Chinese civilization, as the only surviving ancient civilization in the world, has thrived without interruption over thousands of years from the Stone Age (3 million-4000 BC) to the present day. What is the secret of its everlasting cultural vitality? The long-established cultural center, namely the cultural identity shared by multiple parties, should be a major factor. Starting with the Chinese jade myths, a cultural phenomenon ignored by mainstream academia for a long time, this chapter probes into the core values that underpinned the formation of Chinese civilization, and explicates their role in building belief systems and conceptual links that drove the formation of a Chinese identity.