["Nations and Nationalism, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nThis paper examines the archaeological nationalism of the Chinese state. The existence of the Xia dynasty, long regarded by Chinese scholars to be China's first dynasty, has become a contentious issue in both Chinese and Western academic circles. During Jiang Zemin's tenure, the Chinese government began to leverage state power to support archaeological efforts aimed at substantiating the historical reality of the Xia dynasty. The Project to Trace the Origins of Chinese Civilization (PTOCC) was launched while Hu Jintao was in power, but it has garnered more significant attention under Xi Jinping, who is deploying state funds in an effort to prove that Chinese civilization has endured for over 5000 years. Through the extensive mobilization of state‐affiliated scholars, the narrative on China's ancient history has been shaped by political directives. ‘Archaeological nationalism’ exemplifies how, within the official discourse of ‘cultural confidence’, even academic and historical research must align with the policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, this approach has resulted in a form of intellectual involution in China's study of national and ancient history, making meaningful dialogue with the international academic community increasingly difficult.\n"]