the GA dynasty the very roots of Chinese civilization many debate the legitimacy of this year dynasty was it real or is it simply the stuff of legend this video is sponsored by wave acecomm the Vaes of ancient chinese symbolism each phase with its own story and representation keep a piece of history in your home head over to wave acecomm today and get yours the Xia dynasty dates back to two thousand and seventy BC spanning almost 500 years to 1600 BCE if the Xia dynasty is thought to simply be Chinese folklore how do we even know about it today well there are many references to the ga dynasty in ancient writings such as the records of grand historian a book written in 91 BC by Simek Wien of the Han Dynasty and in the classic of history a piece of ancient Chinese literature dating back to 200 BC the Shia dynasty all began with one man you the great you gained recognition throughout ancient China due to his extensive work in setting up a network of canals that would help in controlling the floods caused by the great Yellow River use father Gunn had made his own attempt to stop the floods by building dikes and wars but his efforts failed you was given the throne by shun the last of the five emperors and this is what made the Xia dynasty the first Chinese dynasty in history from this moment onward the role of Emperor would be inherited to a relative usually from father to son whereas prior to use appointment as Emperor the Chinese ruler was picked based on their ability to rule such as their courage strength fighting Perez wisdom and so on you the Great's reign would last 45 years in which the Xia dynasty grew extensively you set up nine provinces putting separate provincial Lords in command of each of the nine lands you ensured that each Lord swore his loyalty to the Emperor upon his death his son key took over as Emperor the start of the Gaea dynasty was now in full throttle with each Emperor ruling for the next 400 years coming from the same bloodline a descendant of you the great you did not wish for his son key to become the Emperor of the Shia dynasty and intended to give the throne to his loyal minister Gayo yo upon Gao Yao's death you appointed his long serving companion yi to be Emperor but due to pressure from the provincial Lords who had come to admire key through love for his father he was forced to stand down and give up the throne to ki he would go on to rule for a relatively short period of around nine to ten years 15 of keys offspring were gone to rule the shear dynasty with the throne being passed from brother to brother as the next one either passed away was murdered or simply vanished many of the emperors of this year dynasty were said to be bloodthirsty tyrants such as gia the 17th and final ruler of the Xia dynasty who is said to have treated his people with extreme cruelty culture of the Shia the Shia dynasty is said to have had a strong farming culture Gia's are credited with inventing bronze moulding and creating everyday tools out of bone and stone they are also thought to have created the very first calendar utilizing both solar and lunar movements some historians believe this to be the origin of the traditional Chinese calendar she is also strongly believed in ancestry worship and are seen as very advanced for their time using irrigation to grow crops brick ovens plaster homes and pottery wills the gia people were very religious believing in natural gods that represented many number of things from the rain and the earth to the rivers and skies the Shia dynasty came to an end in 1600 BC when Emperor gia was overthrown and defeated by tang of bang bringing a rise to the Shang Dynasty it remains to be seen whether the existence of the Shia dynasty was true but nevertheless a truly remarkable question mark in ancient Chinese history if you've enjoyed learning about the Shia dynasty check out our latest video outlining the history of the shang dynasty and don't forget to get your ways of ancient Chinese symbolism keep a piece of history in your home head over to wave acecomm and get your vase today [Music]