(about 2070- about 1600)
The first dynasty recorded in China's history books. According to historical records, Xia Dynasty was the first country in China history where Yu's son Qi was in Juntai (now Yuzhou, Henan Province) to abolish the traditional tribal abdication system and kill foreigners to become king. Yu Xia changed from him to the hereditary system of the throne through his son, not the previous abdication system. There were 13 generations in Xia dynasty, and 16 kings. The center of Xia Dynasty is in the west of Henan and the south of Shanxi. It is said that after the death of Qi, Taikang ascended the throne and there was a temporary regime change, which was called "mourning the country". After the revival of Shao Kang, the Xia Dynasty was rebuilt. During the reign of Confucius, the Xia Dynasty declined. Since then, the three have spread to Jieli and were destroyed by the Shang Dynasty.
Because there are no written words handed down directly in the Xia Dynasty, the understanding of the Xia Dynasty has long relied mainly on the records of ancient documents, including the kings, officials, troops and prisons of the Xia Dynasty. Since modern times, the excavation of large palaces, tombs and numerous bronzes in Erlitou Village site in Yanshi County, Henan Province has revealed the politics, economy, society, culture and life of Xia Dynasty as slavery.
The capital of Xia Dynasty was changed several times. After Yu established the kingship, Yangcheng (Gaocheng Town, Dengfeng County, Henan Province) was established as the capital in Yangshan, where the Youchong tribe was located. Then moved to Yangzhai (Yuzhou).
2. The establishment of Xia Dynasty
Xia Dynasty was the first slavery dynasty in the history of China. The establishment of the Xia Dynasty began in Yu.
According to legend, during the Yao, Shun and Yu dynasties, the tribal alliance adopted the method of "abdication" to "choose the best and appoint the best" and elected the co-owner of the world. For example, Yao was old and gave the position of "king" to the sage Shun.
Yu's father Chongbogun is the leader of Songshan tribe on the south bank of Xiongda River. Shi Chong and Gonggong, both tribes with rich experience in water control, are located at the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain on the Hebei coast. In the period of Yao and Shun, in order to compete for the royal power, Gun and Gong Gong successively launched fierce struggles with Yao and Shun, all of which ended in failure.
Later, Yu continued to unite with Gonggong and many other tribes, and gradually carried out water control work in Iraq, Luoyang, Hebei and other regions. Yu took over the position of Gun, abandoned the general plan of Gun "blocking" water control, and changed to dredging, that is, dredging the river in the highland according to the height of the terrain, so as to reduce the flood in the fertile plain.
After treatment, most of the residents in the high-lying areas along the Great Plains moved to the relatively low-lying Yuan Ye to cultivate those fertile land. Those lush vegetation and animal breeding areas have become places where people are willing to settle down. The remarkable improvement of social productive forces provided the necessary economic foundation for the establishment of a slave country.
Yu is the leader of the Xia tribe alliance in the Central Plains. After he became the world's "co-owner", he established an army, conquered the three southern Miao, built a city, formulated a criminal law, and established the first slave country in China's history-the Xia Dynasty.
When I was old, I passed the throne to my son Qi. Since then, abdication system has been replaced by hereditary system.
This indicates that the long primitive society has been replaced by private ownership society, which is a historic progress. However, the establishment of the new system is bound to be opposed by conservative forces. After Xia Qi acceded to the throne, he hosted a banquet in Juntai to confirm his position. Youhu's family was very dissatisfied with the practice of breaking the abdication system and refused to join Juntai. Xia Qi sent his army to attack the Youhu family. The war hit Gansu, and the Youhu family was defeated and destroyed. The victory of this war initially consolidated the new regime.
The establishment of the new system has a process of gradual improvement; The emergence of the new regime also faces the problem of insufficient ruling experience. The regime based on private ownership, even in the rising stage, cannot change the nature of exploitation, plunder and enjoyment of rulers, and the struggle for power and interests within the ruling group becomes inevitable. Therefore, after Xia Qi's death, there was a power struggle between the five sons. After Taikang acceded to the throne, he was not solid in political affairs and indulged in debauchery. The leader of the poor family seized power. Until Hou Yi was killed by his minister Han Zhuo, Xiang's son Shao Kang fled to You's family, and with the help of You's family, he organized Xia's aides to accumulate strength. Taking advantage of the internal chaos of Han Biao, he sent troops to defeat the forces of Han Biao and his son and regained power, thus restoring the rule of Xia Dynasty. These are the events in the history of Xia Dynasty, such as "Taikang lost his country", "Houyi replaced Xia" and "Shao Kang revived".
At the end of the Xia Dynasty, the internal affairs of the Xia royal family were not repaired, foreign invasion continued, and class contradictions became increasingly acute. After Xia Jie acceded to the throne, he didn't consider reform. He is arrogant and extravagant, building palaces and decorating Yao Tai. He drank and had fun day and night, ignoring the sufferings of the people. They pointed to the sun and cursed Xia Jie. The minister was loyal to the proposal, but he was imprisoned and killed. The governors of the four sides also betrayed each other, and Xia Jie fell into an isolated situation of internal troubles and foreign invasion. Seeing that the time is ripe to attack valerian, Shang Tang wrote "Destiny", saying that "Xia Duo's crimes are determined by Destiny", asking everyone to attack with all their strength and carry out God's will. In the Battle of Mingtiao, Shang Tang's army defeated the other army, and Jie escaped and died in the South Nest, and the Xia Dynasty perished. A powerful country has experienced more than 400 years of history, but it was destroyed by a small country, which caused people's shock and thinking. Therefore, there is a warning that "Yin Jian is not far away, but in the world of Xia Hou".
Due to the lack of historical materials of the Xia Dynasty, many people doubt whether there was a Xia Dynasty in history. However, the lineage of Xia Dynasty recorded in Historical Records Xia Benji is as clear as that of Shang Dynasty recorded in Yin Benji, and the Oracle bones unearthed in Anyang Yin Ruins also confirm the lineage of Shang Dynasty. Therefore, most scholars believe that the lineage of Xia Dynasty recorded in Historical Records Xia Benji is credible. In this way, on the basis of archaeologists' further understanding of the material and cultural remains of Shang Dynasty, such as Yin Ruins in Anyang and Zhengzhou Shopping Mall, etc. Put forward the research topic of Xia culture exploration, hoping to find the material and cultural remains of Xia dynasty through archaeological means, and then restore the history of Xia dynasty.
According to documents, ancient historians suggest that Xia people may have lived in two areas: one is Dengfeng, Yuxian and Luoyang Plain near Songshan Mountain in western Henan; One is the lower reaches of Fenshui River in the south of Shanxi. Because the legendary capital of Xia Dynasty and some important historical events are mostly related to these two regions. From 65438 to 0959, the investigation of "Xia ruins" began, which opened the prelude to the exploration of Xia culture. In recent 40 years, a series of archaeological investigations and excavations have been carried out in western Henan and southern Shanxi, which gradually narrowed the goal of exploring Xia culture. At present, most scholars believe that Erlitou culture named after Erlitou site in Yanshi (including Erlitou type and Dongxia peak type) and Longshan culture in western Henan are the main exploration objects of Xia culture, and have expressed various views on Xia culture. However, due to the lack of direct evidence such as words, academic circles have not yet reached a consensus on which remains are Xia culture. However, both "Longshan Culture" and "Erlitou Culture" in western Henan have accumulated quite rich materials, which have created good conditions for finally solving this problem.