The extensive distribution of ancient human cultural relics testifies to the long standing civilizations in the greater China area, which have come down to us in one continuous line. We will survey some of these evidences here.

Yuanmou Man （1.7 million years ago）: This is so far the earliest ancient human tooth and upper limb fossil remain to be found. They were unearthed in the Yuanmou Basin, Yunnan Province, together with animal bone fossils and black carbon dust, indicating that Yuanmou Man could not only make tools, but also had learned to use fire and how to preserve kindling.

Peking Man （400,000-500,000 years ago）: They were able to make stone tools with pointed ends, and learned how to preserve and control kindling. They inhabited in a much larger area than earlier peoples and had a greater ability to protect themselves from danger. Language was gradually developed. Needless to say, this is a very significant development in human history.

Dali Man, Maba Man, Changyang Man, Dingcun Man, Hetao Man, LiujiangMan and Upper Cave Man （10,000-200,000 years ago）: We have found stone artifacts from hominid sites in the mid-Paleolithic Era, including triangular, sharp, multilateral and circular tools. Perforated bone pins, processed animal teeth, clam shells and fish bones have also been discovered at Upper Cave Man sites, which indicates that at that time people had mastered the skills of how to grind, drill, dig and bore holes. This period is known as the Upper Paleolithic.

Hemudu Man, Banpo Village Man （8,000-5,000 years ago）: From the Hemudu Site of the Changjiang River Basin, researchers have excavated bone plough, piles of unhusked rice, painted pottery and textile wooden machine parts. Houses halfunderground with store cellars and farm animal pens were excavated. This was the period of the legendary Fu Xi and Shen Nong.

Dawenkou Man （5,000-4,000 years ago）: Black pottery and white pottery were unearthed from the Dawenkou site of Shandong Province. The beautiful shining pitch-black pottery in the shape of eggshells was made from thin, hard moulds, reflecting remarkable progress in pottery-making.

The ancestors of the Chinese nation experienced the same processes as the other world cultures did, and they made great efforts leading to unceasing discoveries and inventions. In their efforts to improve their own living conditions, they gave full expression to their wisdom. The myth of Youchaoshi and Suirenshi symbolizes this long and hard historical process.

Youchaoshi: He taught people how to build shelters on the branches of trees to protect themselves from exposure to wind and rain and attack by wild animals. After that time, people began to live in caves in winter and in tree shelters in summer. Archeological discoveries show there are such caves where ancient people lived including Dragon Bone Hill, Zhoukoudian, Beijing, Lion Hill, Maba Village, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, and Zhaojiayan, and Changyang, Hubei Province.

40,000 to 50,000 years ago, Paleolithic people evolved into Neolithic people. As the means of production developed, people’s living conditions also improved, and they learned how to build earth or stone houses with walls and roofs. These had many advantages over the previous earth kilns and cellars without walls and roofs.

After this period, ancient people living in southeastern China began to build pile dwellings on wood poles in order to adapt themselves to the geographical environment. Ruins of them were discovered in the Hemudu Site, Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. Built 7,000 years ago, these dwellings were composed of wood logs, with the longest one reaching to 23 meters.

Suirenshi: Use and control of fire can be said to be what separates ancient humans from the animal kingdom. According to archeological studies, Yuanmou Man, the earliest humans, had already been able to make use of natural fire.

In the Peking Man’s caves dating back half a million years ago, fire remnants up to 6 meters high have been found, indicating that people at that time could not only use natural fire, but were also able to control fire and save kindling consciously.

In the long process of tool making, people were enlightened by rubbing to make fire, which was before the era of the Upper Cave Man. The legend about Suirenshi who got fire by boring wood reflects this historical event.

Discovery of fire and the means to control it played a significant role in promoting human civilization. This was the first time people began to make use of natural forces to improve their living conditions. In addition, it also changed peoples’ dietary habits, allowing them to stop eating raw animal flesh and drinking its blood because they could cook food.

