Chapter 1

A Brief History of China

image

The Yellow River.

Source: The Yellow River Conservancy Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China.

The Yellow River (Huanghe) originates at the foot of the Kunlun mountains in the west and flows over 5,000 kilometers eastward to the Pacific Ocean. The river has been generally regarded as the cradle of the Chinese nation. It was along the banks of the river that the Chinese civilization first developed. The geographical and hydrological characteristics of the Yellow River have shaped the Chinese nation, its 5,000-year civilization, as well as its distinctive philosophy and history. ...

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