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Xia culture explores the form and task

Xia culture explores the form and task

Speaker: Liu Xu Director of the Xia Shang Archaeological Professional Committee of the Chinese Archaeological Society Professor of the School of Archaeology and Archaeology of Peking University

Time: July 15, 2019, 9:20 a.m. to 11:50 a.m

Location: Jinming Campus of Henan University

Finisher: Li Ping, 2018 master's degree in archaeology from Henan University

Xia culture explores the form and task

Figure 1 Professor Liu Xu

Chinese scholars' discussions on Xia culture began in the early 1930s when Mr. Xu Zhongshu first combined archaeological materials with documentary records and proposed that Yangshao culture is the beginning of the theory that Xia culture is 1, and has a history of more than 80 years. For more than 80 years, with the accumulation of archaeological data and the diligent exploration of scholars, considerable consensus has been reached. However, due to the limitations of archaeology itself and the lack of written materials at that time, there were inevitably local differences, and it was impossible to demand 100% accuracy, and the road to exploration was still long. What has happened to the cultural discussion in recent years? What to do next? These are all issues of great concern to the Xia Shang archaeology community.

I. Review of xia culture research

1. Discussion about the existence of the Xia Dynasty

Before the Xia Dynasty script was discovered, the discussion of the existence of the Xia Dynasty should start from the earliest documentary and written materials recorded in the Xia Dynasty, and it is now known that the documents and written materials that meet this condition belong to the Zhou Dynasty. The written materials are actual records of the time, and have not been erroneously copied, interpreted, added or deleted by later generations, so there is no doubt about them. So let's look at the text first.

Several (groups) of Zhou Dynasty bronze inscriptions are known to mention Yu and Xia. Such as the Spring and Autumn Qi Instrument Shuyi Bell, the Spring and Autumn Qin Instrument Qin Gonggui and the Qin Gongzhong. Among them, the Qin Gonggui inscription praises the ancestors of Qin who "received the Mandate of Heaven to be the traces of Yu Zhao" and "The Wild Xia of the Qin Dynasty" (Figure 2). The Qin GongZhong inscription has similar content. The inscription on the chimes excavated from the tombs in the middle of the Spring and Autumn period in Suizhou Jujube Grove has the words "Shuai Yu's Block".2 The Middle Western Zhou Dynasty Sui Gong Cup in the collection of the Poly Museum has the words "Mandate of Heaven Yu Shi Tu". First, the Zhou Dynasty's understanding of the existence of Yu and Xia was very common, not only in the Zhou Dynasty system of Zhou people or feudal states, but also in the most remote areas of the Zhou Dynasty. Second, the Zhou Dynasty not only believed that Yu and Xia once existed, but also the concept of Yu as a hero was also very common. At that time, the ability to "deal with the blockade of Yu" and the traces of The House Yu was regarded as a sacred and brilliant cause that could only be achieved by obeying the Mandate of Heaven. This idea was already formed by the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty at the latest.

Xia culture explores the form and task
Xia culture explores the form and task

Fig. 2 The Qin Gonggui and its inscriptions

In the Han Dynasty, the records of the history of the Xia Dynasty were more systematic, and often juxtaposed Xia with the Shang and Er Dynasties, and regarded Xia as the beginning of the early dynasty. Sima Qian did this when he compiled the Records of History, and wrote the Xia Benji for the Xia Dynasty before the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Since the Han Dynasty, people have always believed in the existence of the Xia Dynasty. Until modern times, due to the impact of traditional concepts by Western learning, the wind of doubting the ancient and the false has arisen, gu Jiegang has doubts about the history of the Xia Dynasty, especially the "humanity" of Yu, thinking that it is a mythical figure, emphasizing its "divinity". However, Mr. Gu did not completely deny the existence of the Xia Dynasty3. With the vigorous development of oracle bone deciphering and Chinese archaeology, the discovery of Erligang culture and Erlitou culture has made people more convinced that the Xia Dynasty existed.

So far, most people in the domestic academic community believe that the Erlitou culture and part of the Longshan culture are Xia culture. As for many sinologists abroad, especially in Western countries, they have not yet accepted the existence of the Xia Dynasty.

