Xia Dynasty
The Xia dynasty (Chinese: 夏朝), ca. 2070 BC - 1600 BC, is the first dynasty to be described in Chinese historical records, which record the names of seventeen kings over fourteen generations. The legends of the Three August Ones and the Five Emperors precede this dynasty, and it is followed by the Shang dynasty.
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. In the Marxist histography common in mainland China, Xia society is considered a slave society (奴隶社会).
Jie, the last ruler, was said to be a corrupted king. He was overthrown by Tang, the leader of Shang people from the east.
| Order | Reign* | Chinese Character |
Pinyin Name |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 45 | 禹 | Yǔ | or Xia Yu (夏禹; xiÃÂ yǔ) or Da Yu (大禹; dÃÂ yǔ) |
| 02 | 10 | 啟 | Qǐ | |
| 03 | 29 | 太康 | TÃÂ i Kāng | |
| 04 | 13 | 仲康 | Zhòng Kāng | |
| 05 | 28 | 相 | Xiāng | |
| 06 | 21 | 少康 | Shǎo Kāng | or Xia Shao Kang (夏少康 xiÃÂ shÃÂ o 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 |
| 14 | 31 | 孔甲 | Kǒng Jiǎ | |
| 15 | 11 | 皋 | Gāo | |
| 16 | 11 | 發 | Fā | |
| 17 | 52 | 桀 | Jié | or Xia Jie (夏桀 xiàjié) or Lu Gui (履癸 lǚ guǐ) |
* possible length of reign, in years