Xia Dynasty
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For the Sixteen Kingdoms Period state named Xia, see Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms).
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| 3 Sovereigns & 5 Emperors | ||||||
| Xia Dynasty | ||||||
| Shang Dynasty | ||||||
| Zhou | ||||||
| Spring & Autumn | Eastern Zhou | |||||
| Warring States | ||||||
| Qin Dynasty | ||||||
| Western Han | Han | |||||
| Xin | ||||||
| Republic of China (Taiwan) | ||||||
The Xia Dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝; pinyin: xià cháo; Wade-Giles: hsia-ch'ao), ca. 2205 BC–1766 BC, is the first dynasty to be described in Chinese historical records, which record the names of seventeen kings over fourteen generations. The legendary Three August Ones and Five Emperors are said to have preceded this dynasty, which was followed by the Shang Dynasty.
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[edit] Legendary history
According to the official history, the Xia dynasty was founded when Shun abdicated the throne in favor of his minister Yu, whom Shun viewed as the perfect civil servant. Instead of passing power to the person deemed most capable of rulership, Yu passed power to his son, Qi, setting the precedence for dynastic rule. The Xia Dynasty thus began a period of family or clan control.
It was during this period that Chinese civilization developed a ruling structure that employed both a benign civilian government and harsh punishment for legal transgressions. From this the earliest forms of Chinese legal codes came into being.
Jie, the last ruler, was said to be a corrupt king. He was overthrown by Tang, the leader of Shang people from the east.
[edit] Archaelogical records
Unlike the later Shang dynasty, no direct archeological evidence exists to confirm the existence of a Xia dynasty. 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. Most Chinese archaeologists identify the Erlitou culture as the site of the Xia dynasty, while most Western archaeologists remain unconvinced of the connection between the Erlitou culture and the Xia Dynasty. In 1959, a site located in the city of Yanshi was excavated containing large palaces that some Chinese archaeologists have attributed as capital of the Xia Dynasty, though Western archaeologists are reluctant to make this claim on the grounds that no written records exist to confirm the name of the dynasty and its sovereigns. 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. [1] At a minimum, the archeological discoveries marked an evolutionary stage between the late neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang dynasty. Agricultural technology improved drastically with the invention of wine making and improvements in horse herding, and carriages were used.
[edit] 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 | Shǎo 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: 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. | ||||
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes:
- ^ Fairbank, John K. China: A New History. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992, page 35.
[edit] Reference
- Deady, Kathleen W. and Dubois, Muriel L., Ancient China. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2004.
