======================================================================
= Book_of_Documents =
======================================================================
Introduction
======================================================================
The 'Book of Documents' () or the 'Classic of History', is one of the
Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of
rhetorical prose attributed to figures of ancient China, and served as
the foundation of Chinese political philosophy for over two millennia.
The 'Book of Documents' was the subject of one of China's oldest
literary controversies, between proponents of different versions of
the text. A version was preserved from Qin Shi Huang's burning of
books and burying of scholars by scholar Fu Sheng, in 29 chapters ( ).
This group of texts were referred to as "Modern Script" (or "Current
Script"; ), because they were written with the script in use at the
beginning of the Western Han dynasty.
A longer version of the 'Documents' was said to be discovered in the
wall of Confucius's family estate in Qufu by his descendant Kong Anguo
in the late 2nd century BC. This new material was referred to as "Old
Script" ( ), because they were written in the script that predated the
standardization of Chinese script during the Qin. Compared to the
Modern Script texts, the "Old Script" material had 16 more chapters.
However, this seems to have been lost at the end of the Eastern Han
dynasty, while the Modern Script text enjoyed circulation, in
particular in study, called the 'Ouyang Shangshu' (). This was the
basis of studies by Ma Rong and Zheng Xuan during the Eastern Han.
In 317 AD, Mei Ze presented to the Eastern Jin court a 58-chapter (59
if the preface is counted) 'Book of Documents' as Kong Anguo's version
of the text. This version was accepted, despite the doubts of a few
scholars, and later was canonized as part of Kong Yingda's project. It
was only in the 17th century that Qing dynasty scholar Yan Ruoqu
demonstrated that the "old script" were actually fabrications
"reconstructed" in the 3rd or 4th centuries AD.
In the transmitted edition, texts are grouped into four sections
representing different eras: the legendary reign of Yu the Great, and
the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. The Zhou section accounts for over
half the text. Some of its modern-script chapters are among the
earliest examples of Chinese prose, recording speeches from the early
years of the Zhou dynasty in the late 11th century BC. Although the
other three sections purport to record earlier material, most scholars
believe that even the New Script chapters in these sections were
composed later than those in the Zhou section, with chapters relating
to the earliest periods being as recent as the 4th or 3rd centuries
BC.
Textual history
======================================================================
The history of the various versions of the 'Documents' is particularly
complex, and has been the subject of a long-running literary and
philosophical controversy.
Early references
==================
According to a later tradition, the 'Book of Documents' was compiled
by Confucius (551-479 BC) as a selection from a much larger group of
documents, with some of the remainder being included in the 'Yi Zhou
Shu'. However, the early history of both texts is obscure. Beginning
with Confucius, writers increasingly drew on the 'Documents' to
illustrate general principles, though it seems that several different
versions were in use.
Six citations to unnamed chapters of the 'Documents' appear in the
'Analects'. While Confucius invoked the pre-dynastic emperors Yao and
Shun, as well as figures from the Xia and Shang dynasties, he
complained of the lack of documentation prior to the Zhou. The
'Documents' were cited increasingly frequently in works through the
4th century BC, including in the 'Mencius', 'Mozi' and 'Zuo Zhuan'.
These authors favoured documents relating to Yao, Shun and the Xia
dynasty, chapters now believed to have been written in the Warring
States period. The chapters currently believed to be the
oldest--mostly relating to the early Zhou--were little used by Warring
States authors, perhaps due to the difficulty of the archaic language
or a less familiar worldview. Fewer than half the passages quoted by
these authors are present in the received text. Authors such as
Mencius and Xunzi, while quoting the 'Documents', refused to accept it
as genuine in its entirety. Their attitude contrasts with the
reverence later shown to the text during the Han dynasty, when its
compilation was attributed to Confucius.
Han dynasty: Modern and Old Scripts
=====================================
Many copies of the work were destroyed in the Burning of Books during
the Qin dynasty.
Fu Sheng reconstructed part of the work from hidden copies in the late
3rd to early 2nd century BC, at the start of the succeeding Han
dynasty. The texts that he transmitted were known as the "Modern
Script" ( ) because it was written in the clerical script.
