The Liangzhu ruins in Hangzhou, pointing to an established Chinese civilization 5, 000 years ago, have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Every Chinese child is taught at school that the country’s civilization is 5, 000 years old, but proving this beyond doubt has been a problem.
Now, a jade artifact named “King of Cong”, found in the Liangzhu city ruins near Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, has provided an answer. According to radiocarbon dating (放射性碳定年法), the 6.5 kg object is 5,300 years old. It is one of the largest objects among all Cong from Liangzhu. The piece has now won greater global recognition.
However, the site has far more than just things made of jade. The main area, spread over 14.3 square kilometers in the Yuhang area of Hangzhou, includes not only a city’s ruins but 11 dams and several cemeteries, all about 5,000 years old. Archaeological facts show that people lived in Liangzhu for about a thousand years.
“The archaeological ruins of Liangzhu (3300-2300 BCE) show an early state with a unified belief system based on growing rice in Late Neolithic China,” the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said. “These ruins are an extremely good example of early city civilization expressed in town planning, a water conservation system and a social order which can be seen in where and how people were buried in cemeteries within the ruins.”
According to studies led by Liu Bin, director of the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the inner part of the ancient city ruins covers 2.8 square kilometers, about five times the area of the Forbidden City in Beijing, and the outer city spreads across 6.3 square kilometers. Liu said it was the biggest city ruins site of its time to be found in China, and was also one of the largest cities of its day in the world.
1. What can prove that China has a civilization of 5,000 years old?2. How many years did people live in Liangzhu?
3. What is the whole area of this ancient city?
相似题推荐
【推荐1】In recent years, Chinese food-lovers have grown increasingly voices in demanding that UNESCO add some of the country’s native cuisine to the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list. After all, the argument goes, if the French and the Mexicans are listed - not to mention spicy South Korean gimjang, and mouthwatering Japanese washoku - why not the country that has given the world Sichuan peppercorn soup, Peking duck, and - erm - chicken feet?
There have already been several attempts to win recognition for China's culinary culture (饮食文化). In 2011, the China Cuisine Association (CCA) applied for the country's food to be given “Intangible Cultural Heritage” status, but the request was turned down. And then another attempt in July 2014 also came to nothing.
One possible reason for the exclusion of Chinese cuisine from the UNESCO list may be our misunderstanding of the legacy(遗产) of our culinary culture. The international community has historically placed value on keeping the customs and ceremonies that go along with a nation’s food culture. Gimjang - the process of pickling and preserving vegetables to make kimchi, the national dish of South Korea - made the list not because of its fine preparation, but because life on the Korean Peninsula has centered around such seasonal pickling techniques for centuries. Kimchi has enabled cultural exchange across the peninsula and beyond, and has deeply changed the Koreans’ way of life.
On the contrary, much of the Chinese understanding of culinary cultural heritage centers on the skills involved in making a certain dish. This might mean the cooking techniques of regional cuisines or the processes behind the creation of different teas, liquors, and sauces. This is against one of the principles behind inclusion on UNESCO’s list, which requires the country’s general population to have inherited the unique culinary culture. China’s 2011 application, however, defined those who have benefited most from Chinese cuisine merely as “the chefs of China.”
1. What can we infer from the argument of Chinese food-lovers?| A．China should apply to the UNESCO for its food culture. |
| B．Chinese food is as good, if not better than, as the food listed. |
| C．The food on the UNESCO list is either spicy or mouthwatering. |
| D．The French and the Mexicans haven’t made the UNESCO list yet. |
| A．South Korean. | B．Mexican. | C．Chinese. | D．Not known. |
| A．It centers around skills involved in making a certain dish. |
| B．It enables cultural exchange and influences the way of life. |
| C．The customs that go along with food culture should be kept. |
| D．The general population should inherit the unique food culture. |
| A．To promote Chinese culinary culture to the whole world. |
| B．To voice the disagreement with the decision from UNESCO. |
| C．To compare the culinary culture between China and South Korea. |
| D．To reflect on the exclusion of Chinese cuisine from UNESCO list. |
【推荐2】The exhibit, Digital Dunhuang — Tales of Heaven and Earth, which was held at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, brought to Hong Kong more than 100 exhibits including the visual murals and other related programs that could allow visitors to learn about the art and history of the Mogao Caves in a fun way.
“Dunhuang was an international city, a place where East met West, on the old Silk Road. So the Mogao Caves, which were completed in a period of over 1,000 years, record the ways of life and beliefs of the different peoples that crossed paths there,” explained Fion Lin of Hong Kong Heritage Museum.
Visitors can now get up close and personal with these faraway treasures without having to step into the caves, thanks to the digitization project of the Dunhuang Academy, a pioneer that has made great progress in the digitization and 3D scanning of the Dunhuang treasures.
“Studies have shown that in a cave, both temperature and CO2 concentration level can rise with 15 tourists inside for ten minutes. As a result, the wall paintings are going to eventually fade. Digital technology has helped to strike a balance between sharing the treasures and protecting them,” said Lin.
However, digitization of the caves faces many challenges such as poor lighting and rough wall surfaces. On average, 40,000 pictures have to be taken to cover 300 m2. Great amount of efforts have been made to piece the pictures together. What the exhibition presented is the result of years of hard work.
During the exhibition period, a mini display on Dunhuang music culture was also being held at the Museum for public participation.
1. What could visitors see at the Digital Dunhuang exhibit?| A．The Mogao Caves. | B．About 40,000 Dunhuang pictures. |
| C．Digital Dunhuang wall paintings. | D．Ancient records of Dunhuang. |
| A．It helps Dunhuang become an international city. |
| B．It lets people better appreciate the Dunhuang art. |
| C．It is effective in cutting the CO₂ level in the caves. |
| D．It attracts more tourists from East and West to Hong Kong. |
| A．They are brightly lit. | B．They are very rough. |
| C．It is very hard to protect them. | D．It is impossible for the tourists to see them. |
| A．In paragraph 2. | B．In paragraph 3. |
| C．In paragraph 4. | D．In paragraph 5. |
Illustrated talks are held at 7:30 pm, on the first Thursday of each month except August. Admission to talks and museum is charged at the usual museum admission charges.
3rd September:
Protecting our Waterway Heritage by Nigel Crowe. Nigel is the Conservation Adviser to the Canal and River Trust（运河信托公司）. He undertook a comprehensive survey of the heritage of the waterways when first appointed, and now advises the CRT on its protection.
1st October:
The Canal and River Trust by John Dodwell. Founding trustee and long standing waterways enthusiast(狂热者) John Dodwell will detail the Trust's progress to date. He will explain the issues they face and the limits under which they work.
5th November:
The work of the Thames Ironworks Heritage Trust by Gavin Redknap. Gavin was one of the founders of the Trust that is working to save and restore some of the few surviving craft built at the Thames Ironworks Yard at the mouth of Bow Creek. The Trust plans to use the fleet of restored one-hundred-year-old lifeboats for community projects on the Lower Lee.
3rd December:
The River Thames Society and the River Thames by Peter Finch. Peter, who is Chairman of the River Thames Society, will explain the role and function of the society and then go on to talk about London's river and some of the issues it faces.
1. When is the talk on the waterways' protection?
| A．5th November. | B．1st October. |
| C．3rd September. | D．3rd December. |
| A．The work of the Thames Ironworks Heritage Trust. |
| B．Protecting our Waterway Heritage. |
| C．The Canal and River Trust. |
| D．The River Thames Society and the River Thames. |
| A．John Dodwell. | B．Gavin Redknap. |
| C．Nigel Crowe. | D．Peter Finch. |
