2 rivers of china. What are the major rivers and lakes in China? The Yellow River is the most sandy river in the world

One of the remarkable features inherent in a huge state called China is a great variety of fresh water bodies. These are numerous deep rivers that stretch for thousands of kilometers in length. They can be as deep, rich in underwater vegetation and animal world, and small, but at the same time incredibly beautiful and acceptable for swimming. Along with them, there are large lakes in China, which simply amaze with their beauty and purity. Therefore, we will now try to tell you in great detail about exactly what remarkable and famous water bodies this country is famous for.

Chinese water grid

Large rivers and lakes in China are a whole water system, which is considered one of the largest in the world. In terms of its abundance, this state ranks sixth on the planet, following Brazil, Russia, Canada, the United States and Indonesia. There are both internal water bodies that do not go out of the country with their channels and bays, and external ones that cross the borders of other powers and flow into the Indian, Tikhiy or The Arctic Ocean... Most of the major rivers and lakes in China are located in the eastern part of the country, but many of them stretch to other regions. In their total, all the river channels of the state are 220 thousand kilometers, of which 64% are external waters, and the rest are internal water bodies, which are mainly shallow and small.

Brief data on water bodies of China

In general, over 5000 rivers flow on the territory of this country. The largest of them belong to external waters, and it is they that flow into the World Ocean. Among such rivers, it is worth mentioning the Yangtze, the Yellow River (the two most big rivers and part-time part of the country's symbols), Zhujiang, Heilongjiang and others. The rest, which we will name somewhat below, are internal. Large rivers and lakes in China are not always interconnected, but smaller bodies of water tend to flow into vast reservoirs. So, all the rivers that flow inside the country often flow not into the oceans, but into local lakes. Also, an important aspect is the fact that it is in the valleys of the country's largest rivers that great amount of people. Here the population density is much higher than in other regions. But the country's lakes are, rather, a magnet for tourists. They are very beautiful here, clean and simply unique.

Water pride of Eurasia

When they talk about the largest rivers in China, the first thing they call a waterway called the Yangtze. In addition to the fact that the river has been the breadwinner and mystical symbol of the country from time immemorial, it is also the first largest and full-flowing river in all of Eurasia. In the world, it ranks third according to these data. Translated into Russian, "Yangtze" means "Long River". In fact, the length of this waterway is 6,300 km, and it is she who occupies a fifth of the entire territory of China. The highest population density can be traced along the Yangtze River; megacities, dams, factories and factories are being built here. In ancient times, it was thanks to the waters of this river that the Chinese were able to invent an irrigation system. Then her waters, which reflected the blue sky, were holy. The river had a second name - Blue or Blue, and its "brother" was the Yellow River, which was called Yellow.

Clear yellow waters

When listing the largest rivers in China, it is impossible to lose sight of the famous Yellow River, which translated into Russian sounds like "Yellow River". The length of this natural vein of the country is 5,464 km, and it originates at the foot of the Tibetan mountains. The Yellow River flows into it without crossing the state border. Permanent deposits of various rocks, which are completely environmentally friendly and do not pose a danger to humans. Unlike the Yangtze, on the banks of which megacities, towns and cities now grow, quiet provincial towns are located along the Yellow River. It was here that the Chinese ethnos, its culture and traditions were formed in the distant centuries.

Lakes - the beauty of the country

Now we will consider exactly the case when the large rivers and lakes of China are interconnected. Poyang Lake is considered to be the largest freshwater body of water that does not have a current. It is it that is connected to the largest river in the Yangtze State by a small strait. This lake is located in Jiangxi province, that is, on the right bank of the river. It is believed that this reservoir is not only the largest in the country, but also one of the most beautiful and interesting. In summer, the water here has a slightly greenish tint, but it is very clean and transparent. In winter, many birds come here, which create their families here. By the way, another lake that is connected with is Dongtinghu. It is very extensive, but shallow. It was in its valleys that the famous Chinese "dragon boats" were born.

Other lakes in China

But the Hongzehu Lake, which is completely different from it, is considered to be a part. Its waters are by no means cast yellow, but transparent blue, surrounded on all sides by rich greenery. The lake itself was repeatedly flooded, thereby blocking the Yellow River flow, after which the two reservoirs began to coexist as one. The last largest lake in the state is considered to be Chao, which is not connected with any river. A notable feature of the reservoir is Laoshan Island - a small green area where many trees and shrubs grow.

