The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project was a multi-disciplinary project commissioned by the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 in 1996 to determine with accuracy the location and time frame of the Xia Dynasty

Xia Dynasty

The Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him...

, the Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

 and the Zhou Dynasty

Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...

. Some 200 experts took part in the project, which correlated radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...

, archaeological

Archaeology

Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...

 dating methods, historical textual analysis, astronomy, and other methods to achieve greater temporal and geographic accuracy. Preliminary results of the project were released in November 2000. However several of the project's methods and conclusions have been disputed by other scholars.

Chronological table

Sima Qian

Sima Qian

Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...

, writing in the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

, gave a year-by-year chronology back to the start of the Gonghe Regency in 841 BC, but he and later scholars were unable to identify precise dates for Chinese history earlier than that.
The Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project concluded precise dates for the accessions of rulers from Wu Ding

Wu Ding

Wu Ding was a Shang Dynasty King of China.His is the first historically verifiable name in the history of Chinese dynasties...

, the Shang Dynasty

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

 king whose reign produced the oldest known oracle bone

Oracle bone

Oracle bones are pieces of bone normally from ox scapula or turtle plastron which were used for divination chiefly during the late Shang Dynasty. The bones were first inscribed with divination in oracle bone script by using a bronze pin, and then heated until crack lines appeared in which the...

 records.
These dates are here compared with those used in the Cambridge History of Ancient China:

Dynasty	King	Accession date (BC)
		XSZ Project	Cambridge History
Shang	Wu Ding Wu Ding Wu Ding was a Shang Dynasty King of China.His is the first historically verifiable name in the history of Chinese dynasties...	1250	before 1198
	Zu Geng King Zu Geng Zu Geng was king of the Shang Dynasty of China. His given name is Yao .His capital was at Yin .On the 12th year of his regime, he sent troop to fight Rong people in the west until winter....	1191	after 1188
	Zu Jia Zu Jia Zu Jia was king of the Shang Dynasty of China. His personal name was . His another name is Di Jia in the book of Guoyu .His capital was at Yin .In the 12th year of his regime, he sent troop to fight Rong people in the west until winter....	–	ca. 1177
	Lin Xin Lin Xin Lin Xin was king of the Shang Dynasty of China. His name by Bamboo Annals is Feng Xin , another book The Historic People of Han Book also called him Feng Xin.He got his throne in the year of Gengyan . His capital was at Yin ....	–	ca. 1157
	Kang Ding Kangding Kangding or Dardo is the name of a county in Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province, China. It is administrated at the city of Kangding...	–	ca. 1148
	Wu Yi Wu Yi (ruler) Wu Yi was king of the Shang Dynasty of China from 1147 BC to 1112 BC. His given name is Qu .According to Bamboo Annals, His capial was at Yin .One of the vassal Fen moved to Qizhou ....	1147	ca. 1131
	Wen Ding Wen Ding Wen Ding was king of the Shang Dynasty of China from 1112 BC to 1102 BC. Another name Da Ding , and his given name is Tuo .According to Bamboo Annals, His capial was at Yin or Zimou ....	1112	ca. 1116
	Di Yi Di Yi Di Yi or Emperor Yi was king of the Shang Dynasty of China from 1101BC to 1076BC.His name is Xian . His capital was at Yin ....	1101	1105
	Di Xin King Zhou of Shang Emperor Xin of Shang was the last king of the Shang Dynasty. He was later given the pejorative posthumous name Zhòu . He is also called Zhou Xin or King Zhou . He may also be referred to by adding "Shang" in front of any of his names...	1075	1086
Zhou	Wuwang King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhōu or King Wu of Chou was the first sovereign, or ruler of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1046-1043 BCE or 1049/45-1043. Various sources quoted that he died at the age of 93, 54 or 43. He was considered a just and able leader. Zhou Gong Dan was one of his...	1046	1045
	Chengwang King Cheng of Zhou King Cheng of Zhou or King Ch'eng of Chou was the second sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1042-1021 BC or 1042/35-1006 BC King Cheng was young when he ascended the throne...	1042	1042
	Kangwang King Kang of Zhou King Kang of Zhou or King K'ang of Chou was the third sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1020-996 BC or 1005-978 BC ....	1020	1005
	Zhaowang King Zhao of Zhou King Zhao of Zhou or King Chao of Chou was the fourth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 995-977 BC or 977/75-957 ....	995	977
	Muwang King Mu of Zhou King Mu of Zhou or King Mu of Chou or Mu Wang or Mu Wang was the fifth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 976-922 BC or 956-918 BC.-Life:...	976	956
	Gongwang King Gong of Zhou King Gong of Zhou or King Kung of Chou was the sixth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 922-900 BC or 917/15-900 ....	922	917
	Yiwang King Yi of Zhou (Ji Jian) King Yi of Zhou or King I of Chou was the seventh sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 899–892 BC or 899–873 BC ....	899	899
	Xiaowang King Xiao of Zhou King Xiao of Zhou or King Hsiao of Chou was the eighth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 891–886 BC or 872–866 BC ....	891	872?
	Yiwang King Yi of Zhou (Ji Xie) King Yi of Zhou or King I of Chou was the ninth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 885–878 BC or 865–858 BC....	885	865
	Liwang King Li of Zhou King Li of Zhou was the tenth sovereign of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 877–841 BC or 857–842 BC ....	877	857

