With the Shang dynasty we enter historical times. Before we enter history, let us see what the Chinese have traditionally considered to be their own history. This will throw some Chinese light upon the preceding archaeological discussion.
Before beginning, let us set a context. The myths and legends of Chinese prehistory were passed down orally for 2000 years or more before they were finally written down as legendary history during the Chou dynasty in the first millennium BCE. Myth, legend, and history are melded and blended together in a rich soup mixing fact and fantasy. This style of oral tradition is common to all pre-literate cultures.
As with any legend, the trick is to separate fact and fancy. In China, initially the now-historic Shang dynasty was originally considered legendary. The discovery of Shang remains gives greater credence to the historicity of their legendary history. The discovery of the Shang dynasty was equivalent to the discovery of Troy, in the sense that the legendary tales were given increased credibility.
As with any history, the bias of the historian’s culture also influences the tale. Thus the Chou culture while transmitting Chinese history put their unique spin on it. We will try to point these biases out.
One last point. We will speculate that the myths and legends of Chinese history originated in the Longshan culture rather than the Yangshao culture, for reasons we will see. For this and other reasons it seems that the Longshan culture contained the seeds of traditional Chinese culture outside the imperial government. With these elements in mind, let us look to the legendary history of the China.
We have looked at the archaeology of China to set up a foundation. Now let us look at how the Chinese perceive themselves. The Chinese are a very historical culture. What memories do they have of their past? What legends have been passed down? Let us start from the traditional to get a reflection of what the Chinese consider to be their own history.
Traditionally Chinese history begins with gods, demi-gods and a first man, P’an Ku, who had supernatural powers. Unlike Adam, the first man of the Bible, P’an Ku was the first ruler of the world. This indicates how important the ruler is even in early Chinese thought. Remember that the Chou historians were part of the ruling military aristocracy. Hence this ruler worship is an idea of the ruling class.
P’an Ku was followed by a series of legendary emperors, each of whom brought something of importance to Chinese civilization. Suî Jên brought fire. Fu Hsi substituted the patriarchy for the matriarchy, introduced matrimony, the trigrams, hunting, fishing, and the tending of flocks. He also was responsible for the Chinese hieroglyphs and their calendar.
These early legends are pregnant with meaning. Let us do a little exploring. Remember that fire came with Homo erectus, i.e. Peking man in China. Hence Suî Jên harks back to the discoveries of Homo erectus – linking the Chinese with this earlier species of Homo. This just reflects the continuity of human development already mentioned.
Fu Hsi is evidently responsible for the transition from the tribal hunter-gatherer societies to the herding culture, as he is responsible for the introduction of herding. He substitutes the patriarchy of the herding culture for the matriarchy of the tribes. Furthermore he introduces matrimony, which binds the woman to a single man, not vice versa. The man is not bound to a single woman. Hence Fu Hsi reduces the status of women from the central focus of the tribe to the possession of the man.
Fu Hsi’s herding society does not seem to be the Yangshao culture. For one, while the Yangshao had pigs, they did not herd them. Second, all indications show that the Yangshao had a non-stratified society. It seemed that they had no kings, emperors or rulers.
While not applying to the Yangshao, the Fu Hsi’s culture of could easily apply to the Longshan, which was patriarchal and based upon herding. While the Longshan was an agrarian culture not a herding culture, they had all the classic herding animals. According to one theory, a herding culture from Manchuria interacted with the indigenous Chinese in the North to create the Longshan culture.
After Fu Hsi introduced herding, Shên Nung introduced agriculture. Hence the order of legendary history is reversed from the archaeological history of China. In the legendary version, related above, herding was followed by agriculture, while archaeologically agriculture preceded herding by thousands of years in China. Although legendary history incorrectly reflects archaeological history, it probably correctly reflects the history of the pre-Longshan culture, with herding coming first followed by agriculture.
Let us propose a plausible scenario. The agrarian Yangshao were growing millet and raising dogs and pigs, both scavengers. This style of life was appropriate for the geography of their part of the world. Then came a herding culture probably from Manchuria at the far east of the great Arid Zone. Wandering nomadically with their sheep, goats and cattle, none of which are indigenous to China, they crossed easily over lower mountains into the North China Valley. They interacted with the peaceful agricultural community there, creating the Longshan culture.