2. The process of exploration of Xia culture

At the beginning of the 20th century, the deciphering of oracle bones and the introduction of modern archaeology injected new vitality into historical research and opened up new avenues. Many people believe that the combination of "underground materials" and "materials on paper" will achieve unexpected results. Most of the Shang Dynasty princes and kings seen in the "History of Yin Benji" are identified in the oracle bones, making people realize that the content of the "History of Xia Benji" will not be all fictional, and the Xia Dynasty at the same time as the Shang Dynasty should exist. In the autumn of 1929, during the 3rd excavation of the Yin Ruins, a piece of Yangshao faience pottery was found in the Yin Dynasty cultural layer, indicating that the Yangshao culture predates the late Shang Dynasty (Figure 3). Therefore, scholars at that time believed that the Yangshao culture may be the Xia culture. In the 1950s, the archaeological culture chronicle in the Central Plains since the Yangshao culture was basically established: Yangshao culture - Henan Longshan culture - Luoda Temple type - Erligang period culture - Yin XuShang culture.

In 1959, Xu Xusheng carried out the "Summer Market" survey. Although the investigation did not determine which site may belong to the Xia Dynasty period, it preliminarily determined that the Erlitou site in Yanshi County was likely to be the site of Chengtang Xibo. Through further excavation, most people in the academic circles believe that the identification of Xia culture and Shang culture has been solved, that is, the late Longshan culture and the early and middle Erlitou culture are Xia culture; the late Erlitou culture is the early Shang culture (Chengtang Xibo), and the Erligang culture is the Chinese Shang culture (Zhongding Falcon Capital). Therefore, in the winter of 1977, the "Henan Dengfeng Completed Ruins Excavation Site Meeting" was held in Dengfeng, Henan Province, to discuss the issue of Xia culture, which was actually the first academic seminar on Xia culture. At the meeting, Mr. Zou Heng of Peking University expressed a different view, believing that Zhengzhou Mall is the capital of Chengtang, Erligang culture is early Shang culture, and Erlitou culture is Xia culture from one to four periods. This led to a heated debate.

In the early 1980s, after the discovery of Yanshi Mall, most scholars abandoned the view that the Erlitou site was Xi bo, believing that Yanshi Shangcheng was Xi Bo. Because Yanshi Mall belongs to the Erligang cultural period, that is, at the same time as Zhengzhou Mall. In this way, the discussion of Xia culture has basically formed a consensus in the academic circles, that is, the late stage of Erlitou culture and Longshan culture is Xia culture, and Erligang culture is early Shang culture. The "Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Project" also supports this view.

3. Xia culture - the main discoveries and characteristics of Erlitou culture

The important discoveries of the Erlitou culture are as follows:

(1) Some large-scale palace buildings and Miyagi Castle (Figures 3 and 4)

Xia culture explores the form and task
Xia culture explores the form and task

Figure 3 Layout of the palace buildings at the Erlitou site and the base site of the No. 1 Palace

Figure 4 Restoration of the Palace Building No. 1

(2) Bronze

Bronze is one of the important symbols of the early stage of Chinese civilization, which began in the Longshan era, but the bronzes found in the Longshan era are very few, and most of them are limited to small hand tools, and the workshops that cast bronzes have not been found. In contrast, the bronze casting industry of erlitou culture has developed unprecedentedly. The variety of bronze artifacts found at the Erlitou site alone includes almost the most important categories of the Chinese Bronze Age. At the same time, a copper casting workshop was found at the Erlitou site, covering a range of more than 10,000 square meters, belonging to the second to fourth phases of the Erlitou culture, which continued to be used for about 300 years, and was the earliest copper casting workshop known in the Central Plains. Xia Dynasty bronzes are mainly found in the Erlitou site, the container in the ceremonial vessel (Fig. 5), there are 4 kinds of currently seen, namely Ding, Jue, Cup, And Axe. This is the earliest bronze vessel known to China.

Figure 5 Bronze ceremonial vessels of the Xia Dynasty: 斝, 盉, 爵, 鼎

Figure 6 Xia Dynasty Weapons: Ge and Qi

(3) Popular human sacrifice

In the early Chinese civilization, there is another special phenomenon that has not attracted the attention of the academic community, that is, in the Xia Dynasty and the Shang Dynasty, it is popular to use human sacrifices, which can be called "human sacrifices", which have been rare since then. Specifically, in the sites of the Xia and Shang dynasties, "human head pits" and "mass burial pits" were common. There are many records of killing sacrifices in the oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty. This is the best material to explain social stratification, population classification, complex inter-ethnic relations and sharp social contradictions, the product of the development of human society to a certain stage, and an important aspect of discussing the occurrence and development of ancient Chinese civilization.

