美知乎提问：谁了解世界历史？为什么很多人说中国可能不是最古老的文明，但绝对是最古老的连续文明？

Fontaine ollow
This is an interesting question. Why do many people believe that China has the longest continuous ancient civilization?
First, we need to define what civilization is. Writing? Clothing? Architecture? Etc.
It's 2025, and almost all civilizations have diverged significantly from their ancient counterparts.
But Chinese civilization has one thing to be proud of: it's practically the only one that can still understand writing from 2,000 years ago (such as the Han Dynasty).
Equally ancient civilizations like the Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, and Persians are almost completely unable to read ancient texts.
Well, the most important symbol of civilization is indeed writing, and in this sense, China is indeed the oldest continuous civilization.

这是一个有趣的问题。为什么许多人认为中国拥有最古老的连续古代文明？
首先，我们需要定义什么是文明。文字？服饰？建筑？等等。
现在是 2025 年，几乎所有文明都已与其古代形态产生了显著差异。
但中华文明有一点值得骄傲：它几乎是唯一能读懂两千年前文字（比如汉代文字）的文明
与希腊、印度、埃及和波斯同样古老的文明，如今几乎完全无法解读其古代文字。
的确，文明最重要的象征就是文字。从这个角度来看，中国确实是延续最久的古老文明。

Compared to other ancient civilizations, I think a key reason for the greatest continuity of Chinese civilization is its powerful military prowess.
As we know, the Greeks were conquered by the Romans long ago, the Indians were conquered by the Aryans and Persians long ago, the Persians were conquered by nomads and Arabs long ago, and the Egyptians were conquered by the Romans long ago. However, China wasn't truly conquered by a foreign power until the 13th century (the Mongols), followed by the Manchus in the 17th century.
Both conquerors were ultimately defeated by the Chinese (the Ming Dynasty and the Republic of China), resulting in a situation where the Chinese were ruled by the Chinese.
Other ancient civilizations were not so fortunate. The combined rule of the Mongols and Manchus lasted only 350 years, while the Greeks, Egyptians, Indians, and Persians were ruled by foreign powers for far longer than that.
This may be the fundamental reason why China is the oldest continuously operating civilization. Without its powerful military, it might have become like modern-day Egypt (the Egyptians couldn't read hieroglyphics, and their writing system was completely changed by the Arab conquest).

我认为相较于其他古文明，中华文明具有最强延续性的关键原因在于其强大的军事实力。
众所周知，希腊人早被罗马人征服，印度人先后被雅利安人、波斯人征服，波斯人则被游牧民族和阿拉伯人征服，埃及人也早已臣服于罗马。而中国直到 13 世纪才真正被外族（蒙古人）征服，17 世纪又遭遇满洲人入主中原。
两位征服者最终都被中国人（明朝和中华民国）击败，形成了中国人统治中国人的局面。
其他古代文明就没那么幸运了。蒙古和满清的统治加起来只有 350 年，而希腊人、埃及人、印度人和波斯人被外族统治的时间要长得多。
这或许是中国成为最古老且持续运作的文明的根本原因。如果没有强大的军事力量，它可能就会像现代埃及一样（埃及人看不懂象形文字，他们的书写系统因阿拉伯征服而彻底改变）。

凛冬将至· Aug 23
The origin of Chinese civilization has been traced back to the Liangzhu Civilization 5,300 years ago. This discovery not only confirms the authenticity of China’s 5,000-year-old civilization history but also makes China the second earliest among the Four Great Ancient Civilizations in terms of civilization origin. In addition, China’s Jiahu Site has launched preliminary preparations for UNESCO World Heritage nomination; if it is successfully inscribed on the World Heritage List in the future (e.g., 2026-2027), its relics dating back 9,000 to 7,500 years (such as the seven-tone bone flute and carbonized rice) will further testify to the long-standing origin of Chinese civilization. The unique value of Chinese civilization lies in its unbroken continuity…

中华文明起源可追溯至 5300 年前的良渚文明。这一发现不仅证实了中国五千年文明史的真实性，更使中国成为四大文明古国中文明起源第二早的国家。此外，中国的贾湖遗址已启动联合国教科文组织世界遗产申报前期准备工作；若未来（如 2026-2027 年）成功列入《世界遗产名录》，其距今 9000-7500 年的遗存（如七音骨笛、碳化稻米）将为中国文明的悠远起源提供进一步佐证。中华文明的独特价值，在于其绵延未绝的连续性……

Peter Hsieh · Aug 25
Recently, Chinese Archaeologists uncovered a new site called SHIMao, a Massive Pyramid together with Castle and Palaces. It was around 4300 years old. Wonder which unknow earliest Dynasty which was much older than the xia Dynasty (2070 BC to 1600 BC).

