只有中國文明沒斷過？「四大文明古國」的說法從哪來Is China the Only Unbroken Civilization?

「四大文明古國，只有中華文明一直延續至今。」這句話很熟悉，可翻開梁啟超的文章，名單卻一會兒四個，一會兒五個。 這期用皮影戲，從這兩份名單說起：梁啟超為什麼這樣講？換了王朝，文明就算中斷嗎？文字、典籍和口傳，又該怎麼放在一起比較？沿著中國、印度和埃及留下的線索，我們試著把「文明延續」這個大詞，拆成幾個能具體討論的問題。 “Of the four ancient civilizations, only Chinese civilization has continued without interruption.” It is a familiar claim in China. Yet in Liang Qichao’s writings, the list sometimes includes four civilizations—and sometimes five. Told through Chinese shadow-puppet imagery, this video starts with those two lists. Why did Liang frame history this way? Does a change of dynasty break a civilization’s continuity? And how should we compare the transmission of writing, classical texts and oral traditions? Following examples from China, India and Egypt, we turn a sweeping claim into a set of more specific historical questions.