Transcript 1.1_Xia Dynasty

Ancient sage kings Rule by Virtue
Virtue or Morality Holds
the Central place in Chinese Culture



Three Ancient Sage
Kings--Rule by
Virtue
Emperor
Yao/Shun/Yu
Review their
accomplishments

How to pass the
throne to the next
generation?

世袭 【shìxí】 hereditary
succession.
禅让【shànràng】
abdication, abdicate
and hand over the
crown to another
person based on virtue
or merit

Ancient Worship: inclusive
Fengshan Sacrificial Ceremonies










Heaven/Earth/Ancestors
Feng and shan sacrificial
ceremonies at Mt. Tai
Temple constructions
For cultural legetimation
祭祀【jìsì】 offer sacrifices to
gods or ancestors.
祭/吉【jí】 lucky; auspicious;
propitious.
This ritual holds the central status
in all rituals/rites
Animals used: Color has to be
pure, body has to be complete;
otherwise they are disqualified; go
plowing in the field or play other
functions;
色纯为“牺”，体全为“牲”
Biblical reference

Legitimation is the act of
providing legitimacy.
Legitimation in the social
sciences refers to the
process whereby an act,
process, or ideology
becomes legitimate by its
attachment to norms and
values within a given
society. It is the process
of making something
acceptable and normative
to a group or audience.
From the King James Bible (1611)
http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksea
rch=genesis&qs_version=NIV

Le’viticus: the third book of the Bible, containing laws
relating to the priests and ‘Levites and to the forms of
Jewish ceremonial observance. Abbreviation: Lev.

6: And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto
the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it
without blemish.
22: Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or
scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the
LORD,

Three Courts & Legitimacy



1. Legal Court—regulation by laws
2. Media—regulation by public opinion
3. Conscience—regulation by morality, ethics
• To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?
• … conscience does make cowards of us all
• (Hamlet III.i, 56-60/83) to quote Shakespeare,
• Act number, scene number, line number





The Xia Dynasty
华夏【huáxià】 an ancient name for China
2070 to 1600 BCE, the First Dynasty
Yu the Great,;
“Tribute to Yu”禹贡
http://ctext.org/shangshu/xia-shu
九州【jiǔzhōu】 a
poetic name of China,
referring to the nine
prefectures or
provinces outlined by
Yu after taming the
flood;
16 rulers, starting with
Qi, and ending with Jie.
Yu’s Birth


Possibly Serving as
the First Case of
a Caesarean
section 剖腹产, or
nicknamed as the
“Emperor’s Cut”
Different versions
The Erlitou culture
二里头文化

The Erlitou culture is a name given by
archaeologists to an Early Bronze Age urban
society that existed in China from 2000 BCE to
1500 BCE. The culture was named after the
site discovered at Erlitou (二里頭村) in Yanshi
偃师 , Henan Province 河南. The culture was
widely spread throughout Henan and Shanxi
Province, and later appeared in Shaanxi and
Hubei Province. Most Chinese archaeologists
identify the Erlitou culture as the site of the Xia
Dynasty.
Erlitou Historical Site
Near city of Luoyang, Henan province
黄河流域【huánghé liúyù】 the Yellow River
Valley; river basin; drainage area.
Qi marked the turning point in history
from abdication based on virtue and merit
to hereditary succession


According to the historian Sima
Qian, Yu did not want his son
to become king and intended to
give the throne to Boyi, the son
of Gao Yao. But due to Yu's
great influence, all the leaders
of the Xia state came to admire
Qi instead of Boyi, so Yu had
no choice but to pass the throne
to Qi. Qi then succeeded Yu.
According to the Bamboo
Annals, however, Boyi took the
throne and became the king of
China, but later Qi assassinated
him and abducted the throne.
Gao Yao 皋陶
c. 2100 BCE?


Gao Yao 皋陶 was a political advisor of the
Yu the Great in China during the Xia
Dynasty. His son was Bo Yi (伯益).
He is cited admonishingly saying to his king:
"[The] Heaven can see and hear, and does
so through the eyes and ears of the people;
Heaven rewards the virtuous and punishes
the wicked, and does it through the people.”
Legal Code of Xia

五刑【wǔxíng】 the five forms of
punishment in ancient China
(tatooing the face, cutting off the
nose, cutting off the feet, castration
and decapitation).”
Palace Construction
in the Xia Dynasty



Rammed Earth 夯土
(Ebrey 13)
Post-and-Beam
Structure 【建筑学】
梁柱式的，骨架式的
was used in Xia’s
palace construction,
which could reduce the
pressure and weight on
the wall and save lots
of timber.
Status of Jade in China
In Xia dynasty, jade was used
as ritual objects


Jade craftworks were among
the most precious and luxurious
ones; people wear and
decorate rooms to indicate
loyalty, elegance, beauty, and
eternity. The most popular
patterns were: peach
(longevity/female fertility),
mandarin duck (love), deer
(high official ranks), bat
(blessing), fish (affluence),
double phoenixes (thriving),
bottle (safety), lotus (holiness),
bamboo (lofty conduct), and fan
(benevolence), etc.
http://www.history-ofchina.com/xia-dynasty/jade.htm
King Jie of Xia
The Last Ruler Who Ruined His Dynasty



the 17th and last ruler of the Xia Dynasty of
China. He is traditionally regarded as a tyrant
and oppressor who brought about the
collapse of his dynasty.
《史记·律书》夸张地说他“手搏豺狼，足追四
马”。 Combat/catch a jackal/wolf emptyhanded; or fast-footed to race neck to neck
with four-horse chariot…
Record of the Grand Scribe/Historian by
Sima Qian, Father of the Chinese
history/histori'ography 历史编纂学 -Scholars discuss historiography topically
Mo Xi as a gift to Jie


Jie entertained envoys from vassals 诸侯；封臣 and
neighbours. In his sixth year, he received an envoy
from the Qizhong Barbarian (歧踵戎) people. In his
11th year, he summoned all his vassals to his court.
Youmin (有缗氏) did not come, so he attacked and
conquered that kingdom. Moxi was a tribute to the
Xia Emperor.
According to her biography in the Lienü zhuan 烈女
传 or Biographies of Exemplary Women (written
c.18 BC by Liu Xiang, the Western Han Dynasty), Jie
was corrupted by his infatuation with his concubine
Mo Xi (妺喜; Mo Hsi), who was beautiful, but
completely lacking in virtue. Among other things, she
liked to drink, enjoyed music, and also had a
penchant for jugglers and sing-song girls 歌女 .
Jie of Xia riding on two women slaves


King Jie with a halberd,
representing oppression,
and sitting on two ladies,
symbolizing his abuse of
power. Rubbing of relief
from a Wu family shrine,
Jiaxiang, Shandong
Province, 150 CE.
Alice in Wonderland
(2010), the wicked queen
enjoys resting her feet on
the soft bosom of pigs.