如果說中華文明是世界上唯一沒有中斷、發(fā)展至今的古老文明，那么，仰韶文化和紅山文化則是中華文明的直系根。

If we say that Chinese civilization is the onlyancient civilization in the world that has continuedto develop to this day， the Yangshao and Hongshancultures are its direct roots.

紅山文化距今已有五六千年，分布面積達(dá)20萬平方公里。內(nèi)蒙古赤峰地區(qū)分布較為密集的紅山文化遺址被認(rèn)為是紅山文化的主要分布區(qū)域，見證了紅山文化孕育、形成、演變和發(fā)展的全過程。人們?cè)诳脊胖邪l(fā)現(xiàn)了豐富的石器、精美的玉器、極具特色的陶器以及規(guī)模宏大的建筑群等，這些出土的文物向世人訴說著紅山先民的智慧和才能，也展示了紅山文化曾經(jīng)的輝煌。

The Hongshan culture dates back 5，000 to 6，000years and spans an area of 200，000 square kilometers.The city of Chifeng in Inner Mongolia is dotted withnumerous cultural sites， which are considered themain area of Hongshan Culture. These sites bearwitness to the history of its birth， formation， evolution，and development. Archaeological discoveries haveuncovered a wealth of stone tools， exquisite jadeartifacts， distinctive pottery， and large-scale architecturalcomplexes. These unearthed relics tell the world aboutthe wisdom and talent of the Hongshan ancestors andshowcase the past splendor of the Hongshan Culture.

紅山文化各種出土文物中，數(shù)量龐大、工藝成熟、種類豐富的玉器是最具魅力的部分。其中最引人矚目的當(dāng)屬玉龍，它的出現(xiàn)具有重要的意義，向世人證明：以玉為載體的禮制文化是中華文明形成的重要標(biāo)志之一。

Among the various artifacts unearthed from theHongshan Culture， the jade artifacts， which are vastin number， highly crafted， and diverse in type， arethe most captivating. The most striking among themis the jade dragons， which hold significant meaning，proving that the ritual culture， symbolized by jade，was one of the important markers of the formation ofChinese civilization.

目前發(fā)現(xiàn)的紅山文化玉龍有兩種造型：一種為C形玉龍，一種為玉豬龍。

Two types of jade dragons from the HongshanCulture have been discovered： the C-shaped jadedragon and the jade pig-dragon.

有正式出土地點(diǎn)的C形玉龍目前僅有兩件。第一件是1971年在內(nèi)蒙古自治區(qū)赤峰市翁牛特旗賽沁塔拉村發(fā)現(xiàn)的，現(xiàn)藏于中國國家博物館。該玉龍高26厘米，剖面直徑2.3 ～ 2.9厘米，呈墨綠色，造型生動(dòng)，雕琢精美，被譽(yù)為“中華第一龍”。

As of now， only two C-shaped jade dragons withverified excavation sites have been found. The firstone was discovered in 1971 in Saiqin Tala Village，Ongniud Banner， Chifeng City， Inner Mongolia， andis now housed in the National Museum of China.This jade dragon stands 26 cm tall， with a crosssectionaldiameter of 2.3 to 2.9 cm. It is dark green，vividly shaped， and exquisitely carved， earning it thetitle of “China’s First Dragon.”

第二件C形玉龍出自翁牛特旗烏丹鎮(zhèn)新地村東拐棒溝，現(xiàn)藏于赤峰市翁牛特旗博物館。此玉龍與前一件形狀相同，但形體較小，高16.8厘米，頸部孔徑0.7 ～ 0.8厘米，呈黃綠色。

The second C-shaped jade dragon was unearthedin East Guaibanggou， Xindi Village， Wudan Town，Ongniud Banner， and is now housed in the OngniudBanner Museum in Chifeng City. This jade dragonis similar in shape to the first one， but it is smaller，standing 16.8 cm tall， with a neck hole diameter of0.7 to 0.8 cm， and it is yellow-green in color.

C形玉龍?jiān)煨酮?dú)特，首尾明顯分開，吻部前伸，略向上翹，雙目呈水滴狀。頸后正中豎起一道勾角，形似飛翔狀態(tài)的羽翼。下頜底部有陰刻線紋，尾端呈圓弧狀。玉龍中部略偏上有一鉆孔，若用繩子穿過小孔，將玉龍掛起來，玉龍首尾會(huì)處于同一水平線，設(shè)計(jì)相當(dāng)周密，人們推測(cè)它應(yīng)該是一種在特殊場(chǎng)合使用的祭祀用品。

The C-shaped jade dragon has a unique design，with its head and tail clearly separated. The snoutextends forward and slightly curves upward， withteardrop-shaped eyes. A raised hook-like ridge，resembling the wings of a flying creature， rises fromthe middle of its neck. There are incised lines onthe underside of its jaw， and the tail curves into arounded shape. Near the upper-middle section ofthe jade dragon， there is a drilled hole. If a cord isthreaded through it to hang the dragon， its headand tail align perfectly on the same horizontal line，indicating careful design. It isspeculated that this jade dragonwas a ritual item used on specialoccasions.