Conclusion

All of China's largest rivers and lakes are a great pride for the country. There are both clean and polluted waters, but even so, locals are proud of the history of their rivers, their power and greatness.

When asked What are the two largest rivers in China? given by the author User deleted the best answer is





A source:

Answer from DICK[guru]
Yangtze and Yellow River.
Yellow River - "Yellow River" - because of the color of the water in which the suspension is loess.
Yangtze - there are no associations in the brain.

Answer from Yovetlana Panfilova[guru]
Yellow River (Yellow River) and Yangtze.
Everything. Sorry.

Answer from Anastasia[active]
Yellow River and Yangtze
The Yellow River flows along a forest plateau and has the largest turbidity in the world; during floods, it generally turns not even into a river, but into a mud stream

Answer from Leonid Yaroshevsky[guru]
The largest river in China - the Yangtze, in length - 6300 km - is second only to the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America... The upper reaches of the Yangtze flows through high mountains and deep valleys. It harbors rich hydro resources. The Yangtze is the main and most convenient shipping route in the country, passing from west to east. Its fairway by its very nature is adapted for navigation, it is not for nothing that the Yangtze is called the "golden transport artery" in China. Areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze are warm and humid climate, abundance of rain and fertility of the soil, which creates ideal conditions for the development of agriculture. It is here that the main granary of the country is located. The second largest river in China is the Yellow River, with a total length of 5464 km. The Yellow River basin is rich in fertile fields, rich pastures, the bowels of the earth conceal huge deposits of minerals. The shores of the Yellow River are considered the cradle of the Chinese nation, and the origins of ancient Chinese culture can be traced from here. Heilongjiang is a large river in the north of China. The total length is 4350 km, of which 3101 km are in China. The Pearl River is the deepest in South China, with a total length of 2,214 km. In addition to natural waterways, China has the famous man-made Great Canal that connects the water systems of the Haihe, Yellowhe, Huaihe, Yangtze and Qiantangjiang rivers. It was laid in the 5th century BC. BC, stretches from north to south from Beijing to Hangzhou city of Zhejiang province for 1801 km, it is the oldest and longest artificial canal in the world.

Answer from Lady x[master]
And the Chinese also called the Yellow River the River of Nine Disasters)

Answer from Aivar kink[guru]
The features of the relief are reflected primarily in the distribution of water
resources of the country. The wettest are the southern and eastern parts,
having a dense and highly branched system. In these areas flow
the largest rivers in China are the Yangtze and the Yellow River. They also include:
Cupid, Sungari, Yalohe, Xijiang, Tsagno. rivers of eastern China in most
they are full of water and navigable, and their regime is characterized by unevenness
seasonal flow - minimum flow in winter and maximum in summer. On
the plains are not uncommon for floods caused by rapid spring and summer thaw
snow.
The western, arid part of China is poor in rivers. Basically they
shallow, shipping on them is poorly developed. Most of the rivers of this
areas do not have a runoff into the sea, and their course is episodic.
The largest rivers in this region are Tarim, Cherny Irtysh, Ili, Edzin-Gol.
The largest rivers in the country, carrying their waters into the ocean, are contaminated in
Tibetan plateau.
China is rich not only in rivers but also in lakes. There are two main
type: tectonic and fashionably erosional. The first are located in the central
the Asian part of the country, and the second in the Yangtze River system. In the western part
China's largest lakes are: Lop Nor, Kununor, Ebi-Nur. Especially
there are numerous lakes in the Tibetan Plateau. Most of the lowland lakes,
as well as rivers, they are shallow, many are without drainage and saline. In the east
parts of China, the largest Dongting, Poyang, Taihu, located in
the Yangtze River Basin; Hongzokhu and Gaoiku - in the Yellow River basin. V
floods, many of these lakes become natural reservoirs
country.

