The topography of China is high in the west and low in the east. The west is composed of many mountain ranges with altitudes exceeding 5,000 meters, among them the highest Himalayas are 8,848 meters above sea level. The east gradually drops to a plain below 50 meters above sea level. The Yellow River originates from the Bayan Har Mountain with an altitude of 5,369 meters, located in Qinghai Province. This second longest river in China crosses the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Loess Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau, and North China Plain from west to east, and finally flows into the Bohai Sea. Its drainage area reaches 795,000 square kilometers, covering Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong nine provinces.
Millions of years ago, east of the Taihang Mountains (box in map below) in central North China was the ocean. The North China Plain (the upper two thirds of the green area below) was formed by the accumulation of sediment from the Yellow River over millions of years. The middle section of the Yellow River flows through the Loess Plateau, carrying a large amount of sediment. It transports 1.6 billion tons of sediment downstream every year, about a quarter of which remains on land, and the rest washes into the Bohai Sea. The silt deposited in the lower reaches of the Yellow River gradually raises the riverbed. Every once in a while, the Yellow River will change its course due to the blockage of large amounts of sediment. Wherever the terrain is low, that's where the diverted river will flow, bringing sediment with it. For millions of years, sediment from the Yellow River has filled the low areas back and forth, created the vast North China Plain, which is larger than the area of Britain. Today, the Yellow River is still reclaiming land from the sea and constantly pushing the coastline eastward. Scientists estimate that the Bohai Sea will be filled in within a few hundred years, further expanding the North China Plain.
Archeology has discovered that eight thousand years ago, people already lived in this plain created by the Yellow River. The North China Plain has always been the most densely populated, economically and culturally prosperous region in China due to its fertile soil, temperate climate, and abundant rainfall brought by the maritime monsoon, making this region suitable for agriculture. The Yellow River nourishes the people lived on this plain, but it also brings them disasters. As the riverbed rises, people need to constantly strengthen the river embankments to protect farmland, villages and cities on both sides. As a result, the riverbed gradually rises above the ground, and in some areas is even 5-10 meters above the ground, turning the river into a hanging river. Once the embankment breaks, it will cause a devastating disaster, washing away everything in its path. Historical records show that in the past 2,500 years, the Yellow River burst and flooded 1,593 times, and had major diversions 26 times. Every time the Yellow River bursts and floods, hundreds of thousands or even millions of people are killed and displaced. The Yellow River flood of 1897 caused by disrepair due to domestic unrest killed seven million people. River management has never stopped since ancient times. Perhaps no other populace in the world experiences such a complex love-hate dynamic with their mother river as the Chinese. They express gratitude for her nourishing while harboring resentment for her harshness. But it is precisely with her rugged character that the Yellow River has cultivated the perseverance, tenacity, hard work, and resilience of the Chinese people.
Chinese parents tend to use strict discipline to train their children so that they can learn to face the severe challenges of life. This is not unrelated to the fact that they themselves grew up under the temper of the Yellow River. Westerners who embrace individualism emphasize protecting children's independence and individuality. Chinese parents pay attention to cultivating children's perseverance, endurance and team spirit. Such education is closely related to their harsh living environment. In front of the Yellow River, individuals are insignificant. Controlling the Yellow River relies on collective strength. Therefore, Chinese philosophy emphasizes collectivism and teamwork. Western philosophy conceptualizes individuals as independent actors, giving precedence to personal interests over collective concerns. Chinese philosophy perceives individuals as interconnected and interdependent members of society with a common destiny and shared interests and responsibilities. This prioritization of collective concerns over individual interests is influenced by their shared burden imposed by the Yellow River.
The fertile, rich and troubled land of the lower reaches of the Yellow River makes the people living on this plain not only enjoy the blessings of the Yellow River, but also face the challenges it brings. This paradox has nurtured the dialectical thinking of the Chinese people. The Chinese do not perceive things in stark black and white terms like many Westerners often do. They recognize that opposing qualities juxtapose in all things, akin to the nature of the Yellow River and the nature of humans themselves. This awareness empowers them to approach the complexities of life with composure, remain vigilant during peaceful times, and discern opportunities within challenges. Chinese philosophy opposes simplistic and extreme thinking, such as individualism, feminism, hegemonism, unipolarism, the law of the jungle, zero-sum game, etc., and believes that moderation and balance are more in line with the laws of nature in which diverse things complement each other and coexist harmoniously like the two sexes. This seemingly meek position allows the Chinese to live in harmony with an environment that is both contradictory and integrated. Confucius' teaching that "a gentleman does not form factions", the Confucian stance of not taking sides, and the Chinese people's refusal to participate in Western-style partisan politics, these are all due in part to the wisdom given to the Chinese people by the Yellow River. (See Meeting in the Middle.)
Managing China's huge population and making them act in a unified manner to carry out large projects like regulating the Yellow River, which involves vast areas of land, huge amounts of manpower, enormous resources, comprehensive planning, and the joint efforts of the whole country, require a unified, centralized government with strong organizational capabilities. The Chinese attach great importance to domestic political stability, this is also closely related to the Yellow River. In fact, China's state power was born out of the need to control the Yellow River. Dayu, the founder of the Xia Dynasty (about 2070 BC - about 1600 BC), the first dynasty recorded in Chinese history, was the heroic organizer leading the people to regulate the Yellow River. With thousands of years of experiences, the Chinese have mastered the way of mobilizing and organizing the masses, and have trained the Chinese people into the most organized, disciplined, and well-managed people, making this nation extremely strong, able to face the most severe challenges. The Western political model based on individualism and partisan politics, in which different interest groups fight against each other and take turns in power, may serve the special interests, but does not fit with China's national conditions.
In summary, the character, thought, culture, and political framework of the Chinese nation are inextricably intertwined with the Yellow River. This influential river shapes the people under her nurture to embody qualities of magnanimity, generosity, kindness, sophistication, solidarity, and resilience - reminiscent of the attributes of their mother river. A nation, with its collective wisdom and strength, that has withstood and overcome such severe challenges for five thousand years is invincible and cannot be underestimated. (See Understanding China: Geography, Confucianism, and the Chinese-Style Modernization.)
