the lords were loyal. Over time they grew strong on their own lands.
In 771 BCE, attackers killed the king, and the capital moved east. This ended the Western Zhou and began a long period of weak kings and strong lords, which you can study next.
Try it
In the 3D, drag the time slider slowly from 5000 BCE and write down the first year each thing on the checklist appears. Then make your own oracle bone: write a question on paper (for example 'Will it rain tomorrow?'), fold it, and 'crack' it by tearing along the fold. How is a real oracle bone different from a guess?
Key formulas and definitions
- Farming surplus → specialists → towns → rulers → state
- Signs of a civilisation: surplus, towns, specialists, ruler, writing, trade
- Dynasty = a line of rulers from one family
- Xia (tradition, from about 2070 BCE) → Shang (about 1600–1046 BCE) → Western Zhou (1046–771 BCE)
Worked examples
1. Why could a Longshan town have potters and jade workers who did not farm?
Farmers grew more food than they needed. The spare food could feed people who did other work. So some people became specialists, and towns grew around them.
2. How do the oracle bones help historians know about the Shang?
They are the earliest known Chinese writing. They record the king's questions about harvest, war, sickness and the weather, and sometimes the answer. From these, historians learn what mattered to the Shang, how the king ruled and how the calendar worked.
3. The Zhou king had too much land to rule himself. How did he solve this, and what danger did the solution carry?
He gave lands to relatives and helpers (lords) who sent soldiers and gifts (fengjian). The danger was that lords could grow strong on their own land and stop obeying a weak king, which is what finally happened.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the Xia is proved by writing. No Xia writing is known. It comes from later tradition, with debated support from sites such as Erlitou.
- Thinking all early Chinese cultures were one country. There were many different groups that traded and borrowed ideas.
- Mixing up Shang and Zhou. Shang is known for bronze and oracle bones; Zhou for the Mandate of Heaven and lords.
- Thinking the Mandate of Heaven means kings could never be removed. It said a bad king could lose Heaven's support.