近期中国考古学家发现了名为石峁的新遗址，这是一座包含城堡与宫殿的巨型金字塔结构，距今约 4300 年。不禁令人好奇：这个比夏朝（公元前 2070 年-前 1600 年）更古老的未知王朝究竟属于哪个朝代？

Tao Deng · Aug 23
China is a civilized nation. It relies on the inheritance of civilization, not bloodline. Therefore, no matter how powerful a race is, it will eventually be assimilated into Chinese civilization and become Chinese.

中国是一个文明型国家。它依靠的是文明传承，而非血统。因此，无论多么强大的民族，最终都会被中华文明同化，成为中国人。

Halley's Comment · Aug 25
This is why Chinese people are so diverse compared to other East Asians like Koreans or Japanese. Northern Chinese are genetically more like Koreans while Southern Chinese are more like Southeast Asians, and yet they’re both Han.
The reason for this diversity is because the Han have historically expanded out from the Yellow River valley and absorbed other ethnic groups into their civilization.

这就是为什么中国人与其他东亚人如韩国人或日本人相比如此多样化。北方中国人在基因上更接近韩国人，而南方中国人则更像东南亚人，但他们同属汉族。
这种多样性的原因在于，汉族历史上从黄河流域向外扩张，并将其他族群吸收进自身的文明体系。

Wasu Koysiripong· Aug 24
Compared to other ancient civilizations, I think a key reason for the greatest continuity of Chinese civilization is its relatively insular geographical nature.

与其他古代文明相比，我认为中华文明延续性最强的关键原因在于其相对封闭的地理特性。

Auzz· Aug 24
China’s land was conquered by the Mongol and Manchu. The Mongol and Manchu were conquered by Chinese culture.

中国的土地曾被蒙古人和满洲人征服。而蒙古人和满洲人最终被中华文化所征服。

Elchuro ollow
I’m not going to bring Chinese characters in, although they’re the strongest evidence for this. And, use Chinese characters to talk about civilization — kind of boring, right?
Let’s do it more “delicious”.

虽然汉字是最有力的证据，但我不打算拿它说事。而且，用汉字来讨论文明——有点无聊，对吧？
让我们做得更"美味"些。

Over 2,000 years ago, the ancestors of Chinese loved hotpot.

两千多年前，华夏先民就钟爱火锅。


And over 2,000 years later, today, Chinese descendants still love hotpot.

而两千多年后的今天，炎黄子孙依然热爱着火锅。


Civilization goes on — and just like back then, you can choose your own spice level in a pretty democratic way: level one, level two… take your pick.
Of course, there’s been some progress too. Using electricity is more environmentally friendly, and doesn’t produce as much CO2, lol.
So… can you name another country where people are still doing exactly what their ancestors did 2,000 years ago?
…to chalenge China :)  ……

文明延续至今——就像从前一样，你可以用相当民主的方式选择自己的辣度等级：一级、二级…任君挑选。
当然，也有了一些进步。用电更环保，不会产生那么多二氧化碳，哈哈。
那么…你能说出另一个国家，那里的人们至今仍在做着两千年前祖先所做的事情吗？
来挑战中国 :)

Tiziano · Aug 25
Oh yes. Ancient Romans were going frequently to brothels 2000 years ago, just like today.

确实。两千年前的古罗马人就像现代人一样频繁光顾妓院。

Elchuro· Aug 25
hahahaha, an important part of civilization, i'd say, lol.
And it looks like ancient China and ancient Roma shared a similar path of development — I mean this particular sport, lol.

