The Chinese record their own history as a succession of ruling dynasties that begins with the legendary Xia dynasty . It is the first Dynasty to be described in several ancient historical records such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian . It lasted from 2100 - 1600 BC . Although there has been debates on whether or not this Dynasty ever existed , I strongly agree that it existed as there are archaeological evidences . There is a myth that it had ended after the Battle of Mingtiao around 1600 BC . This is an interesting find , time to move on !