Xia, known in historiography as Hu Xia (胡夏), Xiongnu Xia (匈奴夏), Helian Xia (赫連夏) or the Great Xia (大夏), was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Helian clan of Tiefu-Xiongnu ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Prior to establishing the Xia, the imperial clan existed as a tribal entity known as the Tiefu.