Xia culture explores the form and task

Figure 7 Human bone pit in Longshan City, Dengfeng Wangcheng, Henan

Second, the current situation of xia culture discussion

At the end of the 20th century, the golden age of discussion of Xia culture, the excavation of Yanshi Shangcheng and Erlitou ruins, promoted the in-depth discussion of the problem, and the number of scholars participating in the discussion was unprecedented. Because of this, the discussion of Xia culture has basically formed a consensus, that is, the Erlitou culture is a Xia culture, and only its upper and lower limits are slightly divergent.

In this century, the situation of xia culture discussion is relatively quiet, far less enthusiastic than before, for two reasons, one is that the consensus is basically formed, and the in-depth discussion of details is more difficult; the other is the lack of important new discoveries that can promote the in-depth development of the problem. Consensus to consensus, silence to silence, as an academic issue, the discussion has not completely stopped, in addition to the consensus there are still different voices issued, mainly in two aspects. First, under the influence of the 14C dating data, it returns to the old theory - the Erlitou site Xi Bo theory, which believes that the first half of the Erlitou culture is the Xia culture and the second half is the Shang culture; the second is influenced by Western scholars, who oppose or refuse to discuss the Xia culture. This is a new trend in the discussion of Xia culture in recent years. The so-called new trends are in terms of the process of academic development, and in terms of viewpoints, they are actually not new, and they are all old topics that have long existed.

First look at the first trend: affected by the 14C dating data, return to the old theory - the Erlitou site Xi bo said, the first half of the Erlitou culture is the Xia culture, the second half is the Shang culture.

In 2000, the famous "Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Project" announced the phased results ("Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Project 1996-2000 Phased Achievements • Simplified Version", hereinafter referred to as "Simplified Version") 4. Regarding the historical age of the Xia Dynasty, the Jianben estimates that it is between 2070 BC and 1600 BC, which is the same as the traditional view. Regarding the Xia culture and early Shang culture, it is believed that the late Longshan culture in Henan and the first to fourth periods of the Erlitou culture are the Xia culture, and the Erligang culture represented by Zhengzhou Shangcheng and Yanshi Shangcheng is the early Shang culture. However, some of the 14C dating results released at the same time contradict these conclusions. There are two main points, one is that most of the dating of cultural relics in the early years of the Shang Dynasty falls between 1600 BC and 1525 BC. However, the era of the third phase of the Erlitou culture also falls within this period, and the third period of the Erlitou culture should also belong to the early years of the Shang Dynasty, which belongs to the early Shang culture. This contradicts the conclusion that the Erlitou culture identified by the "Jianben" is the Xia culture and the Erligang culture is the early Shang culture, so the two sets of dating results of the "Jianben" must have a set of unreliable; second, the late Erlitou culture in zhengzhou area- the late remnants of the Luoda Temple type, was measured between 1740 BC and 1540 BC, earlier than the late Erlitou culture. However, archaeologists generally believe that the late Loda Temple type is also the late Erlitou culture, that is, at the same time as the third and fourth phases of the Erlitou culture. Obviously, belonging to the remnants of the third and fourth phases of the Erlitou culture, the dating of the Zhengzhou site is earlier than that of the lower level of Erligang, while the dating of the Erlitou site is at the same time as that of the lower layer of Erligang. Obviously, there must be one thing wrong in both. For these two mistakes, Mr. Liu Xu once pointed out 5 in a written interview organized by the editorial department of "Central Plains Cultural Relics". At that time, Professor Liu Xu thought that it might be that the dating of the late Erlitou period was wrong, because the data of many other sites were consistent with the conclusions of the Xia Shang era in the Jianben and should be more reliable.

