100 BC ) and Bamboo Annals assert the existence of a Xia Dynasty before the Shang.

Sima Qian, writing in the late 2nd century BC, dated the founding of the Xia Dynasty to around 2200 BC, but this date has not been corroborated.

Capitals: of the Song Dynasty, Kaifeng and Lin ' an ; of the Liao Dynasty, Shangjing, Nanjing, and Tokmok ; of the Jin Dynasty, Shangjing, Zhongdu, and Kaifeng ; of the Western Xia Dynasty, Yinchuan

Meanwhile, in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia, there emerged a Western Xia Dynasty from 1032 to 1227, established by Tangut tribes.

In the ensuing years, China was divided between the Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty and the Tangut Western Xia.

) A calendar using this new year is often referred to as " the Xia Calendar " ( 夏曆 / 夏历 ), following the Shiji which states that under the Xia Dynasty, the year began on the second new moon after the winter solstice.

According to the Han Shu 21a, 973, for the moment of unification the Middle kingdoms had 6 different calendars: those of the mythological progenitors Yellow Emperor ( 黄帝曆 ) and Zhuanxu ( 顓頊曆 ); of the dynasties Xia ( 夏曆 ), Yin ( 殷曆 ), and Zhou ( 周曆 ), and of the Zhou Dynasty state of Lu ( 鲁曆 ).

The earliest records of prohibition of alcohol date back to the Xia Dynasty ( ca.

Yu the Great, the first ruler of the Xia Dynasty, prohibited alcohol throughout the kingdom.

In the Middle Ages, the Mongol Empire's campaign against China ( then comprising the Western Xia Dynasty, Jin Dynasty, and Southern Song Dynasty ) by Genghis Khan until Kublai Khan, who eventually established the Yuan Dynasty in 1271, with their armies was extremely effective, allowing the Mongols to sweep through large areas.

In China, there was a triangular affair of continued war and peace settlements between the Song Dynasty, the Tanguts-led Western Xia in the northwest, and the Khitans of the Liao Dynasty in the northeast.

* 2070 BC ( disputable ): Yu the Great set up the Xia Dynasty, which isn't verified by archeological findings, some propose the Erlitou culture.

* 2040 BC: Beginning of the Xia Dynasty, the first dynasty and government system in China.

* Li Jiqian, Tangut jiedushi who ruled the new Western Xia Dynasty in northwestern China ( b. 963 )

* c. 2030 – 1556 BC — Xia Dynasty, first Chinese dynasty and government system established

Hence, as some scholars of China suggest, the Xia and the Shang can possibly refer to political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou is known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.

* Chongzong Emperor, ruler of Northwest China ( Western Xia )

* Huizong Emperor, ruler of Northwest China ( Western Xia )

* Jingzong Emperor, ruler of Northwest China ( Western Xia )

* Yizong Emperor, ruler of Northwest China ( Western Xia )

* Li Jiqian, Tangut jiedushi who ruled the new Western Xia Dynasty in northwestern China ( d. 1004 )

* The Western Xia declare their independence from Liao China.

* King Cheng Tang of Shang of China, first ruler of Shang Dynasty, ruled China for 29 years since 1600 BC according to the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project.

* Jie, The last ruler of Xia Dynasty, ruled China for 52 years until 1600 BC according to the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project.

* Jie, Legendary King of the supposed Xia dynasty ( existence disputed ) in China, r. c. 1728 – 1675 BC

The actual political situation in early China may have been more complicated, with the Xia and Shang being political entities that existed concurrently, just as the early Zhou, who established the successor state of the Shang, are known to have existed at the same time as the Shang.

The Xia Dynasty (; ; c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC ) is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian.

Although the Xia is an important element in early Chinese history, reliable information on the history of China before 13th century BC can only come from archaeological evidence since China's first established written system on a durable medium, the oracle bone script, did not exist until then.

In The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art and Cosmos in Early China, Sarah Allan noted that many aspects of the Xia are simply the opposite of traits held to be emblematic of the Shang dynasty.

* 2040 BC – 1556 BC: Xia Dynasty in China, Olmec civilization ( Mesoamerica ).

Thereafter, the Western Xia troops were incorporated into the Mongol army in their subsequent military conquests in central and southern China.

The Bronze Age in China began with the Xia Dynasty.

Most archaeologists now connect the Xia to excavations at Erlitou in central Henan province, where a bronze smelter from around 2000 BC was unearthed.

* 1093: when the Chinese Empress Dowager Gao dies, the conservative faction that had followed Sima Guang is ousted from court, the liberal reforms of Wang Anshi reinstated, and Emperor Zhezong of Song halted all negotiations with the Tanguts of the Western Xia, resuming in armed conflict with them.

Even though archaeological evidence has been found at Erlitou that indicate the Xia Dynasty existed from about 2100 BC to 1800 BC, they are not usually considered a true dynasty.

The tradition of tracing Chinese political history from heroic early emperors to the Xia to succeeding dynasties comes from the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, in which only one legitimate dynasty can exist at any given time, and was promoted by the Confucian school in the Eastern Zhou period, later becoming the basic position of imperial historiography and ideology.

Yu was successful in stopping the flooding and increased the produce from farming ( since the floods usually destroyed the crops ), the Xia tribe ’ s influence strengthened and Yu became the leader of the surrounding tribes.

Unlike Sima Qian's list of Shang Dynasty kings, which is closely matched by oracle bones from late in that period, records of Xia rulers have not yet been found in archeological excavations.

However, this campaign was ultimately a failure due to a rival military officer of Shen disobeying direct orders, and the territory gained from the Western Xia was eventually lost.

This title may have been used in the Shang and Xia dynasties, though oracle bones were found from the Shang Dynasty showing the title ( 王 wáng ).

Its reference as " Western Xia " came from the Chinese record of " Xi-Xia " ( 西夏 ), literally " Western Xia ", and thus that name is often used in sinological literature.

The founder of the Tangut-Western Xia was the Tuoba Xianbei from the Tuyuhun Kingdom.

After Jin Dynasty attacked and took parts of the northern territories from the Song Dynasty, initiating the Southern Song period, Western Xia also attacked and took several thousands square miles of land.

Liu Bobo, a surviving prince of the Tiefu fled to the Ordos Loop, where he founded a state called the Xia ( thus named because of the Xiongnu's supposed ancestry from the Xia dynasty ) and changed his surname to Helian ( 赫連 ).

Tongwancheng ( meaning " Unite All Nations ") was the capital of the Xia ( Sixteen Kingdoms ), whose rulers claimed descent from Modu Chanyu.

Today the " Monguor " as known in the West and as “ Tu Zu ” in China may have descended from the Xianbei who were led by Tuyuhun Khan to migrate westward and establish the Tuyuhun Kingdom ( 284-670 ) in the third century and Western Xia ( 1038 – 1227 ) through the thirteenth century.

Heaven ordered Shang Tang to receive the heavenly commission from the Xia Dynasty, which had failed morally and which Heaven was determined to end.

Sima Qian is often compared to the Greek Herodotus in scope and method, because he covered Chinese history from the mythical Xia Dynasty until the contemporary reign of Emperor Wu of Han while retaining an objective and non-biased standpoint.

Incense was used by Chinese cultures from Neolithic times and became more widespread in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.

# 12 volumes of Benji ( 本紀 ), " Basic Annals " or " Imperial Biographies ", contain the biographies of all prominent rulers from the Yellow Emperor to Qin Shi Huang and the kings of Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.