Yellow River culture is an important part of Chinese civilization, and is the root and soul of the Chinese nation. To promote systematic protection of the cultural heritage of the Yellow River, keep the precious legacy left to us by our ancestors.

- Xi Jinping

In the history of Chinese and world civilizations, the Yellow River is a river that breeds great civilization and is an important symbol of Chinese civilization. Ancient civilizations are mainly born in the Great River Basin. The Nile Civilization, the Two River Basin Civilizations, Ganges and Yellow River Civilizations were all born in the Great River Basin suitable for agricultural cultivation.

The Yellow River is the mother river of the Chinese nation. The Yellow River flows through three topographic ladders and three natural landscapes to shape the unique geographical environment of the Yellow River Basin, becoming the cradle of Chinese civilization.

In his speech at the 2019 Yellow River Basin Ecological Conservation and High Quality Development Symposium, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the Yellow River culture is an important part of Chinese civilization and is the root and soul of the Chinese nation.

The Yellow River is the root and symbol of Chinese civilization

Yellow River Kettle Mouth Falls, roaring Yellow River water tumbles down, mighty and spectacular.

The Yellow River is the second largest river in China, but the source of the Yellow River is small and the flow is not large, and the water volume is only 1/20th of the Yangtze River’s water volume Nonetheless, why is it still called “the mother river of the Chinese nation”?

The Yellow River has a unique historical status among the "seven major water systems" in China. The Yellow River is the head of the royal sacrifice river, which was given to the ancient people by the ancients for the Yellow River because it bred the Huang Son and the Chinese people.

The Yellow River has an unparalleled contribution to the origin, heritage and development of Chinese civilization. The birth of civilization is essentially the result of the first technological revolution of mankind, that is, the agricultural revolution, which transformed "the wandering people" into "congregation people", developing settlement patterns and complex societies.

The Yellow River Basin area has been the political, economic and cultural center of the country for more than 3,000 years. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the natural conditions are superior, becoming the core of many dynasties "Dingdu" areas in many dynasties, including Xia, Shang, Xi Zhou (Cheng Zhou Loyi), Dong Zhou, Xihan (initial), Dong Han, Wei Cao, Xijin, Bei Sui, Tang (including Wu Zhou), Fifth Generation, Northern Song and Jin. Among the eight ancient capitals of China, Xi'an, Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Anyang are located in the Yellow River Basin.

At the same time, many of the most representative Chinese traditional cultures were born and developed in the Yellow River Basin. Agricultural cultivation techniques, astronomical calendars, numerical arithmetic, irrigation engineering, traditional medicine, color ceramics, etc., have been highly developed in the Yellow River Basin. Born in the Yellow River Basin, such as Poem Sutras, Yi Ching, Shangshu, Spring and Autumn, Liturgy and Argument, Mozi, Mengzi, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, etc., are the essence of Chinese civilization that has a profound impact on the hereafter and its influence on modern civilization is still visible.

The Yellow River has laid a deep foundation for the Chinese nation. The root role of the Yellow River culture in China is determined by the cultural genes of the Yellow River culture. The formation and development of the Yellow River valley determines the direction and development of the Chinese civilization to some extent.

Yellow River Culture Is Enhancing the Chinese Nation

Important Carriers of Cultural Confidence

At the mouth of the Yellow River into the sea, Dongying City, Shandong Province.

In his speech at the Congress celebrating the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi noted that “cultural self-confidence is a more fundamental, broader and deeper self-confidence.”The 19th report of the party emphasized that “cultural self-confidence is a more fundamental, deeper and more enduring force in the development of a country and a nation.”

Yellow River culture has a noble historical status and is the origin and source of the formation of Chinese civilization system. In the process of forming the Chinese nation, Yellow River culture has always influenced the development of the Chinese nation.

Yellow River culture has always demonstrated strong cultural self-confidence during the formation and development of China. Early civilizations in China have diversified so much that there is a "full sky" saying, but the early civilization and the Xiashang Zhou dynasty civilization are basically mutually one, so in the "full sky star dot", the Yellow River civilization has always been an important position. In the Qur’an, he said: “Let the Yellow River be like the Tarzan, and the Kingdom endure forever, and give birth to the seed.”

During the Tang and Song period, Chang'an and Xianliang were the most developed international metropolis in the world at that time. The urban civilizations formed had a profound impact on the world’s civilizations.

The Yellow River is a symbol of the Chinese community.

The Yellow River Basin is a hub for the development of the Chinese nation, and the Huang River culture promotes the formation and development of the plurality of ethnic groups in China.

The Yellow River Basin is the unique geographical center of interaction between agricultural civilizations and grassland civilizations. It is a melting pot that promotes the interaction of peoples and exchanges, and is an important regional space for forming the plurality of ethnic groups in China.

With the integration of agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization, Central Plains culture and grassland culture, Eastern cultures and Western cultures in the Yellow River Valley have shaped important time-and-time scenes for the formation of the plurality of Chinese people, fostered the general pattern of the plurality of Chinese people, fostered the mainstream consciousness of the plurality of Chinese people.

Yellow River culture is important to deepen national identity, enhance cultural self-confidence and build a shared spiritual homeland of the Chinese nation. It is crucial to protect, inherit, promote and integrate it into today's cultural innovation and development, integrate it into contemporary economic society and people's daily lives.

[Department of Professor and Deputy Director, Yellow River Center for Civilization and Sustainable Development, Henan University. This paper is the National Natural Science Foundation (Project No. 41971181)]

Source: State Civil Commission official WeChat public number