哈哈哈，要我说这绝对是文明的重要组成部分，笑死。
看来古代中国和古罗马在某种特定娱乐活动上发展轨迹很相似啊——你懂的，滑稽。

Felix Su· Aug 25
They just dug up more ancient Chinese civilization at a recent dig in Guizhou I think. I might be wrong. I get Chinese regions confused.
Anyway, the dating of the obxts recovered goes back 3,000 more years than before. Now Chinese history is 8,000 years old continuous.

最近在贵州的一次考古发掘中，他们又发现了更古老的中国文明遗迹。可能我记错了，我老是把中国的地区搞混。
无论如何，出土文物的年代测定比之前又往前推了 3000 年。现在中国历史已是连续 8000 年的文明。

Elchuro· Aug 25
It would only be even earlier, if you think about it. Writing can’t just appear all of a sudden; it must have been created through long-term labor. So since oracle bone scxt is already a systematic form of writing, if we go back another 1,000 years, there must have been some kind of early proto-writing. It’s just that archaeological digs seem to be difficult.
If you apply the same logic to other discoveries, the things we’ve unearthed now are already quite systematic — like the work of engineers. So what about even earlier ones…

仔细想想，时间可能还要更早。文字不可能凭空突然出现，必定经历了长期的劳动创造。既然甲骨文已经是一种系统化的文字形式，那么再往前追溯 1000 年，肯定存在某种早期的原始文字。只是考古发掘似乎困难重重。
若以同样逻辑审视其他发现，我们现在出土的文物已颇具系统性——宛如工程师的杰作。那么更早时期的遗存呢……

Tim Tran Follow
Chinese don't say it's the oldest civilization, nor is it the oldest continuous civilization, but they say it's the oldest continuous CRADLE of civilization. This is an important distinction.
The oldest civilization? Sumer takes the cake.
Oldest continuous civilization? What constitutes continuous? To the Chinese, it's continuous writing system. With that standard, Greece takes the cake.
But oldest continuous cradle of civilization? Definitely.
What are the cradles of civilization? Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Indus, Mesoamerica, and Andes.
Mesopotamia has been replaced by Arabic culture, and cuneiform is gone.
Egypt has been replaced by Arabic culture, and hieroglyphics are gone.

中国人不说它是最古老的文明，也不说它是最古老连续不断的文明，而是说它是最古老连续不断的文明发源地。这是一个重要的区别。
最古老的文明？苏美尔文明当之无愧。
最古老的连续文明？何为“连续”？对中国人来说，指的是延续的文字体系。若以此为标准，希腊才堪称典范。
但最古老的持续文明摇篮？确实是。
文明的摇篮有哪些？美索不达米亚、埃及、中国、印度河流域、中美洲和安第斯文明。
美索不达米亚已被阿拉伯文化取代，楔形文字已然消失。
埃及已被阿拉伯文化取代，象形文字不复存在。

Indus may have evolved to modern South Asian cultures, but its writing still has yet to be deciphered, and the current Brahmic scxt was ultimately derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Mesoamerica has been replaced by Hispanic culture, and the native glyphs are gone.
Andes has been replaced by Hispanic culture, and the quipu system is gone.
Meanwhile, China still retains its writing system that came from itself. Even if it's difficult to read for modern speakers, the oracle bone scxt is still the direct ancestor of modern Chinese scxt. Modern Chinese can still read oracle bone texts if they're written with their corresponding descendant characters. You can't do the same with other cradles of civilization.
Oracle bone scxt being used for modern calligraphy
Shang dynasty oracle bone scxt isn't even the earliest scxt China has found. They have found proto-writing symbols throughout China that may correspond to later oracle bone scxt, so Chinese writing may even be older than the Shang.

