The Xia dynasty ( / ʃ i ɑː / SHEE-ə ; Chinese : 夏朝 ; pinyin : Xià cháo ) 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 .
60-468: Zhenguan may refer to: Zhenguan (斟灌), an ancient Chinese state during the Xia dynasty before 2010 BC, located in approximately modern Shouguang , Shandong Historical eras [ edit ] Zhenguan (貞觀, 627–649), era name used by Emperor Taizong of Tang Zhenguan (貞觀, 1101–1113), era name used by Emperor Chongzong of Western Xia Topics referred to by
120-516: 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
180-430: A golden age when "communications between the human order and the divine were central to all life" and where the sages embodied the divine, or aided humans in communicating divine forces. In this period the abdication system was used before Qi of Xia violently seized power and established a hereditary monarchy. Taoist beliefs consisted of parables involving shamanistic themes, as were most ancient stories about
240-479: 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
300-464: A survey of the Yi – Luo basin, which he had identified from received texts as 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
360-586: 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 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,
420-541: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Xia dynasty There are no contemporaneous records of the Xia, who are not mentioned in the oldest Chinese texts, since 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
480-715: Is supposedly the ancestor of the Huaxia people. The Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor was established in Shaanxi to commemorate the ancestry legend. The Three Sovereigns are ascribed various identities in different historical texts, as shown in the table below: The Five Emperors were traditionally thought to have invented "fire, writing and irrigation". Like the Three Sovereigns, they are ascribed different identities depending on historical source, as shown in
540-588: 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 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
600-530: The Book of Rites , and the Mencius describe that the Xia had already established a distinguished official system with positions helping 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
660-458: 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 the Book of Documents in terms of their soil quality, their productivity and other geographical characteristics. According to the chapter "Tribute of Yu" in
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#1732765565520720-855: The Earthly Sovereign , the Human Sovereign (in two varieties), and the Yellow Emperor . Groupings of the Five Emperors consist of some combination of the following: the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu , Emperor Ku , Emperor Yao , Emperor Shun , Shaohao , Taihao , and the Yan Emperor . The Three Sovereigns, sometimes known as the Three August Ones, were said to be god-kings or demigods who used their magical powers, divine powers, or being in harmony with
780-500: The Tao to improve the lives of their people. Because of their lofty virtue, they lived to a great age and ruled over a period of great peace. The Sovereigns have elements in common with xian from the Taoist pantheon, such as the Human Sovereign 's cloud-chariot and their supernatural abilities. Upon his death, the Yellow Emperor was "said to have become" a xian . The Yellow Emperor
840-553: The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors ( Chinese : 三皇五帝 ; pinyin : Sān huáng wǔ dì ) were a series of sage Chinese emperors, and the first Emperors of China . Today, they are considered culture heroes , but they were widely worshipped as divine "ancestral spirits" in ancient times. According to received history, the period they existed in preceded the Xia dynasty , although they were thought to exist in later periods to an extent in incorporeal forms that aided
900-455: 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 the Chinese government in 1996, proposed that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BC. The Xia dynasty
960-468: The 1920s were the first scholars within China to systematically question 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
1020-538: The Chinese people, especially with the stories of Nüwa existing as a spirit in the Shang dynasty and Shennong being identified as the godly form of Hou Ji and a founder of the Zhou dynasty . In myth, the Three Sovereigns were demigods who used their abilities to help create mankind and impart to them essential skills and knowledge. The Five Emperors were exemplary sages who possessed great moral character, and were from
1080-616: The Domain of Restraint. The (first) three hundred were occupied by the tribes of the Yi; the (other) two hundred, by criminals undergoing 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 ,
1140-514: 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 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
1200-559: The Erlitou culture between 2100 and 1300 BC, which fit well with 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
1260-695: 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
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#17327655655201320-583: The Fang states mentioned in many inscriptions might be identified with the Xia. Historian Shen Changyun points to four inscriptions mentioning Qi, 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
1380-551: The Nine Provinces, the total population was 13,553,923 individuals; however, this number 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
1440-536: 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 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
1500-525: 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 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
1560-553: The Sovereigns Fuxi , Nüwa , and Shennong . There are six to seven known variations on which people constitute the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors, depending on the source. Many of the known sources were written in much later dynasties. Groupings of the Three Sovereigns consist of some combination of the following: Fuxi , Nüwa , Shennong , Suiren , Zhu Rong , Gonggong , the Heavenly Sovereign ,
1620-540: 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 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
1680-436: 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
1740-494: 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 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
1800-475: 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 is a fifth generation descendant of Zhuanxu. Other sources such as Classic of Mountains and Seas mention Yu's father Gun
1860-403: The Xia would be more convenient. He organized people to build roads connecting 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
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1920-449: 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 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
1980-494: 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
2040-640: 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
2100-481: The drainage system for cultivating crops. The texts also say that the people of Xia was gifted in producing alcohol, with 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
2160-665: 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 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
2220-517: 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 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
2280-514: The front end". Some historians have suggested that the Zhou rulers invented 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
2340-527: 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
2400-530: The later Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), an ancient bronze artifact, Shu Yi Zhong ( 叔夷鐘 ), was unearthed with an inscription describing how 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
2460-470: 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 the capitals of the dynasty. The third Xia king was Tai Kang , described as an avid hunter but ineffective ruler. The Bamboo Annals describe
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2520-407: 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 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
2580-406: The official position of imperial historiography and ideology. Some scholars consider the Xia dynasty legendary or at least unsubstantiated, but others identify it with 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
2640-412: 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
2700-400: The reign of Emperor Shun who directly preceded the Xia, concluded that 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
2760-531: The roads to be opened up in the 9th month, the bridges to be finished in the 10th month. The calculation of 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
2820-412: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Zhenguan . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zhenguan&oldid=814683958 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2880-505: The table below: There is the legend of the Four Clans (四氏) who took part in creating the world, Youchao -shi (有巢氏), Suiren -shi (燧人氏), Fu Xi -shi (伏羲氏), and Shennong -shi (神農氏). These Sovereigns and Emperors are said to have helped introduce the use of fire, taught people how to build houses, and invented farming. The Yellow Emperor's wife is credited with the invention of silk culture . The discovery of medicine and invention of
2940-457: 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, 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
3000-520: The time assigned to the Xia was characterized by bronze metallurgy. During Yu 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
3060-415: 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 the dichotomy of evidence provided by archaeological versus historical research, in particular, the claim that the archaeological Erlitou culture
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#17327655655203120-763: 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. Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors According to Chinese mythology and traditional Chinese historiography ,
3180-432: 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 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
3240-423: Was 500 people according to Du Yu, and this number includes only soldiers. Modifying 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
3300-426: Was a descendant of Shang people. This bronze artifact was used to memorialize his Shang ancestors. The inscription contradicts 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
3360-519: 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 the Xia to the mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors . According to ancient Chinese texts, before
3420-443: 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 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
3480-527: 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 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
3540-439: 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 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
3600-487: 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 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
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