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Cat. 68, detail
jects and the written history reinforces the reliability of each. The reliability of the Shang
chronology, moreover, indicates that the Xia imperial chronology in the chapter corresponding
to the earlier dynasty (Xia ben ji) must also be correct and could not have been fabricated by
Sima Qian. Archaeological finds proved the existence of the Shang dynasty; it was logical to
assume that evidence for the Xia dynasty could be investigated in the same way.
The archaeology of the Xia culture can be understood by drawing on what we know of the
Shang culture. The Shang kingdom was built on the ruins of a defeated Xia kingdom; therefore,
Shang culture must have developed from the Xia. The discovery of early Shang sites in
Zhengzhou in the 19505 paved the way for the proper investigation of the Xia. Archaeological
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