Xia Dynasty

The establishment of the Xia Dynasty (21st - 17th century BC) is an important milestone in the history of Chinese civilization and marks the end of the Primitive Society and the beginning of the Class Society. It is the first dynasty in Chinese history, and lasted nearly 500 years including the reigns of 17 emperors.

It is thought that most of the people during the Xia Dynasty period probably inhabited the western area of Henan Province and southern Shanxi Province.

Political History
It is Yu the Great who first set up the Xia Dynasty under the Abdication System (choosing the leader according to their ability). After he died, his son Qi broke up this system and made himself the Xia emperor. From that time onwards, the Abdication System gave way to the Hereditary System.
Following the system of hereditary, 15 offspring of Qi succeeded him after his death. Among them, emperors like Shaokang, and Huai made great contributions to the development of Chinese society. However, there were also many tyrannical emperors during this period such as Taikang, Kongjia, and Jie.

 Economy and Crafts
During the Xia Dynasty, many achievements were made. People lived mainly through agriculture using tools made of stone or bone. The Jade ware at that time was quite delicate and bronze vessels were well smelted. Craftwork made of bronze embedded with jade also appeared. Commodity exchanges developed. A calendar system was devised which used both lunar and solar movements.

 Decline
The Xia Dynasty ended under the reign of Jie, a very notorious tyrannical emperor in Chinese history. After he succeeded to the throne, he lived an extravagant life day and night without any thought for his country or its people. In addition, he killed the patriotic ministers who presented him with good advice. All of his actions enraged the people so much that at last they rose up under the leadership of Tang (the chief of the Shang tribe and latter set up Shang Dynasty (17th - 11th century BC) and overthrew the Xia Dynasty.

Chu Shu Chi Nien an chonical book written in wei state in warring states perion. It provided detailed infomation about xia dynasty which is very diffent from the traditional confusion record about xia dynasty	Wine Vessel in Xia Dynasty

Emperors of the Xia Dynasty

Order	Name	Notes	Reign Time (years)
1	Xiayu	Also called DaYu; Family name: Si; Given name: Wenming; The great-great-grandson of HuangDi. Known for solving the flood problem for the people.	45
2	Qi	son of Xiayu; He broke up the Abdication System and set the Hereditary System.	29
3	Taikang	son of Qi	29
4	Zhongkang	younger brother of Taikang	13
5	Xiang	son of Zhongkang	28
6	Shaokang	posthumous child of Xiang	21
7	Zhu	son of Shaokang	17
8	Huai	son of Zhu	44
9	Mang	son of Huai	18
10	Xie	son of Mang	21
11	Bujiang	son of Xie	59
12	Jiong	younger brother of Bujiang	21
13	Jin	son of Jiong	21
14	Kongjia	son of Bujiang	31
15	Gao	son of Kongjia	11
16	Fa	son of Gao	11
17	Jie	son of Fa; the tyrannical emperor that ended the Xia Dynasty	52