Yangtze River streams to connect global civilizations

On the banks of the Yangtze River, while the people of Hemudu culture sowed rice fields and the ancestors of late Neolithic Lingjiatan civilization carved jade into ritual objects, other ancient civilizations across the world were also sprouting and flourishing.

- Li Fang and Lin Zihan

The Yangtze River flows through Wushan county, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Photo: Courtesy of Zhu Yunping

Around 4000BC, the Euphrates and Tigris rivers nourished the Mesopotamian plains. Here, the wisdom of Sumerians gave birth to cuneiform scripts. Meanwhile, along the banks of the Nile, ancient Egyptians engineered marvels with their bare hands, constructing monumental pyramids that rose from the deserts.

These ancient civilizations shared a common cradle that is called "river." Today, as we trace the cultural veins of the Yangtze River, we must place Yangtze civilization within the lineage of the world's great river civilizations to understand its global coordinates.

Streaming wisdom

To mitigate floods and droughts and harness water resources for daily life, people in ancient China and Egypt began observing hydrology early. During the Warring States Period (475BC221BC), hydraulic engineer Li Bing went a step further by installing stone figures at the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, creating what is considered China's earliest documented water level gauge.

While ancient Chinese pioneers often recorded their underwater observations through stone inscription, none shone more brilliantly than the Baiheliang Inscriptions in Fuling district, in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The site of Baiheliang Inscriptions refers to a natural stone ridge that lies submerged in the Yangtze River. Stretching 1,600 meters long with an average width of 15 meters, it is known as "Baiheliang," or the White Crane Ridge.