Earlier dates are given more approximately:

• The relocation of the Shang capital to Yin
  Yinxu
  Yinxu is the ruins of the last capital of China's Shang Dynasty. The capital served 255 years for 12 kings in 8 generations.Rediscovered in 1899, it is one of the oldest and largest archeological sites in China and is one of the historical capitals of China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
  
   during the reign of Pan Geng
  Pan Geng
  Pán Gēng was a Shang Dynasty King of China. He is best known for having moved the capital of the Shang Dynasty to Yīn....
  
   is dated ca. 1300 BC.
• The establishment of the Shang Dynasty was identified with the building of the Yanshi
  Yanshi
  Yanshi is a county-level city administered by the prefecture-level city of Luoyang in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. The ancient Erlitou culture existed in the area. Yanshi lies on the Luo River. The ruins the first Shang Dynasty capital, Xibo, are located in Shixianggou...
  
   walled city and dated ca. 1600 BC, compared with the Cambridge Historys ca. 1570 BC and the traditional date of 1766 BC (based on the calculations of Liu Xin
  Liu Xin
  Liu Xin , later changed name to Liu Xiu , courtesy name Zijun , was a Chinese astronomer, historian, and editor during the Xin Dynasty . He was the son of Confucian scholar Liu Xiang and an associate of other prominent thinkers such as the philosopher Huan Tan...
  
  ).
• The project identified all four phases of Erlitou culture with the Xia Dynasty
  Xia Dynasty
  The Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him...
  
  , dating its beginning at ca. 2070 BC, compared with the traditional date of 2205 BC.

Reception

Coverage of the project in the Western press has focussed on alleged conflicts between nationalism and scholarship.
One of the criticisms is that the project supports the concept of a 5,000-year, unbroken and homogeneous history of China, wherein the three ancient dynasties (Xia, Shang and Zhou) were large and powerful states—ignoring the fact that many other groups of people (perhaps equally advanced) existed throughout China and Central Asia during this period.

Technical controversies involve the following matters.

• The archaeological boundaries between Xia and Shang and between Shang and Zhou have been disputed partly due to the methods adopted for radiocarbon-dating.
• The radiocarbon dates were generally specified with only 68%-confidence intervals, instead of the standard 95%-confidence intervals; this makes the date ranges narrower than they properly should be.
• The principal astronomical calculation (for a solar eclipse in 899 BC) is incorrect.
• It has been argued that the astronomical-literatures bases of the project are ill-founded. This was partly caused by persistent doubts about the reliability and interpretation of the historical records used for the deduction. It was also partly caused by selective use of the presumed historical record (which, if used in its entirety, might have no solution at all).
• Critical changes have been introduced into the bronze vessel inscriptions, which affect the entire chronology.
• Lack of understanding of the ancient calendar further complicated the matter.