Yangcheng (阳城; 陽城; Yángchéng) was the first capital of the Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) of China. In ancient texts, the city was founded by Yu the Great (founder of the Xia), [1] or was his residence. [2] In the Bamboo Annals and Shiben, Yangcheng was located near Mount Song and the Wudu and Ying rivers (close to modern Gaocheng, Henan). [2]
Yangcheng may be located at the Wangchenggang (王城岗) site in Henan. In 1977, An Jinhuai (安金槐) [3] excavated a small east-west oriented walled city at Wangchenggang.; [4] it is dated to the second period of the Longshan era, or approaching the start of the Xia. [5] In 2002-2005, a larger walled city was discovered [4] and radiocarbon dated as the earliest and largest Xia-period site at Wangchenggang. [5]
An and Sun Zuoyun (孙作云) believed the small city to be Yangcheng, [3] and this interpretation remained popular through the rest of the 20th century. [1] [2] One criticism was that the city was too small to be a capital of a major state. [3]
Since its discovery, the larger city has been associated with Yangcheng. The smaller city has been attributed to Gun, Yu's predecessor, [6] [1] although Liu and Chen note that the 100 year difference between the two cities makes this unlikely. [1]
Yangcheng (阳城; 陽城; Yángchéng) was the first capital of the Xia dynasty (c. 2070–1600 BC) of China. In ancient texts, the city was founded by Yu the Great (founder of the Xia), [1] or was his residence. [2] In the Bamboo Annals and Shiben, Yangcheng was located near Mount Song and the Wudu and Ying rivers (close to modern Gaocheng, Henan). [2]
Yangcheng may be located at the Wangchenggang (王城岗) site in Henan. In 1977, An Jinhuai (安金槐) [3] excavated a small east-west oriented walled city at Wangchenggang.; [4] it is dated to the second period of the Longshan era, or approaching the start of the Xia. [5] In 2002-2005, a larger walled city was discovered [4] and radiocarbon dated as the earliest and largest Xia-period site at Wangchenggang. [5]
An and Sun Zuoyun (孙作云) believed the small city to be Yangcheng, [3] and this interpretation remained popular through the rest of the 20th century. [1] [2] One criticism was that the city was too small to be a capital of a major state. [3]
Since its discovery, the larger city has been associated with Yangcheng. The smaller city has been attributed to Gun, Yu's predecessor, [6] [1] although Liu and Chen note that the 100 year difference between the two cities makes this unlikely. [1]