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116-652: The ancient Chinese, whose Xia , Shang , and Zhou states flourished along the Fen , Yellow , and Wei valleys , discussed their neighbors according to the cardinal directions. The Four Barbarians were the Di to the north, the Man to the south, the Yi to the east, and the Rong to the west. These came to be used as generic chauvinistic pejoratives for different peoples long after the conquests of

232-516: A qing sounding stone, two small clapper bells (one earthenware , one bronze) and a xun with one finger hole. Due to this extreme scarcity of surviving instruments and the general uncertainty surrounding most of the Xia, creating a musical narrative of the period is impractical. Archaeological evidence of a large outburst flood at Jishi Gorge that destroyed the Lajia site on the upper reaches of

348-566: A few large and powerful principalities dominated China. Some southern states, such as Chu and Wu , claimed independence from the Zhou, who undertook wars against some of them (Wu and Yue ). Amid the interstate power struggles, internal conflict was also rife: six elite landholding families waged war on each other inside Jin, political enemies set about eliminating the Chen family in Qi, and the legitimacy of

464-479: A joke, and many Chinese scholars in the field will lose all sense of direction and not know how to get back on the right track. However, as Chen Chun and Gong Xin point out, the debate upon the Xia dynasty's historical existence stems from different research orientations between Chinese and Western scholars. The authors assert that overseas scientific communities are hesitant to accept the results of Chinese researchers because their studies used traditional narratives of

580-401: A neighbour of Wu and Jin's nemesis in the struggle for hegemony. King Shoumeng accepted the offer, and Wu would continue to harass Chu for years to come. After a period of increasingly exhausting warfare, Qi, Qin, Jin and Chu met at a disarmament conference in 579 and agreed to declare a truce to limit their military strength. This peace did not last very long and it soon became apparent that

696-457: A possible location of Xia capitals. Among his discoveries was the large Bronze Age site of Erlitou near modern Yanshi . The site was an urban centre, with rammed-earth foundations of several buildings, which were interpreted as palaces or temples. Radiocarbon dating in the late 20th century had wide error margins, and placed the Erlitou culture between 2100 and 1300 BC, which fit well with

812-505: A succession struggle in 635, the king awarded Jin with strategically valuable territory near Chengzhou. Duke Wen then used his growing power to coordinate a military response with Qi, Qin, and Song against Chu, which had begun encroaching northward after the death of Duke Huán of Qi. With a decisive Chu loss at the Battle of Chengpu in 632, Duke Wen's loyalty to the Zhou king was rewarded at an interstate conference when King Xīang awarded him

928-529: A successor and relinquished the throne to Yu , whom he deemed worthy. Yu's succession marks the start of the Xia dynasty. As Yu neared death he passed the throne to his son, Qi , instead of passing it to the most capable candidate, thus setting the precedent for dynastic rule or the Hereditary System. The Xia dynasty began a period of family or clan control. It is believed that Zhenxun (modern Gongyi ) and Yangcheng (modern Gaocheng ) were two of

1044-517: Is a fifth generation descendant of Zhuanxu. Other sources such as Classic of Mountains and Seas mention Yu's father Gun was the son of Luoming, who was the son of the Yellow Emperor . Sima Qian traced the origin of the dynasty to the name of a fief granted to Yu, who would use it as his own surname and his state's name. Gun , the father of Yu the Great, is the earliest recorded member of

1160-481: Is highly speculative because Huangfu Mi reached his conclusion by extrapolating from demographic statuses of the Qin , Han , Jin dynasties . Modern Chinese scholars estimated the Xia's population by employing records from ancient texts. Records have it that when Tai Kang established Lun as his capital, the settlement had about one lu , which was 500 people according to Du Yu, and this number includes only soldiers. Modifying

1276-613: Is not possible to know if what is meant is the Etiquette and Ceremonial (known then as the Book of Rites ) or just the concept of ritual in general. On the other hand, the existence of the Book of Changes is well-attested in the Zuozhuan , as multiple characters use it for divination and accurately quote the received text. Sima Qian claims that it was Confucius who, towards the close of

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1392-466: Is now northern Shaanxi through the first half of the Spring and Autumn period ; tribes began crossing the river into northern Shanxi in the second half. The Di eventually also established treaties of marriage and trade with the various Chinese states. The Jin prince Chong'er fled to his mother's family among them for many years until assassins sent by his brother forced him to begin wandering through

1508-527: Is said is told from the perspective of other states, such as Duke Ai of Lu trying to enlist Yue's help in a coup against the Three Huan. Sima Qian notes that Goujian reigned on until his death, and that afterwards his descendants—for whom no biographical information is given—continued to rule for six generations before the state was finally absorbed into Chu during the Warring States period . After

1624-514: Is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography . According to tradition, it was established by the legendary figure Yu the Great , after Shun , the last of the Five Emperors , gave the throne to him. In traditional historiography, the Xia was succeeded by the Shang dynasty . There are no contemporaneous records of the Xia, who are not mentioned in the oldest Chinese texts, since

1740-553: The Zuozhuan and Analects frequently quote the Book of Poetry and Book of Documents . On the other hand, the Zuozhuan depicts some characters actually composing poems that would later be included in the received text of the Book of Poetry . In the Analects there are frequent references to "The Rites", but as Classical Chinese does not employ punctuation or any markup to distinguish book titles from regular nouns it

