Xia Dynasty

夏朝
Xia Dynasty
Kingdom
←
ca. 2070 BC–ca. 1600 BC →
Location of the Xia Dynasty
Capital Yangcheng
Language(s) Chinese
Religion Chinese folk religion
Government Monarchy, Feudalism
History
 - Establishing of the Xia Dynasty by Xia` Yu ca. 2070 BC
 - Qi of Xia succeeds the throne 2146 BC
 - Jie of Xia falls ca. 1600 BC
Currency Cowries
History of China
History of China
ANCIENT
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors
Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BC
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BC
Zhou Dynasty 1045–256 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
1949–present
 Republic
of China
(Taiwan)
1945–present

The Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝; pinyin: Xià Cháo; Wade–Giles: Hsia-Ch'ao; IPA: [ɕiâ tʂʰɑ̌ʊ̯]; ca. 2070 BC–ca. 1600 BC) is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo Annals, succeeded by the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC–1046 BC). According to Warring States and Han Dynasty texts, the Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great[1] after Shun gave his throne to him, and was later defeated and replaced by the Shang.

According to the traditional chronology based upon calculations by Liu Xin, the Xia ruled between 2205 and 1766 BC; according to the chronology based upon the Bamboo Annals, it ruled between 1989 and 1558 BC. The Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project concluded that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BC. The tradition of tracing Chinese political history from heroic early emperors to the Xia to the Shang, etc., comes from the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, in which only one legitimate dynasty can exist at any given time, and was promoted by the Rjú (儒) school (including Confucius) in the Eastern Zhou period, later becoming the basic position of imperial historiography and ideology. Although the Xia is an important element in early Chinese history, reliable information on the history of China before 13th century BC can only come from archaeological evidence,[2] thus the concrete existence of the Xia is yet to be proven, in spite efforts by Chinese archaeologists to link Xia with the archaeological sites.[3]

Contents

History

Origins and early development

According to ancient Chinese texts, before the Xia Dynasty was established, battles were frequent between the Xia tribe and Chiyou's tribe. The Xia tribe slowly developed around the time of Zhuanxu, one of the legendary Five Emperors. The Records of the Grand Historian and the Classic of Rites say that Yu the Great is the grandson of Zhuanxu, but there are also other records, like Ban Gu, that say Yu is the fifth generation of Zhuanxu. Based on this, it is possible that the people of the Xia clan are descendants of Zhuanxu.

Gun's attempt to stop the flood

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 Yao to stop the flooding. He ordered the construction of large blockades to block the path of the water. The attempt of Gun to stop the flooding lasted for nine years but it was a failure because the floods became stronger. After nine years, Yao had already given his throne to Shun. Gun was ordered to be executed by Shun at Yushan (Chinese: 羽山), a mountain located between the modern Donghai County in Lianyungang, Jiangsu and the Linshu County in Linyi, Shandong.

Yu's attempt to stop the floods

Yu was highly trusted by Shun. So Shun appointed him to finish his father’s work which was to make the flooding stop. Yu’s method was different from his father’s; he united all the people of every tribe and ordered them to help him build canals in all the major rivers that were flooding and lead it out to the sea. He did this for 13 years, without going back to his home village. Legend says in those 13 years, he passed by his house three times without going in which is a sign of his perseverance in his work. The people who noticed him praised his perseverance and were so inspired by him that other tribes joined in his work as well. In the end, after 13 years, he was successful in stopping the floods and was greatly praised by his people.

Establishment

Yu was successful in stopping the flooding and increased the produce from farming (since the floods usually destroy the crops), the Xia tribe’s influence strengthened and Yu became the leader of the surrounding tribes. Soon afterwards Shun sent Yu to lead an army to suppress the Sanmiao tribe who continuously abused the boundary tribes. After defeating them, he exiled them south to the Han River area. Their victory strengthened the Xia tribe’s power even more. Shun, since he was getting old, started to think to whom he will pass his throne to. Shun abdicated the throne in favor of Yu which he deemed worthy. This succession of Yu as the king is the start of the Xia Dynasty.