Answer from Ludmila[active]
China has only 2 rivers Yangtze and Yellow River
1 Yangtze
2 Huang Ho

Answer from Ўriy Pan[newbie]
1. The Yangtze is the largest river of the Kita and one of the longest rivers in the world, its length is more than 6300 km. , pool area sq. , 1 807 199 km. , the total annual flow is 979.353 billion cubic meters. m., the average runoff layer is 542 mm.
The Yangtze originates in the foothills of Tibet, in the west of China and, flowing through the whole country, flows into the sea near Shanghai. Along the banks of the Yangtze, green villages and small towns, steeped in myths and legends, stretch out in the form of terraces. The Yangtze passes deep gorges on the plains of Sichuan, flows along amazingly picturesque gorges and canyons between the cities of Chongqing and Wuhan - this is perhaps the most a nice place on the river.
Nowadays, this unusual sight will soon no longer be visible: the Chinese are building a dam, which will soon flood all the gorges, and with them the segment of life that has remained untouched for so many generations will disappear.
2. The Yellow River, the second largest river in China, originates in the northern spurs of the Bayangla Mountains in Qinghai Province and flows through nine provinces and autonomous regions, and flows into the Bohai Sea. The length of the Yellow River is 5,464 km, its basin covers an area of ​​more than 750 thousand square meters. km, the annual flow reaches 66.1 billion cubic meters. The main tributaries are Fenhe and Weihe, and in general the number of tributaries is more than 40.
Yellow River got its English name as "Yellow River" for the color of the water, which is rich in silt, which is washed out of the loess soils from the territory through which it flows. Over the past two thousand years, the river overflowed its banks and broke through dams more than a thousand times, and at least 20 times significantly changed its trajectory.
Currently, 18 dams have been built on the Yellow River, and 7 more dams are under construction. Waterworks are concentrated in upstream rivers such as Longyangxia, Liujiasia, Qintongxia and in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, the Xiaolandi hydroelectric complex is being built there, there are no hydroelectric facilities in the lower reaches of the river.

One of the attractions of China is its rivers. If you add up the length of all, then a total of 220 thousand km will turn out.

The country's waterways form internal and external systems... Outer rivers flow into the sea or have access to the ocean. There are few internal rivers, and they are at a significant distance from each other, flow into lakes or are lost in swamps and deserts. In many areas, the rivers of China have become shallow.

Among all the abundance of rivers, there are those that are known to the whole world and enjoy special love among tourists - the Yellow River, the Yangtze, and Zhujiang.

Yellow he

This is one of the largest rivers in Asia. Translated into Russian, it means "Yellow River". And her water is really yellow color... This color gives it sand. She, in turn, flows into the Yellow Sea. It is believed that it was on the shores of this that the Chinese ethnos began its history and formation. That is why the Yellow River of China is rich in tourist resources, and the entire history of the great Chinese people is reflected on its banks. That is why river tours offered by numerous travel agencies are quite popular. Yellow River was included in the list of twelve state tourist routes.

On the banks of the river, you can meet nationalities who have managed to preserve original and colorful customs. There are many monuments of architecture, antiquity and culture. There is always something to see here. These are statues of warriors and horses in the tomb of Qin Shihuang, Buddhist relics in Shanxi province, the legendary Shaolin wushu school and much more. Unique landscapes amaze with their beauty.

Yangtze

This river is also called the Blue. Arriving in the Middle Kingdom, you probably expect to see clear and transparent waters. But this is not the case. In fact, the Yangtze is rather muddy, and it probably got its name in opposition to the Yellow River. Another common name is "Long River", or Changjiang. But this is the pure truth, because this water artery is one of the longest and deepest in Eurasia. Its length is 6 thousand km, and in some places it reaches a width of 2.5 km!

The Blue River of China has many attractions and beauties. For example, its shores are mainly formed by mountains covered with green vegetation and steep gorges. Upstream Tiger Leaping Gorge is the deepest in the world. The height of the stone walls is 2 thousand meters, and the height of the mountains towering above it reaches 4 thousand meters! Of the man-made "miracles", the dam and hydroelectric power station, which are the largest in the world.

Zhujiang

The Pearl River of China also got its name not because there are pearls in it, but because of the island, which stretches in the middle of the river bed. This is a rock, which over time has been polished by nature almost to a radiant sheen, which is why it began to resemble a pearl. The island is called the Sea Pearl. Zhujiang ranks third in the ranking of "the most long rivers China "with the result of 2129 km.

