Xia dynasty
Xia dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝; Pinyin: xià cháo; Wade–Giles: Hsia-ch'ao) was the first dynasty of China. It was founded in 2100 BC and ended in 1600 BC. Until archaeologists dug at Erlitou in Henan Province, many scientists were not sure if the Xia Dynasty was real or a myth. The last king was Jie who was said to be cruel and greedy. He was defeated by T'ang, the king of the Shang people from the east.
Kings of the Xia dynasty
| Names after death (Shi Hao 諡號)1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order | Reign2 | Chinese | 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 Sometimes the king has the dynasty name, Xia (夏), in his name. For example, Xia Yu (夏禹). | ||||
| 2 Possible number of years. | ||||
Xia Dynasty Media
Han dynasty stone relief rendering of Yu the Great
Approximate location of Xia dynasty (in pink) in traditional Chinese historiography. Because of the lack of written records, the existence of Xia cannot be proven.
Gu Jiegang, founder of the Doubting Antiquity School
Erlitou sites (black) and Xia capitals identified in traditional sources (red, with numbers for those from the "current text" Bamboo Annals)
Erlitou jue vessel