印度河文明或许演化为现代南亚文化，但其文字至今未能破译，而现今的婆罗米字母最终源于埃及象形文字。
中美洲文明已被西班牙文化取代，本土文字荡然无存。
安第斯文明已被西班牙文化取代，结绳记事体系也荡然无存。
而中国仍保留着源出本族的文字系统。即便现代人难以识读，甲骨文仍是现代汉字的直系祖先。若用对应的今字书写，现代中国人依旧能读懂甲骨文篇章——这是其他文明发源地无法企及的。
现代书法中使用的甲骨文(链接)
商代甲骨文甚至并非中国发现的最早文字。中国各地出土的原始刻画符号可能对应后来的甲骨文，这意味着中国文字的起源或许比商朝更为久远。

Les Follow
The Chinese can read written materials thousands of years old. Can other civilizations do the same? Ideographic writing is superior to phonetic writing, but more difficult to learn. However, it clearly contributes greatly to the continuity of civilization. Most other ancient civilizations used writing systems that are completely different from those of ancient times, while the Chinese have used Chinese characters for thousands of years.

中国人能够阅读几千年前的文字材料。其他文明能做到这一点吗？表意文字优于表音文字，但学习难度更高。不过，它对文明延续性的贡献是显而易见的。大多数其他古代文明使用的文字系统与古代完全不同，而中国人使用汉字已有数千年历史。

Pooi-Hoong Chan· Aug 23
Confucianism from 2,500 years ago still taught and sextively practised. Ceremonies to honour Confucius enacted every year. Dujiangyan Irrigation system, more than 2,000 years old still irrigates the Chengdu Plain. Etc….

两千五百年前的儒家思想至今仍被传授并有选择地践行。每年都会举行祭孔典礼。拥有两千多年历史的都江堰水利工程至今仍灌溉着成都平原。诸如此类……

Khengchat Ng Aug 23
The most ancient known goes back to antiquity. India might claim that with the Harappan. Clap clap. Take a bow. They went kaput in 1900 BCE. So they went back earlier than that.
The oldest continuous maybe the King Tut Nile delta dwellers. However they went zonk in 44 BCE and unlikely to be resurrected. Goodbye, Cleopatra the Enchanter. Had you succeeded in bedding Octavian, the Pharaohs might still be around.
The oldest ongoing continuous is unquestionably the Middle Kingdom people. 3500 is certain. 5000 has supporting evidence.

已知最古老的文明可追溯至远古时代。印度或许会以哈拉帕文明自居。掌声鼓励，鞠躬致意。但该文明在公元前 1900 年就已消亡。因此他们的历史确实比那更为久远。
最古老延续的文明或许是图特王尼罗河三角洲的居民。然而他们在公元前 44 年就彻底消亡了，不太可能再复兴。永别了，妖后克利奥帕特拉。倘若你成功引诱了屋大维，法老王朝或许至今犹存。
最古老且延续至今的文明无疑是中国。3500 年是有确切记载的，5000 年也有佐证。

Dan.Pete Follow
Chinese people can read Chinese texts from the Qin and Han dynasties.（about 2000 years ago）
Can Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, or Iranians?
They can't; they were conquered long ago, and their writing systems changed.
The Mongols and Manchus who conquered China also had to use Chinese writing. And China wasn't truly conquered by foreign powers until the 13th century, while other ancient civilizations were conquered long before.
When were the Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, and Iranians first conquered by foreign powers?

中国人能读懂秦汉时期的汉字文献。（约 2000 年前）
埃及人、希腊人、印度人或伊朗人能做到吗？
他们不能；这些地区早已被征服，文字体系也已改变。
征服中国的蒙古人和满族人也不得不使用汉字。而中国直到 13 世纪才真正被外族征服，其他古代文明早在之前就被征服了。
希腊人、印度人、埃及人和伊朗人首次被外国势力征服是在什么时候？

TVPiles Follow
Well…. Almost… now, the oldest civilization is the Sumerian one that started as early as 4000 BCE. Now, the earliest that we can define as “civilization” in China was the Shang dynasty, and that goes back to about 1600 BCE… so we have about 3600 years of continuous civilization in China.
The problem now is that Egypt’s civilization started around 3600 BCE and ended in 40 BCE… or around 3600 years… so China still has to get about 100 years under its belt to beat them. Now they are tied.

