1. From ancient times to the establishment of Xia Dynasty, it is the origin stage of China culture. At this stage, the achievements of China ancestors in material culture, spiritual culture and social organization form are the source of China traditional culture.
2. The Xia, Shang, Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn Periods, marked by the appearance of bronzes, ironware and Niu Geng, the patriarchal clan system and the compilation of the Six Classics, were the formative stages of China culture.
3. During the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, the social material life was more abundant, while in the political field, the emperor system, county system and bureaucratic system at all levels that influenced China for thousands of years were formed; A large number of scientific and technological achievements represented by papermaking, literary works represented by essays and Han Fu of various schools, and historical works represented by Zuozhuan, Guoyu, Warring States Policy, Historical Records and Hanshu. One after another, Taoism came into being and Buddhism was introduced, which is the development stage of China culture.
4. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, China's agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization exchanged and merged with each other in ethnic migration and conflict, and the northern clan moved southward, which promoted the development of southern culture. Then, the southern culture returned to the north, realizing the North-South communication. At the same time, metaphysics was born in the dispute between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and the cultural habits of all ethnic groups were passed down from generation to generation in the war, which can be described as the stage of internal conflict and integration of Chinese culture.
During the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, people's material living conditions were further improved due to the improvement of productivity. Symbolic achievements such as Tang poetry, architecture, Buddha statues, textiles, science and technology have come out one after another; Various forms of administrative management system are adapted to local conditions in a vast area. The social customs and habits characterized by "Hu Hua" show that this is a prosperous stage of China culture.
6. During the Song, Liao, Xia, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the northern and southern cities rose and the commodity economy was unprecedentedly active; In the trend of the times of the integration of the three religions, a new Confucianism led by Neo-Confucianism was formed; The emergence of literary forms such as Song Ci and Yuan Qu catered to the tastes of literati and citizens, and historical masterpieces such as Zi Tong Zhi Jian also came out one after another. This period is the third period of the "Four Great Inventions" in the history of China. There are indications that this is the peak stage of the development of ancient civilization in China.
7. In the early Ming and Qing Dynasties, modern enlightenment thoughts and textual research originated from feudal totalitarian politics and played a great role in anti-feudal propaganda, historical and cultural collation, summary and research; Science and technology have made remarkable achievements. Zhang Hui's novels, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Thousands of Local Records, and the compilation of super-large classics, such as Yongle Dadian and Sikuquanshu, are brilliant achievements in the cultural field, which is a symbol of the continued development of China culture and is at a turning point.
8. From the Opium War to the People's Republic of China (PRC) period, China's culture also encountered severe tests and crises for the first time. As a result, advanced China people began to face up to the reality, and machine manufacturing technology, democratic republic system and modern sciences such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology and medicine were introduced to China. China people's mentality of learning from the West and cultural achievements have also emerged. Under the impact of western civilization, China culture began to step onto the stage of modernization.