Abstract

The State Council's decision to implement the "Project for Determining the Historical Periods of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties" as a key project for the Ninth Five-Year Plan period is meeting with enthusiastic support in historical and archaeological circles. I am aware that my knowledge of history is very meager and that I have little to say in this matter. However, I also feel that China's ancient civilization belongs to the entire nation and to all generations of the Chinese people; it is a precious heritage of humanity as a whole. All people have the responsibility to study history and love their country. Now, as implementation of the "project" is starting up, I take the liberty of contributing a few of my opinions for the consideration of historians and archaeologists, as an earnest sign of my dedication to the science of history