嗯…差不多吧…目前已知最古老的文明是苏美尔文明，最早可追溯至公元前 4000 年。而在中国，我们能明确界定为"文明"的最早朝代是商朝，大约始于公元前 1600 年…因此中国拥有约 3600 年连续不断的文明史。
当前的问题是，埃及文明始于约公元前 3600 年，终结于公元前 40 年…持续约 3600 年…因此中国还需再延续约 100 年才能超越它。目前两者不相上下。

Bowen Lau Follow
China is only one of the oldest civilisation. Egypt also has about 5,000 years of history. The oldest pyramid, Step Pyramid of Djoser, was constructed 4,700 years ago. In other words, the civilisation existed long before this oldest pyramid was built.
When we say History, China means recorded history in writings from the uncovered pieces of documents ( official or unofficial), be it in bamboo sticks, tortoise shells, or engraved stones. The recent discovery of old artefacts in Szechuan Province dated back to 10,000 years but there is still no literature nor ancients documents in writing being discovered, strangely. So it still doesn’t count.
If you Google, the oldest civilisation is Sumer in Mesopotamia, ie. Iraq in today’s map; it is 4,500–4,000 BCE. We have not known too much about Sumer, nor being mentioned in books nor media.

中国只是最古老的文明之一。埃及也有大约 5000 年的历史。最古老的金字塔——左塞尔阶梯金字塔建于 4700 年前。也就是说，早在建造这座最古老的金字塔之前，文明就已经存在了。
当我们谈论历史时，中国指的是通过出土文献（官方或非官方）记载的历史，无论是竹简、龟甲还是石刻文字。近期在四川省发现的古代文物可追溯至一万年前，但奇怪的是至今仍未发现任何书面文献或古代文书。因此这仍不能算作文明起源。
若通过谷歌查询可知，最古老的文明是美索不达米亚的苏美尔文明，即现今伊拉克所在地，其存在时间为公元前 4500-4000 年。我们对苏美尔的了解十分有限，书籍和媒体也鲜少提及。

Sunny Bob Follow
In a generally understood sense, it's reasonable to say that Chinese is the oldest living culture. There are a lot of reasons you could say otherwise, and I'll list some below, but IMO, it's still a reasonable statement despite the many issues. Parts of Southern Africa, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran have reasonable claims too, but most people who know about international history would probably say China at the moment.
The Chinese believe Chinese culture is 5000 years old. But ‘China’ the country, the idea, is 2250 years old. Before that, it was a bunch of separate counties that had a bunch of wars, languages and some trade.
The culture we are talking about is mostly the written language, which came from a small region and spread over millennia, so plenty of parts of China are culturally only connected to that language and writing for 50 years to 1500 years.

从普遍认知的角度来看，称中华文明为现存最古老的文明是合理的。虽然存在诸多可以反驳的理由（下文将列举部分），但在我看来，即使存在这些问题，这个说法依然成立。南部非洲部分地区、叙利亚、伊拉克、土耳其和伊朗也有相当的历史渊源主张，但多数了解世界历史的人当前可能仍会选择中国。
中国人认为中华文化有五千年历史。但作为国家概念的"中国"只有 2250 年历史，在此之前是由众多诸侯国组成的，它们之间战乱纷争、语言各异，仅有少量贸易往来。
我们谈论的文化主要是指文字体系，它发源于一小片区域，经过数千年传播扩散。因此中国许多地区在文化上与该文字体系的关联仅有 50 年至 1500 年不等。

Writing is.part.of culture, but it's not. Even the main part. We shouldn't confuse ourselves that reading an old piece of text is the standard to measure culture. Food, religion, clothes, customs, architecture and many other things are culture.
Chinese writing evolved as you see below, but so did other scxts in other places. If we can read the earliest one, it doesn't mean it wasn't connected to the current one.
Taiwan and Hong Kong are far more connected to the original culture of China that we are talking about because it wasn't actively destroyed by the communist Party in the various massacres and political battles of the late 70 years. These places have separate identities from’China’, so it might be more accurate to say that these places carry the living culture of ancient China.