1856-464: The Book of Documents in terms of their soil quality, their productivity and other geographical characteristics. According to the chapter "Tribute of Yu" in the text, the Nine Provinces respectively correspond to modern regions of China as: The Xia dynasty moved the capital many times. According to traditional records, these capitals are as follows: According to traditional Chinese records,

1972-531: The Five Hegemons . He was succeeded by his son King Fuchai of Wu , who nearly destroyed the Yue state, imprisoning King Goujian of Yue . Subsequently, Fuchai defeated Qi and extended Wu influence into central China. In 499, the philosopher Confucius was made acting prime minister of Lu. He is traditionally (if improbably) considered the author or editor of the Spring and Autumn annals , from which much of

2088-490: The Guanzhong region, held nominal power, but had real control over only a small royal demesne centered on Luoyi. During the early part of the Zhou dynasty period, royal relatives and generals had been given control over fiefdoms in an effort to maintain Zhou authority over vast territory. As the power of the Zhou kings waned, these fiefdoms became increasingly independent states . The most important states (known later as

2204-678: The Zhou lived in lands near the Rong and Di for fourteen generations, until Gugong Danfu led then away to the mid- Wei River valley where they built their capital near Mount Qi . During the Eastern Zhou , the Chinese states—particularly Jin —expanded into Di territories, after which the Di were often their enemies. The "White Di" lived north of Qin and west of the Yellow River in what

2320-482: The bà role had become outdated; the four major states had each acquired their own spheres of control and the notion of protecting Zhou territory had become less cogent as the control over (and the resulting cultural assimilation of) non-Zhou peoples, as well as Chu's control of some Zhou areas, further blurred an already vague distinction between Zhou and non-Zhou. In addition, new aristocratic houses were founded with loyalties to powerful states, rather than directly to

2436-440: The fangguo tribes were polities outside the Xia clan's direct rule. They were mostly large tribal peoples, but some were massive enough to become small states with more complex social structures, rivaling that of the Xia. Many of the tribes were described as in regular relationships with the Xia court, being either allies or enemies. Eventually, some of the tribal chiefs joined the force of Tang to overthrow Jie's regime. During

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2552-716: The "Numerous Di" (群狄, Qundi ) in what is now Taiyuan Prefecture . From the Taiyuan Basin, Jin pushed east through the Jingxing Pass (井陘) and attacked the "White Di" in the Taihang Mountains (530–520   BC). By this time, the Di had walled towns like Fei, Gu, and Qiu You (仇由) and fought on foot. By 400   BC, most of the Di and Rong had been eliminated as independent polities. Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty ( / ʃ i ɑː / SHEE-ə ; Chinese : 夏朝 ; pinyin : Xià cháo )

2668-586: The Chinese government in 1996, proposed that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BC. The Xia dynasty was described in several Chinese classics , including the Book of Documents , the Bamboo Annals , and Sima Qian 's Shiji . According to tradition, the Huaxia people who populated the Xia represent the direct ancestors of the Han Chinese . Traditional histories trace the development of

2784-517: The Chinese states. The Xianyu and "White Di" moved east from the areas around the Yellow River in north Shaanxi and northwest Shanxi into the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi and Hebei during the 6th century   BC. The "White Di" were especially numerous on the upper reaches of the Xinding or Hutuo Valley . In 569   BC, the Dao Duke of Jin announced a new peaceful policy towards

2900-557: The Chu forces advanced to just outside the royal capital of Chengzhou, upon which King Zhuang sent a messenger to inquire into the heft and bulk of the Nine Cauldrons – the symbols of royal ritual authority – implying he might soon arrange to have them moved to his own capital. In the end the Zhou capital was spared, and Chu shifted focus to harassing the nearby state of Zheng. The once-hegemon state of Jin intervened to rescue Zheng from

3016-500: The Chu invaders but were resolutely defeated, which marks the ascension of Chu as the dominant state of the time. Despite his de facto hegemony, King Zhuang's self-proclaimed title of "king" was never recognized by the Zhou states. In the Spring and Autumn Annals he is defiantly referred to as Zi ( 子 , ruler; unratified lord), even at a time when he dominated most of south China. Later historians however always include him as one of

3132-504: The Di yet shared the same ancestral surname Ji 姬 with the Zhou kings. William H. Baxter and Laurent Sagart (2014) reconstruct the Old Chinese pronunciation of 狄 as * lˤek ; sometimes 狄 was written as 翟 , whose pronunciation was reconstructed as * lˤewk . Paul R. Goldin, professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at University of Pennsylvania, proposes that 狄/翟 was a pejorative "pseudo-ethnonym" made by Chinese for

3248-747: The Erlitou period. They further argue that the timing is further evidence for the identification of the Xia with the Erlitou culture. However, no evidence of contemporaneous widespread flooding in the North China Plain has yet been found. The Cambridge History of Ancient China (1999) takes the beginning of Chinese history as the Xia's successor Shang dynasty ( c.  1600  – c.  1046 BC ). Xie Weiyang responded to this standpoint unfavorably towards efforts in China to link archaeological research to historical records: The Cambridge History of Ancient China adopted this standpoint with

3364-539: The Five Hegemons. In addition to interstate conflict, internal conflicts between state leaders and local aristocrats also occurred. Eventually the dukes of Lu, Jin, Zheng, Wey and Qi would all become figureheads to powerful aristocratic families. In the case of Jin, the shift happened in 588 when the army was split into six independent divisions, each dominated by a separate noble family: Zhi (智), Zhao (趙), Han (韓), Wei (魏), Fan (范), and Zhonghang (中行). The heads of

