The origin of the Three Seas Plain

The Quaternary Ice Age, which was born at about the same time as ours, entered the Dali Ice Age about 6,543,800 years ago. 90,000 years ago, the temperature dropped to today's temperature level; 80 thousand years ago, it dropped to about 5℃ lower than today; It reached its lowest point 30,000 years ago, about l℃ lower than today's temperature; 1.9 million years ago began to slowly pick up; It was not until about1.20 thousand years ago that it reached the temperature level of 80 thousand years ago. The decrease of temperature makes the ice sheet and glacier develop rapidly. During this period, there were three major glacier centers in Europe, such as Scandinavia, and the glacier front advanced to Eastern Europe and Central Europe, moving more than 200 kilometers south than before. North America mainly includes Laurencin Ice Sheet and Cordillera Glacier, and the glacier front reaches St. Louis, covering new york and other places: Asia mainly includes Siberia Ice Sheet and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Ice Sheet, and the thickness of the latter exceeds 1 500m；; In addition, there are glaciers in parts of North China, Qinling Mountains and Yangtze River Basin. The expansion of ice sheets and glaciers absorbed a large amount of liquid water, which caused the average sea level in the world to drop by more than 100 meters. Most of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea in China used to be land, which is a good plain landform. The Japanese archipelago and Taiwan Province Province of China are also connected with Eurasia. China oceanographers Zeng and Zhu Yongqi studied the scope of the East China Sea Plain at that time. They believe that the farthest point of the East China Sea Plain outside the Yangtze River estuary extends to east longitude 128, which is about 700 kilometers away from today's Yangtze River estuary. The river network in this area is dense, with more than 16 rivers flowing into the sea from the Yangtze River alone. The edge of the plain is shallow water, and the sediments are rich in organic matter, and then reeds grow on the ground and gradually become grassy swamps, which belong to continental deposits. Such a plain is still very suitable for human habitation. Although there are no direct archaeological discoveries in China, archaeological discoveries in the North Sea in Europe can be indirectly proved. During the Dali Ice Age, the North Sea also became land, connecting the British Isles and the European continent. Modern fishermen in Beihai often fish out stone knives, axes and mammoth bones from the seabed. According to the research of archaeologists, these stone knives and axes belong to the Paleolithic relics, which shows that when the North Sea was still land, human ancestors once lived there. In addition, the Mediterranean during this period also became a plain. Hector Joe Wells, a famous British historian, put forward in his masterpiece Outline of World History:' Today, most parts of the Mediterranean used to be a land with a pleasant climate, with countless valleys and forests. There must have been Neolithic people in the flood plain, valley and forest. Dark whites of the Neolithic age, that is, Mediterranean people, have all been here.

Of course, it will take some time for the submarine plain after the seawater recedes to be suitable for human beings and other terrestrial or freshwater creatures to survive, which is about 1000 years or more. So, how long will the East China Sea Plain coexist with the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Plain? Due to the lack of overall research on this issue in China's oceanographic circles, we can use the research results of Japanese scholar Gao Baoliang (1976) on the sea surface changes around Japan during this period, because the sea surface changes around Japan should be basically synchronized with the sea surface changes in the East China Sea, the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. Gao Baoliang believes that the sea level began to decline from 6,543,800 years ago, suddenly fell below -60 meters 72,000 years ago, fell below-654.38+ 000 meters 30,000 years ago, and continued to fall below -654.38+040 meters 25,000 years ago; 17000 years ago, the sea level rose to about 100 meters, and 12000 years ago, it rose to about 60 meters, reaching the height of today's sea level about 8000 years ago.

The sea level remained below 60m for about 60,000 years, that is to say, the Three Seas Plain in the area above 60m existed for 60,000 years, and the sea level remained below100m13,000 years. A Three Seas Plain with an altitude of 100 meters also existed for about 13000 years. At this time, the Three Seas Plain can already cover most of today's Three Seas. The sea level remained below-140m for about 7000 years. At this time, the Asian continent is connected with Japanese and Taiwan Province islands.

On such a continent, in such a long time (60,000 years long and 7,000 years short), can the Three Seas Plain be a blank? You know, seven thousand years is equal to all the years from Yangshao culture to the space age! What's more, a considerable part of the mainland has existed for 60,000 years, 1.3 million years!