The results were unexpected, and the dating experts quickly released new data 6 of the 14C samples of the late Luoda Temple type in zhengzhou, pressing its age back by more than 100 years to make it consistent with the dating of the late Erlitou site, that is, equivalent to 1580-1485 BC, about the same as the fourth period of the Erlitou site. As for the contradiction between the late Erlitou culture and the lower age of The Erligang, it has also been adjusted accordingly, that is, it has been compressed backwards in turn. In this way, the late era of the Erlitou culture in Zhengzhou and Yanshi areas is the same, which coincides with the early Shang period, that is, the late Erlitou culture in both places belongs to the early Shang culture, and the Erligang culture enters the Chinese Shang. Obviously, it is a negation of Zheng Bo's theory and Yanshi Shangcheng's theory, and it is also a negation of the conclusion of the "Xia-Shang-Zhou Dynasty Project", which provides a new basis for individual scholars who adhere to the Theory of The Western Bo of the Erlitou Site. According to the new dating data, a few scholars who insisted on the Xiqi theory of the Erlitou site suddenly became active, and the representative figure was Mr. Yin Weizhang.

Since 2005, Mr. Yin Weizhang has published articles 7 in a row and has delivered speeches at many academic conferences and other academic activities, and the reason why Mr. Yin criticized Zheng Bo and Yanshi Shangcheng Xibo said that the Erlitou site is Xibo, and the third and fourth phases of the Erlitou culture belong to the early Shang culture, which is based on only one, that is, the 14C dating data since the "Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Project". Some dating experts and Mr. Yin cooperated with each other8, echoed each other, and also expressed similar views, supporting the Erlitou site Xi Bo and supporting the view that Yanshi Mall predates Zhengzhou Mall.

Affected by the new data of the 14C dating, after Mr. Yin, the current person in charge of the Erlitou site also issued a tendentious opinion on returning to the West of the Erlitou site9. This is mainly due to the work at the Erlitou site, in the face of the new 14C dating results, they can not avoid, in the belief in the new 14C dating results, believe that the Shang Dynasty began in about 1600 BC, they can only return to the old theory - the Erlitou site Xi Bo said, that "in the field of Exploration of the Xia-Shang Demarcation Boundary, so far can not rule out the possibility suggested by any hypothesis."

Look at the second trend, that is, under the influence of Western scholars, they disagree or refuse to discuss Xia culture, and even think that whether there is a Xia dynasty in Chinese history is between the two sides, avoiding the Tixia dynasty. In fact, this is also an old problem, western scholars have always believed so. For example, in 1990, an "International Symposium on Summer Culture" was held in Los Angeles, USA, which was the first time that the issue of Summer culture was discussed abroad. The theme of the conference was originally to discuss Xia culture, because Western scholars participated, and the final discussion did not revolve around the issue of Xia culture, but turned into a debate about the existence of the Xia Dynasty.

Mr. Zou Heng once reviewed this meeting 10, the scholars attending the meeting came from eastern and western countries, so the content of the study of Xia culture is different from that in China, and its performance is that Chinese scholars are talking about the specific understanding of Xia culture, which is full of relish, but Western scholars believe that the Xia Dynasty does not exist at all, at best it is an era of myths and legends, and cannot be specifically pointed out (this statement has long existed in China, or is based on it). For example, Hu Shi, who is quite supportive of Gu Jiegang's doubts about the ancients, said as early as the 1920s when talking about the Xia people: "As for the Xia people centered on Shanxi, all our historical materials at this time are really insufficient, so we have to put them between 'myths' and 'legends' to prevent the discovery of future historical materials." 11 As Guo Moruo wrote in 1935, "It is not a problem for us to conclude that the Xia Dynasty is still a legendary era. It is not to conclude that the Xia Dynasty is an era of legends, not that the Xia Dynasty did not exist. There are some, but there will not be much culture, and some are just a little bit of oral history. ”12

Why do Western scholars believe that the Xia Dynasty did not exist? There are two main reasons for Mr. Zou's analysis. First, Western scholars do not seem to know much about the academic gains of new Chinese archaeology since 1949, especially the major breakthroughs in Xia Shang Zhou, and their understanding is still stuck in the 1920s and 1930s. Second, Western scholars believe that no written materials describing their attributes at that time have been found, so they cannot be sure that there was Xia, nor can they be sure that there was early Shang. Their criterion for judging is that there is written material of the time, and these written materials describe their own attributes. For example, the oracle bones unearthed by the late Shang are engraved with the name of the Shang king and the name of the Dayi Shang. Therefore, Western scholars' study of China's pre-Qin history began with the late Shang. It should be recognized that there is legitimacy in this understanding. Due to the lack of written materials on self-evident attributes at that time, even if there is more evidence, it is impossible to draw 100% accurate conclusions. However, the fact that there is no 100% accurate conclusion does not mean that all the evidence is unreliable, not even one percent possible, thus denying the existence of the Xia and early Shang dynasties. This is obviously a bit extreme and inappropriate.

