Have you ever watched those old documentaries about events from thousands of years ago? Last Tuesday night, I watched one about the Xia Dynasty. Afterward, my mind was filled with questions: “Did the Xia Dynasty really exist?” “Where did people live back then? What did they eat?” I couldn't sleep, so I got up in the middle of the night and turned on my computer to look up information.

Turns out—it's not that simple.

How Did I Start Researching the Xia Dynasty?

At first, I thought a quick search would give me answers. I opened a history book everyone raves about and flipped through page after page. My eyes grew tired, yet I couldn't find a single photo of the Xia Dynasty or any specific artifact images. It felt like searching for an invisible cat: you know it might be in the room, but you just can't catch it.

The next day, I went to the lowest level of the school library. That place had a peculiar smell, like mushrooms left too long. I leafed through many old books—the pages yellowed, the text in classical Chinese, incredibly difficult to read. Even more troublesome, the experts couldn't agree: some said it was real, others claimed it was a made-up story.

https://fairytales.cc/how-to-l....earn-xia-dynasty-his