Great Lecture on Chinese History: A Brief History of the Xia and Shang Dynasties

Author: Meng Shikai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The social nature of the Xia and Shang dynasties is currently a topic of debate in academia, as there is no consensus. This issue is closely related to the question of when China's civilization began. In other words, when was the state centered around the Huaxia people established in Chinese history, and when did class society emerge? Currently, there are several viewpoints: (1) China's history of civilization is approximately 6,000 years old, with the slave-owning society beginning as early as the periods of Taihao, Yandi, Huangdi, and Shaohao. (2) The state and class society were established as early as the periods of Yandi and Huangdi 5,000 years ago. (3) The state was officially established and the slave-owning society began only in the periods of Yao and Shun 4,000 years ago. (4) The Xia Dynasty was officially established and the slave-owning society began only after the establishment of the son-succession system by Xia Yu. (5) The Xia and Shang dynasties were still tribal societies, and the slave-owning society only emerged in the late Shang Dynasty. In the past 50 years, the most popular view in the field of history has been that the state established during the Xia Dynasty was China's first slave-owning dynasty, and the Shang Dynasty was China's second slave-owning dynasty. In this book, the same view is adopted to narrate that the state established during the Xia Dynasty marked the beginning of China's slave-owning society, and the Shang Dynasty was the second slave-owning dynasty. As for which type of slave-owning system the Xia and Shang dynasties belonged to, there is also significant debate in academia. This involves both theoretical issues and material issues, which fall within the scope of specialized research. In this book, excessive elaboration is not provided, and only a general introduction is given based on the materials used.