Changes

==Myth or history?==

==Myth or history?==

Although the two most authoritative references, ''Cambridge History of Ancient China'' (1999) and the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project (2000), both treat the Xia as historical and identify it with the Erlitou site,<ref>Chen Ning, "[http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/topic/31689-the-controversy-of-the-xia-shang-zhou-chronology-p/ The Controversy of the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project]" (2009)<br />Michael Loewe, Edward L. Shaughnessy, ''The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC'' Cambridge University Press (1999). See "The Question of the Xia Dynasty," p. 71.</ref> skepticism remains.<ref>Gillery, Bruce (July 20, 2000), "[http://web.archive.org/web/20010413175526/http://www.feer.com/_0007_20/p74currents.html Digging into the Future]", ''Far Eastern Economic Review'': 74–77.</ref>

Although the two most authoritative references, ''Cambridge History of Ancient China'' (1999) and the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project (2000), both treat the Xia as historical and identify it with the Erlitou site,<ref>Chen Ning, "[http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/topic/31689-the-controversy-of-the-xia-shang-zhou-chronology-p/ The Controversy of the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project]" (2009)<br />Michael Loewe, Edward L. Shaughnessy, ''The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC'' Cambridge University Press (1999). See "The Question of the Xia Dynasty," p. 71.</ref> skepticism remains.<ref>Gillery, Bruce (July 20, 2000), "[https://web.archive.org/web/20010413175526/http://www.feer.com/_0007_20/p74currents.html Digging into the Future]", ''Far Eastern Economic Review'': 74–77.</ref>

{{History of China}}

{{History of China}}

Xia was only one of dozens of states in China at this time.<ref name="Lee" /> Yu is said to have summoned the leaders of "10,000 states."<ref name=cambridge71>''Cambridge''. p. 71.</ref> Oral tradition concerning the pre-historic states may have been reworked when their stories were written down in the early [[Zhou dynasty]] (c. 1045–256 BC). Emphasis on the Xia supports a "unilinear" view of history in which each dynasty passes the baton to the next.<ref name="Lee" /> Critics of this approach suggest that the Xia, Shang, and Zhou could all have existed at the same time as three of the 10,000 states.<ref name="cambridge71" /> Although the unilinear approach is much-criticized, it remains the standard framework for interpreting Chinese history.

Xia was only one of dozens of states in China at this time.<ref name="Lee" /> Yu is said to have summoned the leaders of "10,000 states."<ref name=cambridge71>''Cambridge''. p. 71.</ref> Oral tradition concerning the pre-historic states may have been reworked when their stories were written down in the early [[Zhou dynasty]] (c. 1045–256 BC). Emphasis on the Xia supports a "unilinear" view of history in which each dynasty passes the baton to the next.<ref name="Lee" /> Critics of this approach suggest that the Xia, Shang, and Zhou could all have existed at the same time as three of the 10,000 states.<ref name="cambridge71" /> Although the unilinear approach is much-criticized, it remains the standard framework for interpreting Chinese history.