The Three Gorges Culture: A Unique Cultural Gem in the Yangtze River Basin

Since ancient times, the Yangtze River basin has been one of the cradles of ancient Chinese civilization and one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation. According to archaeological materials and historical records, the Three Gorges area in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River is one of the birthplaces of Yangtze River civilization and southern Chinese culture. It is in this region that the unique Three Gorges culture has formed.

The Three Gorges culture has developed in the special geographical, ecological environment and cultural atmosphere of the region.

As the throat passage connecting the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges is a cultural corridor, information exchange channel, and logistics passage that connects the Wu Yue culture in the lower reaches, the Jing Chu culture in the middle reaches, and the Ba Shu culture in the upper reaches. It has linked the ethnic groups, cultures, and logistics of eastern, central,l and western China, serving as a corridor for the exchange of human culture and information between the east and west of China.

In ancient times, the main contents of the Three Gorges culture included: the martial spirit of valuing bravery; the primitive religion mainly based on witch culture; the unique customs and arts of the Three Gorges; the spirit of loyalty, bravery, and shouldering great responsibilities; and the strong sense of group identity and ethnic consciousness. These factors constituted the connotation of the early Three Gorges culture.

With the evolution of history, the Three Gorges region has given birth to a variety of Three Gorges cultural types and splendid cultural phenomena, such as immigrant culture, shipping culture, military culture, witch culture, poetry culture, folk art culture, stone carving culture, religious culture, and architectural culture. These cultural phenomena have their distinct characteristics and also contain the three common cultural elements of the Three Gorges culture: the cultural elements of the large river basin cultural corridor of the Three Gorges, the magical and unpredictable mountain and water cultural elements, and the salt and丹resource cultural elements. It is the integration and isomorphism of these cultural elements that give each cultural phenomenon its unique connotation and quality of the Three Gorges culture, forming and constructing the Three Gorges culture, which has a long history and distinct characteristics.