One of the favorite attractions for tourists is the cruise night river in Guangzhou. Tourists have a magnificent picture: the bright lights of the city are reflected in the dark jade waters. Everything looks romantic enough!

The pools of more than one and a half thousand rivers exceed 1000 sq. km. The average annual flow of rivers in China is about 2.7 trillion cubic meters, ranking sixth in the world after Brazil, Russia, Canada, USA and Indonesia. More famous rivers in China: Yangtze, Yellow He, Heilongjiang, Yalutsangpo, Zhujiang, Huihe, etc. The Tarim River in Xinjiang is the longest of the inland rivers in China, with a length of 2,100 km.

Main rivers

The Yangtze is the largest river in China, which originates in the snow-capped Galadandong mountains of the Tangla mountain system, flows through 11 provinces, autonomous regions and cities of central subordination and flows into the East China Sea, its total length is 6300 km, it occupies the 3rd place in the world and 1st place in Asia. The Yangtze has many tributaries, the main ones being: Yalongjiang, Minjiang, Jialingjiang, Hanjiang, Wujiang, Xiangjiang, Ganjiang, etc. The pool area is 1.8 million sq. km, or 18.8% total area territory of China. The Yangtze is an important shipping lane in China. On the section of the Yangtze River from Fengjie County, Chongqing City to Yichang, Hubei Province, the Sanxia Canyon is 193 km long. The construction of the famous Sanxia hydroelectric complex began in 1994 and was completed in 2009, which will be able to curb rare floods, and the production of electricity per year will amount to 84.7 billion kWh, the hydroelectric complex will also improve the fairway, provide water for cities and towns on average and the lower reaches of the river, for irrigation of field lands.

The Yellow River, the second largest river in China, originates in the northern spurs of the Bayangla Mountains in Qinghai Province and flows through nine provinces and autonomous regions to the Bohai Sea. The length of the Yellow River is 5464 km, its basin covers an area of ​​more than 750 thousand square meters. km. The number of its main tributaries is more than 40. The main ones are Fenhe and Weihe. The soil of the Loess Plateau, through which the Yellow River flows, contains a lot of calcium carbonate, which is very solid in dry form, but as soon as rain passes, it instantly turns into a liquid and is easily washed off with water. A large amount of silt and sand together with the water enter the Yellow River, turning it into a river with the highest silt content in the world, as a result, the height of the Yellow River River bed rises by 10 cm annually.Currently, many waterworks have already been built in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, such like Longyangxia, Liujiaxia, Qintongxia.

Heilongjiang flows through the northern part of the country, border river between China and Russia, its basin covers an area of ​​more than 900 thousand square meters. km, the length of the river within China is 3420 km.

The Yalutsangpo originates from the Kimayandzom glacier in the northern spurs of the Himalayas in the territory of the Zhongba county, the length of the river within China is 2057 km, the basin area of ​​which is 240 480 sq. km, the average height above sea level of the basin is about 4500 m, is the river with the highest altitude in the world above sea level.

Zhujiang is the largest river in South China, its total length is 2214 km, the basin area is 453.69 thousand square meters. km, in terms of water resources it ranks second in China, second only to the Yangtze.

Huihe: pool area - 269,238 sq. km, total length - 1000 km.

Songhuajiang: pool area - 557.18 thousand square meters. km, total length - 2308 km.

Liaohe: pool area - 228.96 thousand sq. km, total length - 1390 km.

The Great Beijing-Hangzhou Canal was dug in the 5th century BC. BC, leads from Beijing to Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. It stretches from north to south for 1800 km, flows through the cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang provinces, connects the Haihe, Huanghe, Huaihe, Yangtze and Qiantangjiang rivers, which makes it the earliest and longest artificial canal in the world ...

Lakes

China is rich in lakes, with 2,800 lakes with an area of ​​over 1 sq. km each and 130 lakes with an area of ​​more than 100 km each. In addition, many artificial lakes and reservoirs are scattered throughout the country. These lakes can be divided into fresh and salty. Large lakes scattered mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze and the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. The largest freshwater lake in China is Poyang, the largest salt lake is Qinghaihu.

