How old is the xia dynasty

For years, the tribes around the Yellow River had been ravaged by a great flood. Many had tried to stop the flooding, but the waters were too strong.

For 13 years, Yu labored, and with the help of his fellow tribesmen, Yu succeeded. As a result, agricultural production boomed, and the Xia tribe became the most powerful in the land.

Yu crushed competing tribes and established himself as the emperor of not just a tribe, but of a dynasty. Sixteen emperors followed Yu, until the final ruler, Jie, was overthrown by the Shang for being corrupt. Thus began the Chinese concept of the Mandate of Heaven, which continued to be used throughout each successive dynasty to legitimize rulers.

This political and spiritual doctrine has it that an emperor was ordained by Heaven. Interestingly, the biggest sign that an emperor had lost favor with Heaven was a natural disaster, like a flood or famine. For better or worse, it is the origin story of the Chinese people. We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements.

To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK". Sign Up. Travel Guides. Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love. Rachel Deason. The Qin empire marked a period of Chinese unification, where surrounding territories were brought under the rule of the emperor. Qin Shin Huang embarked on an authoritarian government augmented with significant infrastructural development, and began work on what would become the Great Wall of China.

Qin Shin Huang died in B. The Qin dynasty is also thought to be the origin of the European name for China.

Qin Shin Huang was succeeded by his son, Qin Er Shi, whose reign lasted for only three years before he was unseated in B. The leader of the rebels, Liu Bang, became the first emperor of the Han dynasty. The Han dynasty B. During this time, the Silk Road a trade route from Asia to the Mediterranean and East Africa became established by Han emperors and trade flourished. The historian Sima Qian wrote extensively during this period, and Confucianism became the official state religion.

In C. The next years between — C. The Three Kingdoms was a period between — C. The region further fractured into the Northern and Southern territories between and C.

The Tang dynasty enjoyed significant stability and is often described as the greatest of the dynasties. Interestingly, in C. Mongol Takeover A period of warring followed the Tang dynasty, and in C. During the Song dynasty, the first paper money in the world was issued. The Song dynasty lasted until C.

The conquest of China by the Mongols marked the greatest reach of the Mongol Horde, who then ruled China as the Yuan dynasty from C. During the Mongol rule of China, Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant, visited and wrote extensively about his travels along the Silk Road. The Yuan dynasty was deposed in C. The Ming emperors oversaw extensive building and repair along the Great Wall of China in an effort to preserve their crumbling borders. The invading forces of the Manchu people from the northern border eventually ended the Ming dynasty in C.

The Qing were Manchu people rather than Han Chinese. The Manchu are a nomadic ethnic minority with their own language and customs coming from what is now northeastern China. During the Qing period, Chinese territory reached its greatest extent.

While the Qing empire was relatively stable, the 19 th and 20 th centuries brought China into increasing conflict with Western powers, and in C. The United States is a republic. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.

Archaeologists have discovered an advanced Bronze Age culture in China. Its capital, Erlitou, was a huge city around BCE. This may in fact be the people referred to in Chinese mythology as the Xia. It is believed that the Xia may have created a primitive writing system, though no evidence of this has been found.

However, evidence does suggest that the Xia developed agricultural methods and experienced considerable prosperity. However, lack of irrigation and flood protection made the region prone to frequent floods and other natural disasters. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Search for:.