XIA-SHANG DYNASTIES

While we adopted some commonly-accepted starting and ending years for Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, authoritative Chinese historian viewpoint is that the earliest substantiated year happened to be the fourteen year long "interregnum" during Western Zhou Dynasty, beginning from year 841 BC, the year when King Liwang of Zhou was ousted by the revolts of the Guoren (i.e., the civilians in the capital vs 'Yeren' the country people in the outskirts) and royal members of Zhou collectively administered the state affairs till King Xuanwang of Zhou was selected. As to reliable historical records, the oracle bones from Shang served the best example of underground records matching written records above-ground, while the excavations from Xia are still under research and point to the fact that some writing system, i.e., tadpole-style characters, did exist in earlier Xia Dynasty. A Chinese research project which started in 1995 had been reported to have pushed the exact date to the year 2070 B.C.E. as the point of origin for Xia Dynasty. Stanford University scholar, David Nivision, had derived the date of 2026 BC, instead, as a result of his own independent studies.
 
The demarcation line between the dynasties of Xia-Shang-Zhou and the pre-history lies in the monopolization of power by the son of Lord Yu and his family. Prior to Xia Dynasty, various tribes, mainly under the two tribal groups of Hua and Yi, recommended their best men for leadership as the stories of Yao-Shun-Yu reflect. Starting from Xia, the sons or brothers of the Xia king would assume exclusive power, instead. (Early dynasties, especially Shang Dynasty, did not strictly pass the power to their sons, but brothers. This is similar to the fashion as used by later nomads like the Huns and the Turks. Also to be noted is that all lords prior to Zhou Dynasty were entitled "Di" posthumously, meaning modern sense emperors or overlords. The lords from Zhou Dynasty humbly called themselves kings in respect for the earlier 'San Huang' and 'Wu Di'.)
 
Looking further up, prior to the trio-saints of Yao, Shun and Yu, there were eight legendary overlords of the Chinese history: They were 'San Huang' ['Three Huang'], namely, Fuxi, Yandi (Fiery Lord) and Huangdi (Yellow Lord), and 'Wu Di' or Five Di, namely, Shaohao (l. B.C.E. 2598 - 2515 ?), Zhuanxu (l. B.C.E. 2514 - 2437 ?), Gaoxin (l. B.C.E. 2436 - 2367 ?), Tangyao (Lord Yao, l. B.C.E. 2357 - 2258 ?) and Yushun (Lord Shun, reign 2257-2208 B.C.E. ?). Lord Huangdi (i.e., the Yellow Overlord, l. 2697 - 2599 BC?) was said to have possessed a chronicle official [Cangjie] who had first created Chinese characters. Like many Xia stories, the Cangjie characters remained a legend. According to Sima Qian, the Chinese overlords shared the same lineage: Lord Huangdi (Yellow Overlord) was the son of the tribe of Shaodian (disputed to be the name of a state rather than an person); Lord Huangdi had 25 sons, among whom 14 had established their own family names; one of his son is called Changyi, and Changyi's son, named Gaoyang, is Lord Zhuanxu; and Lord Yu (r. B.C.E. 2204-2195 ?) was said to be the grandson of Lord Zhuanxu as well as the father of the founder of Xia Dynasty. (Ban Gu of Latter Han Dynasty disputed the generation gap between Lord Zhuanxu and Lord Yu, stating that Gun was the fifth generation grandson of Lord Zhuanxu and that Lord Yu would be six generations away from Lord Zhuanxu.)
 

http://members.tripod.com/%7Ekon_artz/cultures/olmshang.htm

(Beware of morphology extrapolation of what I cited here as to the pronunciation of 'hua' and 'xia', i.e., common errors among non-Chinese enthusiats for Chinese history, with one such fallacy of equating 'hua' [slippery] to 'hua' [flowery] seen at http://encyclopedia.lockergnome.com/s/b/Huaguo. The Chinese character 'hua', similarly, was abused by non-Chinese enthusiats for Chinese history. Should Southern Liang Dynasty [AD 502-557], in inscriptions on Liang chih-kung-t'u, fail to speculate more on the "Hua-guo" [Avar or Hephthalites] other than a claim that it was possibly a country founded by the descendants of a Western Territory chieftan called "San-hua" [three slippery] who followed General Ban Yong of Han Dynasty in campaigns, then who are you to claim that this 'Hua' [slippery] was the same as China's Hua [flowery] or Zhou Dynasty's vassal "hua-guo"? )
Ancient West Yellow River Bend is the same as today's East Yellow River Bend. Ancient Yellow River Bend did not equate to today's inverse U-shaped course with the North Bend lying inside Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, but the U-shaped Bend with South Bend in southern Shanxi Prov and then a south-to-north turn in Hebei Province for exit into the sea.

                                       ---------------------------------------------------------
                                          Yangshao Culture (4000-3000 BC)
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                     Banpo Type Type --> Dongzhuangcun Type --> Miaodigou Type --...--> Xiwangcun Type

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        Miaodigou Culture II (3000-2500 BC)                 Longshan Culture Taosi Type (2500-1900 BC)
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           Early Stage --> Middle Stage --> Late Stage                          Early Stage --> Middle Stage --> Late Stage

                                                                                           Taosi (2400-1800 BC)                     Dongxiafeng Type (2200-1700 BC)     

                                       ---------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Erlitou Culture
                                       ---------------------------------------------------------

                    Dongxiafeng Type Of Erlitou Culture (2200-1700 BC)         Yanshi Type of Erlitou Culture (1900-1500 BC)

There is no dispute as to Xia people's final demise in Henan Prov. Liu Qiyu validated the demise of Xia Dynasty in Henan Prov by citing the ancient statement that "Xia Dynasty ended when the Yi-shui and Luo-shui rivers ran dry".
 
