The Xia Dynasty (ca.

2070 BCE–ca.

1600 BCE) is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Records of the Grand Historian and Bamboo Annals, succeeded by the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC–1046 BCE).

According to Warring States and Han Dynasty texts, the Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun gave his throne to him, and was later defeated and replaced by the Shang.

The existence of the Xia is disputed in some historical circles, but since there is no evidence either way, the dynasty's existence can be neither proven nor condemned.According to the traditional chronology based upon calculations by Liu Xin, the Xia ruled between 2205 and 1766 BC; according to the chronology based upon the Bamboo Annals, it ruled between 1989 and 1558 BCE.

The Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project concluded that the Xia existed between 2070 and 1600 BCE.

The tradition of tracing Chinese political history from heroic early emperors to the Xia to succeeding dynasties comes from the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, in which only one legitimate dynasty can exist at any given time, and was promoted by the Rú school (including Confucius) in the Eastern Zhou period, later becoming the basic position of imperial historiography and ideology.

Although the Xia is an important element in early Chinese history, reliable information on the history of China before 13th century BCE can only come from archaeological evidence since China's first written system, oracle bone script, did not exist until then.

Thus the concrete existence of the Xia is yet to be proven, despite efforts by Chinese archaeologists to link Xia with Bronze Age Erlitou archaeological sites.