Study On The Seashells Utilized By Groups In Ancient China From Pre-Qin To Han Dynasty Period

People in ancient China began to use seashells in the Late Neolithic.In Xia Dynasty,there were more seashells being used in larger areas.It's the First Term that people had taken advantage of the seashells from the Late Neolithic to Xia Dynasty.The Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty(including Western Zhou,the Spring and Autumn,and Warring State period in the history study)is the Refulgent Term about seashells' being used,especially,the later can be called Explosive Term.When in Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty(including Western and Eastern Han Dynasties in the history study),Seashells' being used enters the Rapid Declining Term.From then on,Chinese people no longer took advantage of more seashells.In China,the most seashells used by ancient people have been found in tombs.A number of seashells found in ancient tombs can also reflect the contexts of corresponding periods.Every term about seashells' being used reflects itself more or less characters including the ways of seashell's use because of people's looking forward to better life.It's not an accident to use the seashells for ancient Chinese people,but the result of many groups' communications while including their cultures.To some degree,it's the communications that cast Chinese civilization,and it can tell us the special Chinese model in ancient.People in ancient China had used seashells for 3,000 years,while only a few other marine objects have been found which used in ancient China whether products or not,maybe it reflects the formation of a common value in different areas: people lived in the Yellow River basin developed more advanced civilization at an earlier date,then the more advanced civilization and peripheral cultures learned from each.So,the Chinese civilization formed during the process of many groups' communications.In a word,the need for special resource like seashells had formed the basics of Chinese civilization.The communications and Chinese civilization's formation at last reflect that China had never closed completely for the external,but all external cultures were no longer theirselves.The way built in the Late Neolithic between the inland and the inshore had been followed and consolidated all the time,which is one of most important conditions for Chinese civilization's formation.The road of source and the way of use about seashells had been continuous during the ancient China,which also indicates that Chinese civilization is continuous.Chinese special natural conditions was the basics of earlier Chinese groups.The common value in ancient China had formed in the Late Neolithic because of communications between different areas in every period.All the time,people had been needing permanent communications and more benefits from these such as more resources for better life,which facilitated the appearance of the power structure that the nuclear controlled the circumjacent.The period from the Late Neolithic to the early Bronze Period is the term that larger gab appeared between the lower and higher classes.There were too much needs for varies of resources to have to search them at somewhere farther.As a result,more farther communications came true,and the later period----Shang & Zhou Dynasties also fellow it.More seashells used by currencies became the significant factor to realize better communications including populations,goods and information,which changed the societies.And the latter also changed the former.The time when Roman Empire and Qin & Han Dynasties appeared was a key term for Chinese history that the latter formed the The Empire of China that developed 2,000 years because of vast territory,the tradition and historic lessons(separation of powers)from three dynasties before itself.From then on,metal currency stood for the principal rather than seashells while national power of economics became stronger and stronger.At the same time,the free of individual idea and exploring become more and more impossible.The seashell and its ocean seemed farther and farther from people in ancient China.The 3,000 years when people used seashells in ancient China are also the most obvious active period to explore ocean.Seashells' use is the most significant example that people had taken advantage of ocean in ancient China.A large number of seashells' use by inland people can prove a lot,for example,everlasting communications among different groups from one area to another farther area,learning of economics and culture,ability of farther communicating and so on.It is the other ways like this that made Chinese civilization have formed in earlier period and consolidated up to now for the whole world,which is the unconscious way of building about the Unitary Multi-National State named China.The history of seashells' using is the witness for groups' developing during about 5,000 years in ancient China,which should be due to accumulating of experiences,complicating of society,and corresponding changing of social systems.