After Shang Dynasty overthrew Xia, remnant Xia people fled northward and westward, and majority of them returned to their ancestral home in southern Shanxi Prov. (Wang Guowei speculated that some of those Xia people who fled northward and westward would become the Yuezhi (?) in the west and the Huns in the north. Note that Wang Guowei's speculation as to Yuezhi would throw the discussion into an ethnicity and race dispute. It is understandable that Wang Guowei might have blundered in early 20th century since Loulan mummies were not known at that time. I had expounded the You-yu-shi vs Yuezhi fallacy at hun.htm section and pointed out that You-yu-shi clan had continued on in Shenxi area till Qi Lord Huan'gong westward campaign against Bai-di barbarians in 651 BC.)
 
Scholar Luo Xianglin's Assertions
Scholar Luo Xianglin, in "History of Chinese Nationalities" (Chinese Culture Publishing Enterprise Co, Taipei, Taiwang, May 1953 edition), stated that ancient China possessed five tribal groups: Xia, Qiang, Di[1], Yi, and Man[2].
 
Per Luo Xianglin, Xia people first originated in Mt Minshan and upperstream River Min-jiang areas of Sichuan-Gansu provincial borderline. Xia people then split into two groups, with one going north to reach Wei-shui River and upperstream Han-shui River of Shenxi Prov and then east to Shanxi Prov by crossing the Yellow River.
 
The second group, per Luo Xianglin, went south to populate southern Chinese provinces as the 'Yue' people. Luo Xianglin's linking Yue people to Xia people was based on the common lexicon 'yue' which meant for excavated ancient "stone axe".
 
Xia Land = Zhong Guo (Central Statelet)
The 'Xia' people, in another sense, would also imply a more restrictive meaning for the people who dwelled in the land of Xi-rong (the Western Rong nomads) or Xi Yi (Western Aliens) or Xi Qiang (Western Qiang). Lord Yu was born in a place called 'Shiniu' (ancient Chang-mang statelet, between Sichuan, Henan and Shenxi provinces). Scholar Liu Qiyu tackled the issue of 'xi' or west. His validations pointed to the land of 'he qu' (i.e., the inflexion point of the Yellow River Bends) as the 'land of the west', i.e, later land between Qin and Jinn principalities. He also validated the ancient Chinese prefecture of 'ji-zhou' as equivalent to the ancient term 'zhong-guo' for China, and listed multiple ancient classics to lock down the land of original China as being the domain of southern Shanxi Prov. (Liu Qiyu pointed out that original places for Taiyuan and Jinyang etc would be in southern Shanxi Province, and that those cities did not get appropriated to northern Shanxi Prov until after Jinn Lord Daogong quelled various 'Di2' barbarian statelets in the north. Liu Qiyu further stated that after the split of Jinn into Haan-Zhao-Wei principalities, southernmost Wei statelet still got the privilege to be called Jinn due to the fact that Jinn historically inherited the ancient Xia land that was termed 'ji-zhou' the Ji4 prefecture or 'zhong-guo' the central statelet.)
 
Ancient classics, like "Zhan Guo Ce", "Shuo Wen", "Han Shu", paraphrased 'Xia' as meaning the central statelet. "Zhuang-zi", in the section on "Tian Di Bian" (i.e., article on heaven and earth), mentioned a dialogue between Zhunmang and Yuanfeng in regards to Zhuangmang's sailing into the East Sea and polarized 'zhongguo' (central statelet) and 'si hai' (four seas). Xu Hao, in comments on "Shuo Wen", stated that Yi & Di barbarians began to invade China at the times of Xia people and that then Chinese were hence named Xia-ren or Xia people. Liu Qiyu listed similar parallel antagonism of 'ji-zhou' and 'si hai' in "Chu Ci" (Chu Principality Poems) and "Huai Nan Zi" to validate the exact location of the land of 'Xia' as equivalent to ancient 'ji-zhou' prefecture, i.e., southern Shanxi Prov. Similarly, Liu Qiyu cited similar parallel antagonism of 'zhongguo' (central statelet) versus 'si yi' (four groups of barbarians) in "Zuo Zhuan" for same sense interpretation. (Note that Scholar Wang Zhonghan cited "Guan-zi" in stating that it would be around the middle of Warring States time period that Qi Principality editors adopted the terms of four barbarians as might have existed at the time of Guan-zi [Guan Zhong] of Spring & Autumn time period of Eastern Zhou Dynasty.)
 
Liu Qiyu pointed out that after the demise of Xia, whoever stayed in Shanxi/Shenxi provinces continued to call themselves 'Xia' people. First Zhou King Wenwang eulogized the eastward flowing of Feng-shui River to Lord Yu's accomplishment, and numerous Zhou Dynasty records stated that they were descendants of Xia Dynasty founder Lord Yu. Wei Principality, who inherited southermost Jinn land of southern Shanxi Prov, described themselves as "riding in Xia-chariots" and claiming to be "Xia King". A Qin Principality official also denoted himself as Xia-zi (i.e., son of Xia people) because his mother was a Qin-ren (i.e., Qin people), i.e., self-designated Xia people.
 
Xia Dynasty's Totem - Dragon
Scholar Gao Wei pointed out that the colored Pottery from Taosi Excavations of the Longshan Culture, dated 2400-2500 B.C.E. approx, had shown a winding dragon (i.e., two golden-ring Bungarus snakes, with one snake containing the medicinal herbs for the treatment of a wounded snake, i.e., the grass knot which was wrongly taken as the Shucha-shaped tongue per Wei Wencheng who cited Yi Yuan [alien garden], Shennong Bencao Jing, and Bao Pu Zi etc for substantiation). The male snake's head was in the outer ring, the body inward rolling, the tail in the bottom of the plate, while the female snake had the tail intersecting with the male one in the center of the bottom. Almost all luxurious Taosi excavations in southern Shanxi Prov had produced a pottery with the dragon [or snake] totem. In Wei Wencheng's opinions, the ancient Chinese eulogized the snakes' pattern as a form of the marriage celebration, or a form of perpetuity of marriage with husband and wife buried together. This would point to this place of excavation (i.e., southern Shanxi Prov) as the original site of the early Xia people.
 