3480-518: The Great's controlling of the floods, he renewed the transportation system. Sima Qian wrote in his Records of the Grand Historian that Yu used carriages to travel on land, boats to travel on rivers, sleds to travel on mud, and horses to cross the mountains. He surveyed the lands and opened up routes through geographical locations so that tributes from tribal chiefs to the Xia would be more convenient. He organized people to build roads connecting

3596-538: The King of Zhou, not all sources list him as one of the Five Hegemons. When Duke Wen of Jin came to power in 636 after extensive peregrinations in exile, he capitalized on the reforms of his father, Duke Xian (r. 676–651), who had centralized the state, killed off relatives who might threaten his authority, conquered sixteen smaller states, and even absorbed some Rong and Di peoples to make Jin much more powerful than it had been previously. When he assisted King Xiang in

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3712-459: The Middle states, and of those [Yi], Man, [Rong], and [Di], all had their dwellings, where they lived at ease; their flavours which they preferred; the clothes suitable for them; their proper implements for use; and their vessels which they prepared in abundance. In those five regions, the languages of the people were not mutually intelligible, and their likings and desires were different. To make what

3828-434: The Nine Provinces, helping to improve tributary and economic relations between the tribes. Traditional texts record that the transport system of the Xia clan extended at least 500 – 600 li horizontally and 300 – 400 li vertically. The Guoyu also records that the Xia dynasty ordered the roads to be opened up in the 9th month, the bridges to be finished in the 10th month. The calculation of

3944-549: The Shang. Other scholars also argue that Shang political class's remnants still existed during the early Zhou dynasty, Zhou rulers could not simply justify their succession to pacify Shang remnants if it had been entirely fabricated since the Shang remnants, who remembered prior histories, would not believe it in the first place. For example, the Classic of Poetry preserves the "Eulogies of Shang" (商頌 Shāng sòng ) which represents

4060-511: The Spring and Autumn period, edited the received versions of the Book of Poetry , Book of Documents , and Book of Rites ; wrote the "Ten Wings" commentary on the Book of Changes ; and wrote the entirety of the Spring and Autumn Annals . This was long the predominant opinion in China, but modern scholarship considers it unlikely that all five classics could be the product of one man. The transmitted versions of these works all derive from

4176-557: The Western Zhou had concerned itself with politics, the ancestral temples, and legitimacy, in the Eastern Zhou politics came to the fore. Titles which had previously reflected lineage seniority took on purely political meanings. At the top of the bunch were Gong ( 公 ) and Hou ( 侯 ), favoured lineages of old with generally larger territories and greater resources and prestige at their disposal. The majority of rulers were of

4292-549: The Wu capital. Fuchai rushed back but was besieged and died when the city fell in 473. Yue then concentrated on weaker neighbouring states, rather than the great powers to the north. With help from Wu's enemy Chu, Yue was able to be victorious after several decades of conflict. King Goujian destroyed and annexed Wu in 473, after which he was recognized as hegemon. The Zuozhuan , Guoyu , and Shiji provide almost no information about Goujian's subsequent reign or policies. What little

4408-432: The Xia are simply the opposite of traits held to be emblematic of the Shang. The implied dualism of the Shang myth system, Allan argues, is that while the Shang represent the suns, sky, birds, east and life, the Xia represent the moons, watery underworld, dragons, west and death. Allan argues that this mythical Xia was re-interpreted by the Zhou as a ruling dynasty replaced by the Shang, a parallel with their own replacement of

4524-436: The Xia as a guide that instructed them on what to find, and because they quickly linked newly discovered artifacts, constructions and other evidences as representing the proof for the Xia's actual existence. They claim that mainland Chinese scholars focused mainly on extrapolations of excavated evidence to establish a historical perspective, and overlooked other complex factors in ancient human activities. This method, according to

4640-704: The Xia as a pretext, to justify their conquest of the Shang, by noting that just as the Shang had supplanted the Xia, they had supplanted the Shang. The existence of the Xia remains unproven, despite efforts by Chinese archaeologists to link them with the Bronze Age Erlitou culture . Among other points, Gu and other historians note certain parallels between the traditional narrative of Xia history and Shang history that would suggest probable Zhou-era fabrication or at least embellishment of Xia history. Yun Kuen Lee's criticism of nationalist sentiment in developing an explanation of Three Dynasties chronology focuses on

4756-399: The Xia clan a fief comprising the small state of Qi . This practice was referred to as "the two crownings and the three respects". According to the Book of Documents , Yu the Great divided his state into nine provinces ( 九州 ). These are Ji ( 冀 ), Yan ( 兗 ), Qing ( 青 ), Xu ( 徐 ), Yang ( 揚 ), Jing ( 荊 ), Yu ( 豫 ), Liang ( 梁 ) and Yong ( 雍 ). Each province was briefly described by

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4872-404: The Xia clan in managing the state. There were also laws set forth to maintain social stability within the country. Traditional narratives describe the Xia as enjoying prosperity in agriculture. The Analects contends that Yu the Great devoted himself to irrigation, improving the drainage system for cultivating crops. The texts also say that the people of Xia was gifted in producing alcohol, with