In the II millennium BC. e., far to the east of the most ancient civilizations of Asia Minor and India, a slave-owning society was formed and the first slave-owning state appeared in Northern China. This was of great importance for the history of the peoples inhabiting both China and other countries. Of the Far East... The most ancient legends of the Chinese people, the beginnings of its hieroglyphic writing, the growth and spread of the influence of its high culture, date back to this time. From that time, the centuries-old history of the great Chinese people began.

Decomposition of the primitive communal system and the emergence of the Shang (Yin) state

The Russian name "China" is borrowed from the Central Asian peoples, who gave the country this name after the Chinese (people of Mongolian origin), who owned in the X-XII centuries. n. NS. northern part of China. Western European and Middle Eastern names for China go back to the word "Chin", the Tajik-Persian designation for the name of the country. This name comes from the name of the ancient Chinese kingdom of Qin, which extended its power to most China in the III century. BC NS.

The Chinese themselves called their country differently, most often by the name of the reigning dynasties, for example: Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, etc. until now. Another Chinese name for the country is “Hua” (“Blooming”) or “Zhong hua” (“Middle blooming”); now it is part of the name of the People's Republic of China.

Nature and people

By geographic and economic characteristics modern China usually divided into two parts: western and eastern. The territory of Western China is a vast plateau with such powerful mountain systems as the Himalayas, Kunlun and Tien Shan. The highest mountain ranges in the world of the Himalayas, which in some places have heights of more than 8 km above sea level, form a kind of barrier between China and India.

Eastern China does not have such powerful mountain systems as Western China; a significant part of the territory here is made up of lowlands, coastal plains, mountains adjoin them medium height and plateau.

East China has more favorable natural conditions than in the West, the climate is much milder, the vegetation is more diverse, etc. All these conditions contributed to the fact that it was in this part of China that the most ancient agricultural culture was born, the first centers of Chinese civilization appeared, and the state arose earlier than in other parts of the country.

China has a significant river network, but all major rivers are located in the eastern part of the country. The main rivers in China flow from west to east. River valleys are the most fertile and most populated areas of the country. The ancient population of China was concentrated in the river valleys. Pool main river North China- The Yellow River, which is more than 4 thousand km long, was the center of the most ancient Chinese civilization. The Yellow River is a stormy river. It repeatedly changed its course, flooded vast expanses of the earth, bringing great disasters to the population. The largest river in China is the Yangtzejiang, which has a length of over 5 thousand km, its basin is Central China. The largest river in South China is the high-water Sijiang (about 2 thousand km).

The bowels of China are abundant in minerals. Rivers, lakes and seas are rich in fish. In ancient times, vast areas in Katai were covered with forests.

The climate of the eastern part of China is very favorable for agriculture, since the hottest season - summer is the largest number precipitation, autumn is warm and dry. The climate of the western part of China is distinguished by significant dryness: here there is a long Cold winter and a short sultry summer.

The population of China in ancient times was not homogeneous. The Chinese tribes proper, which, according to later literary sources, bore the names Xia, Shan, Zhou, etc., already in very early times occupied a significant part of Eastern, Northern and Northwestern China. In the south and south-west of the country inhabited mainly various tribes of the Sino-Tibetan language group related to the Chinese. The west, north and northeast of China were inhabited mainly by the tribes of the Turkic, Mongolian and Manchu-Tungus language groups.

The main areas of settlement of the Chinese in ancient times were the areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, as well as the plain adjacent to the Bohai (Zhili) Bay. Fertile alluvial soil predominated here, formed mainly from river silt. Fertile soil and the temperate climate of the Great Plain of China contributed to the development of agriculture here among the ancient Chinese tribes.

The ancient tribes inhabiting the area of ​​loess soils, which occupy a huge area in northern and northwestern China, were in a less advantageous position. Loess, which is a deposit of mineral dust particles blown off by the winter monsoons from mountain heights, contains nutrients (organic residues and readily soluble alkalis) that make it possible to do without fertilization. But in the area of ​​the loess plateau, precipitation falls relatively little, so here artificial irrigation is required for the development of agriculture. Due to the conditions noted above, among the tribes that inhabited the loess plateau in ancient times, agriculture was less developed than in the area of ​​the lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Decomposition of the primitive communal system

