编者按：在“龙人”引发我们对远古生命的遥想后，一场五千年前文明前夜的文化奇观，正穿越时空，向我们发出深沉的叩问。当第三届良渚论坛在杭州召开，一场以文化遗产为媒介的、与未来的对话再次开启。这不仅是面向过去的回望，更是关乎现代文明前途的探讨。作为新石器时代晚期的杰出代表，良渚文化的深层价值在于，它揭示出：在“文明”的标准叙事之外，人类社会同样可能以另一种方式走向复杂化。它以其始终未迈入成熟文明阶段的“未完成”状态，为我们保留了一份珍贵的历史备选方案。这一方案不断提醒我们：历史的走向从来不是唯一的，它也由此映照出现代文明发展路径中那些被轻易遮蔽的偶然性与可能性。

考古学界常以城市形成、文字出现与金属冶炼作为衡量“文明社会”的重要指标。按照这一标准来看，缺少文字和青铜器的良渚，似乎难以被列于“文明”之列。然而，良渚的考古成果却迫使我们重新思考“文明”的定义。

考古研究表明，良渚古城外围的水坝系统由11条堤坝构成，总长度约6.3公里，已被联合国教科文组织认定为“世界最早的大型水利系统之一”。这一宏大的水利工程，与古城广阔的格局、严格的社会等级制度以及精美的玉器礼制共同构成了一套完整的文明体系。这一切都表明良渚社会在无需依赖文字与金属技术的前提下，依然构建出高度复杂而稳定的社会组织结构。它也揭示出：人类文明的演进并非只存在一种范式，复杂社会完全可以在另一套文化逻辑上被构建和延续。

图为瑶山1987年揭示的祭坛顶面遗迹

如果说古代近东的文明模式强调技术与权力的集中，那么良渚则以信仰与秩序的凝聚力提供了另一种可能。良渚社会的运作，根植于一套独特的非文字编码系统。以玉琮、玉璧为核心的礼器群，构建起一套整合了精神信仰与社会结构的完整体系。这套“玉礼体系”在没有文字律法的时代，有效地规范了人与人、人与神、人与社会的关系，成为维系社会结构的观念基础。而在实践层面，其庞大的水利工程，展现出强大的集体动员和资源管控能力，构成了王权组织的物质基础。精神认同与社会协作的紧密结合，让良渚走出了一条不同于古代近东文明的路径，形成了一个与本地生态深度适应、更侧重于整合与秩序的早期文明模型。

图为良渚文化玉钺（1986年反山遗址发掘）

图为良渚文化玉琮（1987年瑶山遗址发掘）

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.