ABSTRACT

XIA 夏 DYNASTY The first of what the ancient Chinese often referred to as the Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang, Zhou), Xia has traditionally been regarded by Western historians as “mythical”. It was supposed to have been founded by the sagely Yu (see Former Kings) and to have succumbed to the Shang King Tang after the reign of the tyrant Jie. Modem archaeologists, noting evidence for some kind of political organisation at the early Bronze Age site at Erlitou, debate whether this might represent historical justification for the existence of a Xia state or a stage of early Shang authority.