According to Chinese literary sources, it can be concluded that the preservation in China in the III millennium BC. NS. remnants of the maternal kind. This can be seen from the fact that ancient sources, reporting about the origin of the first ancestors of the Shang, Zhou and Qin tribes, do not speak about their fathers, but only give the names of their mothers; maternal line... It is known that under the maternal clan (matriarchy), sons could not inherit from their father, since they belonged to a different clan, namely to the clan of the mother. According to Sima Qian, the author of Historical Notes 1 (Historical Notes (Shi Ji), consisting of 130 chapters, represent the first consolidated history of the country in China, covering the period from legendary antiquity to the 1st century BC Sima Qian (II-1st centuries BC), the author of this work, used sources available in his time and later lost. "Historical Notes" covers a wide range of issues: domestic political events, external Relations China in ancient times, the economic system of the country (mainly II-1 centuries BC), cultural development and others), the legendary rulers Yao and Shun, before their death, chose their successors not from among their sons.

"Historical Notes" bring to us memories of the period when there was a council of tribal elders. The leader of the tribe often consulted with him on the most important issues. Clan or tribal leaders, by decision of the council of elders, could be relieved of their duties. From the legends cited in literary sources, we can conclude that at the end of the 3rd millennium, the elective principle was replaced by inheritance law: the tribal leaders were no longer elected, the hereditary power of the leader appears, passed from father to son. The family of the leader, isolated from the rest of the tribe, later became the bearer royal power... But even in these conditions, the council of elders still exists, although its rights are limited, and its decisions become optional for the hereditary leaders of the tribe.

The data of archaeological excavations allow us to conclude that in the II millennium, when bronze appears in China, the primitive communal system disintegrated and a gradual transition to a class, slave-owning society.

The sources do not provide an opportunity to trace the entire process of the disintegration of the tribal system and the transition to a class society in China; they report only fragmentary data about it. According to them, we can conclude that slavery appears even in the depths of the clan society. The prisoners captured during the wars between individual tribes and clans were used as labor, turned into slaves. This process took place on the basis of the further development of the productive forces, the emergence of private ownership of the means of production and the products of labor, on the basis of the growth of property inequality, and took place in a continuous struggle both within the tribes that inhabited China in ancient times and between tribes. Based on Chinese literary sources, it can be assumed that the struggle within the tribes was accompanied by the struggle of clan elders against the leaders of the tribes.

By the end of the 3rd millennium, as can be assumed on the basis of ancient legends, the Xia and Shan tribes played a decisive role in the territory of ancient China. In the end, the Shan tribe, whose name is associated with the creation of the first state in the history of China, turned out to be the winner. Science does not have reliable archaeological data about the Xia tribe. We can only judge about him by some data from literary sources.

Establishment of the Shang (Yin) State

Judging by the legends preserved in the ancients literary sources The Shan tribe originally inhabited the Yishui River Basin (northwestern part of what is now Hebei Province). Then, as some modern Chinese researchers suggest, this tribe settles from the Yishui River basin in different directions: to the west - to the territory of modern Shanxi province, to the south - to Henan, to the southeast - to Shandong, to the northeast - along the coast Bohai Bay to Liaodong Peninsula.

By the XVIII century. BC e., when, according to legend, Cheng Tang stood at the head of the Shai tribe, the final conquest of the Xia tribe belongs to them.

Cheng Tang, according to Chinese tradition, founded the Shang dynasty. In later times, after the fall of this dynasty, in the inscriptions on bronze vessels, the Shang dynasty and the state as a whole, as well as its crown population, were first designated by the hieroglyph "yin". This name has become widespread both in ancient sources and in modern Chinese and foreign literature. Therefore, we also use two names to denote the same state or period: Shang and Yin.

The name Shang, which was used until the destruction of this kingdom in the 12th century. BC BC, comes from the name of the area where, apparently, the ancestral possessions of the leaders of the Shan tribe were located. This name was also used to designate a tribe, then it was adopted as the name of the state and country.

The main source of information about the Shang (Yin) kingdom is the data obtained from the excavations of the remains of the last capital of this kingdom, the city of Shang, found near the city of Anyang, near the village of Xiaotun (in the modern province of Henan). The bones with inscriptions found here are of particular importance. These inscriptions are mainly oracular records - the questions of the Yin kings to the oracles and the answers of the latter. The inscriptions are made on the bones of various animals (most often bulls and deer) and on the scutes (shells) of turtles and can be attributed to the XIV-XII centuries. BC NS.

