User:Zanhe/Chinese Interaction Sphere

The Chinese Interaction Sphere is a model of Chinese Neolithic cultural development proposed by Harvard archaeologist Kwang-chih Chang, based on the regional systems and cultural types (区系类型) model developed by Chinese archaeologist Su Bingqi.

In 1979, Su proposed the "regional systems and cultural types" model of Chinese Neolithic cultural development (published in 1981 in the journal Wenwu). Rejecting the traditional point of view that the Central Plain (Yellow River valley) was the cradle of Chinese civilization and radiated out to backward regions in the rest of China, Su argued that archaeological data had proven that ancient cultures were developing simultaneously in multiple regions and influenced each other, including the Central Plain.

Su emphasized six major regions of development:
 * 1) The Shaanxi, Henan, Shanxi border region (where the Yellow River meets its tributaries the Wei and Fen)
 * 2) Shandong and neighbouring regions
 * 3) Hubei and neighbouring regions (middle Yangtze River)
 * 4) Lower Yangtze River
 * 5) The south, with focuses on the Poyang Lake and the Pearl River Delta
 * 6) The north, especially along the Great Wall