The Xia Culture, having interactions with the bird-totem Dong-yi people to the southeast, had posed an academic challenge as to the nature of the ancient Chinese ethnicity. Consensus would be to treat the Longshan Culture in today's Shanxi and western Henan as equivalent to Xia Dynasty or at least 'xian xia' [i.e., Anterior Xia Dynasty]. The Xia people, who later moved from Shanxi to Henan Prov and founded the dynasty of Xia, certainly brought with them the important dragon totem, a mark that would also be observed among the Huns of Mongolia and the Tungus of Manchuria for the thousands of years to come. (Chinese classics had mentioned two dragon-related clans, i.e., the Huan-long-shi clan during Lord Shun's reign and the Yu-long-shi clan during Xia Dynasty. Here, 'huan' meant for raising or husbandry, 'yu4' meant for driving or controlling, while 'long' meant for dragon. The dragon-totem Xia people were overthrown by the bird-totem [i.e., phoenix] Yi [misnomer Dong-yi] people, i.e., the Shang people; however, the bird-totem Shang people, after a defeat in the hands of the Zhou people, could have fled to Manchuria where they had historical connections with the Tungus people. The Dragon totem, in combination with the phoenix, would become China's national symbols.)
 
The Xia people hence was taken as the original Mongoloid ethnic Chinese whose name was carried on for the next 4500 years as 'hua', 'xia' or 'huaxia'. To clarify the nature of the Xia people further, I will cite Prof Wei Chu-Hsien's interpretaion of ancient classics "Shi-zi" (approx 338 B.C.E. works) in authenticating the ethnicity of Chinese in the Xia land against the barbarians in four directions. Both "Shi-zi" and "Shan Hai Jing" stated that there were Guan-xiong-guo in the south, Chang-gu-guo (Chang-gong? long arm) in the west, Shen-mu-guo (deep eye socket) in the north, and the eastern and northeaster statelets under Yuhu and Yujing [east-sea and north-sea seagods in the east and northeast per "Shan Hai Jing"]. Here, as a side note, I will, once and for all, settle the issues in regards to Huangdi or the Yellow Overlord, i.e., i) the semantic error in translating the overlord for 'di4' into emperor; ii) the racial supremacist appropriation in attaching the Caucasian tag to Huangdi. The "Shi-zi" and "Shan Hai Jing" records of the deep eye socket people to the north of Huangdi was a corrobaration that the Huangdi people were not of deep-socket eyes. (Shi-zi was the teacher of Qin Reformer Shang Yang, and he went into hiding in today's Sichuan Province and completed the classics Shi-zi after Shang Yang was executed by Qin King Huiwenwang. As to ethnicity of the 'Rong' people, I had expounded the ethnic nature of the various Rong people in the hun.htm section, cleared the dispute in regards to the Rongs, and proven that the Rong people, being mainly the Sino-Tibetan speaking Qiangic people, shared the same blood-line with the Xia Chinese but differred in 'Culture' such as cuisine, clothing, money and language.)
 
'Dong-yi' (Eastern Alien) & 'Xi-yi' (Western Alien)
History annals claim that Lord Shun was a Yi (not misnomer Dong-yi) and that Lord Yu was a Xi-yi. This could be interpreted as an ancient conventional way of 'birthplace naming'. (Sima Qian thought that Lord Yu was born in today's Yuxian County, Henan Province, but other ancient historians had claimed that Lord Yü came from the land of the Western Rong or Western Qiang tribe as Lord Yü was also named 'Rong-yu'. At the very beginning, there was no 'east' connotation to the Yi people as the people living in the eastern Chinese coast, i.e., the offsprings from the two clans of Tai-hao-shi and Shao-hao-shi, were categorically called by 'Yi', a word that semantically meant the people carrying bows, not to do with the later denotation as the 'Eastern Barbarians". During Zhou Dynasty, as a result of confrontation between the Zhou people who were from the west, and the remnant Shang people who were the natives dwelling in the middle China and along the eastern coast, the records began to carry passages after passages of fighting between the pretentious 'Central Kingdom' Zhou people and the so-called barbarians (i.e., rebels) in the originally Shang Dynasty land to the east.)
 
For thousands of years, the Chinese used to claim the ancestry place as their point of origin. This applies to the Hakka people who, having dwelled in southern China for over one thousand year, still claimed northern Chinese prefectures as their point of origin. As a result of ancient Chinese's ancestor worshipping, the Chinese clans present a unique way of identification of surnames and Gene-tree Y-chromosome. Should we interpret 'Yi' & 'Xi-yi' in this perspective, then there would be no dispute as to Lord Shun and Lord Yu sharing the same lineage and heritage as Huangdi the Yellow Lord even though Lord Shun was a Yi and that Lord Yu was a Xi-yi.
 
The Appropriation of Xia Name
On the West Yellow River Bend, there was the ancient Xiazhou Prefecture which still bears the ancient name of 'Xia'. Today, it is called the 'Ning-xia Muslim Autonomous Region', with the 'xia' embedded inside. A city by the name of Lingwu still existed close to Ningxia's provincial capital, Yingchuan. There were numerous Xia statelets in the Chinese history. The Huns at one time set up a kingdom called 'Xia', and the Tanguts proclaimed their 'Xixia' or Western Xia Dynasty as well. Xia [AD 407-431], set up by Helian Bobo of Tie-fu Huns, had derived its name from the fact that the Huns were recorded to be of Xia-hou origin, namely, Xia Dynasty descendants. Helian Bobo, in his eulogy about the founding of Xia, traced his ancestors to Da Yu or Lord Yu. The Tanguts, who were of Tuoba & Qiangic heritage, established their Western Xia in about the same place (around West and north Yellow River Bends) and in the same name. From this perspective, we could say that the 'Hua' or 'Xia' designation would be more of the barbarian nature in the west than the later Shang Chinese who belonged to the 'Yi' people in the east.
 
