뉴스레터

Relics excavated from Dahe Village where Huangdi lived. The life of the time drawn on it. 

(Henan Province, Zhengzhou City)

(Photography: Kim In-hee, NAHF Research Fellow) 

The Advent of nihilism and ‘Yanhuang Fever’(炎黃熱)

It was in the early 1980s that nihilism emerged in China. The ideal of the revolution that made the hearts of young people hot during the Cultural Revolution disappeared with the reform and opening in 1978. In the 1980s, Chinese people were engulfed in extreme nihilism. Western capitalism and democracy came into absence of thought, and Tianamen massacre occurred. The Chinese Communist Party needed a new ideology to replace socialism that did not work. In the process, patriotism was presented as an alternative. It was given a role in criticizing historical nihilism and ethnic nihilism. Huangdi is both a mythical figure and a historical figure. That's why Huangdi was fit to criticize two nihilistic tendencies.

In April 1991, Chinese Yanhuang Culture Research Association(中華炎黃文化硏究會) was established in Beijing. Zhou Gucheng(周谷城), Xiao Ke(蕭克), Fei Xiaotong(費孝通), and Cheng Siyuan(程思遠), who participated in this research group, are scholars who played an important role in national-level politicians or establishing ideology of the government. In the 1990s, 'Yandi and Huangdi's Boom' in China is called 'Yanhuang Fever'. The purpose of this is two. One is to establish Huangdi as the first king of the Chinese people and to create a 'great ancient history'. And another is to mythologize Huangdi to make it a common ancestor of the Chinese people.

Criticism of Historical nihilism and Historization of Huangdi

Historical nihilism is 'denial of the great history of China', and Huangdi's role was to 'invent' great ancient history. The way to make Huangdi history is simple. The records related to Huangdi in the ancient literature are applied to the ancient ruins to identify the time when Huangdi was alive. Huangdi's birthplace, activity area and buried area in historical data are important evidence to prove Huangdi's existence. Researchers have applied records of the Warring States period associated with Huangdi to Neolithic remains. In other words, the history of thousands of years between them has been ignored. They took only the contents that correspond to the ancient remains and relics among the literature records. And they ignored what did not meet their purpose. This was no problem at all.

Ancient remains associated with Huangdi are found throughout China. In the 1940s, it was argued that the area where Huangdi was active was the northwest region. Since then, there have been claims of Henan, Zhuolu, Shandong, Inner Mongolia and Hunan Hubei. All of the sites where Neolithic remains were found in China became the active sites of Huangdi. Yangshao Culture in Zhongyuan, Hongshan Culture in Northeast, Qijia Culture in Northwest, and Longshan Culture in Shandong became cultures of the Huangdi tribe. They even linked Huangdi with Chu Dynasty's bear totem. This was to claim that Hunan and Hubei were the birthplace of Huangdi. Eventually, all parts of China except the south became the birthplace of Huangdi and became the area where he was active.

The earliest relics in relation to Huangdi are Peiligang Culture(B.C 5500–B.C 4900) in the early Neolithic period, and the latest relics are Longshan Culture(B.C 2500–B.C 2000). According to the results of the study so far, Huangdi's time is 3,000 years different according to the researcher. Eventually Huangdi existed in too many areas, too long. That's why he's not a historical figure. The Chinese academics' excessive Huangdi Fever is in self-contradiction.

Ancestors of Yandi and Huangdi near the Yellow River

(Photography: Kim In-hee, NAHF Research Fellow)  

Criticism of ethnic nihilism, Mythicization on Huangdi

Ethnic nihilism denies the Chinese people and traditional culture. Huangdi's role was to unite the Chinese people around the world. Common memories of social members on historical events are called ‘collective memories’. The way to strengthen this is to create a common ancestor. This provides abstract beliefs for members with different identities to form imaginary communities. After the Tianamen massacre, the Chinese government tried to make Huangdi a common ancestor by a new colony called the Chinese people.

Memory is not a memory without various practices called 'remembering', such as symbolization of heroes, monument production, and ritual for heroes. The Chinese government built the Yanhuang Giant Sculpture in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province and the Hometown of Huangdi in Xinzheng City. And Huangdi Casting Dingyuan was built in Lingbao City and Huangdi Mausoleum was built in Shanxi Province. Baizu Square, Chinese Surname Plaza, Blessing Tree, and Surname Tree were built in Hometown of Huangdi where Huangdi was born, Huangdi Mausoleum with Huangdi's Tomb. Baizu Hall and Xuanyuan Temple are Fields of Sacrifice, which hold large-scale sacrifices for Huangdi. And Chinese Surname Plaza and Surname tree are monuments that emphasize Huangdi is 'Roots of China'.

When I went to Hometown of Huangdi in 2017, China's political slogan was 'peace and harmony'. The Harmonious Society was a key agenda of the Hu Jintao government. And when I went to Huangdi Mausoleum in 2018, China was promoting Chinese Dream of Xi Jinping, saying 'We dream of the new age, thinking of our first ancestor(緬懷初祖, 築夢新時代).' I do not know whether these differences are due to time or local differences. But both are certainly important places for political propaganda.

Half Success

When the Yanhuang Giant Sculpture was built on the Yellow River, Chinese minorities rebelled: "We are Chinese, but not descendants of Yanhuang." Eventually, the Chinese government set up the Temple of Chinese Three Ancestor in Zhuolu County to appease it. This is a place where Huangdi, Yandi and Chiyou are served as common ancestors of the Chinese people. Huangdi is not recognized as a common ancestor of the Chinese people. His historical existence is also not academically recognized. The Chinese government tried to make Huangdi a common ancestor of the Chinese people and use it as a political resource of the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, the Chinese government's policy has achieved half success.