The
Xia Dynasty () of
China is the first dynasty to be described in ancient historical records such as
Records of the Grand Historian and
Bamboo Annals. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary
Yu the Great after
Shun gave his throne to him. According to the traditional chronology based upon calculations by
Liu Xin, the Xia ruled between 2205 BC and 1766 BC; however, according to the chronology based upon the
Bamboo Annals, it is between 1989 BC and 1558 BC. The
Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project concluded with 2070 BC and 1600 BC. There are some scholars who have debated over whether the dynasty really existed.
According to historical records, it was preceded by the period of the
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors and followed by the
Shang Dynasty.
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 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 Flood
Yu, the son of Gun, is 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 was 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 was greatly praised by his people.
The Establishment of the Xia Dynasty
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. So he 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, 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. The Kings of the state of
Yue, and therefore its succesor state
Minyue, also claimed to be descended from
Yu the Great.
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”
[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] 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.”
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. 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.The Xia Dynasty also made bronze cups to hold wine.
Mythology
In Book 5 of
Mozi,
Mozi (470BC-c. 391BC) described the founding of Xia. During the great confusion of the three
Miao tribes, the sun came out at night, there were three days of blood rain, the
dragon appeared in the temple, the dogs howl in the street, summer water turned ice, the earth cracked till water gushes forth and there was mutation in the five various grains. Heaven gave a command to conquer Miao. A great lightning and thunder ensued, and a man with the body of a bird shot dead the leader of the Miao. Subsequently, the Xia kingdom was organized.
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.
Sovereigns of the Xia Dynasty
See also