During China’s history there has been a regular pattern. Invaders from the Central Asian Steppes cross The Pass to raid, sack and/or rule China. When these invaders remained, they set themselves atop a military aristocracy. Inevitably they became accustomed to the less aggressive agricultural ways. Then another state on from the Steppes would re-conquer China. The old rulers then moved south and were eventually replaced. We will see this mechanism repeated frequently in historical times. Could it be that this pattern first manifested in prehistoric times?
After Fu Hsi came Shên Nung. This semi-divine human introduced agriculture and demonstrated the medicinal power of plants.
“Farming villages first arose in the north of China, thanks —so legend has it —to the endeavors of a mythological leader, Shên Nung. Realizing that his subjects were becoming too numerous to subsist on the meats of birds and animals, Shên Nung— who knew the taste of a hundred different grasses —introduced agriculture, along with pottery, making textiles, and markets. It was a time of peace and prosperity, in which people had no need for defensive walls or weapons.”1
This is probably a fairly accurate picture of the Yangshao pottery culture as well as classic agricultural Neolithic society. It pinpoints a few different parallel features: 1) the development of the useful crafts of pottery and textiles, 2) the development of trade centers to sell crafts, 3) surplus agriculture, and 4) a time of peace with no weapons or defensive walls. The world that Shên Nung introduced was not the Longshan culture with their walled villages.
Initially Fu Hsi introduced herding, and then Shên Nung introduced agriculture. Writing these legends down over a thousand years later, the Chou historians could be reflecting both of the significant cultures of their prehistory with a nod to the dominant Longshan culture due to its primacy.
This feature of Chinese historical legend also reveals that China already had to deal with population pressures. It was necessary for the Chinese to learn agriculture because they were becoming ‘too numerous’. We will return to many historical examples of the need for agriculture in China.
While the Central Asian Steppes demanded a pastoral solution to its geography, China demanded an agricultural solution to its population pressures. The initial agriculture of the Yangshao enabled the population boom that created the larger populations, which became ever more dependent upon agriculture to feed the ever-increasing populations made possible by agriculture. This feedback situation has fueled Chinese population growth since the beginning of agriculture and continues to do so to this day.
Why were the Chinese too numerous in these ancient times? There was not enough game to support them, not enough ‘meats of birds and animals’ to feed the growing population. On one hand, this could reflect the change from Hunter Gatherer to agri-culture. Possible climatic changes reduced the amount of game, forcing the inhabitants to consider eating the wild grasses and then farming them.
On the other hand, it could also serve as the Chou dynasty’s response to the preceding Shang dynasty. As we shall see, the Shang were huge hunters, possibly deriving from the Siberian Hunter culture. Possibly by Chou times, it had become increasingly difficult to support these hunting habits.
[With the Chou conquering of Shang] “The hunting aspects of this early Chinese culture were de-emphasized. Feudal control of organized agriculture became dominant.”2
Probably both notions have some truth. There is another factor involved in the cultural shift. Herding animals became an increasingly inefficient and insufficient source of food for the growing Chinese population. The only way they could and can support their population is through farming. Pigs and dogs can support themselves through scavenging, leaving the rest of the food for human consumption. Plus they don’t need precious pastureland like sheep, cows, and goats.
The Longshan’s sheep, cows, and goats were really an aberration in Chinese history. Relatively quickly these imported herding animals disappeared, victims of the need for more arable land for farming. This imported herding technique, so successful in the Near East, where it was developed, was an unsuccessful experiment in the Chinese river valleys with its burgeoning population. As such, the Chinese never developed dairy as part of their cuisine.
This scenario could reflect our future in the West. As population pressures become greater and greater, meat becomes less and less viable as a food source. China arrived at this point in prehistoric times. Hopefully we will learn before it’s too late.
After Shên Nung came Huang Ti, or the Yellow Emperor. He was responsible for extending and consolidating the Chinese boundaries. He built houses and cities, improved commerce and his consort invented the manufacture of silk.
It is suspected that the Yellow Emperor is of Taoist origin3, judging by his importance in Taoist mythology. According to legend, he is the bringer of Chinese culture. According to Taoist mythology, he had some important teachers, including the Old Master and the Dark and White Maidens. He was the first Initiate to the Way of Taoism. In fact, as we shall see, there was an important Taoist text called “Way of the Yellow Emperor and the Old Master” (Huang-lao chih Tao). This book was very influential in early Taoist thought. Under the influence of Indian thought, the Old Master became an incarnation of Lao Tse.
This combination of sage and ruler is a common Taoist theme, the image of puppet and puppeteer. We see this dichotomy in Taoism’s Bible, the Tao-te Ching, and the important Ming novel, Journey to the West. It is also a feature of China’s history as well as alchemical Taoism.
