Research Articles

 

Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.1, 2019

 

Inspiration from Sixty Years of Archaeological Exploration of Xia Culture (Abstract)

 

Zhu Fenghan

 

Works compiled in the Western Zhou frequently mention the Xia dynasty and its overthrow by the Shang, showing that the fact that the Xia preceded the Shang was common knowledge in the Western Zhou. This is the reason for the lack of misgivings on this point among Chinese historians, including the Doubting Antiquity School (Gushibian Pai) who suspected the authenticity of the historical system recorded in ancient books. In the 1920s and 1930s, especially after the excavation of the Yin Ruins in 1928, the older generation of Chinese historians frequently expressed in their writings a clear hope of finding traces of Xia activities through archaeology; this shows that the combination of Chinese archaeology and the study of written sources was a necessary development for Chinese history. In 1959, Xu Xusheng’s investigation of the “Xia remains” whose location had been identified from written sources officially initiated the opening stage of the archaeological exploration of Xia culture. Erlitou, located in what written sources had identified as a central area of Xia activities, was the largest site of urban settlement in China and even in East Asia at the time. The four phases of Erlitou culture represent the sustainable development of a single relatively independent archaeological culture. The remains of the Xiaqiyuan and Yueshi cultures found in the ruins of the later stage of the fourth phase can be related to the historical fact recorded in written sources that Tang overthrew the Xia. All of this serves as the basis for regarding the Erlitou culture as Xia culture. Answers to such questions as whether Erlitou culture has any script, and what civilization level it was at, await further archaeological research. The archaeological exploration of Xia culture shows that the scientific combination of ancient writings and historical archaeology based on rigorous and in-depth study in accordance with their respective disciplinary norms is the way forward for historiography.