The Xia Chinese vs the Huns, and the Qiangic Tibetans vs the Tokharai Yuezhi
Above, we mentioned Wang Guowei's possible blunder in attributing the remnants of the Xia people to the Huns in the north and the Yuezhi in the west. See Wang Guowei's theory of invaders coming from the East while traders from the West for understanding the nature of the nine Zhaowu clans of the Yuezhi. More detailed accounts about Yuezhi would come after Zhang Qian's visit to Central Asia, unfortunately. "Gua Di Zhi" stated that the Yuezhi country included ancient Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Yanzhou and Shazhou, i.e., today's Gansu and Shenxi Provinces. Hence there was the speculation that in the West Yellow River Bend area could also be found the Yuezhi people, which might not be true. The place names like Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Yanzhou and Shazhou were all products of late Han Dynasty. "Gua Di Zhi" was a much later book that could have error in extrapolating the presence of Yuezhi beyond the Western Corridor. Further, some historian [maybe just me, after hiccup in my thoughts], who believed the Yuezhi country more likely centered around Turpan [Urumqi] as evidenced by Lake Koko Nor [Lop Nur, i.e., Luobupo] mummies, had expressed doubts about Sima Qian's "Shi Ji" as far as the sentence in regards to Yuezhi's original dwelling place is concerned: Sima Qian claimed that Yuezhi, before the migration, lived between Qilian Mountain and Dunhuang hill, and that satellite Yuezhi statelets, after migrating to Central Asia, still adopted as their clan name the ancient city of 'Zhaowu' [??? said to be today's Zhaowu-cun Village in Linze-xian (bordering the lake) County, which was renamed in Jinn Emperor Wudi's era from Zhaowu-xian County under the Zhangye-jun Commandary that was set up in 111 B.C.E].
 
http://www.taklamakan.org/allied_comm/commonv-1-8.html carried an article by Takla entitled "The Origins of Relations Between Tibet and Other Countries in Central Asia", stating that "according to the researches of Sir Aurel Stein [i.e., the arch thief of China's Dunhuang Grotto treasures] on the origins of the people of Khotan, most were the descendants of the Aryans. They also had in them Turkic and Tibetan blood, though the Tibetan blood was more pronounced. He discovered ancient documents at a place called Nye-yar in Khotan and he has stated that the script of these documents contained no Pali, Arabic (Muslim) or Turkic terminology. All were Tibetan terms and phrases." P.T. Takla stated further that "according to Wu Hriu(2), the facial features of the people of Khotan were dissimilar to those of the rest of the Horpa nomads of Drugu (Uighurs belonging to the Turkic people) and similar, to an extent, to the Chinese. Khotan in the north-west was called Li-yul by the ancient Tibetans. Since Khotan was territorially contiguous with Tibet, there are reasons to believe that the inhabitants of Khotan had originated from Tibet."
 
Tibetans, clearly the descendants of Sino-Tibetan-speaking Qiangic SanMiao people, had their influences reaching the southern Chinese Turkistan in addition to the He-xi Corridor [i.e., the corridor to the west of the western Yellow River Bend].
 
Concluding this episode, my unchanged belief is still that the Sino-Tibetan-speaking Qiangic SanMiao people first reached the He-xi Corridor of Gansu Prov 4000 years ago and onward to the Khotan area of southern Chinese Turkistan. The Tokharai, possibly related to the Indo-Scythians, reached the areas of Lake Koko Nor and later Tunhuang Grotto thereafter. In the 3rd century BC, the Hun Chanyu ordered that his rightside virtuous king attack the Yuezhi as punishment for disturbing peace at the Chinese border. Majority of the Yuezhi fled to the region of Amu Daria river, and some fled across the mountains to live among the Qiangic people in the south. Successors of the Huns, led by Helian Bobo of the Tie-fu Huns, established a Xia Dynasty lasting through AD 407-431. Helian Bobo's acknowledgement and tracing of his ancestry in a common origin as the Chinese clearly spelled out the fact that it was the Mongoloid who had first raided to the west rather than the other way around.
 
Lord Yu's Domain
Scholar Chen Shaoli mentioned that it might not be a coincident that Henan's Yuxian County had possessed an ancient village called 'wang-cheng-gang', i.e., the hill of a king's castle.
 
However, Lord Yu was not restricted to the Yellow River Bend, and he was recorded to have travelled across the country. Sima Qian's Shi Ji, in the section on Xia Dynasty, systematically described the ancient nine Chinese prefectures in details, covering the grade or quality of soil, the minerals, animals, plants and agricultural products, the rivers and mountains, and the tributes from the local prefecture to the central court (i.e., Chinese dynasties). The famous book, Shan Hai Jing, i.e., the Records of Mountains and Seas, was said to be the work of Lord Yu after he spent 13 years surveying the nation.
 
Scholar Hu Yueqian expounded on the marriage of Yu with a Tu-shan-shi woman. Hu Yueqian speculated that Lord Yu must have lived close enough to Tu-shan Mountain, somewhere to the northeast of today's Shouchun or Huaiyuan County, Anhui Prov and on the east bank of Huai-shui River. Zuo Zhuan stated that tens of thousands of 'guo' or stateletes (tribes) had come to Mt. Tu-shan to pay respect to Yu after the flooding was successfully controled. This pointed to the fact that Lord Yu did have his dwelling to the south of the Yellow River, something that would conflict with Liu Qiyu's assertion that it would be Lord Yu's son who would later expand into Henan Prov. (Hu Yueqian validated the Xia people's influence in Anhui Prov by means of an alliance with the Tu-shan-shi tribe by citing the fact that last Xia King Jie, with his queen Meixi [a You-shi-shi woman], had fled to the You-chao-hu Lake in Anhui Prov for seeking asylum while the remnant Xia nobles, forbidden from returning to the You-chao or Caohu Lake, were relocated to Ruzhou [Jiaxian County of today's Henan Prov].)
 
In Today's Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, namely, the ancient Kuaiji Commandary, there is a monument in remembrance of Lord Yu. Kuaijishan Mountain would be where Yu convened the vassals. Lord Yu was buried on Kuaijishan Mountain when he died. There was an ancient claim that during Song Dynasty, the Kuaiji people, when rebuilding the Yu Pilgrimage, dug up some one hundred pieces of jade articles ('gui') that were considered instruments of power conferral for vassals.
 
