Early agriculture in China occurred in some areas 8,000 years ago. In the Central Plains, it generally ended when the Xia Dynasty was established 4000 years ago, and basically kept pace with the Neolithic Age in archaeology, and later entered the Bronze Age.

Many stone axes and spears have been found in primitive agricultural sites all over the country, which shows that China, like other places in the world, implements the farming method of "cutting and burning" and the abandoned farming system; However, hoes, shovels, shovels, hoes and other digging tools made of wood, stones, bones and mussels appeared quite early, especially the use of shovels, which indicated that China changed from migrating slash-and-burn to settled slash-and-burn earlier. This is related to the agricultural development of flat and loose loess areas and alluvial plains on both sides of rivers in China. But neither the earlier cave sites, piedmont sites, nor the later terraces and terraces on both sides of the river belong to irrigated agriculture developed on the basis of river flooding. The primitive agriculture in most parts of China is mainly planting, with many kinds of rice in the south and many kinds of millet in the north; Animal husbandry is in a secondary auxiliary position, generally focusing on raising pigs; Collecting, fishing and hunting are still important means to obtain means of subsistence, forming a pattern of combining agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting. Nomadic tribes mainly raising horses, cattle and sheep in the north and west formed late. This situation, as well as the ancient legend, shows that China directly entered the agricultural economy from the gathering economy, and did not experience the stage of animal husbandry economy.