Miaodigounization and Erlitounization: the formation and evolution of the Hua-Xia ethnic group and Hua-Xia tradition from the perspective of archaeology

Abstract

What is Hua-Xia? How and when did the Hua-Xia ethnic group and Hua-Xia tradition come into being? As the spatial and temporal framework, the connotative features and the genealogy of the archaeological culture become increasingly clear, we can identify two important periods of prehistoric archaeological cultures that may have played key roles in the formation of the Hua-Xia ethnic group and its cultural identity. First is the Yangshao Culture (especially its Miaodigou Era), which was formed at the middle Neolithic age. During this period, agriculture was established as the main economic base, resulting in massive population growth, as well as rapid expansion of painted pottery, unique artifact collections and other highly consistent material culture, from the Central Plains of China to the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River and beyond. Based on recent genetic, linguistic and other multidisciplinary research, it can be roughly confirmed that this culture is the archaeological manifestation of the emergence and formation of the Sino-Tibetan language family with a large population and a vast territory, so it is of fundamental significance for the formation of the Hua-Xia tradition in terms of ethnicity, language and culture. Second is the Erlitou Culture, which rose in the heart of the Central Plains of China after the Longshan Era, and stood out again in the Yangshao homeland in the competition among the regional cultural traditions of the early Chinese interaction circle after the collapse of the Yangshao Culture. Absorbing all the advanced cultural factors known at that time, it became the mainstream cultural tradition and great civilization tradition, including the political tradition, the ideological tradition, the lineage system and the unity and coherence in writing. The Erlitou Culture provided world views, values, even the instrumental systems and political institutions for the continuation of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties to identify and follow, which roughly corresponded to the rise of the Xia dynasty as depicted in the literature. Thus, if Miaodigounization, with its great integration and expansion feature, was acclaimed as the foundation of the Hua-Xia tradition, Erlitounization enabled the establishment of Hua-Xia mainstream tradition.