To answer this question, let's first look at the original appearance of the mainland in this period. Paleoclimatological research shows that at the peak of Dali Ice Age, that is, 30000 ~ 1000 years ago, cold and drought were the main climatic characteristics of Chinese mainland. The cooling values in southern Hunan, western Guizhou and eastern Guizhou are 10- 13℃, of which Zhejiang is about 12℃ and Weinan and Beijing are about 14℃. Over the years, many mammal fossils living in cold climate have been found in North China and Central Plains, and the occurrence point of rhinoceros fossils is distributed in Central Plains, which is of course not accidental, but depends on the southward movement of the frozen boundary. The southern boundary of China modern permafrost region is north of 48 N, while the southern boundary of Dali glacial permafrost region is around 34 N, with a difference of14 latitude. If the temperature in mid-latitude frozen areas drops by 0.6-65,438+0.0℃, the temperature in China will be 9-65,438+04℃ lower than that in Dali Ice Age.

This is a conclusion that the ice age must be accompanied by severe drought. At the peak of the ice age in Dali, due to the sudden drop in temperature, the southward movement of the periglacial line and permafrost, and severe drought, a large number of plants and trees in the warm zone will inevitably die, and temperate animals will leave their homes and seek a new paradise. Will our human ancestors stubbornly stay where they are? I don't think so. Most of them, like other animals, will leave strange environments and seek new paradise. Of course, this is a gradual process. In this process, some human beings will stay where they are and fight against cold and drought.

Where is the new paradise? A considerable number of our ancestors will go along the rivers they are familiar with, and finally reach the relatively warm and humid seaside with dense river networks. Bohai Plain, Yellow Sea Plain and East China Sea Plain have gradually become ideal choices. Of course, this is a long selection process.

You may remember a myth. It's the story of Ma Gu. Ge Hong's Biography of Immortals in Jin Dynasty wrote: Wang Yuan, an immortal, came to Cai Jing's house and was called Magu, an immortal. Ma Gu said, "Since I took over, I have seen that the East China Sea is a mulberry field. When I arrived in Penglai, the water was slightly shallower than before. Will it be restored to the land? " This is also the origin of the word "vicissitudes". Does Ma Gu's statement that the East China Sea is a mulberry field or a mausoleum contain our nation's vague memory of the past? I don't think so!

Shan Hai Jing is the earliest integrated work of ancient legends in China. At present, historians, geographers and geologists at home and abroad are very interested in it, because many ancient legends recorded in it have been or are being confirmed. Mr. He Youqi, an expert in the study of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, proposed that the Kunlun site described in the Classic of Seas is today's Mount Tai, and made a rigorous textual research in the article A New Exploration of the Classic of Seas. I quite agree with this view. From this perspective, many places and tribes that were originally difficult to explain can be reasonably explained. In The Sea Classic, the site of Kunlun Mountain is a high mountain in the west, which is often beyond people's reach and has a strong sense of mystery. For example, The Sea Classic describes Kunlun in this way: "The market of Kunlun at sea is the capital of the Northwest Emperor, and the city of Kunlun is 800 miles square and high in Wan Ren. There are trees and grass on the ground, five long searches, nine wells on the surface, and jade as the threshold. There are nine doors on the surface, and the doors are guarded by the animals that open the doors. Where is God? On the occasion of Chishui in Bajiaoyan, those who are not kind will not go to Ganggangyan. " The tribe that left the legend of Kunlun must live in the east far away from here, otherwise, there would be no such strong mystery. The specific location should be in the Yellow Sea Plain. Many mysteries of Shan Hai Jing Hai Nei Jing can be found in the Three Seas Plain. Of course, with the rise of sea level, the activities of ancient people in the north concentrated in the Yellow River basin, and Mount Tai has lost its mystery. Therefore, in people's minds, Kunlun's market has been moved further west.

Whether the center of gravity of China's early civilization ever moved to the Three Seas Plain remains to be determined by marine archaeology, but according to the existing archaeological achievements on land, this movement can still be found. As we all know. There are many Paleolithic sites in China, and there are many new discoveries in Northeast China, North China, East China, Guanzhong and Jiangnan. China is also rich in Neolithic sites. For example, Yangshao culture and Beixin-Dawenkou culture began in North China 7,000 years ago, while Hemudu culture and Dakengkeng culture are the representatives of South China. These cultures have developed agricultural planting technology and handicraft technology, and the aesthetic concepts of animal husbandry and artistic wood are also very developed.

