A painted jar unearthed at the Shuanghuaishu site Photo: Courtesy of Qin Cunyu

Pre-Qin documents indicate that, since the Xia Dynasty, Chinese history has mainly revolved around a central dynasty. The archaeological culture that most closely corresponded to the Xia described in these texts is the Erlitou culture. However, before the Erlitou culture, some regional societies had already reached a stage that could be considered “civilization,” even though they did not yet exhibited the level of sophistication and grandeur seen in a dynasty like Erlitou. To distinguish between the “dynastic era,” which began with the Erlitou cultural period, from the period prior to the Erlitou culture, Chinese historians coined the term “Gu Guo,” or “proto-states.”

Research suggests that around 5,800 years ago, various regions across China began to experience noticeable social differentiation. The period from 5,800 to 3,500 years ago is thus divided into the age of proto-states and the dynastic era. The proto-states period itself can be subdivided into three phases.

The Niuheliang site in the West Liao River basin stands as a representative example of the first phase of the proto-states age, around 5,800–5,200 years ago. Archaeological excavations confirmed that Site 1 at Niuheliang consists of a large platform complex with nine platforms. The famous “Goddess Temple,” which yielded various clay sculptures, sits atop one of these platforms.

In the second phase, around 5,200–4,300 years ago, the Hongshan culture in the West Liao River basin began to decline, while civilizations in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers embarked on different developmental paths. This phase witnessed a further intensification of social differentiation and an enhancement in the ability to mobilize social resources.

The third phase, around 4,300–3,800 years ago, saw the stagnation of social development in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, while the Central Plains and northern regions surged ahead, initiating a new phase of civilizational development. This marked the beginning of a historical trend centered on the Central Plains, laying the foundation for the development of Chinese history.