History of China & Origins of China+1

Reading about the origins of China is really fascinating, especially how the early dynasties shaped the culture that still influences so much today. But one thing I don’t fully understand is how historians verify the transition periods — like from mythological accounts to more recorded history. Do they mostly rely on archaeology, or are the ancient texts considered reliable sources on their own?

This whole process of connecting fragments together reminded me of a redux thunk example I was working on in coding. At first, it felt messy with different pieces of logic spread out, but when you put them in sequence, the bigger picture starts to make sense. I guess history research is similar — the details only come alive when you link them step by step.