Sima Qian, in comments about the length of the Min-Yue & Dong-Yue Statelets (see Vietnamese & Southerners section for details), said the 'Yue' People must have inherited Lord Yu's spirits. One claim would put all Yue people, i.e., the Bai Yue or Hundred Yue people, in the same lineage as Lord Yu's descendants. Min-Yue & Dong-Yue were related to the so-called 'Gu-yue' or Ancient Yue Statelet located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Prov. After Han Emperor Wudi defeated Min-Yue of Fuzhou and Dong-Ou or Eastern Ou (Dong-Yue) of Wenzhou, there existed a remnant statelet called Xi-Ou or Western Ou.
 
Also to be noted would be the fact that the early Chinese history recorded that the people from the ancient Wa Japan claimed that they were the descendants of 'Tai Bo' and called themselves by the ancient title of 'Da Fu'. Tai Bo wanted to yield the succession to his brother because the ancient mandate said that the son of Tai Bo's brother (Ji Li) would be the future lord of the Zhou people. Ji Li's son would be Ji Chang, i.e., Zhou King Wenwang posthumously. The ancient books also recorded that Wa Japan must be situated to the east of Kuaiji Commandary. Chen Shou's San Guo Zhi recorded that the rice culture people living on the western coast of Japan around the 2nd-3rd centuries were recorded to have tattoos over their body, in a similar fashion to the Zhejiang people in the Yantze Delta where the descendants of King Shaokang of Xia Dynasty (21-16th c. BC) had lived. (My speculation is that the ancient Wa Japanese with the Tai-Bo lineage had been wiped out or assimilated into the later immigrants from Korea. An Zhimin, at carleton.ca/~bgordon/Rice/papers/zhimin84.htm , wrote about "EFFECT OF PREHISTORIC CULTURES OF THE LOWER YANGTZE RIVER ON ANCIENT JAPAN", with speculation about pre-Han-Dynasty contacts.)
 
Xia Chronology
Sima Qian's "Shi Ji" and the Bamboo Annals both cited the traditional saying that Xia Dynasty, with and without kingship, had lasted 471 years. Ban Gu's "Han Shu" stated that Xia-hou-shi, with 17 kings, had lasted 432 years. Scholar Huang Shilin cited the recent excavation of a Western Han Dynasty tomb in Mt Yinqueshan area, Linyi, Shandong and the discovery of ancient classics "Liu Tao" in rebutting the traditional view. "Liu Tao" historically claimed that Xia Dynasty possessed 31 kings from Yu to Jie. Scholar Huang Shilin hence concurred with the Bamboo Annals' statement that Xia Dynasty possessed more years than Shang Dynasty though it recorded only 17 kings. By setting the Shang-tang overthrow of Xia King Jie in the 18th cent BC, Huang Shilin speculated that the start of Xia would be somewhere like the 24th cent B.C.E. by adding up 629 years of the Shang Dynasty duration. ( The way to compromise different count of years, in my opinion, would probably be lying in the inclusion of anterior years or not. Scholar Kwang-chih Chang proposed in 1980s an emphasis on the horizontal diagnosis of Xia-Shang-Zhou people instead of vertical, which was to acknowledge the existence of a certain 'Anterior Xia', 'Anterior Shang' and 'Anterior Zhou'. Scholar Hu Yueqian proposed that the Xia studies must be built upon Shang studies because of the close relation between the two groups of people. )
 

Yu's son, Qi(3), founded Xia Dynasty. After Qi's death, his son, Taikang, succeeded him. Taikang made Zhenxun as his capital. However, Taikang was fond of hunting and did not take care of business. When Taikang went to south of Luo River for hunting, the tribal leader of the Yi people, Houyi (You-qiong-shi clan, a legendary figure famous for his long arms and shooting down the suns), staged a coup d'etat and lined up his forces on the northern bank of Luo River to force Taikang into exile. Five Taikang brothers and their mother made a song on the north bank of Luo, calling for the return of Taikang. Houyi made Taikang's brother (Zhongkang) a king. But Houyi, after Zhongkang's death, would stage another coup to overthrow Zhongkang's son, Xiang. Xiang fled to Shangqiu area for asylum under Zhen-guan & Zhen-xun tribes. Later, a general under Houyi, Hanzhuo, would usurp power by killing Houyi and usurped You-qiong-shi throne. Hanzhuo took over Houyi's woman and born two sons who were renowned for their strength. To prevent the Xia or Huaxia people from claiming power again, Hanzhuo would send one of his sons to kill Xiang by routing Zhen-guan & Zhen-xun tribes. Xiang's woman, of You-ren-guo [? You-nai-shi) clan, fled to her home and born Shaokang. Shaokang [l. 2118-2068 per Chu Bosi] would survive by escaping to the You-yu-shi tribe where the descendants of Lord Shun (another Yi tribe) lived. A Xia remnant minister, Mi, fled to You-ge-shi clan, and he organized forces and finally defeated Hanzhuo. Mi erected Shankang as the lord. Shaokang's son, Zhu, would first invent the shields to counter the sharp arrows from the Yi people who were renowned for hunting and shooting. Zhu's son would be Hui (Fen), Hui's son would be Mang, Mang's son would be Xie, Xie's son would be Buxiang, Buxiang's brother would be Jiong, and Jiong's son would be Jin. After Jin would be Buxiang's brother, Kongjia. Kongjia would be fond of 'gui shen' (ghosts and gods) and indulged himself lasciviously. Xia-hou-shi virtues declined, and vassals challenged the statelet. Kongjia's son would be Gao, Gao's son would be Fa, and Fa's son would be Lügui (Jie).

Xia Dynasty 21 - 16th cent BC Qi Taikang Zhongkang Xiang Shaokang Di Zhu Di Kui (Fen) Di Mang Di Xie Di Buxiang Di Jiong Di Jin Di Kongjia Di Gao Di Fa Di Lügui (Jie)

 
The above historical events pointed to the eastern Henan Prov and western Shandong Prov, the traditional land of the Yi people, as the theater of struggles between the Xia people and the Yi (misnomer Dong-yi) people. Last Xia King Jie himself was driven to the Chao-hu Lake of Anhui Prov, to the southeast of Henan Prov.
 
