3,600 years ago, the Shang Dynasty was established in Zhengzhou. The ruins of the majestic city wall from the Shang Dynasty period stands at Chengdong Road like a gate that leads people back into that era.

3600年前，伟大的商王朝从郑州昂首起步。那巍巍矗立在郑州城东路的商代城墙遗址，如同一道历史之门，让人一眼千年。

Recently, Xu Hong, a famous archaeologist and researcher at the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, visited the Zhengzhou Shangdu Site Museum and gave a lecture on The Earliest China.

近日，著名考古学家、中国社会科学院考古研究所研究员许宏做客郑州商都博物院，讲授《最早的帝国——二里岗文明冲击波》。

Evolving from the earlier Erlitou civilization, the Erligang civilization was more complex and more developed. It makes it possible for the Central Plains to develop to a far greater level than other surrounding regions. Xu Hong saw it as a great civilization for the following three reasons.

二里岗文明站在二里头文明的肩膀上，它更加发达、更加辉煌，让中原真正进入整体优势可以“碾压周边”的时代。许宏认为，它是一个“巨无霸”，有着很多自己的“Number One”。

First, it nurtured the Capital of Shang Dynasty. The Shang's Capital in Zhengzhou was the earliest large-scale capital in China and even East Asia, with an area of more than 10 square kilometers, larger than earlier capitals and core settlements which only reached sizes of around 5 square kilometers. Some scholars have speculated that by including the areas of satellite settlements and the Zhengzhou settlement group, their combined area could reach 160 square kilometers in total. Lothar von Falkenhausen, a famous American archaeologist, believed that the Capital of Shang Dynasty in Zhengzhou was the largest city in the world at that time.

首先，郑州商城是中国乃至东亚地区最早的超大型规模都邑。都邑规模超过10平方公里，在郑州之前没有超过5平方公里的都邑遗址或早期中心聚落，有学者推测包括卫星聚落，郑州都邑聚落群160平方公里。美国著名考古学者罗泰认为，郑州商城应该是当时全球范围内人口规模最大的都市。

Second, the Erligang civilization had a highly developed bronze industry. The Erlitou civilization was the first site of China's bronze industry, but the really prosperous era for China's bronze industry began during the Erligang civilization represented by the capital of Shang Dynasty in Zhengzhou.  

二里岗文明还有第二个“之最”。尽管二里头时期是中国青铜时代的第一个都邑，但是真正的大规模发达的青铜工业，是以郑州商城为代表的二里岗文化。

Third, Erligang was a more highly developed wide-area royal state. Erlitou was the earliest wide-area royal state in China, but it was a primary form. That is a typical feature of Erligang civilization.

二里头是中国最早的广域王权国家，但只是初级广域王权国家，二里岗是真正的高度发达的广域王权国家。这是以郑州商城为代表的二里岗文明的三个“之最”。

Why is the Shang Capital called "Erligang Empire"? From Erlitou to Erligang to Yin Xu, the ups and downs of the Central Plains civilization over the centuries have been revealed. Erligang civilization is comparable to other early empires in the world, and can even be called the first empire in China and even East Asia.

郑州商城为何被称为“二里岗帝国”？“从二里头到二里岗，再到殷墟，揭示数百年间中原王朝文明的兴替流变，与被称之为帝国的全球其他早期文明相比，二里岗文明毫不逊色，堪称中国乃至东亚第一个帝国。”

Archaeologist Xu Hong also explored the unearthed cultural relics and praised the best results of Erligang civilization in writing and artwork.  

考古学家许宏还从出土文物入手，总结出二里岗时期在文字与艺术品方面的“郑州之最”。

In 1953, a Shang Dynasty ox rib inscription was unearthed at the Erligang Site in Zhengzhou, which is the first Shang Dynasty inscription found outside of Yin Xu in Anyang. In addition, a lot of pottery wares inscribed with cinnabar characters were unearthed at Xiaoshuangqiao Site in Zhengzhou. The Yin Xu culture is a later continuation of the Erligang culture, meaning that Erligang period should be the era when Chinese characters were developed.  

1953年， 郑州二里岗遗址出土了一段商代牛肋骨刻辞，这是在安阳殷墟之外首次发现的商代刻辞。郑州小双桥遗址则出土了不少朱书陶文。殷墟文化是二里岗文化的延续，因此二里岗时期应是中国文字的创制时代。

At the Shang Capital Site, the earliest-known gold-inlaid jade artworks have been unearthed: the turquoise-embossed bronze medallion, also called "gold-inlaid jade", was found at the Erlitou Site; around Shuyuan Street in the Shang Capital Site, artifacts inlaid with gold and turquoise have been unearthed, which are considered the earliest gold-inlaid jade artworks.  

此外，郑州商城还出土了最早金镶玉艺术品。二里头出土过镶嵌绿松石片的铜牌饰，铜是吉金，所以也称为“金镶玉”，而郑州商城书院街出土了黄金与绿松石镶嵌的器物，堪称为最早的“金镶玉”艺术品。