Research Approaches to and Phase Achievements of Division ofHistory intothe Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty

Research on the division of history into the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty , a key scientific program during the Ninth Five-year Period in China, has been checked and accepted in Sept, 2000 after 5 successive years of joint efforts of 200 experts and scholars. November the same saw the publication of the 1996 - 2000 Phase Achievement Report on the Research about the Division of History into the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty (brief copy). The program took the research approach of combining natural sciences and social sciences and formulated the Chronological Table of the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasty. This provides the scientific proof for the chronology of the three ancient dynasties and lays a solid foundation for the exploration of the ancient Chinese civilization and its early development.