After four hundreds of years, Xia Dynasty ended in 1766 B.C.E. in the hands of Jie who was said to have mistreated his people. The person who overthrew Jie would be called Shang-Tang [l. 1824-1753 B.C.E. per Chu Bosi] , a tribal leader of the Yi people, whose ancestor (Xie, i.e., son of Lord Di-ku) had worked under Lord Yu in controlling the floods. Shang-tang's name was Luu, aka Tianyi.
 
Likewise, the ancestor of the later Qin Empire served in the same rank as Xie in fighting the floods and hence was conferred the family name of 'Ying', with a water sign as part of the character. Research shows that the ancestors of both Shang and Qin dynasties belonged to the same Yi tribal group.
 
Jie once called upon Shang-Tang and imprisoned him in the Xiatai prison [located in Yangdi, Henan Prov] during the 42nd year reign, i.e., 1777 B.C.E. per Chu Bosi. Jie then released Shang-Tang. Shang-Tang rallied the Xia vassals, made an oath of war [i.e., "Tang Shi"] at the outskirts of Mingtiao, and defeated Jie during the 53rd year reign of Jie or the 18th year reign of Shang-tang. Shang-tang made Bo his capital. Jie, with his queen Meixi (a You-shi-shi woman), fled across the River to the You-chao-hu Lake in Anhui Prov. 13 years later, i.e., 1753 B.C.E. per Chu Bosi, Shang-tang passed away.
 
The dynasty name of 'Xia' did not go away. There would ensue a short Hunnic dynasty called Xia, lasting through AD 407-431. The Huns claimed that they were the descendants of the Xiahou (namely, Xia descendants) people, and the Uygurs claimed descendancy from Chunwei, the son of last Xia lord. Sima Qian mentioned that Jie was banished to Henan Province and died there years later. Jie's son took over his father's dowager queen and fled northward to become the ancestor of later Huns on the steppe. (Liu Qiyu pointed out that the Xia people, similar to Huns and Turks, had adopted the ancient 'concubine inheritance system', i.e., the successors of nobles or lords would take over their fathers' concubines and wives instead of forcing those women to be buried with their late husbands.) Still another dynasty would be the later Xixia Kingdom (i.e., Western Xia, AD 1032-1227) led by the Dangxiang (i.e., Tanguts). History recorded that there evolved eight Qiangic tribes by the time of Five Dynasties (AD 907-960), with one tribal group carrying the old Toba name. The Toba Qiangic people claimed that the founder of Xia Dynasty (21-16th c. BC) came from the Western Rong area, namely, the dwelling place of the Qiangs from the time of Lords Yao-Shun-Yu. Danggxiang's Xia could also derive from the title of Duke of Xiazhou Prefecture as conferred by Tang Dynasty's emperor.
 
 
Shang Dynasty
 

According to Sima Qian's Shi Ji, the ancestor of the Shang people was named Xie, a son of Lord Diku. Legend said that Xie was born after his mother, Jiandi (Yousong-shi woman, a statelet located in Yuncheng of Shanxi Prov), swallowed an egg of a black bird (swallow). Lord Yao conferred Xie the post of 'si tu' and the last name of 'Zi'. Lord Shun conferred Xie the land of Shang (later Shangluo County) for aiding Yu in flood control. Fourteen generation descendant would be Tang (Shang-Tang), also named 'Tian Yi' or 'Heavenly Yi'. (During Xia and Shang dynasties, the lords were called Wang or King, but named Di or modern sense overlord or emperor posthumously. Since 'Heaven' was considerd a Di, Shang-Tang was called 'Heavenly Yi'.) The character 'Tang(1)' means purging evils, literally speaking. Limited history records contained another account about the Shang Dynasty ancestors, which claimed that their founder-king, Wang-hai' herded near the Yi-sui River, near today's Peking. (The origin of the Shang Dynasty could be a puzzle as there were 5-6 discourse on where the Shang Dynasty founders came from; however, there was one interesting account pointing to Shang Dynasty founder-king Wang-hai [i.e., King Hai] herding animals in today's Yi-xian land, i.e., somewhere near Peking. This shed light on the origin of the Shang ruling clan as being similar to the Yellow Overlord of the Kalgan area, i.e., someone of nomadic nature and non-agricultural.)   Shang-Tang was conferred the post of fang bo (i.e., leading vassal Count) by the Xia king. At Xia-Shang times, vassals were designated by the character 'fang' (i.e., domain), including Gui-fang (steppe nomads) in the north (? most likely Shanxi Prov), Qiang-fang (Qiangic shephardS) in the west, Ji-fang (Xia remnants) in southern Shanxi Prov, and Ren-fang (human domain) on the Shandong Peninsula in the east. Ancient title for 'Count' might not be of same level as that in Europe and should be higher than marquis in Shang-Zhou times. (Scholar Fu Sinian studied the bronze inscriptions, i.e., jin wen, from Zhou times and concluded that the ancient five rankings of duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron did not conform with bronze inscriptions or classics such as Shang Shu or Shi Jing. Fu Sinian stated that duke-gong, count-bo, viscount-zi, and baron-nan were originally used within a royal family as rankings; governmentally, 'bo' or count was the leader of a conferred fief while 'hou' or marquis was for denoting the vassal guarding border posts.)   Shang-Tang first campaigned against Ge-bo (Count of Ge). Shang-Tang obtained a minister called Yi Yin (aka Yi Zhi) from You-xin-shi land after paying five [? three per Chu Bosi] visits to him. Shang-tang respectfully called Yi Yin by Ah Heng. When last Xia Dynasty King (Jie) was corrupt and lascivious, a vassal called Kunwu-shi rebelled. Shang-tang first assembled vassals and quelled Kunwu-shi rebellion, and then campaigned against Xia King Jie in the name of 'shang di' (i.e., Lord Highness). Shang-tang defeated Jie at the ruins of You-song (Yuncheng, Shanxi Prov); Jie fled to Mingtiao (ancient Puzhou prefecture) where he was defeated again by Shang-Tang; Shang-Tang continued on to defeat Jie at Sanchun (Dingtao or Jiyin of ancient Caozhou); and Jie fled to You-cao or Caohu Lake of Anhui Prov in the southeast. Ancient classics claimed that Shang-Tang had conducted altogether 11 major campaigns before he took over the overlordship of China. Scholar Luo Xianglin claimed that Shang people had asserted control over the Xia people via advanced weaponry: bows.