4988-428: The Xia clan. When the Yellow River flooded, many tribes united together to control and stop the flooding. Gun was appointed by Emperor Yao to stop the flooding. He ordered the construction of large levees to block the path of the water. The attempts of Gun to stop the flooding lasted for nine years, but ultimately failed because the floods strengthened. After nine years, Yao had already given his throne to Shun . Gun

5104-511: The Xia dynasty's population attracted interests during the Han dynasty. However, all calculations are speculations and extrapolations, due to difficulties stemming from time intervals. The Book of the Later Han quotes Huangfu Mi 's work Diwang Shiji, which claims that when Yu the Great finished establishing the Nine Provinces, the total population was 13,553,923 individuals; however, this number

5220-454: The Xia to the mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors . According to ancient Chinese texts, before the Xia dynasty was established, battles were frequent between Yellow Emperor 's tribe and Chiyou 's tribe. The Shiji and Book of Rites say that Yu the Great , the founder of the Xia dynasty, was the grandson of Zhuanxu , who was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor . But there are also other records, like Ban Gu 's, that say Yu's father

5336-523: The Xia, the scope of direct jurisdiction of the state is limited to within the clan. Beyond the Xia's own tribe, other tribal leaders enjoyed relatively independent management and ruling rights in their own territories; for the Xia Hou, they expressed their mutual relations in the form of submission and tribute. The Book of Documents says that Yu the Great determined the relationships between Xia and Fangguo tribes, dividing them into 5 categories according to

5452-494: The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project produced a narrower range for the Erlitou culture of 1880 to 1520 BC. The project assigned all four phases of Erlitou to the Xia, and identified the transition to the Shang with the construction of walled cities at Yanshi and Zhengzhou around 1600 BC. Since the project had settled on a start date for the Xia of 2070 BC, based on received texts, this forced them to designate

5568-701: The Yellow River has been dated to c.  1920 BC . This date is shortly before the rise of the Erlitou culture in the middle Yellow River valley and the Yueshi culture in Shandong, following the decline of the Longshan culture in the North China Plain . The authors suggest that this flood may have been the basis for the later myth of Yu the Great, and contributed to the cultural transition into

5684-699: The Zhou capital was sacked by the Marquess of Shen and the Quanrong barbarians , the Zhou moved the capital east from the now desolated Zongzhou in Haojing near modern Xi'an to Wangcheng in the Yellow River Valley. The Zhou royalty was then closer to its main supporters, particularly Jin, and Zheng ; the Zhou royal family had much weaker authority and relied on lords from these vassal states for protection, especially during their flight to

5800-422: The Zhou kings, though this process slowed down by the end of the seventh century, possibly because territory available for expansion had been largely exhausted. The Zhou kings had also lost much of their prestige so that, when Duke Dao of Jin (r. 572–558) was recognized as bà , it carried much less meaning than it had before. In 506, King Helü ascended the throne of Wu. With the help of Wu Zixu and Sun Tzu ,

5916-399: The advice of his staff, he attacked the much larger state of Chu. The Song forces were defeated at the battle of Hong ( 泓 ) in 638, and the duke himself died in the following year from an injury sustained in the battle. After Xiang's death his successors adopted a more modest foreign policy, better suited to the country's small size. As Duke Xiang was never officially recognized as hegemon by

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6032-525: The archaeological Erlitou culture ( c.  1900–1700 BC ). According to the traditional chronology, based upon calculations by Liu Xin , the Xia ruled between 2205 and 1766 BC. According to the chronology based on the "current text" Bamboo Annals , it ruled between 1989 and 1558 BC. Comparing the same text with dates of five-planet conjunctions , David Pankenier, supported by David Nivison , proposed dates of 1953 and 1555 BC. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project , commissioned by

6148-543: The author of The Art of War , he launched major offensives against the state of Chu. They prevailed in five battles, one of which was the Battle of Boju , and conquered the capital Ying. However, Chu managed to ask the state of Qin for help, and after being defeated by Qin, the vanguard general of Wu troops, Fugai, a younger brother of Helü, led a rebellion. After beating Fugai, Helü was forced to leave Chu. Fugai later retired to Chu and settled there. King Helü died during an invasion of Yue in 496. Some sources list him as one of

6264-473: The barbarians (和戎, he Rong ). He ended Jin's expansionist invasions of foreign lands and instead bartered with their leaders, purchasing territory for valuable Chinese objects like ritual bronzes and bells . During this period, the "White Di" began to move east of Taiyuan and the Taihang Mountains . In 541   BC, Jin ceased the he Rong policy and became violent again, attacking the Wuzhong (無終) and

6380-458: The capitals of the dynasty. The third Xia king was Tai Kang , described as an avid hunter but ineffective ruler. The Bamboo Annals describe the Xia capital at Zhenxun being attacked by Hou Yi while Tai Kang was on a hunt beyond the Luo River . The occupation of Zhenxun marked the beginning of a significant interregnum. In the eighth year of the reign of Tai Kang's nephew Xiang , Hou Yi

6496-542: 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." In The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China , Sarah Allan noted that many aspects of

6612-419: The disparity in available resources. Alongside this development, there was precedent of Zhou kings "upgrading" noble ranks as a reward for service to the throne, giving the recipients a bit more diplomatic prestige without costing the royal house any land. During the decline of the royal house, although real power was wrested from their grasp, their divine legitimacy was not brought into question, and even with

