China Popular Itineraries |
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| This culture was first discovered in Yangshao Village, Mianchi County, Henan Province in 1921, hence the name of Yangshao Culture. Colored pot-teries have been found in its remains, therefore we also call it "Culture of Col-ored Pottery. " With the Central Plains as its center, where meet such branch-es of the Yellow River as the Weihe, Fenhe and Luohe rivers, Yangshao Cul-tare spread to the area of the Great Wall and the Great Bend of the Yellow River in the north, northwestern part of Hubei Province in the south, the borderline between Gansu and Qinghai provinces in the west and the eastern part of Henan Province in the east. Up to now over 1,000 ruins have been un-earthed, and more than 10 of the excavations have been done on a large scale. According to the related researches, Yangshao Culture prospered during 5:,000-3,000 B.C. or so. By the time the ancestors of Yangshao Culture settled down in the river valleys, they had polished stoneware such as knives, axes, and chisels as their major production implements. They had some forged stoneware as well, and exquisite bone-ware. Pottery for daily use mainly in-cluded red clay pottery and red sand pottery. The former was usually painted in color with various designs or decorative patterns of animals or plants, while the latter was decorated with patterns of thick or thin ropes. The major uten-sils included basins, earthen bowls, flat-bottomed bowls, vases with a small mouth and pointed bottom, bottles with a thin neck, jars and urns with a big stomach, and so on. These settlers lived on agriculture, such as millet plant-ing, fishing, hunting, and stockbreeding of pigs or dogs. In addition, there existed a handicraft industry, including hides processing, spinning and weav-ing, and knitting. Arts were displayed mainly in such forms as painting and sculpture. Painted symbols had become the embryonic form of Chinese charac-ters which usually appeared on pottery wares. With its extended and sustained prevalence, Yangshao Culture is of profound significance. As the backbone of Chinese Neolithic culture, Yangshao Culture embodies the social formation and cultural achievements of the historical period when matriarchy came into decline. |
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