Liangzhu: An Early State with Regional Sovereign Power

The Making of the Chinese Civilization

Written by Han Jianye

Translated by Liu Zequan， Hou Jian， Mei Bing， Qiu Siping

China Social Sciences Press

February 2023

86.00 (CNY)

In his book， Han delves into the origins of Chinese civilization， tracing it back over 8，000 years and noting its consolidation around 5，000 years ago， with distinct origins in the north， central plains， and eastern regions. He underscores the pivotal roles of environmental changes and warfare in the evolution of Chinese civilization， while also highlighting the infusion of fresh vigor through cultural exchanges with the West.

Han Jianye

The author， Han Jianye， is a distinguished Chinese archaeologist and professor at the Renmin University of China， who has conducted extensive research on the origins， formation， and early development of Chinese civilization.

Liu Zequan

Chief translator of the book， Liu Zequan， a professor at the School of Language at Henan University， told the Global Times that as a language translator， this was the first time that he engaged in the translation of a topic in Chinese archaeology， and he thought that telling the readers overseas how China has evolved over the past 8，000 years is a good example of “telling China’s stories well.”

The Liangzhu Site in Yuhang， Zhejiang Province， is the first Neolithic (Chalcolithic) Site in China to be listed as a World Heritage Site. The Liangzhu Site is viewed as strong proof of the 5000-year long history of Chinese civilization. As the World Heritage Committee points out， “The Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City reveal an early regional state with rice-cultivating agriculture as its economic base， and social differentiation and a unified belief system， which existed in the Late Neolithic period in China.” Archaeologists Yan Wenming and Zhang Zhongpei believe the Liangzhu Site reveals a unified state and civilization. British archaeologist Colin Renfrew and Liu Bin， Director of the Zhejiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology， call Liangzhu culture “the earliest state societies in East Asia.”

The Liangzhu Culture: A Civilization

Civilization is the most evolved manifestation of culture and an advanced stage in the development of human culture and society. The emergence of a state is generally regarded as the most important criterion for a civilization. The ruins of the ancient city of Liangzhu had a walled palace complex of about 300，000 square metres， an inner city of 3 million square metres， an outer city of 6.3 million square metres， as well as more than ten high and low dams. No site of this scale had been excavated before. Colin Renfrew and Liu Bin believe the water conservancy project of the Liangzhu ancient city might have been larger than that of Egypt and Sumer. According to Wang Ningyuan at the Zhejiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology， the earthworks of Liangzhu might have involved a total of more than 10 million cubic metres. In addition， a large number of precious jade， lacquer， ivory and pottery objects were found at the Liangzhu Site， and the number of people needed to make these artefacts must have been impressive. Therefore， it can be deduced that Liangzhu City must have had a very strong power of social organization and mobilization， and it clearly revealed a state with centralized power.

According to Zhao Hui at Peking University， the site of the Liangzhu clusters， which covered an area of about 1000 square kilometres， might have been composed of about 3，000 villages， which would have in turn produced enough rice to feed a population of about 20，000 in the ancient city of Liangzhu. Based on this estimate， in the whole Liangzhu cultural area at that time， which was tens of thousands of square kilometres large， there would have been tens of thousands of settlements， with a population reaching approximately one million. However， the ancient city of Liangzhu was the only central settlement as well as the only political and cultural centre of the area. There was a clear boundary between the urban and the rural， and a high degree of unity， both being characteristics of a state.

Zhang Zhongpei divides the graves in the Liangzhu Site into four grades. In grade one graves， funerary objects including jade cong and jade yue were found. Therefore it can be inferred that the grave occupants had both religious and military authority， like those who could be called “god-kings.” They were the paramount rulers of the Liangzhu society. The occupants of grade two graves might be those who had only military authority， for in the graves only jade yue were found. The occupants of grade three graves probably were part-time warriors entrusted with the task of handling military affairs. In their graves， stone yue were found. The occupants of grade four graves were ordinary peasants， and they were not buried with stone yue. The classification of the graves revealed an obvious social stratification and a relatively strict ritual system in Liangzhu society. The engraving of a “sacred emblem” featuring a combination of a divine figure and a beast’s face on the Liangzhu jade objects was evident only in the highest-ranking large tombs， such as those in Fanshan and Yaoshan cemeteries， while only a simplified form of the emblem was found in the graves of lower ranks. Zhao Hui thinks the pattern of a divine figure and a beast’s face represented “the highest and even the only deity worshiped by the Liangzhu people”. Fang Xiangming at the Zhejiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology thinks the pattern is “the only sign to ensure social stability in Liangzhu.” The highly unified and strictly hierarchical structure of religious worship was a powerful vehicle for maintaining the stability and unity of the Liangzhu society， and for organizing and mobilizing manpower. This religious authority was combined with military power， which was symbolized by the jade yue. The two were unified and complemented each other.

The exquisite jade objects， lacquer objects inlaid with jade， ivory objects with incised designs and pottery with incised designs， as well as high-quality woodwork found in the Liangzhu Site， demonstrated excellent craftsmanship under the control of the aristocracy. Undoubtedly， craftsmen of various professions had emerged. As Qin Ling at Peking University puts it， the “standardization” of the production of jade objects， and the institutionalization of their use in Liangzhu culture was more advanced than in any other culture in China’s Neolithic Age. Definitely， the remains of Liangzhu bespoke a civilization.

In addition， symbols similar to characters were common on Liangzhu pottery. Many of the symbols were complex in structure， and some were lined up in a row. It is possible that the symbols were characters in primitive form. This kind of primitive writing was probably mostly written on bamboo and silks， so it could hardly be preserved. Therefore， we do not know yet whether Liangzhu culture was a civilization without writing.

Even by standards first proposed by Western scholars， about 5000 years ago， Liangzhu society at its height had all the signs of a civilization and an early state， like the Sumerian civilization and Egyptian civilization.