6728-514: The duke and two senior ministers each in charge of five; military functions were also united with civil ones. These and related reforms provided the state, already powerful from control of trade crossroads, with a greater ability to mobilize resources than the more loosely organized states. By 667, Qi had clearly shown its economic and military predominance, and Duke Huan assembled the leaders of Lu , Song , Chen , and Zheng , who elected him as their leader. Soon after, King Hui of Zhou conferred

6844-519: The earliest oracle bone inscriptions date from the Late Shang period (13th century BC). The earliest mentions occur in the oldest chapters of the Book of Documents , which report speeches from the early Western Zhou period and are accepted by most scholars as dating from that time. The speeches justify the Zhou conquest of the Shang as the passing of the Mandate of Heaven and liken it to

6960-451: The eastern capital. In Chengzhou, Prince Yijiu was crowned by his supporters as King Ping . However, with the Zhou domain greatly reduced to Chengzhou and nearby areas, the court could no longer support the six army groups it had in the past; Zhou kings had to request help from powerful vassal states for protection from raids and for resolution of internal power struggles. The Zhou court would never regain its original authority; instead, it

7076-421: The elite culture, aiming at upward social mobility, typically through the vector of officialdom. One individual well attested in the process of fixing the ranks of rulers into a coherent scheme was Zichan of Zheng , who both submitted a memorial to the king of Chu informing him of the proposed new system in 538 BCE, and argued at a 529 BCE interstate conference that tributes should be graded based on rank, given

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7192-477: The encounter the duke felt he was not treated with the respect and etiquette which would have been appropriate, given that Zheng was now the chief protector of the capital. In 715, Zheng also became involved in a border dispute with Lu regarding the Fields of Xu. The fields had been put in the care of Lu by the king for the exclusive purpose of producing royal sacrifices for the sacred Mount Tai . For Zheng to regard

7308-518: The era, this partitioning left seven major states in the Zhou world: the three fragments of Jin, the three remaining great powers of Qin, Chu and Qi, and the weaker state of Yan ( 燕 ) near modern Beijing. The partition of Jin, along with the Usurpation of Qi by Tian , marks the beginning of the Warring States period . Ancient sources such as the Zuo Zhuan and the eponymous Chunqiu record

7424-533: The fief of the grandfather of the disinherited crown prince Yijiu —destroyed the Western Zhou capital at Haojing , killing King You and establishing Yijiu as king at the eastern capital Luoyi . The event ushered in the Eastern Zhou dynasty, which is divided into the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods. During the Spring and Autumn period, China's feudal fengjian system became largely irrelevant. The Zhou court, having lost its homeland in

7540-414: The fields as just any other piece of land was an insult to the court. By 707, relations had soured enough that the king launched a punitive expedition against Zheng. The duke counterattacked and raided Zhou territory, defeating the royal forces in the Battle of Xuge and injuring the king himself. Zheng was the first vassal to openly defy the king, kicking off the centuries of warfare without respect for

7656-412: The figures and adding other types of people, Song Zhenhao postulated that this supposed city had between 1500 and 2500 individuals by the time of Tai Kang, a number he classified as medium. Estimating the number of populous cities, Song finally calculated the result of over 2 million. Wang Yumin, using description of demography during the reign of Emperor Shun who directly preceded the Xia, concluded that

7772-502: The first eleven years of his hegemony, Duke Huan intervened in a power struggle in Lu; protected Yan from encroaching Western Rong nomads; drove off Northern Di nomads after their invasions of Wey and Xing , providing the people with provisions and protective garrison units; and led an alliance of eight states to conquer Cai and thereby block the northward expansion of Chu . At his death in 643, five of Duke Huan's sons contended for

7888-545: The first half of the dynasty left in its wake hundreds of autonomous polities varying drastically in size and resources, nominally connected by bonds of cultural and ritual affiliation increasingly attenuated by the passage of time. Whole lineage groups moved around under socioeconomic stress, border groups not associated with the Zhou culture gained in power and sophistication, and the geopolitical situation demanded increased contact and communication. Under this new regime, an emergent systematization of noble ranks took root. Where

8004-520: The flooding increased agricultural production. The Xia tribe's power increased and Yu became the leader of the surrounding tribes. Soon afterwards Shun sent Yu to lead an army to suppress the Sanmiao tribe, which continuously abused the border tribes. After defeating them, he exiled them south to the Han River area. This victory strengthened the Xia tribe's power even more. As Shun aged, he thought of

8120-465: The founder of the Shang dynasty, Tang, overthrew the Xia dynasty. Shu Yi, the owner of this artifact, was a high officer of the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period ( c.  600 BC ), was actually a direct descendant of the Song rulers, which means he himself was a descendant of Shang people. This bronze artifact was used to memorialize his Shang ancestors. The inscription contradicts

8236-452: The great age of Jin power, the Jin rulers began to lose authority over their ministerial lineages. A full-scale civil war between 497 and 453 ended with the elimination of most noble lines; the remaining aristocratic families divided Jin into three successor states: Han , Wei , and Zhao . This is the last event recorded in the Zuozhuan . With the absorption of most of the smaller states in

8352-752: The hegemon was obligated to protect both the weaker Zhou states and the Zhou royalty from the intruding non-Zhou peoples: the Northern Di , the Southern Man , the Eastern Yi , and the Western Rong . This political framework retained the fēngjiàn power structure, though interstate and intrastate conflict often led to declining regard for clan customs , respect for the Ji family, and solidarity with other Zhou peoples. The king's prestige legitimized

