陶寺文化与早期中国的初构

Taosi Culture and the Formation of Early China

陶寺文化是史前中原核心区最早产生、具有较完备权力要素的都邑邦国文化形态。在中原地区特有的内外压力与应力机制中,陶寺文化形成以族权为基础、祖先神崇拜为信仰、早期"王权"为中心的制度模式,构成了"其外无界"、"其内无间"的早期中国体制雏形和跨血缘、族群、文化的"天下结构"理念。它在龙山时代四方文化的"碰撞"、"熔合"中,继承仰韶晚期传统,并以外来文化之"用"充实本土文化之"体",形成内聚性与开放性的政治特质,建立了政治机制、文化融合与族群整合的社会结构。由于陶寺文化与唐虞时代存在时空交集,陶寺制度为夏朝的建立奠立了政治制度基础,并为"最初的中国"的形成,以及先秦华夏国家、民族、文化的认同奠定了基石。

Taosi is home to the earliest example of an urbanized power base in the heart of the prehistoric Central Plains.A unique combination of internal and external pressures,prevalent in the Central Plains region,gave birth to a Taosi culture with a system of clan rights,worship of ancestral gods,and"kingship"that would serve as a prototype for governance in Ancient China.It was all-encompassing in reach,possessed a cohesive internal structure,and transcended lineage,ethnicity,and cultural boundaries.During the upheaval of the Longshan period and the subsequent"fusion"of the Sifang culture,the Taosi culture managed to hold on to the traditions of the late Yangshao while also enriching them from the new external influences.The results were a new political culture of cohesion and inclusiveness and a social structure characterized by recognizable political mechanisms,cultural integration,and ethnic unity.Ultimately,the convergence of the Taosi culture with the reigns of Emperors Yao and Shun would lay the groundwork for the Xia dynasty,the concept of an original China",and the identity of the nation and culture of the pre-Qin.