Shang Dynasty 16 - 11th cent BC Ch'ˆng-t'ang (Tang) Wai Bing Zhong Ren T'ai-chia (Tai Jia) Wu-ling (Ao Ding) T'ai-kˆng (Tai Geng) Hsiao-chia (Xiao Jia) Yung-chi (Yong Ji) T'ai-wu (Tai Wu) Chung-ting (Zhong Ding) Wai-jˆn (Wai Ren) Tsien-chia (He Dan Jia) Tsu-yi (Zu Yi) Tsu-hsin (Zu Xin) Ch'iang-chia (Ao Jia) Tsu-ting (Zu Ding) Nan-kˆng (Nan Geng) Hu-chia (Yang Jia) P'an-kˆng (Pan Geng) Hsiao-hsin (Xiao Xin) Hsiao-yi (Xiao Yi) Wu-ting (Wu Ding) Tsu-kˆng (Zu Geng) Tsu-chia (Zu Jia) Lin-hsin (Lin Xin) K'ang-tin (Geng Ding) Wu-yi (Wu Yi) Wˆn-wu-ting (Tai Ding) Ti-yi (Yi Li)) Di Xin (Xin)

 
Xia Chinese remnants, in the opinion of Wang Zhonghan, would evolve into Gui-gang [ghost domain] barbarians who were to fight the Shang Dynasty for hundreds of years till being subdued and then acting as a vassal together with Zhou people's ancestor Count Xi-bo. For further discussions on Barbarians & Chinese, please refer to

Common Origin For Di1-Qiang1 Barbarians & Xia Chinese
Relationship Between Shang Dynasty, Succeeding Zhou Dynasty & Barbarians
Difference Between Rong and Chinese In 'Culture', Not 'Blood-line'
Merging and Subjugating Barbarians By Zhou Dynasty & Principalities
Assertions By Luo Xianglin & Wang Zhonghan
Continuing Zigzags With Barbarians
Where Were Yuezhi, Wusun & Sai-ren [Scythians]?

Shang Dynasty passed the power to brothers mostly. The interesting thing about the overlords (Di4) of Shang Dynasty would be their using the names of 10 Celetial Stems for their given names, including jia, yi, bing, ding, wu, ji, geng, xin, ren, gui.
 
When Shang-Tang died, his son, Taiding, already died. Taiding's brother, Waibing, was selected. Three years later, Waibing's brother, Zhongren, was enthroned. 4 years later, Yi Yin selected Taiding's son, Taijia, as the 'Di' (overlord). During the third year of Taijia's rule, Yi Yin exiled the lord outside of the capital and took over reign as 'Shang Regent-Protector' for three years. After Taijia repented over his deeds, Yi Yin welcomed the Shang king back to the capital. Yi Yin wrote three sections of 'Taijia Mottos' to praise Taijia's virtues. Yi Yin named Taijia's imperial title as 'Tai Zong' (i.e., grand ancestor). Yi Yin died during the reign of Aoding (Taijia's son), and Shang Dynasty buried Yi Yin at 'Bo' the capital, using the lord rituals.
 
Alternative records, including "Zhu Shu Ji Nian" [Bamboo Annals], claimed that Taijia killed Yi Yin; however, excavations from Shang Ruins had exhibited a high respect for Yi Yin in the burial. Scholar Li Xueqin, in his dissertation on "Zhu Shu Ji Nan and Xia Dynasty", claimed that Bamboo Annals was biased in descriptions of usurpations & tyrants and might have fabricated historical events to serve the purpose of billegerant Warring States time period, with anti-history stories like Yi Yin's adultery with last Xia Lord Jie's queen Mei-xi or like Yi Yin's exiling Shang King Taijia for 7 years and subsequent Taijia's execution of Yi Yin as revenge. Li Xueqin stated that Shang oracle bones had high compliments for Yi Yin and the Bamboo Annals was deliberately mutating the history to serve the purpose of usurpation. In Li's opinion, the Bamboo Annals' accounts of Xia King Qi's killing Yi or the usurpations of Shun vs Yao & Yu vs Shun should be questioned for its authenticity. However, the truth could be that the Bamboo Annals were correct, whereas the other interpretation, as represented by Confucius-edited books [i.e., the survivor of Qin Shihuangdi's book burning), could be a revision.
 
After Aoding will be brother Taigeng. Taigeng's son will be Xiaojia. Xiaojia's brother is Yongji. Vassals refused to pay respect to Yongji. Yongji's brother is Taiwu. Taiwu used Yi Yin's son, Yi She, as prime minister. Shang prestige improved, and vassals came to pay respect again. Taiwu was given imperial title as 'Zhong Zong' (i.e., middle ancestor).
 
Taiwu's son would be Zhongding. Zhongding relocated the capital to Ao (Aocang, Henan Prov). Brother Hedanjia was his prime minister. Zuyi (son of brother Hedanjia) moved to Geng (Gengxiang, Pishi-xian County, Henan Prov). After Lord Zhongding died, brother Wairen was enthroned. After Wairen would be brother Hedanjia. At the time of Lord Hedanjia, Shang Dynasty declined in prestige again. After Hedanjia would be son Zuyi. At the time of Lord Zuyi, Shang Dynasty rose in prestige. After Zuyi would be his son Zuxin. After Zuxin would be brother Aojia. After Aojia would be the son of brother Zuxin, i.e., Zuding. After Zuding would be son of brother Aojia, i.e., Nangeng. After Nangeng would be son of brother Zuding, i.e., Yangjia. At the time of Lord Yangjia, Shang Dynasty declined in prestige once again. Historians commented that Shang declined ever since Lord Zhongding due to the frequent deposing and usurpation of lords among brothers and nephews.
 
