Liangzhu City：the Earliest State in China？

Toward the end of 2007, news came that Chinese archeologists had found the remains of an ancient city ,believed to have existed 5,300 years ago. The remains are a vital part of the Liangzhu culture that once thrived in vast areas of eastern China, mainly in the/aP, e Taihu area. The latest finding added brilliance to the Lianzhu culture, pray ng that the early Chinese living in the area, while producers of rice and jade artifacts, were also capable of buildlng a city 2.9 million square meters In area, four times as large as the world-renowned Forbidden City in Beijing, Remains of the Liangzhu culture were first discovered in 1936 ;at Liangzhu Town in Zhejiang Provinces, Since then, continuous excavation has yielded more and more Ltangzhu cultural remains. Interestingly; the layout of the structures in the newly discovered ＂Liangzhu City＂ resembles the Chinese Character ＂国＂-- meaning ＂nation＂ or ＂state,＂ prompting speculation that there could have been an organized state earlier than the Xia, Shang and Zhou, the earliest Chinese dynosties known so far, which existed from about the 21st century BC to 221 BC, Some experts suggest that the entire history of the Chinese civilization may have to be rewritten if theories.about the recent findings prove correct.

Liangzhu City：the Earliest State in China？