文字是文化的一部分，但并非核心部分。我们不能误以为能读懂古籍就是衡量文化的标准。饮食、宗教、服饰、习俗、建筑等方方面面才构成真正的文化。
如下图所示，汉字书写体系经历了演变，但其他文明的文字同样如此。即便我们能辨识最古老的文字，也不代表它与现代文字没有传承关系。
台湾（地区）和香港（特区）与我们讨论的中国原生文化联系更为紧密，因为它们在近 70 年的各种政治运动中未遭受系统性破坏。这些地区拥有独立于"中国"的独特身份，或许更准确地说，这些地方承载着古代中国鲜活的文化血脉。

Chinese cultural art is only about 5000 years old. The Sumerians, the Indian people and the ancient Turks are far older. We are discovering connections between these older cultures and modern ones all the time. It may turn out that the connections with the living culture of Israel, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria may be far older than China.
Damascus in Syria is the oldest continuously inhabited City in the world. About 5,000 years older than anything in China. Continuous habitation implies. Continuous culture.
Even so, for now, we are all still digging up the facts of the ancient world, and China has a reasonable claim, maybe the best claim, but if you wanted to say Syria, Iran or the San people region of Africa, I wouldn't argue with you.

中华文化艺术仅有约 5000 年历史。苏美尔文明、古印度文明以及古代突厥文明的历史要悠久得多。我们不断发现这些古老文明与现代文明之间的关联。最终可能会证明，以色列、伊朗、伊拉克、土耳其和叙利亚等地现存文化与中国相比，其历史渊源或许更为久远。
叙利亚大马士革是世界上持续有人居住最悠久的城市，比中国任何城市的建城史都要早约 5000 年。持续居住的历史即意味着文化的延续性。
即便如此，目前我们仍在挖掘古代世界的真相。中国或许拥有最合理的主张——甚至可能是最具说服力的主张。但若有人认为叙利亚、伊朗或非洲桑人地区更符合条件，我也不会提出异议。

Dsy1972 Follow
How do we define civilization? What is certain is that the most important element of civilization is writing. Ancient Egyptians used Egyptian writing, but were later conquered by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabs. Now, they use Islamic writing, which doesn't constitute a continuous civilization.
China has used hieroglyphics for 4,000 years and still uses this writing system today. This is the oldest continuous civilization.

我们如何定义文明？可以确定的是，文字是文明最重要的要素。古埃及人曾使用埃及文字，但先后被希腊人、罗马人和阿拉伯人征服。如今他们使用伊斯兰文字，这不能构成连续不断的文明。
中国使用象形文字已达四千年，至今仍在沿用这套文字系统。这就是最古老的连续文明。

Jonathan Dough Follow
The cities of the Middle East of the Sumerian and Egyptians are thousands of years older than the oldest Chinese city, and writing was invented in the Middle East about a thousand years before the Chinese. The civilizations of the Sumerians and ancient Egypt no longer exist. Nobody speaks the Sumerian language anymore, nor the Egyptian language in everyday speech. The writing system the Sumerians and ancient Egypt are no longer being used.
Meanwhile, the writing system the ancient Chinese is still being used today, and the language the Chinese speak descends directly from the language of ancient China., which is why some say China is the oldest continuous civilization. Other civilizations were older, but those older civilizations no longer exist. China does have the oldest continuous writing system in the world.

苏美尔人和埃及人的中东城市比中国最古老的城市还要早上数千年，而文字的发明在中东也比中国早了约一千年。苏美尔文明和古埃及文明如今已不复存在。日常生活中再无人使用苏美尔语，也没有人用古埃及语交流。苏美尔与古埃及的文字系统也早已退出历史舞台。
与此同时，中国古代的文字体系至今仍在使用，中国人所说的语言也直接源自古代中国的语言，这就是为什么有人说中国是最古老的连续性文明。其他文明可能更为古老，但那些更早的文明已不复存在。中国确实拥有世界上最古老且持续使用至今的文字系统。

But, while I know the reasons why some people say China is the oldest continuous civilization, I personally question that claim, because I think some other civilizations could claim to be about as old as China. Cities in the Middle East and Europe, such as Athens, are as old or oldest than the oldest Chinese city. I would say as a city, Athens has been continuously inhabited that any Chinese city today, it could be argued that the civilization of modern Greece has continuous roots that date back to Mycenaean Greece, and the Mycenaean were roughly contemporary with the oldest Chinese civilization. Writings of the ancient Greeks are still widely read today and are about as old as the oldest Chinese writings still widely read today, like the works of Confucius. While oldest continuous writing system of Greece and the West is not quite as old as that of China, the West abandoned its previous clunky writing system for a far easier one, while the Chinese persisted in using their difficult and hard to learn ancient system.

