Remote Antiquity to Slave Society (1.7 million years ago - 476 B.C.)
China, one of the worlds most ancient civilizations, has a recorded history of nearly 4,000 years.
A fossil anthropoid unearthed in Yuanmou in Yunnan
Province, Yuanmou Man, who lived approximately 1.7 million years ago, is
Chinas earliest primitive man known so far. Peking Man, who lived in the
Zhoukoudian area near Beijing 600,000 years ago, was able to walk upright, make
and use simple tools, and knew how to make fire. The Neolithic Age started in
China about 10,000 years ago, and relics from this period can be found all over
the country. Artificially grown rice and millet as well as farming tools have
been found in the remains of Hemudu in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, and Banpo, near
Xian City, Shaanxi Province, respectively. These relics date back some
6,000-7,000 years.
The Xia Dynasty was founded in 2070 B.C. The center of its
activities was the western section of modern Henan Province and the southern
section of modern Shanxi Province, and its sphere of influence reached the
northern and southern areas of the Yellow River. With the Xia Dynasty, China
entered slave society. The following Shang (1600-1046 B.C.) and Western Zhou
(1046-771 B.C.) dynasties saw further development of slave society. This era was
followed by the Spring and Autumn (770-476 B.C.) and Warring States (475-221
B.C.) periods, characterized by the decline in power of the ruling house and
struggles for power among regional powers, marking the transition from slave
society to feudal society.
Chinese had mastered the technology of smelting bronze
approximately 5,000 years ago and iron tools came into use during the Shang
Dynasty, 3,000 years ago. White pottery and glazed pottery were produced. Silk
production was considerably developed and the worlds first figured inlaid silk
weaving technique appeared. During the Spring and Autumn Period steel production
technologies made their debut. During the Spring and Autumn and the Warring
States periods, there was a great upsurge of intellectual activity, producing
many famous philosophers, such as Lao Zi, Confucius, Mencius and Mo Zi, and the
well-known military scientist Sun Wu.
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