Based on the data of these inscriptions, some researchers conclude that the entire territory of the Shang (Yin) state was divided into five large regions that bore the names: Shang, Northern Lands, Southern lands, Eastern lands and Western lands. The Shang region was considered central, the main one, therefore in the inscriptions on the bones it was called Central Shang.

The Shang (Yin) kingdom occupied the territory of the modern province of Henan, as well as parts of the adjacent provinces. Around the Shang kingdom there were a number of semi-dependent, at times subordinate to it, including the Chinese-speaking tribes. Tribes Zhou, Qiang, Guifan, Kufan ​​lived in the vicinity of the Western lands; the neighbors of the Northern Lands were the Lufang and Tufan tribes; neighbors of the Southern lands - Tsaofang and others, and, finally, the Renfang tribe was located in the neighborhood of the Eastern lands.

Tools. Agriculture.

The materials of archaeological excavations give a well-known idea of ​​the development of the productive forces during the Shang (Yin) period. First of all, bronze products are widely used, but at the same time they still retain great importance stone and bone tools.

During excavations in Xiaotong of the Yin city, the capital of the Shang (Yin) kingdom, many items of copper and bronze were found: sacrificial vessels, household utensils and weapons - swords, halberds, axes, arrowheads, spear points. In addition, bronze tools were found: axes, knives, awls, chisels, pitchforks and needles. If we take into account that in the pre-Ying period, vessels were made mainly of clay, and tools and weapons were made of stone and bone, then it should be concluded that during the Shang (Yin) period, great progress was made in the development of productive forces. This is also evidenced by a wide variety of forms, more skillful dressing of products, in particular vessels, rich painting on them.

Although in the life of the population of ancient China during this period, the importance of primitive forms farms - fishing and partly hunting, but they no longer played a decisive role. They were supplanted by cattle breeding and agriculture, and the latter began to play a major role.

To designate various kinds of concepts related to agriculture, a number of signs are used in the inscriptions on the bones, meaning: "field", "well", "arable land", "border", "wheat", "millet", etc. Sign "field" (tian) was depicted in the form of regular four squares connected together, or in the form of a rectangle divided into several parts, or in the form of an uneven five-hexagon.

The main crops in northern China were millet, which required relatively little moisture, wheat, barley and sorghum (gaoliang). It is possible that the rice culture also existed at this time in the Yellow River basin. The inscriptions on the bones indicate the presence of horticultural crops during the Shang (Yin) period, as well as the cultivation of silkworms (silkworms) and the cultivation of mulberry trees. According to legend, silkworms have been bred in China since ancient times. Silk cocoons were found during excavations of one of the Neolithic sites in the village of Xincun (Shanxi province). Inscriptions on the bones often contain characters depicting a silkworm. Silkworm caterpillars were held in high esteem by the Yin people. They even made sacrifices to their spirits. In fortune-telling inscriptions, signs depicting silk threads (a product of a silkworm), a dress, etc. are often found.

The further development of agriculture is evidenced by a higher, than before, land cultivation technique. A number of modern Chinese scientists suggest that even then irrigation was used, apparently primitive and even on a small scale. This conclusion is suggested both by the ancient legends, which report the rudiments of artificial irrigation as early as the pre-Yin period, and by the inscriptions on the bones. In the latter, there are a number of hieroglyphs expressing the idea of ​​irrigation. One of them depicted a field and streams of water, which were like irrigation canals.

In agriculture, metal tools were already used. This is evidenced by copper shovels found during excavations in the vicinity of Luoyang and near Anyang. The interpretation of a number of signs in the inscriptions on the bones suggests that the Yin used livestock to cultivate the land. So, one of the signs, "y", depicted an ox standing on the side of an agricultural tool. Another sign, "li" (plow, plow), also has an ox, and sometimes, but rarely, a horse. In the fortune-telling inscriptions, there are also combinations of two hieroglyphs for a plow and a bull.

According to Chinese legends, in ancient times there was a so-called "paired plowing", when two people plowed together. This had more effect on loosening the earth. The concept of "paired plowing" also had a broader meaning: it meant the combination of the efforts of two or more people in cultivating the land, that is, collective cultivation of the field.