In short, as long as there is a little truth in the literature, we should not give up, we should actively explore, and the discussion of Xia culture should also be the same.

The three summer cultures explore the problems that need to be solved

The current discussion of Xia culture is mainly focused on the beginning and end of Xia culture. Although there are many commentators, there are still some issues that have been ignored and need to be seriously considered and demonstrated. There is also room for further discussion on the determination of the accumulation of years in the Xia Dynasty, especially the use of archaeological anthropological materials. Here's a hint:

1. About the first of xia culture

It involves the relationship between the Longshan culture, the Xinzhan period and the First Phase of the Erlitou culture. For the Xinzhan period, or Xinzhan culture, the current academic community is more generally considered to be earlier than the first period of Erlitou, and it is inferred that the Longshan culture in the Xinzhan area ended early and the Longshan culture in the Erlitou area ended late, that is, the Xinzhan culture and the Longshan culture in the Erlitou area were at the same time. So where is the distribution range of the two bounded? Since the Longshan culture in the Erlitou area ended later than the Longshan culture in the Xinzhan area, what is the difference between the Longshan cultures in the two places? What has changed? In the eastern part of the Central Plains (east of Yanshi), there is a new Culture between the Yulongshan culture and the Erlitou Culture, but not in the Erlitou area. How is this happening in other parts of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River? Is there a universality? In other words, was there a new era between the Yongsan era and the Erlitou era? Or is it an accidental phenomenon, limited to the Xinzhan area?

In addition, in the discussion of Xia Shang culture, many scholars believe that the occurrence of political events is out of sync with the changes in archaeological culture, such as after the change of dynasties, the culture of the old dynasty will not end immediately, and will continue to the early or early days of the new dynasty, because it is impossible to form its own characteristic culture at the beginning of the new dynasty, and the culture at this time is called "post-culture". So, the establishment of the Xia Dynasty is the alternation of Zen concession and hereditary succession, which is different from the change of dynasty, how to understand the archaeological culture? There is also a major event of "poor and cold summer", the Xia Dynasty once perished for about forty years, previous studies have taken into account, but the lag of culture is still not deeply investigated. If Xinzhong is the result of this event, its lower limit must also lag behind a period of time after the less recovered country, that is, into the middle of the Xia Dynasty.

2. About the tail of Xia culture

It involves the relationship between the first four phases of Erligang and the lower culture of Erligang. At present, many scholars in the academic community believe that the Xia Dynasty ended at the turn of the third and fourth phases of the Erlitou culture, or the turn of the early and late periods of the fourth period. The fourth or fourth period of the late Shang Dynasty entered the Shang Dynasty, which is the Shang Dynasty Xia culture, or "Post-Xia culture", which coexisted with the Yanshi Shangcheng Early Shang culture of Chengtang Xibo for a period or a period of time. However, so far, the Erlitou site has basically disappeared from the typical Erligang lower-level unit; Yanshi Shangcheng has basically not seen the typical Erlitou Phase IV unit, which requires the two sites to work hard to find in the future.

The "Post-Xia culture" of the Erlitou site is the source and basis for the theory of cultural lag, because it is determined to be in the early years of the new dynasty. However, the capital of the new dynasty, Xibo, which is only six kilometers away, has also appeared at the same time a new culture, the Shang culture, and it is also a boundary marker that distinguishes the boundaries of the Xia and Shang dynasties, which is a typical representative of the earliest early Shang culture. In this way, the so-called lag theory that the so-called dynastic change and the change of archaeological cultural phenomena are not completely synchronized becomes complicated, and there will be a lag in the culture of some places after the change of dynasties, and it will not change quickly, as "a post-certain culture" (such as the Erlitou site); some locations will change quickly, and can also become a symbol of the new era (such as Yanshi Mall). In this way, this theory is not universal, and is only suitable for the old dynastic ethnic groups, not for the new dynastic ethnic groups. Then, the so-called new dynasty at the beginning of the impossible to form its own characteristic culture, but also to follow the old dynasty culture for a period of lagging theory is too general, there is a suspicion of partial generalization, at least Yanshi Shangcheng Xi bo conclusion does not support this theory. What to do? Scholars who advocate this theory need to think about it and give a reasonable explanation.

