Secret History #13: Mandate of Heaven

Professor Jiang presents a lecture contrasting the traditional Marxist understanding of civilization's origins with an alternative perspective. The traditional view posits that civilization arose from surplus food generated by agriculture, leading to a non-working elite who fostered religion, arts, science, and technology. Jiang challenges this, arguing that humans were inherently religious, artistic, and capable of science from the beginning, evidenced by cave paintings and religious settlements. He suggests civilization emerged as a tool to legitimize social hierarchies, using mythology and writing to reinforce the power of elites. The lecture explores the characteristics of early civilizations like Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, and China, emphasizing their latitude, proximity to major rivers, and access to the sea for trade. The lecture further analyzes the constant process of inversion in human history, transitioning from egalitarian societies to male-dominated, bureaucratic systems, and how myths, like the Enuma Elish and the Epic of Gilgamesh, were used to justify power structures and social order.