夏本纪

The chapter follows the Xia from 大禹, who spent thirteen years taming the floods and passed his own gate without going in, to 桀, the last king, overthrown by 汤 of Shang. In between it records a turning point in Chinese rule: Yu's son 启 took the throne, and passing power from father to son replaced the custom of yielding it to the worthiest.

It also copies the 禹贡 chapter of the Book of Documents, which divides the land into the 九州 'Nine Provinces', still a poetic name for China.