8468-498: The hypothesis that the Zhou manufactured the existence of the Xia. Although the Shang oracle bone inscriptions contain no mention of the Xia, some scholars have suggested that polities they mention might be remnants of the Xia. Guo Moruo suggested that an enemy state called Tufang state of the Fang states mentioned in many inscriptions might be identified with the Xia. Historian Shen Changyun points to four inscriptions mentioning Qi,

8584-537: The information for this period is drawn. After only two years he was forced to resign and spent many years wandering between different states before returning to Lu. After returning to Lu he did not resume a political career, preferring to teach. Tradition holds that it was in this time he edited or wrote the Five Classics , including the Spring and Autumn Annals . In 482, King Fuchai of Wu held an interstate conference to solidify his power base, but Yue captured

8700-492: The king's court in Luoyi . The gradual Partition of Jin , one of the most powerful states, is generally considered to mark the end of the Spring and Autumn period and the beginning of the Warring States period . This periodization dates back to late Western Han ( c.  48 BCE  – c.  9 CE ). In 771 BCE, a Quanrong invasion in coalition with the states of Zeng and Shen —the latter polity being

8816-434: The last third of the Spring and Autumn period. Their first documented interaction with the Spring and Autumn states was in 584, when a Wu force attacked the small border state of Tan ( 郯 ) causing some alarm in the various Chinese courts. Jin was quick to dispatch an ambassador to the court of the Wu king, Shoumeng . Jin promised to supply Wu with modern military technology and training in exchange for an alliance against Chu,

8932-527: The late part of the Henan Longshan culture , including the Xinzhai phase, as the early part of the Xia period. No corresponding cultural transition in the archaeological record has yet been discovered. Even more refined carbon dating in 2005 and 2006 produced more tightly defined ranges, dating Xinzhai at 1870–1720 BC and Erlitou at 1735–1530 BC. The only musical instruments found at Erlitou are

9048-573: The lesser banishment. Five hundred li (the most remote) constituted the Wild Domain. The (first) three hundred were occupied by the tribes of the Man; the (other) two hundred, by criminals undergoing the greater banishment. Texts like the Book of Documents , the Book of Rites , and the Mencius describe that the Xia had already established a distinguished official system with positions helping

9164-438: The major rivers that were flooding and lead the water out to the sea. Yu was dedicated to his work. The populace praised his perseverance and were inspired, so much so that other tribes joined in the work. Legend says that in the 13 years it took him to successfully complete the work to stop the floods, he never went back to his home village to stop and rest, even though he passed by his house three times. Yu's success in stopping

9280-449: The middling but tiered grades Bo ( 伯 ) and Zi ( 子 ). The rulers of two polities maintained the title Nan ( 男 ). A 2012 survey found no difference in grade between Gong and Hou , or between Zi and Nan . Meanwhile, a new class of lower-tier aristocrats formed: the Shi ( 士 ), gentlemen too distantly related to the great houses to be born into a life of wielding power, but still part of

9396-413: The military confrontation that followed, and Han Zhuo committed suicide. The reign of Shao Kang and his son Zhu is traditionally characterized as one of the most prosperous periods in the Xia's history. Jie was the final King of Xia—he was said to be immoral, lascivious, and tyrannical. He was overthrown by Tang , who inaugurated the new Shang dynasty . King Tang is said to have given the remnants of

9512-497: The military leaders of the states, and helped mobilize collective defense of Zhou territory against " barbarians ". Over the next two centuries, the four most powerful states— Qin , Jin , Qi and Chu —struggled for power. These multi-city states often used the pretext of aid and protection to intervene and gain suzerainty over the smaller states. During this rapid expansion, interstate relations alternated between low-level warfare and complex diplomacy. Duke Yin of Lu ascended

9628-532: The northern "barbarians" and it meant "feathered". Surviving accounts of the culture and history of China's early neighbors mostly date from the late Zhou . The Book of Rites notes: The people of those five regions— the Middle states , and the [Rong], [Yi], (and other wild tribes round them)—had all their several natures, which they could not be made to alter. The tribes on the east were called [Yi]. They had their hair unbound, and tattooed their bodies. Some of them ate their food without its being cooked. Those on

9744-440: The notable legendary figure of Du Kang who is usually identified with Shao Kang. The population was described to have had vegetables and rice as the staple crop, and meat was usually reserved for sacrifices. Additionally, manufacture of goods and trade with outside tribes flourished. The site at Erlitou contains many metallic fragments, suggesting that the time assigned to the Xia was characterized by bronze metallurgy. During Yu

9860-513: The old traditions which would characterize the period. The display of Zheng's martial strength was effective until succession problems after Zhuang's death in 701 weakened the state. In 692, there was a failed assassination attempt against King Zhuang , orchestrated by elements at court. The first hegemon was Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643). With the help of his prime minister, Guan Zhong , Duke Huan reformed Qi to centralize its power structure. The state consisted of 15 " townships " ( 縣 ) with

9976-506: The original tribes and so are all usually translated as ' barbarian ' in English. Beidi tribes, ethnic groups, or states were sometimes distinguished as belonging to the "Red Di" (赤狄, Chidi ), the "White Di" (白狄, Baidi ), or "Tall Di" (長狄, Changdi ). The Xianyu ( Old Chinese ( B-S ): * s[a]r[ŋ]ʷ(r)a ), Fei, Zhongshan , and Dai kingdoms were founded by White Di. According to Eastern Wu scholar Wei Zhao , Xianyu's founders dwelt among