However, there is a missing link in the archaeological excavation in China, that is, there are very few Mesolithic sites at the turn of the Neolithic Age, and the sites in the early Neolithic Age are relatively thin. The book Archaeological Discovery and Research in New China compiled by the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences points out: "The study of the Middle Stone Age has always been a weak link in archaeological work in China. Before the 1970s, only Shayuan in Shaanxi Province remained in the Yellow River basin in the Middle Stone Age. 1974 Xuchang Jing Ling information officially announced, 1976- 1978 Shanxi Qinshui Xia Chuan site excavation. Found the remains from the late Paleolithic to the Mesolithic, with clear horizons. The publication of this batch of data in the future will promote the study of the Middle Stone Age in the Yellow River Basin. The remains of the early Neolithic period in the Yellow River basin have long been concerned by people, and some clues have been found, but the information is sporadic. Only in recent years have three sites, Cishan, Peiligang and Beishouling, been discovered and further exposed. ……"。 However, it should be pointed out that the lower-level sites such as Cishan, Peiligang and Beishouling are only slightly earlier or equivalent to Yangshao culture, not earlier than 8,000 years ago. Moreover, Pei Ligang and magnetic mountain culture also had relatively mature agricultural production and spiritual life, which was obviously not the earliest Neolithic culture. This phenomenon is thought-provoking, because it is no accident that the transition period from the late Paleolithic to 8,000 years ago is roughly equivalent to the peak of Dali Ice Age.

There are many Paleolithic cultures and developed Neolithic cultures on such a large continent. Why are the sites of Mesolithic culture so hard to find? Why are there so few early Neolithic sites found 8,000 years ago? The more credible answer is that these sites are mainly distributed under the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea today, which used to be the activity center of our ancestors at that time. By 8,000 years ago, with the end of the ice age in Dali, the seawater rose to today's sea level. Our surviving ancestors were distributed in the east, west, north and south of today's mainland, bringing back the Neolithic culture developed in the Three Seas Plain, making today's Neolithic cultural sites all over the Yellow River and the north and south of the river.

As mentioned earlier, the ice age in Dali began to shed wasps about 6.5438+0.9 million years ago and gradually ended about 0.2 million years ago. The temperature is rising rapidly and the sea level is rising. About 8,000 years ago, the temperature in China was slightly higher than today, and the sea level was basically equivalent to today's sea level. During these four thousand years, war and flood were the two major social themes at that time. The warmth of late ice not only makes the sea water run, but also brings heavy rain and river flooding. Soaring seawater and overflowing rivers are constantly attacking our ancestors living in the Three Seas Plain, and such attacks are sometimes devastating. The remaining tribes and people who survived flocked to the highlands, leaving their homeland where they lived and multiplied for thousands or even tens of thousands of years and returning to the land of their ancestors. Fierce wars broke out between tribes, between pioneers and latecomers. The heroic era in our history began, and some information of our ancestors began to emerge in our ancient incomplete written records.

In Oracle Bone Inscriptions's works, the word "past" is written as "sound" or "volume", which shows that the event that happened in the past and impressed our ancestors most was the flood, so that the flood raging in the sun was regarded as a synonym or symbol of "past". This is really a terrible memory. This should be the great flood we just talked about, and Yao Shunyu is inextricably linked with it. It is said in the Book of History Yao Dian that when Emperor Yao was alive, "the soup was cut by the flood, and Hu Aishan Xiangling swayed, which was huge." Mencius on Teng Wengong also said, "When Yao was in power, the floods crossed the river and flooded everywhere ... the grain was not harvested and the animals were threatened." The flood in Yao period mainly refers to the rise of sea water. Meng Zixia said, "When Yao was born, the water was retrograde and overflowed in China, where snakes and dragons lived, but the people did not lift it. The bottom is a nest and the top is a hole. " The "retrograde" of water means that the flood flows westward. China is high in the west and low in the east, and rivers generally flow from west to east, only when the sea rises.

As the main flood threat at this time comes from rising seawater, the water conservancy cannon sent by Yao adopted the method of plugging. Records such as "cannon flood" and "cannon blocking flood" can often be seen in ancient Chinese history books. In the period when the sea water rises slowly, "blocking" is the only effective way to prevent ocean invasion. However, the gun faced the rise of seawater, which was hard to stop and ended in failure.

Yu's era is later, according to "Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals". "At that time, God did not kill plants in autumn and winter, but said," Wood wins ". Wood gas wins, so its color is Shang Qing, and its business is wood. "Plants don't kill in autumn and winter" shows that the temperature in the lower reaches of the Yellow River is close to the subtropical level at this time, and it can be seen from historical data that this temperature change began in Yu. According to the Table of Climate Change in Eastern China in Late Glacial Period written by Duan Wandiao, Institute of Geomechanics, Ministry of Geology, the eastern part of China has been in a relatively high temperature period since 8,000 years ago, which is 2-3℃ higher than it is now. 7-8℃ higher than 10,000 years ago. Based on this, it can be considered that the legendary Dayu era spanned this period of alternating cold and warm. During this period, the large-scale rise of seawater basically stopped, and the flooding of rivers eased slightly. The main problem faced by our ancestors is that there are stagnant water and swamps everywhere, which stink at high temperature and agricultural production cannot be carried out. "Shan Hai Jing Huang Da Bei Jing" once wrote: "* * * Ministry of Industry Shangshu, named Xiang Yao, nine pieces, snake body, self-ring. The food of nine soils is the source of ze. Not bitter, but bitter. All animals won't do anything. If you kill each other, it will be bloody and smelly, and its land will be uninhabitable. "

