The establishment of the Xia dynasty is regarded as the coming-of-age rite of the Huaxia people, and “Xia” is a dream the Chinese people can never brush away. Amid the current wave of interest in the origins of Chinese civilisation, the exploration of Xia culture has become a focus of public attention. Yet the academic community remains deeply divided and unable to agree. Where does the difficulty lie, and how should these questions be approached? The speaker will share his experience of archaeology and ancient history from the perspectives of academic history, method and logic.

Professor Xu Hong is one of China’s best-known archaeologists. He was head of the Erlitou archaeological team and director of the Xia-Shang-Zhou archaeology division at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He is also a widely read non-fiction writer and cultural blogger; his books The Earliest China and What Makes China “China” have been translated into several languages, and he is regarded as an authority on Erlitou culture.

The lecture is given in Mandarin and organised by the Division of Humanities.