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History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BC
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BC
Zhou Dynasty 1122–256 BC
Western Zhou
Eastern Zhou
Spring and Autumn Period
Warring States Period
IMPERIAL
Qin Dynasty 221 BC–206 BC
Han Dynasty 206 BC–220 AD
Western Han
Xin Dynasty
Eastern Han
Three Kingdoms 220–280
Wei, Shu & Wu
Jin Dynasty 265–420
Western Jin	16 Kingdoms 304–439
Eastern Jin
Southern & Northern Dynasties 420–589
Sui Dynasty 581–618
Tang Dynasty 618–907
( Second Zhou 690–705 )
5 Dynasties & 10 Kingdoms 907–960	Liao Dynasty 907–1125
Song Dynasty 960–1279
Northern Song		W. Xia
Southern Song	Jin
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911
MODERN
Republic of China 1912–1949
People's Republic of China (Mainland China) 1949–present	Republic of China (Taiwan) 1945–present
Related Articles  Dynasties in Chinese History Economic history of China Historiography of China History of Chinese Art History of Education in China History of Science and Technology in China Legal history of China Linguistic history of China Military history of China Naval History of China Timeline of Chinese History Media history of China
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The Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝; pinyin: xià cháo; Wade-Giles: hsia-ch'ao) of China is the first dynasty to be described in ancient historical records such as Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo Annals. According to the traditional chronology based upon calculations by Liu Xin, the Xia ruled between 2205 BCE and 1766 BCE, however according to the chronology based upon the Bamboo Annals, it is between 1989 BCE and 1558 BCE. The Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project concluded with 2070 BCE and 1600 BCE. Although there are some scholars who have doubts over whether the dynasty really existed,¹ archaeological evidence points toward its existence. According to historical records, it was preceded by the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and followed by the Shang Dynasty.

History

According to the official history, the Xia Dynasty was founded when Shun abdicated the throne in favor of his minister Yu, whom Shun viewed as the perfect civil servant. Yu was greatly praised by his people for eliminating flooding by organizing the building of canals in all the major rivers. Soon before his death, instead of passing power to the person deemed most capable of rulership, Yu passed power to his son, Qi, setting the precedence for dynastic rule or the Hereditary System. The Xia Dynasty thus began a period of family or clan control.

The Skeptical School of early Chinese history, started by Gu Jiegang in the 1920s, was the first group of scholars within China to seriously question the traditional story of its early history: “the later the time, the longer the legendary period of earlier history... early Chinese history is a tale told and retold for generations, during which new elements were added to the front end”² Yun Kuen Lee's criticism of nationalist sentiment in developing an explanation of Three Dynasties chronology focuses on the dichotomy of evidence provided by archaeological versus historical research, in particular the claim that the archaeological Erlitou Culture is also the historical Xia Dynasty. “How to fuse the archaeological dates with historical dates is a challenge to all chronological studies of early civilization.”³

Jie, the last ruler, was said to be a corrupt king. He was overthrown by Tang, the first king of the Shang dynasty.

After the defeat of Xia by Shang, some members of the royal family of Xia Dynasty survived as the Qi (Henan) state until 445 BCE. The Qi state was well recorded in the Oracle script as the one major supporter of the Xia Dynasty.⁴ The Kings of the state of Yue also claimed to be descended from Yu the Great.⁵

Archaeological records

Archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. There exists a debate as to whether or not Erlitou culture was the site of the Xia dynasty. Radiocarbon dating places the site at ca. 2100 to 1800 BC, providing physical evidence of the existence of a state contemporaneous with and possibly equivalent to the Xia Dynasty as described in Chinese historical works.⁶ In 1959, a site located in the city of Yanshi was excavated containing large palaces that some archaeologists have attributed as capital of the Xia Dynasty. Though later historical works mention the Xia dynasty, no written records dated to the Xia period have been found to confirm the name of the dynasty and its sovereigns. At a minimum, the archaeological discoveries marked an evolutionary stage between the late neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang Dynasty.

See also: Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project

Mythical opposite of Shang

In her work, The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art and Cosmos in Early China, Sarah Allan noted that many aspects of the Xia are simply the opposite of traits held to be emblematic of the Shang. The implied dualism between the Shang and Xia, Allan argues, is that while the Shang represent fire or the sun, birds and the east, the Xia represent the west and water. The development of this mythical Xia, Allan argues, is a necessary act on the part of the Zhou Dynasty, who justify their conquest of the Shang by noting that the Shang had supplanted the Xia.

Sovereigns of the Xia Dynasty

See also

• Erlitou culture
• List of Neolithic cultures of China

Notes

References

Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Shiji (in Chinese)

• Deady, Kathleen W. and Dubois, Muriel L., Ancient China. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2004.
• Lee Yuan-Yuan and Shen, Sinyan. Chinese Musical Instruments (Chinese Music Monograph Series). 1999. Chinese Music Society of North America Press. ISBN 1-880464039
• Allan, Sarah (1991), The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art and Cosmos in Early China (S U N Y Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture). State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-0791404591
• Allan, Sarah, Erlitou and the Formation of Chinese Civilization: Toward a New Paradigm, The Journal of Asian Studies, 66:461-496 Cambridge University Press, 2007
• Liu, L. & Xiu, H., Rethinking Erlitou: legend, history and Chinese archaeology, Antiquity, Volume: 81 Number: 314 Page: 886–901, 2007