Comparative reconstruction of the first two cultures of ancient China (Shang and Zhou dynasties)

The article is dedicated to a comparative cultural-historical reconstruction of the early stages of the development of ancient Chinese civilization (the Shang and Zhou periods). The author, relying on the methodology of social, semiotic, and cultural analysis, as well as on the concept of "schemology" (the invention of semiotic structures to resolve problematic situations), offers a new perspective on the specificity of Chinese beliefs and social structure. Unlike Western archaic culture, where the foundation of worldview became the "scheme of the soul," in ancient China, the "scheme of the ancestor" played a key role. The author associates this difference with the particular structure of the primary social collective, where the family, rather than the leader or shaman, served as the main integrating force. The work demonstrates how ideas about ancestors, syncretically combining anthropological, natural, and sacred meanings, allowed for explanations of phenomena such as death, illness, and dreams, as well as legitimizing social hierarchy and political decisions. Special attention is given to the transition from "archaic" culture to the culture of the "Ancient Kingdoms" during the Shang era, when local ancestral spirits transformed into dynastic god-rulers, and natural elements (Heaven) were understood through the same family-hierarchical model. The article also conducts a comparative analysis of Western (Aristotelian) and Chinese ways of conceptualizing and distinguishing between the natural and artificial, resulting in the identification of the semiotic scheme of the interaction between yin and yang as a universal tool for explaining natural, cultural, and social imbalances, as well as disruptions in state governance. The reconstruction highlights the fundamental difference between the genesis of Western and ancient Chinese cultures. Ancient Chinese culture is portrayed not as backward or "underdeveloped" (in comparison to the West, as is often practiced) but as a highly effective semiotic and vital system built on different ontological foundations. The research is based on the works of C. Fitzgerald, E. Meletinsky, S. Batalov, and the author's own developments in the field of schemology.