10092-422: The periphery, had power and opportunity to expand outward. A total of 148 states are mentioned in the chronicles for this period, 128 of which were absorbed by the four largest states by the end of the period. Shortly after the royal court's move to Chengzhou, a hierarchical alliance system arose where the Zhou king would give the title of hegemon ( 霸 ) to the leader of the state with the most powerful military;

10208-400: The population of the dynasty was around 2.1 million. The time gap between the supposed time of the Xia and the first written references to it have meant that the historicity of the Xia dynasty itself and the traditional narrative of its history are at best uncertain. The Doubting Antiquity School led by Gu Jiegang in the 1920s were the first scholars within China to systematically question

10324-411: The powerful state of Song , whose rulers were the direct descendants of Shang dynasty. Among those eulogies, the eulogy Chang Fa ( 長發 ) celebrated victories by the "martial king" Tang of Shang against Wei ( 韋 ), Gu ( 顧 ), Kunwu ( 昆吾 ), and Jie of Xia . During the later Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), an ancient bronze artifact, Shu Yi Zhong ( 叔夷鐘 ), was unearthed with an inscription describing how

10440-412: The promise of providing a commonly accepted synthesis based on an exhaustive discussion of the latest pre-Qin material available at the end of the 1990s. This is of extraordinary significance, because if this book aims to provide a commonly accepted synthesis, then the blood, sweat, and tears of Chinese scholars over the past decade that brought about countless achievements in Xia period research will become

10556-568: The rulers was often challenged in civil wars by various royal family members in Qin and Chu. Once all these powerful rulers had firmly established themselves within their respective dominions, the bloodshed focused more fully on interstate conflict in the Warring States period, which began in 403 BCE when the three remaining elite families in Jin—Zhao, Wei, and Han—partitioned the state. After

10672-403: The same name as the state of Qi, which according to traditional accounts was established by the defeated royal house of Xia. Inspired by the discovery of the late Shang capital ( Yinxu ) near modern Anyang , Chinese archaeologists searched the Yellow River basin for earlier capitals. In 1959, Xu Xusheng conducted a survey of the Yi – Luo basin, which he had identified from received texts as

10788-457: The six families were conferred the titles of viscounts and made ministers, each heading one of the six departments of Zhou dynasty government. From this point on, historians refer to "The Six Ministers" as the true power brokers of Jin. The same happened to Lu in 562, when the Three Huan divided the army into three parts and established their own separate spheres of influence. The heads of

10904-438: The south were called Man. They tattooed their foreheads, and had their feet turned in towards each other. Some of them (also) ate their food without its being cooked. Those on the west were called [Rong]. They had their hair unbound, and wore skins. Some of them did not eat grain-food. Those on the north were called [Di]. They wore skins of animals and birds, and dwelt in caves. Some of them also did not eat grain-food. The people of

11020-456: The state was considered semi-barbarian and its rulers—beginning with King Wu in 704 BCE—proclaimed themselves kings in their own right. Chu intrusion into Zhou territory was checked several times by the other states, particularly in the major battles of Chengpu (632 BCE), Bi (595 BCE) and Yanling (575 BCE), which restored the states of Chen and Cai . Some version of the Five Classics existed in Spring and Autumn period, as characters in

11136-459: The succession of the Xia by the Shang. That political philosophy was promoted by the Confucian school in the Eastern Zhou period. The succession of dynasties was incorporated into the Bamboo Annals and Shiji and became the official position of imperial historiography and ideology. Some scholars consider the Xia dynasty legendary or at least unsubstantiated, but others identify it with

11252-520: The third, the straw, but the people had to perform various services; from the fourth, the grain in the husk; and from the fifth, the grain cleaned. Five hundred li (beyond) constituted the Domain of the Nobles. The first hundred li was occupied by the cities and lands of the (sovereign's) high ministers and great officers; the second, by the principalities of the barons; and the (other) three hundred, by

11368-452: The three families were always among the department heads of Lu. Wu was a state in modern Jiangsu outside the Zhou cultural sphere, considered "barbarian", where the inhabitants sported short hair and tattoos and spoke an unintelligible language. Although its ruling house claimed to be a senior lineage in the Ji ancestral temple, Wu did not participate in the politics and wars of China until

11484-486: The throne , badly weakening the state so that it was no longer regarded as the hegemon. For nearly ten years, no ruler held the title. Duke Xiang of Song attempted to claim the hegemony in the wake of Qi's decline, perhaps driven by a desire to restore the Shang dynasty from which Song had descended. He hosted peace conferences in the same style as Qi had done, and conducted aggressive military campaigns against his rivals. Duke Xiang's ambitions met their end when, against

11600-424: The throne in 722. From this year on, the state of Lu kept an official chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals , which along with its commentaries is the standard source for the Spring and Autumn period. Corresponding chronicles are known to have existed in other states as well, but all but the Lu chronicle have been lost . In 717, Duke Zhuang of Zheng went to the capital for an audience with King Huan . During

11716-498: The title of bà (hegemon), giving Duke Huan royal authority in military ventures. An important basis for justifying Qi's dominance over the other states was presented in the slogan 'Revere the King, Expel the Barbarians' ( 尊王攘夷 ; zun wang rang yi ). The role of subsequent hegemons would also be framed in this way: as the primary defender and supporter of nominal Zhou authority and the existing order. Using this authority, during