Hunting and fishing no longer played the main role in the economy of the Yin people, but they continued to remain essential. This is evidenced by many inscriptions on the bones.

In the Yin society, cattle breeding occupied a significant place. This is evidenced by the number of animals sacrificed to spirits. Sometimes it is also white kaolin. At this time, a potter's wheel already existed, although clay vessels were also made by hand. Earthenware was fired, sometimes covered with glaze, and often decorated with delicate ornamentation.

We have already talked about the development of silkworm breeding in the Yin times. The production of silk fabrics and the development of weaving is evidenced by the existence of such hieroglyphs, which denoted the concepts of "silk thread", "clothing", "scarf", etc.

The existence of various branches of craft and special workshops, as well as the high skill of Yin artisans, indicate that craft production has already passed a long way in its development.

Development of exchange.

With the emergence of the division of labor between agriculture and handicrafts and the growth of surplus agricultural products and handicrafts, exchange develops. Archaeological finds allow us to conclude that there are economic ties between the Yins and other tribes, including very distant ones. From the tribes from the coast of Bohai, the Yins received fish, sea shells; apparently from modern Xinjiang - jasper. Copper and tin were brought from the regions located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and in southern China, from which bronze was smelted. Nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes received from the Yins agricultural products and handicrafts, in particular weapons. The finds on the Abakan River of vessels, and on the Yenisei River of bronze weapons, of the same type as the products of Shan artisans, testify to the ties of the Indians with the tribes of Siberia.

Archaeological excavations indicate that according to at least after the XIV century. BC NS. among the Yins, precious cowrie shells were the measure of value.

In the ruins of the Yin capital, many such shells with a smooth, polished outer side were found. To make the shells more convenient to carry, holes were drilled in them and strung on a thread. The cost of the bundles appeared to be significant. In the inscriptions, there is a mention of the king's gift of several bundles, up to ten at the most. Later, as the exchange expanded, the number of sea shells in circulation became insufficient, and it was difficult to get them. Then they began to resort to replacing natural shells with artificial ones made of jasper or bones. The shells, having become a measure of value, later turned into a symbol of jewelry and wealth. The concepts meaning jewel, wealth, accumulation and many others, close to them in meaning, began to be denoted by hieroglyphs, in which the main part of was the sink.

The class character of the Yin society.

Remains of dwellings and burials indicate significant property stratification... While the poor lived in dugouts, the rich lived in large wooden houses with stone foundations. Burials also reflect class differentiation. The tombs of kings and nobility differ sharply from burials in the abundance and wealth of things found in them. ordinary people... In the burials of the nobility, a large number of expensive items made of bronze and jade, as well as decorated weapons. Together with the deceased noble people, their servants, probably slaves, were buried. So, in the graves of Yin couples, corpses with severed heads were found. There is reason to believe that sometimes slaves were buried alive.

Until relatively recently, scholars unanimously considered Yin society to be pre-class, noting that by the end of its existence (XII century BC), primitive communal relations disintegrated and a transition to a slave-holding system took place. However, further research on deciphering the Yin inscriptions on the bones and archaeological excavations carried out by Chinese scientists for last years, allowed us to draw another conclusion, namely: the Yin society was a class, slave-owning society. But set exact time the transition from a generic society to a class one is very difficult. Although the data of archaeological excavations, reflecting class relations, refer to the period after the transfer of the capital by King Pan Geng to Shang, i.e. to the XIV century. BC e., it can be assumed that class society arose even before this time. For a long time, this system, of course, retained significant vestiges of primitive communal relations.

The most reliable literary monument, the data of which about the Yins shed light on the period preceding the creation of the Shang dynasty, is the chapter "Basic Notes on Yin" from the "Historical Notes" by Sima Qian. It is characteristic that the list of Yin Wangs (rulers, kings) cited by Sima Qian is mainly confirmed by the inscriptions on the bones. This gives grounds to consider the materials of Sima Qian quite reliable. According to Sima Qian, Cheng Tang, addressing the zhuhou (military leaders) and the population, said: “Those of you who will not respect my orders, I will severely punish and destroy. No one will be spared. " So the ruler could speak, already completely in charge of the life of his subordinates.