Origins of the Chinese Nation
FoundationYan and Huang emperors are our earliest ancestors; Yu the Great tamed the floods; oracle bone script is the earliest mature Chinese writing.
- Yan and Huang are our first ancestors; Chinese are their descendants.
- Yu tamed the floods by dredging, thrice passing his own door.
- Learn from Yu: selfless, wise, never giving up.
文體小知識：文化知識說明文把歷史和文化知識講得明明白白。這一篇帶你回到上古，聽大禹治水的故事，認識最早的漢字甲骨文。
§Text Passage
1We are Chinese, and the Chinese nation has a history of over five thousand years. Long, long ago, before writing, people passed the stories of their ancestors from mouth to mouth — these are the ancient legends. In them, Pangu separated heaven and earth, Nüwa mended the sky with coloured stones, and the Yan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor united the tribes as the first ancestors of the Chinese nation. That is why Chinese people call ourselves the descendants of Yan and Huang.
2In ancient times the Yellow River often flooded, drowning fields and homes. Gun tried to block the water with dikes for nine years and failed. His son Yu the Great learned the lesson and used the way of dredging instead: cutting channels to lead the flood slowly to the sea. He led the people to work hard for thirteen years, passing his own gate three times without going in, and at last he tamed the floods.
3The story of Yu passing his home three times without entering is told to this day. Selfless for the public, persistent, and wise in method — this is the spirit of the Chinese nation. Shun passed the leadership to Yu, and Yu later founded the Xia dynasty, the first dynasty in our history; China then moved from the age of legend into the age of history.
4Chinese culture also holds a marvellous treasure — Chinese characters. The earliest mature script is oracle bone script, carved on tortoise shells and animal bones by the Shang people over three thousand years ago to record divinations and great events. About a hundred years ago oracle bones were discovered at Anyang in Henan, astonishing the world; today over a thousand characters have been identified.
5From oracle bone script to the characters we write today, one line runs unbroken. Many pictographs are like little pictures: ri looks like the sun, shan like mountain peaks, mu like a tree. Learning to write Chinese is like talking with our ancestors of thousands of years ago. Most other ancient scripts of the world are long lost, but Chinese characters are still used today — a pride for every Chinese person.
1Summary 重點摘要
Yan and Huang emperors are our earliest ancestors; Yu the Great tamed the floods; oracle bone script is the earliest mature Chinese writing.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Old stories passed down by word of mouth, holding ancestors' memories.
China's second longest river, cradle of Chinese civilisation, often flooded in old times.
Controlling floods to protect the people and fields.
The hero who tamed the floods by dredging and founded the Xia dynasty.
Opening channels to let water flow, instead of blocking it.
The first dynasty in Chinese history, founded by Yu the Great.
Characters carved on tortoise shells and bones in the Shang dynasty — the earliest mature Chinese script.
A character drawn like a picture of the thing, such as mountain or sun.
How Chinese people call themselves, after ancestors Yan and Huang.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: Learn the ancient legendsThe Chinese nation has over five thousand years of civilisation, but at first there was no writing, and ancestors' stories passed by word of mouth — the ancient legends. In them, Pangu split heaven from earth; Nüwa made people from clay and mended the sky; Youchao taught people to build houses and Shennong tasted herbs and taught farming; the Yan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor united the tribes as the common ancestors of the Chinese nation, so Chinese people call ourselves their descendants. Legends are not literal history, but they hold our ancestors' memories and spirit.
- Step 2: Hear the story of Yu taming the floodsIn ancient times the Yellow River flooded again and again, drowning fields and homes, and the people suffered terribly. Shun first sent Gun, who blocked the water with dikes for nine years, but the water only rose higher and he failed. His son Yu took over and used dredging instead: leading the people to cut mountains and dig channels, leading the flood step by step into rivers and the sea. For thirteen years Yu passed his own gate three times without entering — he did not even glance at his newborn child — until at last the floods were tamed and the people could live in peace.
- Step 3: Learn Yu's spiritWhy has Yu's story been told for thousands of years? Because of three precious qualities. First, selflessness for the public: three times past his own gate without entering, he put everyone's safety before his own family. Second, wise methods: where his father failed by blocking, he succeeded by dredging — when we meet difficulty, think and change the method instead of struggling blindly. Third, persistence: thirteen years of work, never giving up, never complaining. When homework is hard or practice goes badly, think of Yu, and we find strength to go on.
- Step 4: From legend into historyFor his success in taming the floods, Shun passed the leadership of the tribes to Yu. Yu later founded the Xia dynasty, the first dynasty in our history, about four thousand years ago. From the Xia onward, Chinese history knew the rise and fall of dynasties; after the Xia came the Shang and then the Zhou. Remember the order — Xia, Shang, Zhou — like remembering the source of the long river of Chinese civilisation. In higher grades, history lessons will unfold from this source into many more dynasties and stories.
- Step 5: Meet oracle bone scriptThe Shang people believed in divination, asking about everything: Will the hunt go well? Will it rain tomorrow? Will the harvest be good? The questions, answers and outcomes were carved with knives on tortoise shells and animal bones — oracle bone script. About a hundred years ago these oracle bones were discovered at Yinxu in Anyang, Henan, astonishing the world. This is the earliest mature and systematic writing yet found in China, over three thousand years old. Over a thousand characters have been identified, and scholars are still studying more.
- Step 6: Feel the wisdom of Chinese charactersMany oracle bone characters are pictographs, little pictures: ri is a circle with a dot, like the sun; shan draws three peaks; mu draws a trunk and branches; ren is a person standing in profile. From oracle bones to bronze inscriptions, small seal, clerical script and today's regular script, Chinese characters run in one unbroken line for thousands of years. The ancient scripts of Egypt and Babylon are long lost, but Chinese characters are still used by more than a billion people. Writing square characters is like talking with our ancestors — how proud we should be!
5Worked example Example
Example: After the story of Yu the Great, your teacher asks what spirit of Yu we should learn, and what oracle bone script is.
- Recall the story: the Yellow River flooded; Yu led the people to dredge channels for thirteen years, passing his home three times without entering.
- Name the spirit: selfless for the public; persistent, never giving up; wise — dredging instead of blocking.
- Introduce oracle bone script: characters carved on tortoise shells and bones by the Shang people, the oldest mature script found in China, over three thousand years old.
- Link to yourself: learn Yu's persistence — keep running even when tired; and see from oracle bones where Chinese characters began.
- Answer: Yu tamed the floods for thirteen years and passed his home three times without entering; we should learn his selflessness, persistence and wisdom. Oracle bone script is what the Shang people carved on tortoise shells and animal bones over three thousand years ago — the oldest mature script found in China and the source of today's Chinese characters.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Why do Chinese people call themselves descendants of Yan and Huang?
Q2How did Yu the Great tame the floods?
Q3Who passed his home three times without entering?
Q4What was China's first dynasty?
Q5On what was oracle bone script carved?
8Recap Recap
- Yan and Huang are our first ancestors; Chinese are their descendants.
- Yu tamed the floods by dredging, thrice passing his own door.
- Learn from Yu: selfless, wise, never giving up.
- The Xia was the first dynasty; history began there.
- Oracle bone script, carved on shells and bones, is the earliest mature Chinese writing.