After Yangjia would be brother Pan'geng. Pan'geng crossed the Yellow River to the south and relocated the capital back to Bo (Yanshi, Henan), Shang-Tang's old city. Shang people had relocated their capital five times by then. The Shang Dynasty (1765 B.C.E. - 1134 BC) ruled parts of northern and central China. Shang people had altogether relocated their capital eight times, possibly related to the Yellow River flooding. (Cai Dongfan stated that the Yellow River was first worked on by Lord Yu and eight hundred years after, the Shang people began to experience the flooding again.) The dynasty moved its capitals in history, to modern Loyang, modern Zhengzhou, and finally to Anyang (called Yin at the time) under Pan'geng the 20th king. During the times of Shang-Tang, its capital city was located at Bo, today's Shangqiu, Henan Province. (Bo was the place where Diku, the father of Xie, had dwelled as the capital.)
 
After Pangeng would be brother Xiaoxin. At the time of Lord Xiaoxin, Shang Dynasty declined in prestige. After Xiaoxin would be brother Xiaoyi.
 
After Xiaoyi would be son Wuding (1324-1265 B.C.E. ?). Wuding was eager to look for saints to manage the country; Wuding did not talk much for three years; and Wuding located a saint by the name of Fu Sui in the wilderness and made him a prime minister. Shang prestige rose again. Wuding was entitled 'Gao Zong' (i.e., highest ancestor). Wuding's wife would be the famous female warrior of China, Fu Hao, who had led a campaign against ancient Tu-fang barbarians in the north (either on the northern steppe or still in Shanxi Prov. Fuhao, to campaign in the north, must have passed through Ji-fang, i.e., southern Shanxi Prov where Xia remnants dwelled.) Fu Hao was authenticated by the tomb excavation which was a result of a determination and a perception of a female archaeologist that something deep under Shang Ruins in Anyang must be lying. That turns out to be Fu Hao's tomb. Good websites about her would be:
 
http://www.span.com.au/100women/12.html
http://www.ayyx.com/e-fhm.htm
 
Interesting about her tomb would be bronze utensils made in Sichuan Province in the west. It shows the kind of close relations Shang people had with people in the perimeter. Also noted by Scholar Zhan Quanyou (The Culture of Nan-zhao & Da-li Statelets, 2002 edition, Sichuan People's Press, Chengdu, Sichuan) would be the fact that ancient Yunnan Prov people could be the sole supplier of tin for the bronze of Shang Dynasty and succeeding dynasties. We simply could not discount the ancient people's knowledge and contacts with each other. (In the section on China & America, we provided scholarly research into the possibility that Shang people might have migrated towards American continents after their defeat in the hands of Zhou Dynasty. Do note that Wei Chu-hsien, who attempted to validate an opposite movement of Yantze River Chinese towards the north and northwest by deciphering the literal meaning of the town of Wuxi [lietrally meaning "no tin"], had claimed that the tin of Shang Chinese came from a hill near Wuxi in Yangtze River mouth [where tin mine was exhausted in 3rd century BC], not from Southwestern China. Wei, who had contributions to the excavation of Liangzhu Culture in 1930s, did not get to know the Sanxingdui bronze culture in Sichuan Prov which apparently served as a venue for the tin of Southwest China to reach the Yellow River.)
 
After Wuding would be son Zugeng. After Zugeng would be brother Zujia. Zujia was lascivious and Shang declined again. After Zujia would be son Linxin. After Linxin would be brother Gengding. After Gengding would be son Wuyi. Wuyi relocated the capital to the north of the Yellow River; Lord Wuyi was despotic; and Wuyi, while hunting between Yellow River and Wei-shui River, was stricken and killed by lightening for his disdain of the Heaven. After Wuyi would be son Taiding. After Taiding would be son Yili. At the times of Yili, Shang declined. Yili's elder son was called Wei-zi (Qi2) who was not conferred the crown prince status because Wei-zi's mother was not of noble background. (Ancient classics, Suo Ying, claimed that the title of Wei[1] for Wei-zi was the conferred land of Wei[1] for the elder prince.) Junior son of Yili would be Xin, i.e., Lord Zhou4 (Zhouwang).
 
Cheng-Tang Revolution
Shang-Tang claimed that Lord Highness (Heaven) instructed him to campaign against Xia Lord Jie because of Jie's corruption, lasciviousness and cruelty. Later, Confucius would term it 'Cheng-Tang Revolution' or 'Shang-Tang Revolution', a word that would be used by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in his efforts at overthrowing Manchu rule. With the advice of Yi Yin, Shang-Tang successfully defeated Xia Dynasty and banished the last king of Xia, Jie, to today's Anhui Province. Jie's son would later flee to the northern plains to become ancestors of the Huns. Yi Yin would later live to the age of 100 years and he became mainly responsible for advising four Shang kings.
 
Pangeng the 20th king moved the capital to Anyang (called Yin at the time). After another eleven kings would come King Zhouwang of Shang Dynasty who finally lost his kingdom to the Zhou people, a tribe from the west, who dwelled in today's Shaanxi or Shenxi Province. The Shang people, unlike earlier Xia people, would be of the origin as the Eastern Yi people. The later Zhou people were said to have migrated to the west of China from the east as well. Qin's ancestor could be traced to Bo Yi under Lord Shun, and Bo Yi assisted Lord Yu in mastering the floods. Shang, Zhou and Qin people are all said to be from the east against the Xia people in the west. The last Shang ruler, King Zhouwang, would be a despotic ruler. He killed one marquis (Jiu Hou) and Jiu Hou's daughter because the queen (Jiu Hou's daughter) was not lewd. Another marquis (Er Hou) was killed when he tried to protect Jiu Hou. Count Xibo (i.e., Ji Chang) sighed about the killings, and hence was imprisoned by Shang King Zhouwang. Shang King Zhouwang would kill Xibo's elder son, Boyikao, and made a dish out of Boyikao's flesh for Xibo to eat. Shang King Zhouwang laughed when Xibo ate it without knowing that it was his son's flesh. Xibo was set free only after Xibo's minister bribed Shang King Zhouwang by presenting a beauty.