The Dynasties of Ancient China

The archaeology of ancient China provides insight into historical events dating back four and a half
millennia to roughly 2500 BCE. It is customary to refer to events in Chinese history according to the
dynasty to which the period's ancient rulers belonged. This isn't just true of ancient history, since the last
dynasty, the Qing, ended in the 20th century. Nor is this true just of China. Ancient Egypt is another long-
lived society for which we use dynasties (and kingdoms) to date events.

The first Chinese dynasty was the Xia. This was a Bronze Age dynasty that is known mostly from legend.
The first three dynasties, the Xia, and the next two, the Shang, and Zhou are sometimes called the "three
holy dynasties".

Like Egyptian chronology, with its "kingdoms" interlaced with intermediate periods, dynastic China faced
various challenges that led to chaotic, power-shifting periods referred to by terms like "six dynasties" or
"five dynasties." These descriptive labels are similar to the more modern Romans' year of the six
emperors and year of the five emperors. Thus, for example, the Xia and Shang dynasties may have
existed concurrently rather than one after the other.

The Qin Dynasty starts the imperial period, while the Sui Dynasty begins the period referred to as
Classical Imperial China.

01. Xia (Hsia) Dynasty