重建古史是二十年代提出的命題。為追求此一目標，考古學者和歷史學者做了大 量的工作，其間雖有失敗，但成果卻是豐碩的，不但使三代及其前期的歷史研究為之一新， 而中國考古學則在此一目標下不斷茁壯，成為研究三代及其前期歷史的支柱。本文討論的內 容，主要是夏代前期，對夏、商及西周三代，只是部分地涉及。

　　　　　The reconstruction of China's high antiquity has been one of the missions in modern China since the 1920s. In order to achieve this goal, archaeologists and historians have sifted through (figuratively and literally) mountains of material. Though there have been failures along the way, great rewards have been reaped. Not only have we gained new insights into China's ancient history as well as her Neolithic age, but the field of Chinese archaeology as a whole has grown and matured to form the pillar upon which our knowledge rests. The content of this article focuses on the era before the Hsia dynasty, with only a select discussion on the Hsia, Shang, and Western Chou.