Era Information 

Time:(From about 2100 B.C. to 1600 B.C. )

Location of Capital: Western part of Henan and the Northern part of Shaanxi. 

Emperors: 16 emperors, including Qi, Tai Kang, Shao Kang Zhongxing, Kong Jia and Jie and so on.

Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty of China. Xia dynasty can be dated back to 1600 B.C. The region of Xia dynasty was near Henan and Shaanxi province. Thesere two provinces are civilization cradle of Chinese. Henan and Shaanxi are rich in historical sites and cultural sites of China. Chinese culture and history are originated from these areas.

There were 13 generations and 16 kings in Xia dynasty. The capital area of Xia dynasty was located in the western part of Henan and the northern part of Shanxi. It was said that the regime of the Xia has been stoped at some time. It was Shaokang to rebuild Xia dynasty. After that, Xia declined continuously and was replaced by Shang dynasty finishing its 400 years of existing.

Because there were no words to record the events of Xia dynasty, most of the information of Xia was learned from some ancient record, including the remains of the king, officials and the prison conditions. In recent years, many huge palace, mausoleum and bronze have been unearthed. They also reflected from another side the politics, economic, cultural and life. This help people learn more about the first and special age in China's history. As the first prehistoric country in China mainland, Xia dynasty is an important dinasty with great history research. It's rich culture plays a important role in the culture of China and the whole history of China.

Jade in Xia Dynasty

Jade is an ornamental stone. The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals: * Nephrite consists of a microcrystaline interlocking fibrous matrix of the calcium, magnesium-iron rich amphibole mineral series tremolite (calcium-magnesium)-ferroactinolite (calcium-magnesium-iron).

The middle member of this series with an intermediate composition is called actinolite (the silky fibrous mineral form is one form of asbestos). The higher the iron content the greener the colour.

Jadeite is a sodium- and aluminium-rich pyroxene. The gem form of the mineral is a microcrystaline interlocking crystal matrix. The English word jade (as well as the English word "jadeite") is derived (via French l'ejade and Latin ilia from the Spanish term piedra de ijada (first recorded in 1565) or "loin stone", from its reputed efficacy in curing ailments of the loins and kidneys. Nephrite is derived from lapis nephriticus, the Latin version of the Spanish piedra de ijada.

Bronze Vessels in Xia Dynasty

Archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs that point to the possible existence of the Xia dynasty at locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts. There exists a debate as to whether or not Erlitou culture was the site of the Xia dynasty. Radiocarbon dating places the site at ca. 2100 to 1800 BC, providing physical evidence of the existence of a state contemporaneous with and possibly equivalent to the Xia Dynasty as described in Chinese historical works.

In 1959, a site located in the city of Yanshi was excavated containing large palaces that some archaeologists have attributed as capital of the Xia Dynasty. Unlike the oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty, the historical works which were published later that mention the Xia dynasty, had no written records dated to help confirm the Xia period's name of the dynasty and its sovereigns, as those recorded in Sima Qian's Shiji. Through the 1960s and 1970s, archaeologists have uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs in the same locations cited in ancient Chinese historical texts regarding Xia;[8] at a minimum, the Xia Dynasty marked an evolutionary stage between the late neolithic cultures and the typical Chinese urban civilization of the Shang Dynasty.

Xia History Site in Modern China

According to the history record, Xia was built by Qi, the son of Yu, who killed his brother Yi and abolished the system of demise. It was the first country in China’s history. After that, the demise system has been replaced by hereditary system.

There were 13 generations and 16 kings in Xia dynasty. The capital area of Xia dynasty was located in the western part of Henan and the northern part of Shanxi. It was said that the regime of the Xia has been stoped at some time. It was Shaokang to rebuild Xia dynasty. After that, Xia declined continuously and was replaced by Shang dynasty finishing its 400 years of existing.

Because there were no words to record the events of Xia dynasty, most of the information of Xia was learned from some ancient record, including the remains of the king, officials and the prison conditions.

In recent years, many huge palace, mausoleum and bronze have been unearthed. They also reflected from another side the politics, economic, cultural and life. This help people learn more about the first and special age in China's history.

As the first prehistoric country in China mainland, Xia dynasty is an important dinasty with great history research. It's rich culture plays a important role in the culture of China and the whole history of China.