The Historical, Economic, Cultural and Political Framework of Xia Dynasty in China

Xia Dynasty, the first hereditary dynasty recorded in China history books. It is generally believed that Xia Dynasty was a country in the form of tribal alliance. "Home is the world" in the history of China began with the establishment of Xia Dynasty. From Tang Dynasty and Yu Dynasty to Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty, the feudal vassal era was divided, and the emperor and vassal ruled separately. According to Records of the Historian Gong Yu, after Dayu succeeded in water control, he divided the world into Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yu, Yang, Jing, Liang and Yong Kyushu, and seized metal ore from Kyushu to cast Jiuding as a symbol of national rights, so Kyushu became synonymous with Huaxia. When it reached Xiajie, it was destroyed by Shang Tang.

Official system:

Xia Dynasty was built on the ruins of primitive social system. In the process of the gradual disintegration of primitive tribal system, patriarchal clan system has become a destructive force to it. Hereditary kingship and hereditary nobility in hereditary countries are gradually developed on the basis of patriarchal clan system. Therefore, after the formation of the country, aristocratic organizations at all levels should still maintain the old blood relationship and strictly distinguish surnames. The royal family enfeoffed tribes, in addition to maintaining their own surnames, but also established new surnames with fiefs, and doctors took the city as their surnames. Among the nobles at all levels, according to the different surnames, their respective clan relations were established. Although this clan relationship follows the legacy of the old clan organization, it is actually based on the patriarchal clan system, and the hierarchical status of nobles at all levels is determined according to their class rank and family affiliation.

In the Book of Rites, there is a saying that "the Yu family in the past valued respect, and respected respect", which reflects the importance that Xia people attach to official positions, and also shows from the side that there are obvious differences between the levels of official positions in Xia Dynasty.

Xia Hou was the supreme ruler of Xia Dynasty, who held the military and political power. Its subordinate troops, officials and prisons are the pillars of maintaining state power.

The organizational form of the Xia army can be seen from Gandhi's oath when he began to crusade against the Hu family. "Historical Records Xia Benji" said: "I want to fight and make a wish, that is, to ask Liu Qingliang to apply. Kay said,' Hey! People who have done six things swear to tell you that Hu Shi threatened the five elements, neglected the three rectifications, and died with heaven. Today will be d * * * the punishment of heaven. If you don't attack the left or the right, you won't be killed. If you don't take charge of the horse, you won't be killed. Repay ancestors with life; You don't have to die, you are in society, and your son gives money to your daughter. "Then put out DE gruyter. The world is salty. " This passage means that before the war began, Qi called ministers to denounce the crimes of the Hu family and warned the soldiers to be loyal to their duties. Those who make meritorious deeds are rewarded, and those who disobey orders are paid in hell. After the Hu family was initiated and destroyed, all the governors surrendered. Liu Qing, the man of six things, left, right, royal, etc. The oath refers to the titles of officers and soldiers.

After the release of Six Qing Dynasties and Historical Records Xia Benji, Kong Anguo said, "All the six armies of the Emperor will be in the Qing Dynasty."

"The Man of Six Things" summed up Kong Anguo and said: "Each has its own military affairs, so it is called six things." "Left" and "right", Zheng Xuan said, "left, the car is left. Right, right. " "Imperial", Kong Anguo said: "Imperial horses are also political."

Five-service tribute in Kyushu is the main source of Xia Houshi's economy, and there should be many officials specializing in service levy among the "Hundred Officials in Xia Houshi".

Car fighting is the main form of fighting in Xia Dynasty. Cai Shen's Collection of Books? Shi Gan said: "In ancient times, the method of fighting with chariots was that there were three warriors, one living in the left main shooting, the other living in the right main stabbing, riding horses in the middle and driving." This form of car bucket composed of left, right and royal personnel continued until the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

Zheng is the general name of officials in charge of specific affairs in Xia Dynasty. Che Zheng, Mu Zheng and Zheng Dong are officials in charge of vehicles, animal husbandry and catering. "Zuo Zhuan Ding A.D. Year" says: "Xi Zhong, the ancestor of Xue, lived in Xue and thought that the summer car was just right."

According to Zuo Zhuan. According to the records in A.D. Ai, Shao Kang used to be a priest of the Steele family. Later, "it is dangerous to escape, and it is right for it."

The Xia Dynasty established the Taishi Order. Tai Shigong is famous for his admonition and poor management.

"Mozi Geng Xu" records that when Kunwu was casting in the late summer, it was difficult for him to ask the gods after crossing his divination.

There is a saying that "Mu Duo is on the same road", and officials who travel around the world and write poems call him ",","money" and "private service", which should all belong to the "industrial" level. Xia Hou may also have an "official post" specializing in divination.

