Continuous melons and gourds and the birth of Chinese original philosophy

Author: Jin Zhilin
Author Country: China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: The Book of Songs contains a line, "The gourd vine is long and unbroken," symbolizing continuity and prosperity of descendants. This perfectly aligns with the traditional Chinese Taiji philosophy of "yin and yang constitute the Way," "the Way gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things." This philosophical system also permeates the development of folk culture. The main purpose of this book is to use (earthly) folk art, (underground) archaeological artifacts, and historical documents as mutual evidence, revealing the secrets of the original philosophy of the Chinese nation—life and reproduction worship！（This book is printed in copperplate paper with color illustrations, exceptionally exquisite！）
Author's Self-Introduction: Survival and reproduction are the fundamental requirements of human development. Therefore, the consciousness of life and reproduction have become the basic cultural consciousness of human development. In reality, the consciousness of reproduction is also the consciousness of life, representing the infinite continuation of life. From this, the original philosophy of the Chinese nation— (chaotic differentiation of yin and yang), (yin and yang combining to create all things), and (the endless reproduction of all things)—was formed. The original Chinese philosophy system, based on the views of yin and yang and the concept of continuous reproduction, has been an integral part of the development of national culture since its inception. It has become the core content of folk culture, the cultural expression of the national group.
The original Chinese philosophy system, centered on the views of yin and yang and continuous reproduction, emerged 3,000 years earlier than the philosophy of the Hundred Schools of Thought in the primitive society. As the cosmic worldview of the national group, it permeated the folk culture of primitive society in every aspect and became the fundamental content of historical and archaeological culture in China's primitive society. With the emergence and development of class society, the original Chinese philosophy gave rise to the philosophical system of the Hundred Schools of Thought represented by Confucianism and Taoism since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. However, the prototype of the original Chinese philosophy system, centered on the views of yin and yang and continuous reproduction, has continued as the core content of folk culture from primitive society to the present day. For thousands of years, it has permeated every aspect of folk social life—from food, clothing, housing, and transportation to life rituals, beliefs, taboos, and festivals—and serves as a living fossil of the nation's original culture, providing us with the key to unlocking the mysteries of historical and archaeological culture.
The "image" in "observing things and taking images" is the carrier of the original Chinese philosophy. Based on this philosophy, Chinese folk art and culture form a rich and complete system, from the philosophical system to the artistic system, (sculptural system), and (color system). As the mother body of national cultural and artistic development, it drives the development of cultural and artistic expression in each historical period.
From the perspective of the development of human cognition, the original Chinese philosophy system should be considered a philosophical phenomenon of a higher stage of social development in human history. Therefore, its formation and development have had a significant impact on the advancement of Chinese civilization and even human civilization. Today, as the understanding of the original Chinese philosophy system deepens, the Chinese nation will undoubtedly make greater contributions to the development of national and human culture than our ancestors.
Excerpt from Jin Zhilin:
Chapter 2: The Original Chinese Philosophy as the Philosophical Foundation of Folk Culture
Primitive society's dead artifacts cannot speak, but the "living artifacts" of folk primitive art and culture interpret them. Through long-term, in-depth field investigations into folk art, folk customs, and historical traditions, I have found that due to special historical and geographical reasons, in vast regions of China, especially in areas that once had brilliant ancient cultures but later became culturally isolated due to long-term transportation barriers, folk art and customs still preserve an extremely rich heritage of prehistoric and ancient historical culture. These can be called "living artifacts on the earth." They are a living regional history museum involving archaeology, history, ethnology, anthropology, sociology, folkloristics, art, aesthetics, and philosophy. This is an ancient tradition of China with 8,000 years of history, yet it is also an advantage brought by the 2,000-year-old closed small-peasant economy agricultural society, making it a unique social phenomenon in the history of human culture.
The "Bagua Fish" and "Bagua Mirror" in Chinese folk culture, along with the "Yin-Yang Fish" and "Yin-Yang Fish Holding a Coiffed Doll," are examples of primitive art popular in the upper reaches of the Yellow River in the Qin-Jin-Liang Loess Plateau—folk ceremonial breads and folk paper-cuttings of the "Yin-Yang Fish." The prototype of these is the dual fish intersecting pattern on the Banpo painted pottery, representing the Taiji Yin-Yang.
The "Bagua Fish" and "Bagua Mirror" symbol worship popular in the upper and middle reaches of the Wei River between Qin and Long are a continuation of the original Fu Xi Bagua symbol worship on the Banpo and Jiangzhai painted pottery in the Wei River Basin. The center of the "Bagua Fish" and "Bagua Mirror" features a Taiji Yin-Yang dual fish, with eight Bagua symbols around the circumference, symbolizing the round sky and square earth, and the four poles of the earth. This still reflects the continuation of philosophical concepts and symbolic expressions from 6,000 years ago. The upper and middle reaches of the Wei River, where the ancient Qiang people lived, are said to be the birthplace of the legendary Fu Xi and Emperor Yan.
Historical records state, "Fu Xi was born in Cheng Ji," and Cheng Ji is in the eastern part of the upper reaches of the Wei River in the Tianshui region of Gansu. The Wei River flows east into Qin, reaching the middle reaches of Shaanxi in the Baoji area east of Qishan, where historical records say, "Emperor Yan, the Divine Farmer, grew up by the Jiang River." From the Beishouling Yangshao culture site in Baoji along the Wei River eastward, we reach the lower reaches of the Wei River—the Banpo and Jiangzhai Yangshao culture sites in Xi'an.
From the Dadiwan culture site in the upper reaches of the Wei River in the eastern part of Gansu and Tianshui (5,850–5,400 BCE) to the Beishouling Yangshao culture site in the middle reaches of Baoji (5,150–3,790 BCE), and finally to the Banpo Yangshao culture site in the lower reaches of Xi'an (4,800–4,300 BCE), we can see the continuity of cultural development in the Wei River Basin.
Archaeological excavations show that the Banpo-type Yangshao culture in the upper reaches of the Wei River in Qian'an, Gansu, the Beishouling-type Yangshao culture in the middle reaches of Baoji, and...