Soon before his death, instead of passing power to the person deemed most capable to rule, Yu passed power to his son, Qi, setting the precedence for dynastic rule or the Hereditary System. The Xia Dynasty began a period of family or clan control.

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, the people scattered and were absorbed by the nearby clans and tribes,[4] and some members of the royal family of Xia Dynasty survived as the Qi (Henan) state until 445 BC. The Qi state was well recorded in the Oracle script as the one major supporter of the Xia Dynasty.[5] The Kings of the state of Yue, and therefore its succesor state Minyue, also claimed to be descended from Yu the Great.[6]

Modern Controversies

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”.[7] 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.”[7]

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 dynasty. 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.

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.[8] 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. Unlike the oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty, the historical works which were published later that mention the Xia dynasty, had no written records dated to help confirm the Xia period's name of the dynasty and its sovereigns, as those recorded in Sima Qian's Shiji. Through the 1960s and 1970s, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs in the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts regarding Xia;[9] at a minimum, the Xia Dynasty marked an evolutionary stage between the late neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang Dynasty.[9]

Mythology

In Book 5 of Mozi, Mozi (470BC-c. 391BC) described the founding of Xia with description of natural occurrences. Although some Chinese historians regard Mozi's account as mere myth with no historical basis, others regard it as a poetic description of the effects caused by a volcanic climate disturbance. "Sun coming out at night" may allude to the volcanic glow; "blood rain" may refer to a reddish rain caused by ash in the upper atmosphere; water turning to ice may denote unusually cold summer temperatures; the red ash may have been seen in the temple and interpreted as a sign of the dragon's recent presence.[10]

Sovereigns of the Xia Dynasty

Posthumous Names (Shi Hao 諡號)1
Order Reign2 Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Notes
01 45 禹 Yǔ also Yu the Great (大禹; dà yǔ)
02 10 啟 Qǐ  
03 29 太康 Tai Kang  
04 13 仲康 Zhòng Kāng  
05 28 相 Xiāng  
06 21 少康 Shào Kāng  
07 17 杼 Zhù  
08 26 槐 Huái  
09 18 芒 Máng  
10 16 泄 Xiè  
11 59 不降 Bù Jiàng  
12 21 扃 Jiōng  
13 21 廑 Jǐn Guoyu: jǐn or jìn, putonghua: jǐn
14 31 孔甲 Kǒng Jiǎ  
15 11 皋 Gāo  
16 11 發 Fā  
17 52 桀 Jié also Lu Gui (履癸 lǚ guǐ)
1 The reign name is sometimes preceded by the name of the dynasty, Xia (夏), for example Xia Yu (夏禹).
2 Possible length of reign, in years.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Mungello, David E. The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500-1800 Rowman & Littlefield; 3 edition (28 Mar 2009) ISBN 978-0742557987 p.97
  2. ↑ Bagley, Robert. "Shang Archaeology." in The Cambridge History of Ancient China. Michael Loewe and Edward Shaughnessy, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  3. ↑ Liu, L. & Xiu, H., Rethinking Erlitou: legend, history and Chinese archaeology, Antiquity, Volume: 81 Number: 314 Page: 886–901, 2007
  4. ↑ 夏朝遗民流布情况概说
  5. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=JUeFAAAAIAAJ&q=%E6%9D%9E%E5%9B%BD&dq=%E6%9D%9E%E5%9B%BD&lr=&pgis=1 Guo li Taiwan shi fan da xue guo wen yan jiu suo ji kan By Guo li Taiwan shi fan da xue Guo wen yan jiu
  6. ↑ The State of Yue
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Building the Chronology of Early Chinese History. Journal article by Yun Kuen Lee; Asian Perspectives: the Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific, Vol. 41, 2002
  8. ↑ Fairbank, John K. China: A New History. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992, page 35.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "China - the ancient dynasties". Library of Congress Country Studies. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+cn0013%29. 
  10. ↑ http://chinese.dsturgeon.net/text.pl?node=566&if=en

References

External links

Preceded by
San Huang Wu Di		 Dynasties in Chinese history
2100 BC–1600 BC		 Succeeded by
Shang Dynasty