Culture

Xia Dynasty

The Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in Chinese history. It is the first country established by Qi, the son of Yu the Great who subdues the flood and is the personification of wisdom, determination and selfless devotion. Qi set up the Hereditary System (choosing the leader among their offspring) instead of Yu the Great's Abdication System, (electing the leader according to their ability). The central area of Xia's reign covers the west part of Henan and the southern part of Shanxi. The capital of the Xia Dynasty is said to be located within Henan.

From the Xia Dynasty, China enters the Slave Society and the emperor Qi's reign lasted over 400 years from the 21st century BC to the 17th century BC. Under the influence of the new hereditary social system, internal conflicts became serious and triggered great trouble to the rulers in the Xia Dynasty. Jie, the successor of Qi in the Xia Dynasty, was careless about these chaos within the country, resulting in King Tang, (the leader of the Shang tribes living in the lower reaches of Yellow River), overthrowing the despotic Jie.

Economy
During the period of the Xia Dynasty, people made a living from agriculture and the tools for agriculture were made of stone or bone. The jade wares at that time were delicate and the earliest bronze wares were found in Erlitou. Relics in Henan include a penknife, wimble, fishhook, etc. Few bronze wares for agriculture were found in the Xia Dynasty. The historical records of solar eclipse and lunar eclipse date back to the Xia Dynasty.

Due to the lack of historical records during that period of time, there has been some doubt as to whether the Xia Dynasty existed. However, the discoveries of Erlitou Relics in Henan provide great evidence for the existence of the Xia Dynasty.