Ep. 14 | The Xia Dynasty
In this episode, we commence our Chinese imperial dynasty overview. It begins today with the Xia Dynasty 夏朝代. According to historiographer Sima Qian, this was the first dynasty of China. It’s origins and its demise and everything in between have all come from sources written many centuries later. For this reason and for reasons of lack of archaeological evidence, the Xia is called a “legendary dynasty” of China.
In this first of a multipart series, Laszlo explores the history behind the millennia-old relationship between China and Vietnam. Part 1 covers the earliest days of the relationship going back to Zhao Tuo and the Nanyue Kingdom are discussed.