High protein was extremely necessary for the development of human brains, because it was beneficial for intelligence-building. Just as Engels said, “discovery of fire means liberation of mankind.”

Animal Skin, Leaf Clothes: After living in only their skin for quite a long time, primitive humans learned how to make clothes. They used materials like tree bark, hide, and leaves, which were simply knitted and wrapped around their shoulders. These were the earliest clothes the primitive people wore. Bone needles with holes unearthed from the site of the Upper Cave Man reveal that at that time people knew how to make clothes with animal skin, even though the craft was simple and crude. These were, nevertheless, the earliest clothes of the ancient people.

In the primitive agriculture period tabby linen from wild hemp was used to make clothes.

According to archeological findings from all the Neolithic sites, spinning wheels were common to all groups during that period. At the Hemudu Site, wood machine parts such as machine blades, batching axes, shuttles and leasing apparatus were discovered, all of which indicate that as far back as 7,000 years ago, looms had been made for weaving cloth.

In the development course of the Chinese nation from the 21 ^st century B.C. to 476 B.C., the Chinese civilization went through a period characterized by the formation and development of slave society.

In the 21 ^st century B.C. the Xia Dynasty was established, and a small number of bronze wares were made, but it was still a period in which “metal and stone were used simultaneously”.

Afterwards, the Xia Dynasty （21 ^st century-16 ^th century B.C.） was replaced by the Shang Dynasty （16 ^th century-11 ^th century B.C.）, and the technology of bronze smelting improved continuously, as the bronze industry expanded to meet increasing social demand. The types of products, technology and crafts all reached a higher level. Unique and beautiful bronze wares have been unearthed from many sites around China. These are a silent testament to the brilliant Chinese civilization of the Shang Dynasty （16 ^th century-11 ^th century B.C.）.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty （11 ^th century-771 B.C.） the bronze industry was at its peak, with many varieties in production and very specialized divisions of labor. This is why bronze production became known as “the labor of a hundred craftspeople”.

During the Shang and Zhou dynasties （16 ^th century-221 B.C.） along with the unceasing increase in social material wealth in the society in general, different social classes such as scholars, farmers, craftsmen, merchants and slave owners also emerged. However, agricultural production was still the most important industry.

We can summarize and conclude by saying that during the Xia, Shang, Zhou dynasties （21 ^st century-256 B.C.） and the Spring and Autumn Period （770-476 B.C.）over the entire expanse of “China” we see the rise and fall of the slavery system. The ancestors of the Chinese nation displayed their wisdom as follows:

Years Designed by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches: In the Xia Dynasty （21 ^st century-16 ^th century B.C.） years were designed by the Heavenly Stems only, and in the Shang Dynasty （16 ^th century-11 ^th century B.C.） that were designed by the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Gnomon was used to observe the movement of the shadows of the sun and determine Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice in the Zhou Dynasty （11 ^th century-221 B.C.）. People had a more sophisticated knowledge about the general patterns of seasonal variation and how to determine the solar terms, which played a positive role in connecting abnormal changes in the climate and human diseases.

The Decimal System, Odd, Even and Multiple: Human wisdom also produced numerical calculation, architecture, measurement and water conservation.

Oracle-bone Inscriptions: These are the earliest extant ancient literature records. About 160,000 pieces of oracle bones have been unearthed from the Yin-Shang Dynasty Ruins, indicating that in the Shang Dynasty （16 ^th century-11 ^th century B.C.）thousands of Chinese characters had already been in use. Further advances were seen in the Zhou Dynasty （11 ^th century-256 B.C.）, which laid the foundation for being able to record production technology and culture in writing.

Relationship between the Heavens and HumanBeings: In this period, religious consciousness represented by “heaven” or the “ultimate being”remained unshakable. Alongside improvements in the means of production and greater knowledge of the environment, people began to ask questions about nature and reality. Yin and yang, qi and tai ji, the basic concepts of nature and dialectics, emerged and were increasingly adopted to explain all things on earth including human beings themselves.