"Summer Book" also said, "Chen doesn't get together in the room, beat the drums, rush and go." . When the solar eclipse happened, a "monk" official played a drum for the people to see, and the official and the people rushed to tell.

There were prisons in the Xia Dynasty. "Historical Records Xia Benji" said, "Xia Tai, who was imprisoned for summoning soup, has now been released." The index says "prison name".

There were officials in charge of the four seasons in the Xia Dynasty. Interpretation of Kong Anguo Cloud in Historical Records Xia Benji: "He He is the official in charge of the four seasons of heaven and earth."

There is an overview of the process of appointing officials and dividing their duties in Shangshu Xia Shu, which reads: "Give them words, do your best, and convince them with mediocrity.

Wang Xia, like the imperial envoys of later generations, temporarily appointed ministers to perform special tasks. "Historical Records Xia Benji" said: "When the emperor was healthy, he fell in love with others and wasted his time, making a mess of his life. To levy, to levy. " Kong Anguo was quoted as saying: "Yin Wang has ordered it." Zheng Xuan said, "Yin, my name is also." The Xia dynasty formulated penalties. "Zuo Gong Six Years" says: "There is chaos in summer, and I am afraid of being punished." The "oath" contained in Historical Records Xia Benji has a specific explanation for the punishment of the army. "Use your life to repay your ancestors." Kong Anguo was quoted as saying: "The emperor's personal expedition will definitely carry the ancestors who moved to the temple. If you have meritorious deeds, you will be rewarded before your ancestors. " "You don't have to die, you are in society." Set solution lead Kong Anguo yue; "There will be the boss called the club. If you run north, you will be in front of the club owner. Society is dominated by Yin, and Yin is dominated by killing. " "The son is a prostitute." Kong Anguo was quoted as saying, "It's not only a shame to women, but also tiring to say shame."

Culture:

Xia dynasty's text:

The rudiment of primitive characters has appeared from Yangshao culture to Dawenkou culture, and is gradually developing. Oracle Bone Inscriptions and inscriptions found in Yin Ruins of Shangdu, Anyang, Henan Province are the earliest and basically mature characters found in China. Yin ruins can be traced back to the early summer, but there is no doubt that there are words and documents recorded in the Xia Dynasty in 1980. Ma Heshan thinks that the characters of Shang Dynasty are mature, and so are the characters of Xia Dynasty, because Xia Zhuan has been recorded in history, and Xia Yushu and Wang Yu Monument have been handed down from generation to generation in Xia Dynasty, which is Xia Zhuan.

Erlitou culture:

There are no written words handed down directly in the Xia Dynasty, so for a long time, our understanding of it mainly depends on the records of ancient documents, including kings, officials, troops and prisons in the Xia Dynasty. Since modern times, the excavation of large palaces, tombs and numerous bronzes at Erlitou Village site in yanshi city, Luoyang City, Henan Province has revealed the politics, economy, society, culture and life of Xia State, a tribal alliance in the late Neolithic period.

Xia dynasty economy:

Agriculture:

Since ancient times, Xia tribes living on both sides of the Yellow River have taken agricultural production as one of their main sources of livelihood. In the Xia Dynasty, agriculture made obvious progress. Water conservancy is the foundation of agriculture. Gun and Yu successively controlled water, and their water control areas were roughly in the Central Plains where Xia tribes lived together at that time, that is, today's Henan Province and southern Shanxi Province. Some people think that it is mainly in today's Yi-Luo River basin, Jishui River basin and the upper reaches of Ying-Ru River, as well as Fenshui and Huishui River basins in the south of Shanxi. Water control is mainly based on dredging, and stagnant water and silt are removed according to the topography, so that the original swamp "fertile field" becomes "mulberry field" fertile field. According to the archaeological excavation materials in western Henan, the settlement sites of Yangshao culture in the late primitive clan society and Longshan culture in the early stage were mostly distributed on the platforms on both sides of the valley in shallow mountainous areas and hilly areas, while the settlement sites in the middle and late Longshan culture not only increased obviously, but also distributed in low-lying areas near the river banks, especially in the great plains of eastern Henan. This is probably related to Yu's water control and development of agricultural production. The Analects of Confucius Taibo said that Yu "tried his best to live in a ditch", and Jia Fu Biology and Guoyu Zhou Yu recalled the water control, which not only alleviated the flood, but also irrigated the farmland with water, which made the agriculture of Xia Dynasty develop greatly. The development of agriculture laid a material foundation for the Xia Dynasty to consolidate its rule.

Archaeological findings show that there were many agricultural products such as grain, rice, wheat, glutinous rice and melon in the Xia Dynasty. In summer, the tax system of "50 tribute" is implemented, and all tribes have to pay taxes to the central government according to a certain proportion of their income. The mining field system of later generations also existed in Xia Dynasty, but it was not widely promoted.

