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The first prehistoric dynasty is said to be Xia, from about the twenty-first to the sixteenth century B.C. Until scientific excavations were made at early bronze-age sites at Anyang, Henan Province, in 1928, it was difficult to separate myth from reality in regard to the Xia. But since then, and especially in the 1960s and 1970s, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the existence of Xia civilization in the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. At minimum, the Xia period marked an evolutionary stage between the late neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang dynasty. |
The Xia Dynasty is traditionallly supposed to have begun with the reign of Yu the Great and ended with the fall of Jie,lasting for more than 400 years, from approximately the 21st century BC to a little earlier to the 16th century BC. THere were altogether seventeen kings in fourteen generations. According to an ancient version of history, however, it was not Yu, but his son Qi, who founded the dynasty. Towards the end of the Xia Dynasty, social contradictions and confict grew sharper. Tradition has it that in the 16th century BC, the last ruler of Xia, Jie, abused his power and increased oppression. He exhausted the resources of the people to build palaces and pavilions for himself. The people were also forced to go to war. 
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