On the Collapse of Liangzhu Culture

何格

【Abstract】The Liangzhu civilization is an important archaeological culture in the Yangtze delta， China. It is highly developed but discontinued. This essay provides a brief introduction of possible causations which might lead the collapse of Liangzhu， including the sea-level， precipitation， plague and the relationship among people， resources， and society.

【Key words】Liangzhu culture； Discontinuity； Causations

The Liangzhu civilization （about 5300-4200 B.P.） is an important archaeological culture in China. A large number of jade， silk， pottery， lacquered woodwork were found in the burials. In late Liangzhu civilization， its social construction， rank differentiation and agriculture technologies were quite developed， which have already prepared the basic elements for developed civilization in Tai Lake area （Qin， 2013； Zhu et al 2010）. However， this highly developed ancient culture failed to continue.

Scholars suggest that the marine transgression may be the main reason of the collapse of Liangzhu culture （Zhu et al 2010）. According to the statistics （Zhang et al 2005）， in 5500-4900 B.P.， the sea-level of Yangtze delta was lower than before， and the Liangzhu culture began to rise. Then， in around 4300-4000 B.P.， the sea-level became high again， and the sea water began to extend to peoples living space and covered all of it， which might make the Liangzhu culture disappeared.

Besides， most archaeologists agree with the opinion that the main causation of Liangzhu cultures discontinuity was flood （Stanley et al 1999）. In around 4000 B.P.， after the cool and dry climate， there was some heavy and excessive rainfall in both Huai River Basin and Tai Lake area （Cheng and Zhu 1999）， the ecological system was destroyed dramatically， which made the highly developed Liangzhu culture declined. However， even if there were severe floods， would those floods kill all the people who live in Liangzhu area？People could move to the hillsides， and after the flood， they could return to their lowland to continue both their lives and the Liangzhu culture.

Because of this question， some scholars suggest that the real factor of the disappearance of Liangzhu culture might be plague， which usually happened after those disasters （Zhu 1999）. Ancient people did not have the ability to resist natural disasters in an effective way. In Liangzhu times， there was no doctor but the witch （巫） （Zhu 1999）， who could not cure people of their diseases， and what they could do was prayer. The conflicts between different ranks of Liangzhu society can also be a causation of its extinction. In Zhaos analysis： there existed a lot of ‘non-productive expenditure of labor （Zhao 1999： 111）， such as the construction of large-scale religious stages and elite burials， which made huge waste of social labor； the upper class in Liangzhu never stopped to pursue the power and wealth， which resulted in a unhealthy society. These studies provide people other perspectives to think about this question， though the scholars arrive at this conclusion using historical assumption.endprint

In general， there are diverse possible factors which could lead to the collapse of Liangzhu culture， such as， the climate， sea-level， the precipitation， religion and the influence of social conflicts. The causations of the discontinuity of Liangzhu culture could not be simple， but multiple and complex.

References：

[1]Cheng，P.，&Zhu，C.，（1999）.The Discussion of Discontinuity and Trend of Liangzhu Culture.Southeast Culture 126（4），pp.14-21（in Chinese，with English summary）.

[2]Qin，L.，（2013）.The Liangzhu Culture.A Companion to Chinese Archaeology，ed.Anne P.Underhill，pp.574-595.Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

[3]Stanley，D.J.，Chen，Z.Y.，&Song，J.，（1999）.Inundation，Sea-level Rise and Transition from Neolithic to Bronze Age Cultures，Yangtze Delta，China.Geoarchaeology：An International Journal 14（1），pp.15-26.

[4]Zhang，Q.，Zhu，C.，Liu，C.L.，&Jiang T.，（2005）.Environmental Change and its Impacts on Human Settlement in Yangtze Delta，P.R.China.Catena 60，pp.267-277.

[5]Zhao，H.，（1999）.The Particularity of Liangzhu Culture.Liangzhu wenhua yanjiu，pp.104-119（in Chinese）.Beijing：Kexue Press.

[6]Zhu，J.M.，（1999）.A Discussion on the Decline of Liangzhu Culture by Analyzing the Expulsion of Plague.Relics from South（4），pp.42-63（in Chinese）.

[7]Zhu，L.D.，Feng，Y.X.，Ye，W.，Wang.T.Y.，Li，F.Q，& Li，L.X.，（2010）.The Development of Culture and the Change of Sea-level in Liangzhu Period.Progress in Geography 30（1），pp.121-128（in Chinese）.endprint