The Era of the Five Emperors is the starting point of the Chinese civilization and the source of Chinese national culture. The Yellow Emperor tribe is not only the earliest tribe in the Era of the Five Emperors

but also the tribe whose activities developed in the Central Plains. To study the Chinese civilization

we must study the Era of the Five Emperors. To study the Era of the Five Emperors

we must study the Yellow Emperor tribe. In the Era of the Five Emperors

the Chinese civilization started from multiple points at the same time and developed in multiple parallel ways. During the Xia

Shang and Zhou dynasties

the development changed into a "unity in diversity" pattern with the Central Plains culture as the core. The motivation of this change lies in the development of farming production

the continuous integration of neighboring tribes and the expansion of influence of the Yellow Emperor tribe in the Central Plains. Meanwhile

the "unity in diversity" pattern still has the Central Plains as its core

which reflects the far-reaching influence of the Yellow Emperor tribe and the continuity of the development of the Chinese civilization. The study of the Era of the Five Emperors involves many issues

which needs to be conducted with comprehensive consideration in combination with philology

historical geography

archaeology

ethnology and other disciplines. The Era of the Five Emperors and the origin of the Chinese civilization should be understood against the general context that the world system in China then was changing from the East Asian system to the Eurasian system. The crescent-shaped bronze culture belt tilted from northeast to southwest put forward by Mr. Tong Enzheng earlier

which is the underlining reason for the sustainable development of the Chinese civilization in the Central Plains from the Era of the Five Emperors to the Xia

Shang and Zhou dynasties

is worth further scrutinization.