11832-484: The title of bà . After the death of Duke Wen in 628, a growing tension manifested in interstate violence that turned smaller states, particularly those at the border between Jin and Chu, into sites of constant warfare; Qi and Qin also engaged in numerous interstate skirmishes with Jin or its allies to boost their own power. Duke Mu of Qin ascended the throne in 659 and forged an alliance with Jin by marrying his daughter to Duke Wen. In 624, he established hegemony over

11948-438: The traditional dates of the Xia. Most Chinese archaeologists identify the Xia with Erlitou, while many western archaeologists argue that the identification, and indeed the very existence of Xia, is unprovable, due to the lack of testable detail in the traditional accounts. For a time, archaeologists debated which of the four phases of Erlitou should be interpreted as Xia and which as Shang. The refined dating techniques used by

12064-422: The traditional story of its early history. By critically examining the development of the narrative of early Chinese history throughout history, Gu concluded, "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". Some historians have suggested that the Zhou rulers invented

12180-465: The tribes' relative locations from the Xia clan's residence: He [Yu] conferred lands and surnames. (He said), 'Let me set the example of a reverent attention to my virtue, and none will act contrary to my conduct, Five hundred li formed the Domain of the Sovereign. From the first hundred they brought as revenue the whole plant of the grain; from the second, the cars, with a portion of the stalk; from

12296-430: The twelve vassals) came together in regular conferences where they decided important matters, such as military expeditions against foreign groups or against offending nobles. During these conferences one vassal ruler was sometimes declared hegemon . As the era continued, larger and more powerful states annexed or claimed suzerainty over smaller ones. By the 6th century BCE, most small states had disappeared and just

12412-763: The two authors, resulted in high levels of subjectivity and contradicted the common trend among Western researchers, which took the physical discoveries as not necessarily representing real social or political units. The following table lists the rulers of Xia according to the Records of the Grand Historian . Unlike Sima's list of Shang kings, which is closely matched by inscriptions on oracle bones from late in that period, records of Xia rulers have not yet been found in archaeological excavations of contemporary sites, or records on later Shang dynasty oracle bones. Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period ( c.  770  – c.  481 BCE )

12528-452: The various diplomatic activities, such as court visits paid by one ruler to another ( 朝 ; cháo ), meetings of officials or nobles of different states ( 會 ; 会 ; huì ), missions of friendly inquiries sent by the ruler of one state to another ( 聘 ; pìn ), emissaries sent from one state to another ( 使 ; shǐ ), and hunting parties attended by representatives of different states ( 狩 ; shou ). Because of Chu's non-Zhou origin,

12644-538: The various other princes. Five hundred li (still beyond) formed the Peace−securing Domain. In the first three hundred, they cultivated the lessons of learning and moral duties; in the other two, they showed the energies of war and defence. Five hundred li (remoter still) formed the Domain of Restraint. The (first) three hundred were occupied by the tribes of the Yi; the (other) two hundred, by criminals undergoing

12760-408: The versions edited by Liu Xin in the century following Sima Qian. While many philosophers such as Lao Tzu and Sun Tzu were active in the Spring and Autumn period, their ideas were probably not put into writing until the following Warring States period. While the aristocracy of the Western Zhou frequently interacted via the medium of the royal court, the collapse of central power at the end of

12876-529: The western Rong barbarians and became the most powerful lord of the time. However he did not chair any alliance with other states nor was he officially recognized as hegemon by the king. Therefore, not all sources accept him as one of the Five Hegemons. King Zhuang of Chu expanded the borders of Chu well north of the Yangtze River, threatening the Central States in modern Henan . At one point

12992-643: Was a period in Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou ( c.  771  – 256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject to the Zhou exercised increasing political autonomy. The period's name derives from the Spring and Autumn Annals , a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 481 BCE, which tradition associates with Confucius (551–479 BCE). During this period, local polities negotiated their own alliances, waged wars against one another, up to defying

13108-410: Was in their minds apprehended, and to communicate their likings and desires, (there were officers)—in the east, called transmitters; in the south, representationists; in the west, [Di-dis]; and in the north, interpreters. The Di were often associated with the Rong; both were considered more warlike and less civilized than the Yi or Man. According to the Records of the Grand Historian , the ancestors of

13224-468: Was killed by his former chief minister Han Zhuo . 20 years later, Han Zhuo's forces killed King Xiang and usurped the throne, but the royal family escaped. Xiang's son Shao Kang was sheltered by a tribal chief, surviving for years as a fugitive despite the efforts of Han Zhuo to eliminate him and prevent any reemergence of the Xia. Upon reaching adulthood, Shao Kang began organizing with local lords who hated Han Zhuo's rule. Shao Kang emerged victorious in

13340-487: Was ordered to be imprisoned for life by Shun at Yushan ( 羽山 , 'Feather Mountain'), a mountain located between modern Donghai County in Jiangsu, and Linshu County in Shandong. Yu was highly trusted by Shun, so Shun appointed him to finish his father's work, which was to stop the flooding. Yu's method was different from his father's: he organized people from different tribes and ordered them to help him build canals in all

13456-428: Was relegated to being merely a figurehead of the regional states and ritual leader of the Ji clan ancestral temple. Though the king retained the Mandate of Heaven , the title held little actual power. With the decline of Zhou power, the Yellow River drainage basin was divided into hundreds of small, autonomous states, most of them consisting of a single city, though a handful of multi-city states, particularly those on

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