​The Past, Present, and Future of Yellow the River Civilization

The Past, Present, and Future of Yellow the River Civilization

XU Zhaoshou

Abstract: The Yin-Yang and Five Elements in traditional Chinese culture are the best code for interpreting the operation of the universe. Through the author’s long-term research on the Fuxi Bagua and the Nine Palaces, it can be roughly sorted out that the Chinese civilization from the ancient times can be divided into several stages. Firstly, the view of the world early of Kunlun civilization was mainly based on Fuxi’s drawing of the Bagua. The characteristic pottery, rock paintings and astronomical archaeology of the ice age, as well as historical records, suggest that the exact time of Yu the Great’s flood control happened about 4,300 years ago. Secondly, through the archaeological research on the world centered on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau with description of the I Ching, the River Chart, the Luo Shu and the Shan Hai Jing, it is found that the Qilian Mountains were exactly the Qian Gua when Fuxi drew the Bagua, and the Kunlun Mountains (Altun Mountains) were the Kun Gua, thus determining the positions of Kunlun and the source of the Yellow River. From the time of the Yellow Emperor to the era of Yu the Great’s flood control, the thought of the unity of heaven and man in the Huaxia civilization was increasingly perfected and gradually influenced the development of society in terms of calendar, writing, etiquette, system and medicine. Until the middle of the Xia Dynasty, through the Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han Dynasties, the Central Plains civilization period was finally established. The center of the world continued to shift eastward, from the Loess Plateau to the Central Plains centered on Luoyang. Thirdly, King Wen of Zhou developed the Bagua into the Sixty-Four Gua and established a new view of the world. Then, Duke of Zhou, Confucius and Sima Qian further developed and consolidated the study of I Ching to form Confucianism and make it the official doctrine. Later, the Five Masters of the Northern Song Dynasty studied the I Ching, and Zhu Xi reinterpreted the Confucian classics to create Neo-Confucianism, making the Yellow River civilization last for a thousand years. The problem that the Yellow River civilization has to face now and in the future lies in the establishment of a cultural standard. This requires the public to break away from the long-held views of the Central Plains civilization and the European-centered civilization, and once again focus on the vast western regions of China. By combining the geographical directions in Shan Hai Jing with historical records, the River Chart, the Luo Shu and the I Ching Bagua thought, a new path for Chinese cultural archaeology can be opened up. With the scientific worldview and methodology inherited by the Chinese people since ancient times, a true cultural confidence of the descendants of Yan and Huang can be established, which is a necessary method for the Chinese school with Chinese characteristics to open up a new path for the revival of traditional culture. 

Key words: Yellow River civilization; Kunlun civilization; Chinese civilization; Central Plains civilization; scientific world outlook

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