Abstract
Erlitou and Xia: A Dispute between Chinese and Overseas Scholars
Highlights
IntroductionSince hard evidence for the existence of the Shang Dynasty was found at Yinxu, the substantiation of the Xia Dynasty is naturally the item on the agenda
The concept of the Xia Dynasty has played a crucial role in the exploration of the origin of incipient states in China
There has been a heated debate concerning the relationship between the Erlitou Culture and the Xia Dynasty
Summary
Since hard evidence for the existence of the Shang Dynasty was found at Yinxu, the substantiation of the Xia Dynasty is naturally the item on the agenda. Following textural research into ‘the residential area of the Xia ethnic group or the Xia tribe’, archaeologist Xu Xusheng suggested that the Luoyang plain in the central Henan Province and the lower reaches of the Fen River in the southwestern Shanxi Province might have been two potential areas where the Xia Dynasty might have existed and so went to Henan to conduct field surveys (Xu 1959: 593–596). Having discovered the remains of the early Shang at the Erlitou site at Yanshi, he suggested further archaeological surveys and excavations might be conducted in western of Henan and southwestern Shanxi.
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