Art History Sem 1

1. Early Civilization
Joyce Teoh Mei Kuan | Diploma in Film & TV
Early Civilization
Yellow River 黄河 (Huang He)
The Yellow River is the second-longest river in Asia, the
sixth-longest river in the world at the estimated length of
5,464 km.Around 4000 BC the Yellow River Civilization
began in China, which was a start of the many Chinese
Empires. Many of the ethnic groups and cultures began in
this era in China.
For thousands of years, the river has been known as the mother river of the Chinese nation, both in writings
of the poets and scribes, and in the hearts of the Chinese people. Almost all Chinese see themselves as the
children of Yellow River. If China had no Yellow River, the Chinese would not have a place to focus their
spiritual energies on.
Yellow River – Cradle of Chinese Civilization
From the Xia (21st – 16th century BC) and Shang (16th – 11th century BC) Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty (618-
907), the Yellow River area was always the center of politics, economy and culture. In addition, in terms of
science and technology, this area is in the leading position all the time.
There are many ingredient of Yellow River civilization, such as
potteries, silks, bronze, characters and, so on. Commonly, it came
into being between the year 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, which covered
over 2,000 years long. During this period, a group of regional
civilization were booming but unfortunately in later time, some of
them intermitted; some went to the low tide. Only Yellow River
civilization assimilated the essences of other regional civilization and
developed itself into a higher level. The phase of the development
of Yellow River civilization was also a period for its sublimation and
the epoch of the prosperity of this civilization was the historical
moment when China stepped into the feudal empire civilization.
This river is also the symbol of the spirit of the Chinese people:
grittiness, industriousness and assiduity. It is a bridge connecting the
whole land of China, linking the Chinese history and joining all the
Chinese people all over the world with their motherland: China.
Yellow River
Mother River Monuments at Lanzhou
Art of Zhou Dynasty
Silk painting of a man
railing a dragon
Iron Metallurgy was
used for farming
tools, utensils and
weapons because of
its strength.