It originally consisted of 29 chapters, but the "Great Speech" 太誓
chapter was lost shortly afterwards and replaced by a new version. The
remaining 28 chapters were later expanded into 30 when Ouyang Gao
divided the "Pangeng" chapter into three sections.
During the reign of Emperor Wu, renovations of the home of Confucius
are said to have uncovered several manuscripts hidden within a wall,
including a longer version of the 'Documents'.
These texts were referred to as "Old Script" because they were written
in the pre-Qin seal script.
They were transcribed into clerical script and interpreted by
Confucius' descendant Kong Anguo.
Han dynasty sources give contradictory accounts of the nature of this
find. According to the commonly repeated account of the 'Book of Han',
the "Old Script" texts included the chapters preserved by Fu Sheng,
another version of the "Great Speech" chapter and some 16 additional
ones.
It is unclear what happened to these manuscripts. According to the
'Book of Han', Liu Xiang collated the Old Script version against the
three main "Modern Script" traditions, creating a version of the
'Documents' that included both groups. This was championed by his son
Liu Xin,
who requested in a letter to Emperor Ai the establishment of a 'boshi'
position for its study. But this did not happen. Most likely, this
edition put together by the imperial librarians was lost in the chaos
that ended the Western Han dynasty, and the later movement of the
capital and imperial library.
A list of 100 chapter titles was also in circulation; many are
mentioned in the 'Records of the Grand Historian', but without quoting
the text of the other chapters.
The 'shu' were designated one of the Five Classics when Confucian
works made official by Emperor Wu of Han, and ('classic') was added
to its name.
The term 'venerated documents' was also used in the Eastern Han.
The Xiping Stone Classics, set up outside the imperial academy in
175-183 but since destroyed, included a Modern Script version of the
'Documents'.
Most Han dynasty scholars ignored the Old Script version, and it
disappeared by the end of the dynasty.
Claimed recovery of Old Script texts
======================================
A version of the 'Documents' that included the "Old Script" texts was
allegedly rediscovered by the scholar Mei Ze during the 4th century,
and presented to the imperial court of the Eastern Jin.
His version consisted of the 31 modern script texts in 33 chapters,
and 18 additional old script texts in 25 chapters, with a preface and
commentary purportedly written by Kong Anguo. This was presented as
'Guwen Shangshu' 古文尚書, and was widely accepted. It was the basis of
the ( 'Correct interpretation of the 'Documents) published in 653 and
made the official interpretation of the 'Documents' by imperial
decree. The oldest extant copy of the text, included in the Kaicheng
Stone Classics (833-837), contains all of these chapters.
Since the Song dynasty, starting from Wu Yu (), many doubts had been
expressed concerning the provenance of the allegedly rediscovered "Old
Script" texts in Mei Ze's edition. In the 16th century, Mei Zhuo ()
published a detailed argument that these chapters, as well as the
preface and commentary, were forged in the 3rd century AD using
material from other historical sources such as the 'Zuo Commentary'
and the 'Records of the Grand Historian'. Mei identified the sources
from which the forger had cut and pasted text, and even suggested
Huangfu Mi as a probable culprit. In the 17th century, Yan Ruoqu's
unpublished but widely distributed manuscript entitled 'Evidential
analysis of the Old Script Documents' () convinced most scholars that
the rediscovered Old Script texts were fabricated in the 3rd or 4th
centuries.
Modern discoveries
====================
New light has been shed on the 'Book of Documents' by the recovery
between 1993 and 2008 of caches of texts written on bamboo slips from
tombs of the state of Chu in Jingmen, Hubei. These texts are believed
to date from the late Warring States period, around 300 BC, and thus
predate the burning of the books during the Qin dynasty. The Guodian
Chu Slips and the Shanghai Museum corpus include quotations of
previously unknown passages of the work. The Tsinghua Bamboo Slips
includes a version of the transmitted text "Golden Coffer", with minor
textual differences, as well as several documents in the same style
that are not included in the received text. The collection also
includes two documents that the editors considered to be versions of
the Old Script texts "Common Possession of Pure Virtue" and "Command
to Fu Yue". Other authors have challenged these straightforward
identifications.