不过，尽管我了解有些人认为这是中国是最古老且延续至今文明的依据，我个人对此说法存疑。因为我认为其他一些文明也可以宣称与中国历史同样悠久。中东和欧洲的某些城市，比如雅典，其历史与中国最古老的城市相当甚至更久远。就城市延续性而言，雅典的持续居住史可能超过当今任何中国城市——可以说现代希腊文明的根系可追溯至迈锡尼希腊时期，而迈锡尼文明大致与中国最古老的文明处于同一时代。古希腊文献至今仍被广泛阅读，其年代与至今仍被广泛阅读的最古老中国文献（如孔子的著作）相当。虽然希腊及西方最古老的连续文字体系不及中国的古老，但西方放弃了原先笨拙的文字体系而采用了更简便的替代方案，而中国人则坚持使用他们艰深难学的古老文字系统。

Saravanamuttu Sri Ranjan Follow
The idea that the "West" was unaware of Chinese civilization is a mischaracterization; however, there has been a historical imbalance in mutual awareness and a tendency for Western perspectives to dominate the study of China. While geographic barriers isolated ancient China, its inventions and cultural influence spread to Europe through Silk Road trade, particularly via the Arab world. The issue isn't a complete lack of knowledge but the limited and often distorted nature of Western understanding of China, influenced by Eurocentric views, which shaped scholarship and fostered the notion of China as an isolated "Other". The Key Chinese inventions like papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and the compass reached Europe through the Arab world during ancient times, profoundly influencing European development.

认为"西方"不了解中华文明的说法是一种误解；然而，历史上确实存在认知不对等现象，且西方视角长期主导着对中国的研究。虽然地理隔绝了古代中国，但其发明创造和文化影响通过丝绸之路——尤其是经由阿拉伯世界——传播到了欧洲。问题不在于完全缺乏认知，而在于西方对中国的了解既有限又常被扭曲，这种受欧洲中心主义影响的认知塑造了学术研究，并强化了将中国视为孤立"他者"的观念。造纸术、印刷术、火药和指南针等中国关键发明，在古代正是通过阿拉伯世界传到欧洲，深刻影响了欧洲的发展历程。

Kate Alwyn Follow
Let's start with a comparison. Ancient Egypt's civilization was indeed ancient, but its language, writing system, and religious system have long since disappeared. Today's Egyptians primarily speak Arabic, and they have no direct cultural connection with the people of the Pharaohs thousands of years ago. Similarly, although Sumer and Babylonia achieved great success in human history, their civilizations were politically and culturally fractured, and cuneiform scxt survives only in the research of a few archaeologists. The Indus Valley Civilization left no linguistic or religious traditions that could be directly passed down. In other words, these civilizations had a high starting point in human history, but ultimately did not survive into the modern era.
The situation in China is quite the opposite. Archaeologists have proven that the earliest oracle bone inscxtions date back to around 1200 BC. More importantly, while the forms of Chinese characters have changed significantly from oracle bone inscxtions to today's Chinese characters, there is a clear and continuous lineage, allowing scholars and even educated Chinese people today to decipher ancient texts. This is a truly unique example of linguistic continuity globally. Consider that Linear B, the ancient Greek scxt, has long been lost, with only a handful of scholars able to decipher it today.

首先做个比较。古埃及文明确实古老，但其语言、文字和宗教体系早已消亡。今天的埃及人主要讲阿拉伯语，与数千年前法老时代的先民已没有直接文化传承。同样，苏美尔和巴比伦虽在人类历史上成就斐然，但其文明在政治文化上发生过断层，楔形文字仅存于少数考古学家的研究中。印度河流域文明则没有留下可直接传承的语言或宗教传统。换言之，这些文明在人类历史上起点很高，但最终未能延续到现代。
中国的情况则截然相反。考古学家已证实，最早的甲骨文可追溯至约公元前 1200 年。更重要的是，从甲骨文到今天的汉字，虽然字形发生了巨大变化，但存在着清晰连续的传承脉络，使得今天的学者甚至受过教育的中国人都能解读古代文献。这在全球范围内都是语言连续性真正独一无二的例证。试想古希腊的线形文字 B 早已失传，如今仅有少数专家能够破译。

