Evidence has been found to suggest that the xia dynasty was china's first civilization; however for many years this dynasty, dated as far back as 1760 b. c., was thought to be the oldest.

The history of China, one of the oldest civilizations in the world with continuity to the present, has its origins in the Yellow River basin, where the first Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties emerged. The existence of documents written about 3500 years ago has allowed the development in China of a very precise historiographical tradition, which offers a continuous narrative from the first dynasties to the contemporary age. The Chinese culture, according to the myth, is inaugurated with the three original emperors: Fuxi, Shennong and finally the Yellow Emperor Huang, the latter considered as the true creator of the culture. However, there are no historical records that demonstrate the real existence of these personalities, which according to the oral transmission from generation to generation, would have lived around 5000 to 6000 years ago.