2070 BC

Yu the Great

Traditional accession of Yu and founding of Xia

The famous date of 2070 BCE is modern. It was assigned by a chronology project that reported in 2000 — not copied from any ancient Chinese inscription.

The accession as the Shiji tells it

Xia is conventionally said to begin around 2070 BCE. In Sima Qian's much later account, Shun designated Yu as his heir. After Shun's death and the mourning period, the regional lords abandoned Shun's son Shangjun and attended Yu instead.

Yu then occupied the throne, faced south to receive the realm, and used the dynastic appellation Xia hou — Prince of Xia.

Not the moment hereditary rule began

The Shiji does not say Yu handed the throne to his son. He entrusted rule to Yi; only after Yu's death did the lords rally to Yu's son Qi.

That later accession, not Yu's own enthronement, is the traditional turning point toward hereditary succession.

Where 2070 BCE comes from

No ancient record preserves a date for Yu's accession. Approximately 2070 BCE is the beginning assigned to Xia by the modern Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project, which gives roughly 2070–1600 BCE; the older traditional chronology had placed Xia's start at 2205 BCE, and other reconstructions propose 1953 BCE or about 2000–1968.

No contemporary inscription presently identifies Yu, the Xia rulers, or any archaeological site as Xia. Erlitou is a real Bronze Age culture, radiocarbon-dated to roughly 1750–1520 BCE, but its identification with Xia remains debated.

Archaeologists have excavated palaces, bronze workshops and roads at Erlitou; nothing found there says Xia or names Yu.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 7 sources 2 audit passes Traditional date

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

Traditional date. Conventionally dated here; the research places it at ~-2070.

What the sources leave uncertain

There is no contemporary written evidence for this event or its date.
Circa 2070 BCE is a modern chronology-project result, not the older traditional chronology, which placed Xia's beginning in 2205 BCE.
Other reconstructions place Xia's beginning nearer 2000–1968 or 1953 BCE.
Erlitou is a real archaeological culture, but material remains have not supplied an inscription identifying it as Xia or naming Yu.