The tools of agricultural production in Xia Dynasty were mainly wood and stone tools, but also some bones and mussels. Among the unearthed stone agricultural tools, there are many stone shovels and knives. Stone shovels are flat and rectangular, and most of them have one or two round holes in the middle. This kind of perforated stone shovel can be used as a stone hoe when it is fitted with a straight handle, and it can be used as a stone hoe to loosen soil and weed when it is tied to a wooden handle with a hook at the front end. The application of hoeing in agricultural production is undoubtedly a major change and improvement to improve the level of agricultural production. Among the tools used to harvest crops, stone knives are the most numerous. The improvement of stone knives is to drill one or two round holes in the middle of stone knives to tie wooden handles. With the improvement of tools, the agricultural production in Xia Dynasty was obviously improved.

Among the pottery unearthed in the middle and late Longshan culture in western Henan, there are many exquisite wine vessels such as enamel, enamel, cups and small pots. In the literature, there are also many records of aristocratic drinking. In ancient China, wine was always brewed from grains. Only on the basis of continuous development and improvement of agricultural production can we use surplus grain to make wine.

During the excavation of the early site of Erlitou culture, it was also found that some soil mixed with grass was mixed with the remains of millet shells and rice husks, indicating that there were already grain crops such as millet and rice in the Xia Dynasty.

Handicrafts:

With the development of agricultural production and the division of labor of production departments in Xia Dynasty, various handicrafts such as firing pottery, honing stone tools, making bone mussels, smelting and casting bronzes, and making wood products also had new development and division of labor.

In the aspect of firing pottery, not only the fast wheel manufacturing technology was widely used at that time, but also the water application method before the pottery came out of the kiln was adopted in the firing method, which made the pottery mostly gray-black, gray or black and hard in texture. In addition to basket pattern, check pattern and rope pattern, the surface of pottery is also decorated with exquisite and meticulous nail pattern, feather pattern, scratch pattern, circle pattern and carving. There are more than 30 kinds of cooking utensils, drinking utensils, eating utensils and containers. In particular, some polished black pottery with beautiful shape, exquisite workmanship, fine tire quality, thin eggshell and dark and shiny surface can only be fired by experienced and skilled people, so the pottery industry is likely to have become an independent handicraft production department.

Drill shovel and stone knife are the main tools in stone tool manufacturing. All kinds of stone tools are finely polished, and there is almost no phenomenon of drilling damage or re-drilling, which shows that the technology of making stone tools is quite mature. Many stone tools have been unearthed in several sites near the mountain area. Far away from the mountains, there are few semi-finished products and stone chips. It shows that the stone tools unearthed in these places were all exchanged from the places where the stone tools were made; It also shows that special stone processing and exchange had already appeared at that time.

There are records of smelting and casting bronzes in Xia Dynasty in the literature. For example, Zhu Yu Jiu Ding and Xia Hou ordered people to cast Ding in Kunwu, and the unearthed bronze remains of cast Ding can be proved. For example, fragments of copper smelting crucible were unearthed in the middle and late Longshan culture in Jingshan Park, Linru County, the largest of which was 5.3 long, 4. 1 wide and 2 cm thick, and six layers of copper smelting traces were preserved on it. In the late Longshan culture site in Niuzhai, Zhengzhou, a copper crucible fragment was also unearthed, and copper slag and rust were attached to the fragment, which belonged to the bronze remains of copper-tin alloy after testing. Especially in the excavation of Wang Chenggang in Dengfeng on 1980, a bronze fragment was unearthed, with a residual width of about 6.5, a residual height of about 5.7 and a wall thickness of about 0.2 cm. After testing, it is bronze containing tin, lead and copper alloy. Its shape may be bronze, and some scholars believe that bronzes were cast in the Xia Dynasty and entered the Bronze Age.

In addition, the manufacture of wood, jade, bones and mussels, as well as textile and wine making, may have become independent handicraft production departments in the Xia Dynasty.

Animal husbandry:

In the Xia Dynasty, agricultural civilization reached a high level.

Animal husbandry has developed. There are a large number of slaves engaged in animal husbandry, and some clan tribes specializing in animal husbandry. The breeding of horses has received great attention. In addition, the pottery industry may have become an independent and extremely important industry in the Xia Dynasty. As for bronzes, China has discovered bronze knives of Erlitou culture. If Erlitou culture is regarded as Xia Dynasty culture, then this bronze ware belongs to Xia Dynasty. The bronze wares of Xia Dynasty are very similar in shape to pottery, and the history of casting bronze wares is not long, so they don't have a good specification, so they look a bit like pottery, just like the pottery unearthed in Xia Dynasty, very primitive, without many patterns, small dots and simple lines.