However, the Chinese people continue to use their ancestral writing system in their modern lives. The continuity of civilization is reflected not only in written language but also in institutions and cultural traditions. In 221 BC, Qin Shihuang implemented the "standardization of the written language and the gauge of the wheels." This integrated thinking has recurred throughout Chinese history, even down to today's standardized high-speed rail and nationwide digital payment systems, demonstrating a certain historical continuity. Social scientists often speak of the "resilience of Chinese civilization," but this isn't an abstract concept; it's embedded in institutions and customs.
For example, the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival—these festivals trace their origins back to sacrificial ceremonies thousands of years ago—remain the most important days of the year for Chinese people, with virtually every citizen participating.
I personally interviewed a family of woodcarvers in Quanzhou, Fujian. Their genealogy dates back to the Song Dynasty, and their craft has been passed down through generations, with young people still being taught today. This isn't an isolated case; it's a widespread phenomenon. UNESCO data also confirms this: China boasts the largest number of intangible cultural heritage items in the world, far exceeding any other country. This means that China's civilizational traditions aren't confined to museums but are continually practiced, used, and recreated.

然而，中国人民在现代生活中仍延续使用祖先的文字体系。文明的连续性不仅体现在书面语言中，更体现在制度与文化传统中。公元前 221 年，秦始皇推行"书同文、车同轨"，这种整合思维在中国历史中不断重现，直至今日标准化的高铁网络和全国数字支付体系，都展现出某种历史延续性。社会科学家常谈论"中华文明的韧性"，但这并非抽象概念，而是深植于制度与习俗之中。
以春节、清明节、端午节为例——这些源自数千年前祭祀仪式的节日，至今仍是中国人一年中最重要的日子，几乎全民参与。
我曾亲自拜访过福建泉州的一个木雕世家。他们的族谱可追溯至宋朝，这门手艺代代相传，至今仍在教导年轻人。这并非孤例，而是一种普遍现象。联合国教科文组织的数据也印证了这一点：中国拥有全球数量最多的非物质文化遗产项目，远超其他国家。这意味着中国的文明传统并非封存在博物馆里，而是持续在被实践、运用和再创造。

This continuity isn't just visible through cultural symbols; it's also reflected in the essence of identity. Throughout Chinese history, China has experienced numerous dynastic changes, wars, and even foreign invasions. However, whether during the Han, Tang, Yuan, or Qing dynasties, the Chinese people have always identified themselves as part of "Chinese civilization." Even with shifts in political power, civilization remained uninterrupted, but rather continued in new forms. This is why Western scholars often use the term "continuous civilization" to describe China's uniqueness.
Thus, when people say, "China may not be the earliest civilization, but it is the oldest civilization to have continued to this day," this isn't a nationalistic slogan but a historical fact. Compared to Egypt, Babylon, and the Indus, China is the only civilization to have continued from the embryonic form of a Bronze Age state to today's modern state system. It has neither been completely severed nor completely replaced by foreign civilizations. Instead, it continues to this day through language, institutions, festivals, and identity.

这种延续性不仅体现在文化符号上，更渗透于身份认同的本质之中。纵观中国历史，王朝更迭、战乱纷争乃至异族入侵屡见不鲜。但无论是汉唐盛世、元代治世还是清代统治，中国人民始终认同自己是"中华文明"的一部分。即便政权更替，文明也未曾断裂，而是以新的形态持续演进。这正是西方学者常用"连续性文明"来描述中国独特性的原因。
因此，当人们说"中国或许不是最早的文明，但却是延续至今最古老的文明"时，这并非民族主义的口号，而是历史事实。相较于埃及、巴比伦和印度河流域文明，中国是唯一从青铜时代国家的雏形延续至当今现代国家体系的文明。它既未被彻底中断，也未被外来文明完全取代，而是通过语言、制度、节庆和身份认同一直延续至今。