虽然，良渚文化这一独特的文化实验，在多种因素的影响下未能迈入更高级的发展阶段，并最终在历史长河中归于沉寂。然而，一个文明的尊严首先在于它曾经如此辉煌地存在过。良渚文化的“未完成”并非绝对的失败，而是一份独特的思想遗产。它让我们看见了历史主流叙事之外的另一种可能，也迫使我们反思：那些曾高度发达的文化实验，难道仅因未汇入我们线性的历史叙事，就应被简单地定义为“中断”或“消亡”吗？

站在后世的时间节点上回望，良渚文化虽然没有延续至今，但其文化构建的那套以神权为纽带的文明体系，历经嬗变与融合，早已融入中原王朝国家的礼乐文明建构之中，成为青铜时代的精神先声。从礼制精神到国家治理，它始终是“何以中国”这一命题深处不可替代的文化基石。从这个意义上讲，或许我们从未真正失去良渚。

图为良渚古城河道场景复原图

良渚的存在，不仅冲击了传统的文明起源叙事，更让我们得以窥见在“国家”这部宏大史诗揭幕之前，人类社会曾进行过的多样预演。今天，我们重拾良渚的文化遗产，其意义远不止于怀古。在全球化面临挑战、现代性方案显露出疲态的当下，良渚这个古老的“他者”，为我们提供了一面珍贵的参照镜子。它启示我们，衡量一个社会成功与否的维度，或许可以超越对技术复杂度与扩张能力的单一崇拜。良渚模式所展现出的精神定力、深厚的本土知识体系，以及与自然长期共生的实践，恰恰构成了对现代性困境的一种古老回应。这些曾被主流文明叙事边缘化的特质，或许正是我们应对当下生态危机与意义危机时，亟待找回的智慧。

图为即梦AI生成的“良渚文化与现代文明”

因此，“文明重光”的真意，并非复刻某个逝去的文化标本，而是借良渚所代表的多样性与可能性，拓宽我们面向未来的视野。它提醒我们：人类的未来，不应被束缚在单一的发展模式里。守护文化遗产，正是守护文明在漫长时光中沉淀下的多元智慧。今天，我们对良渚的每一次回望，都是在进行一场跨越时空的对话。我们从中理解“何以中国”的深厚根基，也怀着对文明多样性的敬畏，去更加从容清醒地探索人类共同的未来。

撰稿人：何博媛

The Re-illumination of Civilization: Liangzhu and the Other Possibility for History

Editor's Note: Following the "Homo longi" discovery that sparked our imagination about ancient life, a spectacular cultural marvel from the eve of civilization five millennia ago is now transcending time and space, issuing a profound challenge to us. As the third Liangzhu Forum opens in Hangzhou, a dialogue with the future, mediated by cultural heritage, begins anew. This is not merely a look back at the past but an exploration of the path forward for modern civilization. As an outstanding representative of the late Neolithic Age, the profound value of the Liangzhu Culture lies in its revelation that, beyond the standard narrative of "civilization," human society is equally capable of achieving complexity in alternative ways. Its "unfinished" state—arrested before fully transitioning into a mature civilization—preserves a precious, alternative blueprint for history.This alternative constantly reminds us that the trajectory of history is never singular, thereby reflecting the contingencies and possibilities in the development path of modern civilization that are often too easily obscured.

The archaeological community often uses the formation of cities, the emergence of writing, and metal smelting as key metrics for measuring "civilized society". Based on this standard, Liangzhu, which lacks both writing and bronze artifacts, might seem difficult to categorize as a "civilization". However, the archaeological findings at Liangzhu compel us to re-evaluate the very definition of "civilization".

Archaeological research shows that the large-scale dam system outside the ancient Liangzhu city was constructed of 11 embankments, totaling approximately 6.3 kilometers in length, and has been recognized by UNESCO as one of the "world's earliest large-scale water conservancy systems". This monumental hydraulic project, along with the vast layout of the ancient city, a strict social hierarchy, and an intricate ritual system centered on exquisite jade artifacts, constituted a complete system of civilization. All this demonstrates that the Liangzhu society established a highly complex and stable social organization without relying on writing or metal technology. It also reveals that the evolution of human civilization is not restricted to a single paradigm, and complex societies can indeed be built and sustained based on an alternative cultural logic.

If the civilization model of the ancient Near East emphasized the concentration of technology and power, Liangzhu offered an alternative possibility based on the cohesive force of belief and order. The functioning of Liangzhu society was rooted in a unique non-written encoding system. A group of ritual objects, primarily the Cong (a square-sectioned jade tube) and Bi (a circular jade disk), constructed a complete system integrating spiritual belief and social structure. This "Jade-based Ritual System" in an era without written law, effectively regulated the relationships between individuals, between people and the gods, and between people and society, becoming the ideological foundation that maintained the social structure. On a practical level, its colossal water conservancy project demonstrated a powerful capacity for collective mobilization and resource control, forming the material basis of the royal power structure. The close integration of spiritual identity and social cooperation allowed Liangzhu to forge a path different from the ancient Near East civilizations, establishing an early civilization model deeply adapted to its local ecology and focused more on integration and order.

Although this unique cultural experiment of the Liangzhu Culture ultimately failed to progress to a more advanced stage due to various factors and eventually fell into silence in the long river of history, the dignity of a civilization is first and foremost in its glorious existence. The "unfinished" state of the Liangzhu Culture is not an absolute failure but a unique intellectual legacy. It allows us to see an alternative possibility outside the mainstream historical narrative and forces us to reflect: should highly developed cultural experiments be simply defined as "interrupted" or "extinct" merely because they did not merge into our linear historical narrative?

Looking back from the vantage point of later history, while the Liangzhu Culture did not continue to the present day, the civilization system it constructed, bound by divine power, has undergone transformation and integration, becoming part of the ritual-music civilization of the Central Plains dynasties, serving as a spiritual precursor to the Bronze Age. From the spirit of ritual to state governance, it remains an irreplaceable cultural cornerstone at the core of the question, "Why is it China?" In this sense, perhaps we have never truly lost Liangzhu.

The existence of Liangzhu does not just challenge traditional narratives of civilization origins; it also offers a glimpse into the diverse rehearsals human society underwent before the grand historical epic of the "State" unfolded. Today, our renewed focus on Liangzhu's cultural heritage signifies far more than mere nostalgia. As globalization faces challenges and modern solutions show signs of exhaustion, Liangzhu, this ancient "Other," provides us with a valuable mirror for comparison. It enlightens us that the dimensions for measuring a society's success can perhaps transcend the singular adoration of technological complexity and expansion capability. The spiritual resolve, the profound indigenous knowledge system, and the practice of long-term coexistence with nature demonstrated by the Liangzhu model constitute an ancient response to the dilemmas of modernity. These traits, once marginalized by the mainstream civilization narrative, might be the very wisdom we urgently need to retrieve in addressing our current ecological and meaning crises.

Therefore, the true meaning of the "Re-illumination of Civilization" is not to replicate a lost cultural specimen, but to broaden our vision for the future by leveraging the diversity and possibilities that Liangzhu represents. It reminds us that the future of humanity should not be confined to a single development model. Protecting cultural heritage is precisely about safeguarding the diverse wisdom that civilization has precipitated over the ages. Today, every time we look back at Liangzhu, we are engaging in a cross-temporal dialogue. We understand the deep roots of "Why is it China?" and, with reverence for the diversity of civilizations, we explore the common future of humanity with greater composure and clarity.