3. On the issue of the Xia Dynasty and the Royal Family

When believing that the ancient "Bamboo Book Chronicle" and the "History of Xia Benji" Xia Dynasty from Yu to The 14th Dynasty and the 17th King, a total of 471 years are reliable, we must not only consider the question of how many years each life is, but also consider how long the average life expectancy of people at that time was. For the former, it is not known that the Xia Dynasty is related to the age of marriage of men, but the pre-Qin literature has records about the Zhou Dynasty, most of which are crowned into Ding before the age of twenty, marrying wives and having children, which can be used as a reference. For example, in "Xunzi Dayao", Yun: "The sons of the Son of Heaven are nineteen and crowned, and the crown is listened to, and their teachings are also." When the ninth year of the Xianggong of the Zuo Chuan recorded the meeting of Jin Lu, when the Marquis of Jin heard that Lu Hou was 12 years old, he said, "Twelve years is the end of one year, and the end of one star." The monarch is fifteen and gives birth to a son, and the crown gives birth to a son, and the ceremony is also. You can crown it. "It shows that the Zhou Dynasty was not married late and had children later, and before the age of twenty, they could get married and have children, that is, a generation of about 20 years, and the earlier Xia Shang should do the same." However, the 14th calendar of the Xia Dynasty was 471 years, with an average of 33 years per life, which meant that the men of the Xia Dynasty were married at about 30 years old, that is, a generation of about 30 years, which was much later than the Zhou Dynasty, which was contrary to common sense.

As for how long the average life expectancy of people in the Xia Shang period (except for young children), it should also be related to the age of marriage, if the average age at that time can reach the age of huajia, it is still difficult to understand that the marriage is a little later; if the average life expectancy is about 40 years old, the marriage age is as late as 30 years old, which is equivalent to self-destruction, and it will certainly not work. How long did people live at that time? Archaeological materials can provide good evidence, and some of the typical sites of the Xia and Shang dynasties involved in the academic circles are hereby listed to illustrate.

During the Erlitou cultural period, take the Erlitou site and the Dadianzi site as examples. There are many tombs excavated at the Erlitou site, but not many have been identified by gender age, and in terms of tombs with burial items, there are nearly 10 cases, and the oldest male and female are 45 years old13. Nearly half of the more than 600 Dadianzi tombs have been identified by sex and age, and nearly half of them died between the ages of 24 and 55; 35% died between the ages of 6 and 23; and 5 people over the age of 60 (2 men and 3 women), less than 1%. Not seen in people over 70 years of age. 14

In the early Shang Dynasty, there were not many tomb materials identified by gender age, and there were 29 Yanshi Malls, and the oldest age was 50 years old and 15. In The 22nd seat of Taixi in Gaocheng, "except for teenagers aged 14 and 50, adults between the ages of 20 and 50" died 16, the maximum age was 50-60 years old (M24), and no one over 60 years old was seen.

From the above-mentioned human bone identification results of the main sites of the Xia Shang Period, it can be seen that the life expectancy of people at that time was far from the same as that of the present, and the vast majority of people died before the age of 55, very few were over 60 years old, and the average life expectancy was less than 40 years. Therefore, it is impossible to get married after the age of 30. According to literature, there were four kings in the Xia Dynasty who reigned for as long as forty or fifty years (according to the ancient book "Bamboo Book Chronicle", "Yu Li forty-five years", Qi "died in the thirty-ninth year of the reign, the year seventy-eight", "The forty-four years of the later Fenli", "the post-Mangzhi throne, fifty-eight years"). 17, if so, their life expectancy is more than 60 years old, which is equivalent to saying that nearly a quarter of the Xia Wang has a high life expectancy (24%). Although the quality of life of the Xia King is high, it may be longer than the average person, but it cannot be too far away. As mentioned above, there are burials at the Erlitou site, and the maximum age of the deceased is only 45 years old. At other sites, less than 1% of the people over 60 years old are too different from the 24% proportion of the Xia King over 60 years old, and it is obvious that the age of these four Xia Kings is far beyond common sense, and it is indeed unbelievable, at least not fully believed.