The underlying meaning to this connection is the necessity of the ‘conscious knowledge’, the power of the emperor, to bring out the ‘true knowledge’ of the sage. ‘True knowledge’ without ‘conscious knowledge’ remains hidden. ‘Conscious knowledge’ without ‘true knowledge’ is irresponsible without meaning. This is related to the interaction between the trigrams for Fire and Water. We will examine this connection in greater depth later.
The central image of Buddhism stands in contrast to the image of the Old Man and the Yellow Emperor. The Buddha is a Yogi deep in meditation by himself, eschewing political power and cultivating detachment.
A question emerges from this discussion. If the Yellow Emperor was the First Initiate, how did the Old Master, i.e. Lao Tzu, become initiated? The simple implication is that Lao Tzu is a divine emanation of Nature, sent down, as it were, from heaven to help out. In this context, Lao Tzu would be categorized with the angels, Jesus, and Vishnu – in the sense that they all come from beyond human conception to help out. We’ll return to this mythical conception of Lao Tzu.
The Dark and White Maidens also instructed Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor. They initiated him into the mysteries of sex. The sacred aspect of sex is divine, supernatural, beyond cause and effect. Hence our first Taoist Initiate, Huang Ti, was also an initiate into the sacred mysteries of sex. The incontrovertible connection between Taoism and sexual practices is indicated here.
Later intellectuals anaesthetized the body of Taoism, trying to turn it into a mental construct. This anaesthetization by the literati has led to much confusion, as they tend to write the books. This is one motivation for this text. The words are written as an antidote to all the nonsense that has been written taking the sacred out of sex.
The Paleolithic cults associated with fertility, are also associated with the sacred aspect of sex. Just as the highest levels of sex are only available through extreme sensitivity, so are the highest levels of creativity and fertility. The Taoist association with the divine feminine is closely linked with inspiration and sacred sex. This whole complex of ideas links Taoism heavily with the preceding fertility cults.
In contrast, all of the Biblical religions, mainstream Buddhism and mainstream Hinduism have all disassociated the sacred from sex and turned it into, at best, a necessary procreative function, and at its worst into an evil sin, an obstruction to enlightenment.
This shift in attitude towards sex was probably necessary to transform herders, farmers and hunters into the soldiers of the ages of Domination associated with the Bronze Age mentality. Under this rough criterion, cultures and their derivative religions that downplay the sacred aspect of sex tend to have originated in the Age of Domination. Taoism’s attitude towards sex places its origination before the Age of Domination, in the Ages of Fertility, Domestication, and Cultivation.
Whether the Taoists turned the Yellow Emperor into a Taoist symbol or whether the Yellow Emperor was created by the Taoists to symbolize one of their concepts is shrouded in mystery. Reflecting upon the importance of the Yellow Emperor’s consort – she invented silk, among other things. This is the only legendary Emperor with a significant other. The ruling Divine Couple is another concept from before the Age of Domination, when violent, aggressive men rose to ascendancy. That a Divine couple is indicated shows again the connection with the Age of Tribes and Cooperation. As such, the legendary Yellow Emperor, Huang Ti, is probably a symbol that originated before the Ages of Domination, incorporating the concepts of Taoist Initiate, Divine Couple, and Sacred Sex.
Fu Hsi, Shên Nung, and Huang Ti are collectively referred to as the Three Sovereigns. To show how deeply embedded yin-yang theory is in Chinese culture, it was Fu Hsi who, according to legend, first drew the eight trigrams4, pa kua. As we shall see, the pa kua are a foundation of this ancient Chinese philosophy. Fu Hsi was the first of these Sovereigns, indicating that yin-yang theory probably appeared in prehistoric times.
Both Taoists and Confucians claim the trigrams as their own. It might be safe to say that the egalitarian nature of the pure trigrams, based upon yin and yang precedes social stratification. Could it be that yin-yang theory preceded both Taoism and Confucianism?
Fu Hsi is also said to have introduced a slow form of exercise that was good for the marrow and the bones. Could this be an antecedent to Tai Chi? It seems that both the trigrams and slow motion exercise could have been part of Chinese culture since prehistoric times. Even if the Chou historians purposefully pushed the dates back for prestige, these concepts were certainly old when the Chou historians wrote about them. Even if they originated in the early Chou period after the Shang, this still precedes Confucius and Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching by centuries.
