| − | The traditional view of ancient Chinese history, still promoted by the Chinese government, is of a succession of dynasties from Xia to Shang to Zhou going back 5,000 years. Historians working in China identify Erlitou with the Xia dynasty.<ref>The official view of ancient chronology is given by the [http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/17161 Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project] (2001), which refines the traditional timeline.</ref> However, other states and cultures existed at this time, and the focus of on Xia, Shang, and Zhou may reflect the basis of dynasty-oriented historians. Among the first historians to carefully separate myth from history was [[Sima Qian]]. His history begins with with the exile of King Li of the Zhou dynasty in 841 BC, still the earliest securely dated event in Chinese history. | + | The traditional view of ancient Chinese history, still promoted by the Chinese government, is of a succession of dynasties from Xia to Shang to Zhou going back 5,000 years. Historians working in China identify Erlitou with the Xia dynasty.<ref>The official view of ancient chronology is given by the [http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/17161 Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project] (2001), which refines the traditional timeline.</ref> However, other states and cultures existed at this time, and the focus on the traditional dynastic sequence may reflect the basis of dynasty-oriented historians. Among the first historians to carefully separate myth from history was [[Sima Qian]]. His history begins with with the exile of King Li of the Zhou dynasty in 841 BC, still the earliest securely dated event in Chinese history. |