Faced with this situation, Dayu mainly adopted the method of "dredging", and the "dredging Sichuan and guiding stagnation" mentioned in Guoyu Lu Yu is a good summary of Dayu's water control. Dayu succeeded in controlling water. Since then, our ancestors have never experienced such a big flood disaster, and Dayu has become a hero of the Chinese nation.

At the same time, the tribal alliance system in Yao Shunyu has waged a fierce struggle with the tribal alliances such as * * * workers and Sanmiao. * * * Gong is a very distinctive tribe in ancient China. Mr. Xu pointed out in the book "The Legendary Times of China Ancient History": "By spreading Gong's deeds in ancient books, from ancient times to the bottom, it can be pointed out that Gong was a prominent clan in ancient times and a place name of Gong, which was unknown to Gong. ..... but it was founded today, and it has never been passed down. " What Mr. Xu said is right. Work and water are always closely linked, and even regarded as water gods. However, we can also study the facts carefully to see what * * * has to do with it, and why it didn't leave a little shadow of the founding land for future generations.

"Huai Nan Zi Astronomical Training" said that * * * workers "are angry and don't think about mountains. If the sky breaks, the ground will be lost. The sky leans to the northwest, the enemy's sun, moon and stars move, the land is dissatisfied with the southeast, and the enemy's water and dust return. " In fact, this is the explanation that the ancients poured the river water on the ground and the distant sea water into the southeast lowlands. "Huainanzi Ben Jing Xun" more clearly believes that * * * workers are the chief culprit of the flood: "Shun Shi, * * * workers shook the flood, and mulberry trees were scattered ... People all over the world went to Qiu Ling and went to the trees."

Why do people regard workers as the chief culprit of the flood? Why fight endless wars with workers?

The reasonable explanation should be as follows: Before the end of the Dali Ice Age, workers and other tribes lived in the depths of the Three Seas Plain, while Yao Shunyu lived in high places or crossed the adjacent land and sea today. In the flood rising after the end of the Ice Age, Gong and other tribal alliances retreated step by step, and wars were bound to occur with tribes living in high places. People living in high places saw Gong go there and the flood followed, so they thought, "Gong shook the flood." Because * * * workers' home is completely hidden under the sea, so, "where is it founded today? There is no legend in ancient times. "

Shan Hai Jing Huang Da Xi Jing said: "Beyond the Northwest Sea, in the corner of the wild, there are mountains that don't give way, which is called bad ... and there are more attacks on Gongshan." Where is the bad mountain? "Shan Hai Jing" also said: "There are mountains that don't give way, and the name is not right. If the mountains don't give way, the sea will enter. Clearly shows that * * * workers base is not the sea surrounded by mountains. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Begging for People" also records:' Eastern Henan is in the land of beech trees, and the sunrise is nine Tianjin ... the hometown of Qingshan. Note: The remnant legend of "Qingqiu, the place name of the East China Sea" shows us that the Yao-Shun-Yu Alliance is at war with * * * workers on the seabed today, and the workers' home is also somewhere on the seabed.

The situation of Sanmiao is similar to that of * * *. According to Shan Hai Jing, it lives in the east of Chishui. According to Mr. He Youqi's explanation, Chishui is now Yishui, Shandong Province, and Yishui is less than100km away from the Yellow Sea. Therefore, the Sanmiao tribe living east of Chishui should live in the Yellow Sea Plain.

The wars between Yao, Shun and Yu tribes and * * * Gong, Sanmiao and other tribes ended in the victory of the former. Yao, Shun and Yu tribes consolidated and expanded their rule in the East, "working in Youzhou, escaping from three dangers." Drive these flood survivors to the surrounding area.

For a long time, there is an unsolved mystery in the history of China myth development. That is why in remote minority areas, the legend of catastrophic floods and the epic of Genesis are widely circulated, while in the Central Plains and the eastern coastal areas, there are only sporadic flood control records. Now it seems that the reason is very clear. Because the tribal alliance in Yao Shunyu lived in the highlands, the flood did not cause a disastrous blow to them, and the survivors of the flood were driven to remote areas by Yao Shunyu. Therefore, the spread of catastrophic floods is concentrated in these areas.