玉豬龍由立體的獸面和玦（jué， 古時(shí)佩戴的玉器， 環(huán)形，有缺口）形圓體兩部分構(gòu)成，呈圓環(huán)形。獸首部位較大，雙耳寬厚、直立，前額突出，雙眼圓睜，有并列的雙鼻孔，吻部突出，吻上和眼周還有表現(xiàn)皺皮的線紋。有的獸面還有突出的獠牙。由于其造型與豬首的形象最接近，故被稱為“玉豬龍”，又稱為“豬龍形玉玦”。玉豬龍?jiān)谲|體頸部也有穿孔，可以吊掛佩戴。大型的玉豬龍高約14 ～ 15厘米，小型的高約5 ～ 8厘米，制作比較規(guī)范。相比C形玉龍，玉豬龍出土和傳世品較多，是紅山文化玉器的典型器類之一，廣泛分布于遼河流域的紅山文化遺址中。

The j a d e pi g - d r agon i scomposed of two parts that forma round ring： a three-dimensional animal head and a ring-shaped bodysimilar to a jue （an ancient jadeornament， circular with a gap）.The animal’s head is relativelylarge， with wide， upright ears，a prominent forehead， roundeyes， paired nostrils， and aprotruding snout. Wrinklesare depi c te d throughincised lines on the snoutand around the eyes.Some animals also featureprotruding fangs on face.Due to its resemblanceto the head of a pig， thejade is called “jade pigdragon，”or “pig-dragonjade jue.” The neck of thejade pig-dragon is alsopierced for hanging orwearing. Large jade pigdragonsstand about 14 to15 cm tall， while smallerones range from 5 to 8 cm，all crafted with precision.Compared to the C-shapedjade dragon， more jade pigdragonshave been unearthedand passed down， making themone of the typical jade artifactsof the Hongshan Culture， widelydistributed across Hongshan sites inthe Liao River Basin.

紅山先民以旱作農(nóng)業(yè)為主，靠天吃飯，在與天地溝通時(shí)，他們往往需要借助相應(yīng)的器物來表達(dá)對(duì)天地的敬意，脫胎于山川、汲取萬物精華的玉便成為最好的選擇。中國人自稱“龍的傳人”，龍文化深深印在民族基因里。古時(shí)，人們認(rèn)為“龍”是神圣的，能夠駕馭風(fēng)雨雷電，因此希望通過玉龍來祈雨和祈求豐收。新石器時(shí)代紅山文化遺址出土的玉龍是中國龍圖騰最早的實(shí)物。紅山玉龍是紅山文化的象征，也是內(nèi)蒙古的一個(gè)文化符號(hào)。

The ancestors of Hongshan mainly relied on dryfarming， lived off the weather， and often needed touse certain objects to express their reverence for thenature. Jade， formed from the essence of mountains and rivers， became the perfect medium. The Chinesepeople refer to themselves as the “descendants of thedragon，” with dragon culture deeply ingrained in theirnational identity. People in ancient times believedthat dragons were sacred， capable of controllingwind， rain， thunder， and lightning， and thus used jadedragons to pray for rain and a bountiful harvest. Thejade dragons unearthed from the Neolithic HongshanCulture sites are the earliest physical representationsof China’s dragon totem. The Hongshan jade dragonsymbolizes the Hongshan culture and is also acultural emblem of Inner Mongolia.

紅山文化展現(xiàn)了中國北方地區(qū)新石器時(shí)代文化的特征和內(nèi)涵，體現(xiàn)了中華文明的多源性。在這里，我們看到了中華五千年文明的曙光。之后的幾千年里，這一抹曙光與中原地區(qū)其他古代文明互相影響、融合發(fā)展，共同照亮了整個(gè)華夏大地。

The Hongshan Cul ture showcas e s thecharacteristics and essence of Neolithic culture innorthern China. It reflects the multi-origin natureof Chinese civilization. It can be regarded as thedawn of the 5，000-year Chinese civilization. Overthe following millennia， this initial light intertwinedwith other ancient civilizations in the Central Plains，influencing and merging with them， illuminating theentire Chinese land.