-Humans crossed from Africa into Central Asia and eventually the Yellow River (Huang He), the cradle of Chinese civilization, between 8000-2000 BC.
-Fun fact: the Yellow River is also called "China's Sorrow" and "The Scourge of the Han People" due to its tendency to flood; this has resulted in the deaths of millions.
-Evidence of seed culture as far back as 8000 BC in both north and south China.
-Millet and tools found, and evidence of both hunting and domestication of animals.
-Also evidence of culture like musical instruments, cave paintings, etc.
-Two noteworthy groups along the Yellow River at this time (among many others):
-Dawenkou culture (near the coastal hills of the Shandong Peninsula):
-Burial of the dead, pottery, tools, etc.
-Yangshao culture - the most well-known of the neolithic Chinese people.
-Had villages, farms, pottery, paint, and likely a shamanistic religion.
-It was here where the Chinese "megacivilization" began to truly form.
-There is no singular unified origin story for how Chinese civilization began, just lots of different versions of mythological stories.
-For example, one of the versions states that (according to scholar Xu Zheng of Eastern Wu (222-280) in the beginning there was just formless chaos, but eventually this chaos coalesced into an egg (over thousands of years, of course) and that inside of this egg the opposed principles/energies of "yin" and "yang" became balanced, and then the egg cracked and a god named Pangu emerged.
-The yang energy became Heaven (or the sky) and the yin energy became Earth.
-Another version of this says that Pangu himself became the universe, as opposed to him creating it.
-Also tales of cataclysm and destruction, usually involving other gods or goddesses.
-Usually Heaven/the sky is described as a dome, and Earth as a flat square.
-The Emperor of Heaven ("Jade Emperor" / Yu Huang / Yu Di), also known as Hwanin in Korea, is the most powerful god during the "Age of Heroes" (before our common era).
-During our common era, shit kicks off with the "Three Sovereigns" period.
-There are a bunch of different versions of who these sovereigns were, but they are now considered to be demigods.
-Nuwa, a goddess sometimes considered to be one of the sovereigns and/or a daughter of the Jade Emperor, repaired the pillars of heaven that had been destroyed by demons (which caused a flood, a trope that appears in every creation myth apparently!).
-Among many variations and versions is that humanity was created out of clay by Nuwa because all of the primordial demi-humans were wiped out in the flood.
-The Jade Emperor then declared Nuwa and her brother (unclear as to who exactly this was, probably different versions) Fuxi (one version) to be rulers over these early humans, and while early on this early society of humans was a matriarchy (ruled over by Nuwa), over time it became a patriarchy ruled over by Fuxi.
-Fuxi taught the people how to hunt, fish, and worship Heaven. He is also the legendary originator of the I Ching.
-After Fuxi, one version says that Shennong (AKA Wugushan or Wuguxiadi; also may be the same as the Yan Emperor (AKA the Flame Emperor)) was the next ruler/sovereign.
-His contribution to the people was introducing agriculture, fire, and medicine/drugs, among other things. He is also known as "The Divine Farmer".
-There is even an ethnic group of people who take their name from Shennong (the Shennong Clan).
-After Fuxi, one version says that the Yellow Emperor (some sources say his name is Xuanyuan) is often considered to be the first ruler of China's first centralized state (estimated to be c. 2700-2600 BC).
-Of course, although there was civilization along the Yellow River, other places started popping up as well, with their own spheres of influence.
-We consider the Yellow River so important because that's just where most of the surviving sources came from.
-Some sources say that there was even a period of war among these people, with the Shennong clan fighting against others, and other stories (which were also semi-mythical origin stories for other clans and shit).
-Anyway, the Yellow Emperor also taught the people how to farm, domesticate animals, and how to grow the five staple crops of China- soy beans, wheat, sorghum, millet, and rice.
-Also introduced math, astronomy, the first legal code, and an early version of soccer ("cuju").
-According to legend, he reigned for 100 years.
-Before dying, it was said that he was visited by a phoenix and a qilin (kirin).
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