The turquoise mosaic dragon unearthed from the Erlitou site Photo: Ren Guanhong/CSST

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The Xia (c. 2070–1600 BCE) was China’s first dynasty. Historical events such as Yu the Great [founder of Xia] meeting with the other tribal leaders at Mount Tu [a symbolic event in the establishment of Xia], Qi [son of Yu] defeating his rival You Hu, and Tang of Shang overthrowing Jie [last king of Xia], all happened during the Xia period and were well-documented in early classics. 

However, in contemporary times, the existence of the Xia Dynasty has become the subject of debate among some scholars. The ongoing debate on the historicity of the Xia has persisted for nearly a century. Skeptics contend that the Xia was only recorded in later texts, lacking tangible evidence such as a corresponding Xia script. In recent years, however, with increasing archaeological discoveries, visual materials, and unearthed documents, we are able to testify to the existence of the Xia Dynasty.

The dispute

Studies have upheld the belief that the Xia had been ruled by seventeen monarchs over a span of four or five hundred years—an accepted truth in ancient China that went unquestioned. However, in the late 19th and early 20th century, some scholars began to cast doubt on the existence of the Xia.

In response to these doubts, Chinese scholars embarked on a quest to locate the elusive “Xia ruins.” In 1959, Xu Xusheng discovered the Erlitou site during an investigation of the supposed “Xia ruins” in western Henan Province. Situated between the Yi River and Luo River at Yanshi, Henan, the Erlitou site aligns with the ancient records pertaining to the Xia Dynasty in terms of both its geographical positioning and dating. The discovery of the Erlitou site held immense significance for the study of the origins of Xia civilization and other pertinent matters. Over 60 years following its discovery, the prevailing consensus among scholars is that the Erlitou site served as the capital during the middle to late Xia period. While this discovery has provided substantial support for the historicity of the Xia, it must be noted that this viewpoint has also sparked a fresh round of debate due to the absence of unearthed written evidence. This debate continues to this day.

Early documents 

Early writings encompass abundant records about the Xia Dynasty, providing important evidence of its existence as an early dynasty in China. Texts handed down such as Book of Documents [a collection of rhetorical prose attributed to figures of ancient China] and Bamboo Annals [a chronicle of ancient China] document the genealogy of Xia rulers and other significant historical events. Discourses of the States [a collection of speeches attributed to rulers and other men from the Spring and Autumn period] and Zuo’s Commentary contain numerous materials sourced from early texts like Xia Shu and Xia Xun. Additionally, Zuo’s Commentary contains a record of the “Xia ruins.” The Book of Zhou [a history of the Zhou Dynasty] states that the land between the Luo River and the Yi River was even, and it used to be occupied by the Xia capital. Archaeological discoveries have confirmed the existence of the “Yin ruins” [capital of the succeeding Shang Dynasty] and the genealogy of the Shang rulers, lending credibility to the historical record of the “Xia ruins.” 

In addition to handed-down texts, a large number of unearthed documents provide diverse evidence for the existence of the Xia Dynasty. The recently published Tsinghua Bamboo Slips [a collection of Chinese texts dating to the Warring States period] record the events at the end of the Xia era, when a politician named Yi Yin helped Tang of Shang defeat King Jie of Xia. These records correspond to the content of the Book of Documents and the Book of Rites. The unearthed bamboo slips preserved in the Shanghai Museum clearly list 16 Xia rulers following Yu, which are consistent with the records found in the handed-down documents. These records from the Warring States period indicate that people during that time were already aware of the existence of the Xia Dynasty.

Although archaeologists have not yet discovered the specific character for “Xia” in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty, their attention has been drawn to the term “Xi Yi.” The renowned historian Li Xueqin suggested that “Xi Yi” in the oracle bone inscriptions actually refers to the Xia. His conclusion is based on his study of the Tsinghua Bamboo Slips. Some believe that the Shang people deliberately replaced the term “Xia” with “Xi Yi” in order to avoid direct mention of this subject.

Dragon

One of the key points challenging the historicity of the Xia is the absence of Xia scripts. Since Chinese characters evolved from pictographs, images may serve as reference evidence in the absence of the Xia scripts.

Images dated to the Xia have been found at the Erlitou site, including depictions of dragons. Dragon motifs were also found at the Xinzhai site (which predated Erlitou), sharing a similar design with the turquoise dragon-shaped ornaments from Erlitou. These images suggest that the worship of dragons was prevalent during the Xia era.

The connection between the Xia people and dragons has been demonstrated in early literature. Gui Zang states that after Gun [Yu’s father] died, his body remained undecayed for three years; when cut open by the sword of Wu, his body transformed into a yellow dragon. Such record indicates that the Xia people regarded the dragon as a symbol of their ancestors, and subsequent generations used dragons to represent Yu’s conribution to flood control.

Bamboo slips and ancient documents indicate that pre-Qin people firmly believed in the existence of the Xia Dynasty. Chinese archaeologist Zou Heng once remarked that the issue is not whether the Xia Dynasty has been discovered or not, but rather how we identify it.

Wang Zhixiang is an associate professor from the College of Chinese Language and Literature at Northwest Normal University.

Edited by REN GUANHONG