﻿THE 
  OKIGINS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CHINESE 
  CIVILIZATIONS 
  

  

  By 
  Henri 
  Maspebo 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  commonly 
  stated 
  that 
  Chinese 
  civilization 
  had 
  its 
  birthplace 
  

   in 
  the 
  northwest 
  of 
  China, 
  in 
  what 
  are 
  to-day 
  central 
  Shensi 
  and 
  

   southwestern 
  Shansi 
  Provinces. 
  There, 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  Yellow 
  

   Hiver 
  and 
  along 
  the 
  loAver 
  Wei 
  and 
  Fen, 
  its 
  tributaries, 
  between 
  the 
  

   Ch'in-ling 
  Range 
  on 
  the 
  south 
  and 
  the 
  foothills 
  bordering 
  the 
  Ordos 
  

   Plateau 
  on 
  the 
  north, 
  it 
  had 
  its 
  cradle. 
  Thence 
  the 
  hardy 
  pioneers, 
  

   descending 
  the 
  Yellow 
  River, 
  set 
  out 
  to 
  conquer 
  and 
  colonize 
  the 
  

   great 
  eastern 
  plain, 
  over 
  which 
  now 
  extend 
  the 
  Provinces 
  of 
  Chihli, 
  

   Shantung, 
  and 
  Kiangsu, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  northern 
  and 
  western 
  por- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  Honan 
  and 
  the 
  north 
  of 
  Anhui. 
  This 
  hypothesis, 
  which 
  has 
  

   nothing 
  to 
  justify 
  it 
  and 
  which 
  everything 
  seems 
  to 
  contradict, 
  has 
  

   received 
  the 
  sanction 
  of 
  long 
  acceptance 
  and 
  has 
  had 
  the 
  good 
  for- 
  

   tune 
  to 
  be 
  constantly 
  reenforced 
  by 
  the 
  successive 
  preconceptions 
  of 
  

   various 
  authors 
  who 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  three-quarters 
  of 
  a 
  century 
  

   have 
  concerned 
  themselves 
  with 
  Chinese 
  origins. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  and 
  best 
  translator 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  Chinese 
  Classics," 
  the 
  Rev. 
  

   James 
  Legge, 
  carried 
  his 
  theory 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  Tower 
  of 
  Babel 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  [Chinese] 
  tribe 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  began 
  to 
  move 
  eastward, 
  from 
  the 
  regions 
  

   between 
  the 
  Black 
  and 
  Caspian 
  Seas, 
  not 
  long 
  after 
  the 
  confusion 
  of 
  tongues. 
  

   Going 
  on, 
  between 
  the 
  Altaic 
  range 
  of 
  mountains 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  and 
  the 
  Tauric 
  

   Range, 
  with 
  its 
  continuations, 
  on 
  the 
  south, 
  but 
  keeping 
  to 
  the 
  sunny 
  and 
  

   more 
  attractive 
  south 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  it 
  could, 
  the 
  tribe 
  found 
  itself, 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  I 
  

   have 
  mentioned 
  [about 
  2000 
  B. 
  C], 
  between 
  40° 
  and 
  45° 
  N. 
  L., 
  moving 
  

   parallel 
  with 
  the 
  Yellow 
  River 
  in 
  the 
  most 
  northern 
  portion 
  of 
  its 
  course. 
  It 
  

   determined 
  to 
  follow 
  the 
  stream, 
  turned 
  south 
  witli 
  it, 
  and 
  moved 
  along 
  its 
  

   eastern 
  bank 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  till 
  it 
  was 
  stopped 
  by 
  the 
  river 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  turning 
  

   again 
  toward 
  the 
  east. 
  Thus 
  the 
  present 
  Shan-se 
  was 
  the 
  cradle 
  of 
  the 
  

   Chinese 
  Empire.^ 
  

  

  On 
  his 
  part 
  Richthofen, 
  persuaded 
  that 
  the 
  three 
  great 
  civilizing 
  

   peoples 
  of 
  the 
  Old 
  World, 
  the 
  Indo-Europeans, 
  the 
  Semites, 
  and 
  the 
  

  

  1 
  Translated 
  by 
  permission 
  from 
  Anuales 
  de 
  Geographie, 
  No. 
  194, 
  XXXV* 
  Annfie, 
  Mar, 
  

   15, 
  1926. 
  Translation 
  by 
  C. 
  W. 
  Bishop. 
  (The 
  Wade 
  System 
  of 
  transliteration 
  of 
  

   Chinese 
  names 
  has 
  been 
  employed 
  in 
  this 
  article 
  because 
  of 
  its 
  being 
  based 
  upon 
  English 
  

   phonetic 
  values.) 
  

  

  • 
  Legge 
  : 
  Shoo 
  King, 
  Prolegomena, 
  p. 
  189. 
  In 
  his 
  Ch'un-ts'ew, 
  Prolegomena, 
  p. 
  134, 
  he 
  

   puts 
  the 
  first 
  settlement 
  of 
  the 
  Chinese 
  in 
  " 
  the 
  southwestern 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  

   Shau-se, 
  and 
  perhaps 
  also 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  stream." 
  

  

  433 
  

  

  