In short, if it is believed that the 14th and 17th kings of the Xia Dynasty are reliable, then the number of 471 years of the Xia Dynasty may be wrong, that is, the number of years is too much. Conversely, if we believe that the number of 471 years of the Xia Dynasty is reliable, then the theory of the 14th and 17 kings of the Xia Dynasty may be wrong, that is, the number of worlds is less.

exegesis:

1. Xu Zhongshu, "On Xiaotun and Yangshao Again", Anyang Excavation Report, No. 3, 1931.

2. Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, etc.: "Excavation and Harvest of Jujube Grove Cemetery in Suizhou, Hubei Province in 2019", Jianghan Archaeology, No. 3, 2019.

3. Gu Jiegang, Shi Nianhai: A History of the Evolution of China's Territory, The Commercial Press, 1938.

4. Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Engineering Expert Group. Xia Shang Zhou Dynasty Project 1996-2000 Phase Achievement Report · Simplified Edition[M].Beijing: World Book Publishing Company, 2000.

5. LIU Xu. Some views on the chronology of the Xia Dynasty and the dating of the Xia culture[J].Central Plains Cultural Relics, 2001(2):32-33.

6. Zhang Xuelian, Qiu Shihua. On the 14th Carbon Framework of Xia Shang Zhou[J].Huaxia Archaeology, 2001(3):59-72.

7. a. Yin Weizhang.Chronological Problems of Zhengzhou Mall[M], "Mr. An Jinhuai Memorial Anthology". Zhengzhou: Elephant Publishing House, 2005;b. Yin Weizhang.Re-discussing the presumption of early Shang culture and related issues: Reflections after the conclusion of the Dynasty Project (1) [M] "Erlitou Site and Erlitou Cultural Research: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Erlitou Ruins and Erlitou Culture in China". Beijing: Science Press, 2006; c. Yin Weizhang. Reflections on methodological problems in the exploration of Xia culture - Reflections after the conclusion of the "Xia-Shang-Zhou Dynasty Project" (II)[J].Hebei Academic Journal, 2006(4):89-97;d. Yin Weizhang.Exploration and research must be operated in accordance with scientific procedures -- Reflections on the Conclusion of the "Xia-Shang-Zhou Dynasty Project"[M], Proceedings of the Forum on Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Forum to Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Scientific Excavation of the World Cultural Heritage of Yin Ruins, Anyang, Henan, October 2008 E. Yin Weizhang.Archaeological research must be operated in accordance with scientific procedures (excerpt) - Reflections after the conclusion of the "Xia-Shang-Zhou Dynasty Project"[J].Newsletter of the Research Center for Ancient Civilizations of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2009(17):12-13.

8. a. Zhang Xuelian, Qiu Shihua, Cai Lianzhen, "Carbon 14th Era Analysis of Zhengzhou Shangcheng and Yanshi Shangcheng", Central Plains Cultural Relics, No. 1, 2005; b. Zhang Xuelian: "The Establishment and Improvement of the Archaeological Chronological Sequence of the Erlitou-Erligang Culture in Xinzhan -Erlitou-Erligang Culture", Archaeology, No. 8, 2007.

9. Xu Hong. On the hypothesis that Erlitou was the capital of the early Shang Dynasty[J].Southern Cultural Relics, 2015(3):1-7.

10. Zou Heng. Xia Shang Zhou Archaeological Papers, Re-sequel[M].Beijing: Science Press, 2011.

11. Gu Jiegang: "Reply to Mr. Hu Liu Liang's Book" quotes Hu Shi's letter, Ancient History Discernment, vol. 1, p. 98, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1982 edition.

12. Guo Moruo: The Bronze Age, Science Press, 1957, p. 2.

13. Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: Erlitou: 1999-2006, Wu, Cultural Relics Publishing House, 2014 edition, pp. 59-62, Schedule 5-1.

14. Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Dadianzi: Xiajiadian Lower Cultural Site and Tomb Excavation Report[M].Beijing: Science Press, 1996.

15. Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Yanshi Mall: Volume 1, Volume 2[M].Beijing: Science Press, 2013.

16.Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics. Gaocheng Taixi Shang Dynasty Ruins[M].Beijing: Cultural Relics Publishing House, 1985.

17. Fang Shiming and Wang Xiuling: "Chronicle of ancient bamboo books", Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1981.

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Review: Hou Weidong

Xia culture explores the form and task

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Xia culture explores the form and task
Xia culture explores the form and task
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