Is Egyptian culture older than Chinese culture?
A lot of people get confused by this question. It can be said factually that Egyptian culture arose earlier, since written history and civilization began in Egypt earlier than in China. Nonetheless, there’s even more to know.
Ancient Egypt vs.ancient China: The timeline
Egyptian civilization began around 3000 BCE, after a union of Upper and Lower Egypt brought in the first dynastic rulers. Hieroglyphs and other types of writing were created in Egypt at that period. Even before Egypt, Sumerians in Mesopotamia developed the first writing systems like cuneiform in 3400 BCE.
Almost 3,700 years ago, the Shang Dynasty was the first Chinese dynasty that we know about. In the later Shang period which falls around 1200 BCE, oracle bone script was invented. When we look at early history, Egypt is generally considered to have developed state-level civilization—including writing and centralized rule—around 1400 years before the emergence of the Shang Dynasty in China.
China’s unique contribution: Continuity
People often admire Chinese culture for staying constant through the years, even though Egypt’s society began earlier. Egyptian culture underwent significant transformations due to successive Greek, Roman, and Islamic influences, which layered new traditions over older practices. Throughout all the invasions and dynasty changes, the Chinese language, beliefs and routines remained and were transformed instead of being lost. For this reason, China is widely referred to as the oldest civilization without interruption.
Cultural identity and claims
Many people assume that Chinese people believe their civilization dates further back than Egypt’s—this simply isn’t true. As part of their studies, Chinese students find out about the Four Ancient Civilizations: Babylon, Egypt, India and China. Of all that we can study, Ancient Babylon is the earliest one.
Yet, the Chinese are proud of having maintained their history unbroken, since many age-old civilizations have either stopped existing or changed greatly. People feel pride because of how language, literature, philosophy and society have managed to survive over many years.
In conclusion
Egyptian culture dates back further, but Chinese culture has developed without interruption for a very long time. Both cultures are significant and play different roles in the history of humanity—one was early and one has lasted a great deal longer.
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