According to legend, Fu Hsi and Shên Nung were born from the union of dragons and women. Many times, they are shown with serpent bodies and human heads. While this has certain totemic connections5, which would link these symbols with the Siberian north, the dragon is directly linked with the cultures of the southern China6, whose influence we shall explore shortly.
After Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor, came a series of semi-historical emperors, the last three being Yao, Shun and Yü. To indicate the mythical quality of these rulers, Yao was purportedly born from the union of dragon and woman, as were Fu Hsi and Shên Nung. Furthermore no evidence of these rulers appears until late in the Chou period. Confucius regarded these three as being the models for an ideal ruler.
Yü drained the country of the waters of the great flood and founded the first semi-historical dynasty, the Xia. Whether he actually organized the drainage of the land after the Great Flood is secondary to the fact that numerous canals were already in place when history began. Further these canals were not created by small organizations but by a centralized system. Possibly the impetus to centralize came from the need to control the erratic Yellow River, i.e. Huang Po. There is even a Chinese saying that says, “We should have been fish but for Yü.”7 Whether Yü existed or not, there must have been a centralized government to organize the taming of the Yellow River.
Furthermore Yü started a very important tradition, which we shall see more of. Emperor Yü of the Xia divided the empire into 9 parts. He ordered 9 ting, i.e. bronze cauldrons, to be made for the vassal states. These were passed down from emperor to emperor into the late Chou as emblems of the Imperial authority. The First Emperor lost them, suggesting to the Chinese that he lacked legitimacy. Indeed there are many depictions of the First Emperor looking hopelessly for the lost vessels. Empress Wu of the T’ang dynasty even cast some more of these cauldrons to add legitimacy to her reign.8
In summary, Yü was the legendary founder of the Xia dynasty. He was granted leadership because he controlled the Yellow River floods. He also started the tradition of the 9 cauldrons as the symbol of legitimacy.
According to archaeological findings, bronze didn’t exist in China until a few centuries into the Shang dynasty. Thus the tradition of the bronze cauldrons was probably started during the Shang and extended into the legendary Xia by the Chou historians. This is classic Chinese, exaggerating the date of origination to increase prestige. (This is the exact opposite of the Americans, who tend to want everything ‘new and improved’.) We shall further explore the significance of these bronze cauldrons when we investigate the Shang dynasty.
Because of the continuity of culture between the Longshan and the Shang cultures, many historians think that the Longshan culture could easily be equated with the Xia.
“Some scholars have equated the Longshan culture with the earliest historical Chinese dynasty, the Xia, which is supposed to have immediately preceded the Shang.”9
According to Chinese legend, the tyrant Chieh Kuei of the Xia dynasty was overthrown by T’ang, who founded the first historical dynasty, the Shang. In turn, the last in their dynasty, the tyrant Chou Hsin, was overthrown by the state of Chou. The Chou founded the next imperial dynasty and wrote down the legendary history of China.
Some have suggested that the Chou historians created the Xia dynasty to legitimize their overthrow of the Shang dynasty.
“Yü, Yao, and Shun appeared first in Late Chou literature. The Xia never appear in Shang oracle bones, and were possibly invented by the Chou to legitimize their conquest of the Shang.”10
This reflects the Chinese concept, the Mandate of Heaven. Heaven or the Tao grants the ruler legitimacy as long as they do a good job of taking care of their citizens. However, once they stop fulfilling their obligations, they cease to fulfill the Mandate of Heaven, which is then given to another government. The last ruler of each dynasty is always characterized as a tyrant in order to vilify them and hence validate the revolution as Heaven’s Will. Any dynasty, no matter how degenerate, will attempt to maintain itself. However in Chinese thought, once a dynasty has ceased to align itself with Heaven, or the Tao, its days are numbered. Thus the Chinese demand for good government is internalized and institutionalized in their legends.
This ends the legendary history of China. It certainly reflects many Chinese themes. Now let us return to archaeological and historical China to see what kind of sprouts are springing above the surface of our Chinese geography.
1 Time-Frame, The Human Dawn, Time Life Books, 1990 p114-5
2A History of Far Eastern Art, p 40
3The Arts of China, Michael Sullivan, p. 24: “Huang Ti was probably invented by the Taoists.”
4The Arts of China, Michael Sullivan p. 24
5A Short History of Chinese Art, 1949 Munsterberg, p. 2
6 Munsterberg, 1972, p. 19
7The Age of God-Kings, p. 150
8The Arts of China, Michael Sullivan, p. 31
9The Arts of China, Hugh Munsterberg, p. 25
10The Arts of China, Michael Sullivan. p. 24