the yellow river and chinese civilization

TheYellowRiverandChineseCivilizationDonotyouseetheYellowRiverwatertothesky,rushingtotheseanevertoreturn……TheYellowRiverorHuangHe/HwangHoisthesecond-longestriverinChinaandthesixth-longestintheworld.TracingtoasourcehighupthemajesticYagradagzemountain.inthenation'sfarwest,itloopsnorth,bendssouth,andflowseastfor5464kmuntilitemptiesintotheBohaisea,drainingabasinof745,000sqkm,whichnourishes120millionpeople.InChinesehistory,andinthehistoryofhumancivilization,theYellowRiverisnotsimplyasetofcharactersonapageandthenameofariver.Infact,millenniaagotheChinesecivilizationemergedfromthecentralregionofthisbasin.itstandsforakindofcultureandcivilization.Undoubtedly,theYellowRivercivilizationhasplayedaverygreatroleinthedevelopmentofcivilizationacrosstheglobe.Asthemostheavilysilt-ladenriverintheworld,theYellowRivergotitsnamefromthemuddinessofitswater,whichbearsaperennialochre-yellowcolor.Theriveriscommonlydividedintothreestages.Intheupperreaches,theriverrunsthroughmountainousandaridregionsfor3,472km,endingatHekouzhenofInnerMongoliajustbeforeitmakesasharpturntothesouth.Inthemiddlereaches,endingatZhengzhouinHenanprovince,theriverflowssouthbetweentheShaanxiandShanxiProvinces,drainingabasinconsistinglargelyofthickdepositsofunmodifiedaeolianloesswhichiserodedreadilybyrainfallandwindandaccountsforover90percentofthesedimentinthemainchanneldownstream.Aftertraversinga1,206-kmcoursefromHekouzhentoZhengzhou,theriveremergesfromnarrowmountainousconstrictionsontoaflatalluvialplainshortlyfollowingasharpturntotheeast.Theriverdescendsfromanaltitudeof4,575mabovesealevelatthesourceto1,000matHekouzhenand400matZhengzhou.Inthelowerreaches,fromZhengzhoutoseaforadistanceof786km,theriverisconfinedtoalevee-linedcourseasitflowsnortheasterlyacrosstheNorthChinaplainbeforeemptyingintotheGulfofBohai.Duringtwothousandyearsofleveeconstruction,excessivesedimentdepositshaveraisedtheriverbedseveralmetersoverthesurroundinggrounds;itisasmuchas10mabovethecityleveloftheancientcapital,Kaifeng,onitssouthernbank,wheretheleveeembankmentsare13kmapart.Nearlyallriverstothesouthofthelevee-protectedchanneldrainintotheHuaiRiversystem,whilethosetoitsnorthintotheHaiRiversystem.TheYellowRiveriscalledthecradleofChinesecivilization,asitsbasinisthebirthplaceofthenorthernChinesecivilizationsandwasthemostprosperousregioninearlyChinesehistory.RelicsaboutNeolithic(7000BC-3700BC),Bronze(3700BC-2700BC),IronAge(770BC)andthelikehavebeendiscoveredinthedrainageoftheriver.Producingfoodbycultivatingcropsandraisinganimalswasamostimportantstepforwardinthedevelopmentofhumanhistory.Around10,000yearsago,peoplemovedfromaneconomyofgatheringtooneofproducing,andenteredtheNewStoneAge.Beforethat,peoplemaintainedtheirlivesbypickingwildfruitsandotherplants,andhuntinganimals.Inordertolookforfood,theylivedanomadiclife,butcultivationofgraincropsmadethemsettledown,thustheearliestvillagesappeared.Meanwhile,theYellowRiveristheplacewherechineseancientslived.ThemultiplyingandgrowingsitesofChineseancientscanbefoundalongtheYellowRiver,suchasthefamousYangshaoCultureSite,theBirthplaceoftheFirstAncestorYellowEmperor,theFuxiMausoleumandtheneighboringvariouscradlesofsurnames.FromtheXia(21st-16thcenturyBC)andShang(16th-11thcenturyBC)DynastiestotheTangDynasty(618-907),theYellowRiverareawasalwaysthecenterofpolitics,economyandculture.Inaddition,intermsofscienceandtechnology,thisareaisintheleadingpositionatalltimes.TherearemanyingredientsofYellowRivercivilization,suchaspotteries,silks,bronze,characters,andsoon.Commonly,YellowRivercivilizationcameintobeingbetweentheyear4,000BCand2,000BC,whichcoveredover2,000yearslong.Duringthisperiodoftime,agroupofregionalcivilizationswerebooming.Butunfortunatelyinlatertime,someofthemintermitted;somewenttothelowtide.OnlyYellowRivercivilizationassimilatedtheessencesofotherregionalcivilizationanddevelopeditselfintoahigherlevel.ThephaseofthedevelopmentofYellowRivercivilizationwasalsoaperiodforitssublimation.AndtheepochoftheprosperityofthiscivilizationwasthehistoricalmomentwhenChinasteppedintothefeudalempirecivilization.ThesearealltheconcreteexhibitionsoftheYellowRiverculture,showingtheriseanddeclineofChina'shistory.Traditionally,ChineserefertotheriverastheMotherRiver.ButduringthelonghistoryofChina,theYellowRiverhasbeenconsideredablessingaswellasacurseandhasbeennicknamedbothChina'sPrideandChina'sSorrow.Duringthesummerhigh-waterperiod,waterpressureagainstthedikescanbreakthroughtheretainingwallstocausedevastatingfloods,whichhaveledtheYellowRivertobecalledChina'sSorrow.ThemostchallengingengineeringaspectoftamingtheYellowRiveriswithoutdoubtthecontroloftheexceptionallyhighsedimentloadthattherivercarriesinitslowerreaches,averaging37kgofsedimentpercumofwateratthepresenttime.Anaverageof1.6billiontonsofsedimententerstheriverchannelatZhengzhouannually,ofwhichabout1.2billiontonsiscarriedouttosea,leavingbehindasubstantialamounttocontributetothesiltingoftheriverchannel.Throughouthistorymuchoftherivermanagementefforthadbeendevotedtoimprovingthefloodpreventioncapabilityofthelevee-linedchannel,withnotablesuccessi