Contents
======================================================================
In the orthodox arrangement, the work consists of 58 chapters, each
with a brief preface traditionally attributed to Confucius, and also
includes a preface and commentary, both purportedly by Kong Anguo.
An alternative organization, first used by Wu Cheng, includes only the
Modern Script chapters, with the chapter prefaces collected together,
but omitting the Kong preface and commentary.
In addition, several chapters are divided into two or three parts in
the orthodox form.
Nature of the chapters
========================
With the exception of a few chapters of late date, the chapters are
represented as records of formal speeches by kings or other important
figures.
Most of these speeches are of one of five types, indicated by their
titles:
* Consultations ( ) between the king and his ministers (2 chapters),
* Instructions ( ) to the king from his ministers (1 chapter),
* Announcements ( ) by the king to his people (8 chapters),
* Declarations ( ) by a ruler on the occasion of a battle (6
chapters), and
* Commands ( ) by the king to a specific vassal (7 chapters).
Classical Chinese tradition lists six types of 'Shu', beginning with
'dian' , Canons (2 chapters in the Modern corpus).
According to Su Shi (1037-1101), it is possible to single out Eight
Announcements of the early Zhou, directed to the Shang people. Their
titles only partially correspond to the modern chapters marked as
'gao' (apart from the nos. 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 that mention the genre,
Su Shi names nos. 16 "Zi cai", 19 "Duo shi" and 22 "Duo fang").
As pointed out by Chen Mengjia (1911-1966), announcements and commands
are similar, but differ in that commands usually include granting of
valuable objects, land or servants to their recipients.
Guo Changbao claims that the graph for announcement (), known since
the Oracle bone script, also appears on two bronze vessels ('He zun'
and 'Shi Zhi gui' ), as well as in the "six genres" of the 'Zhou li'
In many cases a speech is introduced with the phrase ( 'The king
seemingly said'), which also appears on commemorative bronze
inscriptions from the Western Zhou period, but not in other received
texts.
Scholars interpret this as meaning that the original documents were
prepared scripts of speeches, to be read out by an official on behalf
of the king.
Traditional organization
==========================
The chapters are grouped into four sections representing different
eras: the semi-mythical reign of Yu the Great, and the three ancient
dynasties of the Xia, Shang and Zhou.
The first two sections - on Yu the Great and the Xia dynasty - contain
two chapters each in the Modern Script version, and though they
purport to record the earliest material in the 'Documents', from the
2nd millennium BC, most scholars believe they were written during the
Warring States period.
The Shang dynasty section contains five chapters, of which the first
two - the "Speech of King Tang" and "Pan Geng" - recount the conquest
of the Xia by the Shang and their leadership's migration to a new
capital (now identified as Anyang).
The bulk of the Zhou dynasty section concerns the reign of King Cheng
of Zhou (r. -1006 BC) and the king's uncles, the Duke of Zhou and Duke
of Shao.
The last four Modern Script chapters relate to the later Western Zhou
and early Spring and Autumn periods.
Chapters of the
Part Orthodox chapter colspan="3" | Title
align="center" rowspan="5" | Yu [Shun] bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" rowspan="2" | 1 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 1
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Canon of
Yao
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 2 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Canon of Shun
align="center" | 3 Counsels of Great Yu
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" rowspan="2" | 2 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 4 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Counsels of Gao Yao
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 5 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Yi and Ji
align="center" rowspan="4" | Xia bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" |
3 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 6 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Yu Gong bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Tribute of [Great] Yu
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 4 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center"
| 7 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
Speech at [the Battle of] Gan
rowspan="2" align="center" | 8 Songs of the Five Sons
align="center" | 9 Punitive Expedition on [King Zhongkang of] Yin
align="center" rowspan="11" | Shang bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center"
| 5 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 10 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Speech of Tang
rowspan="5" align="center" | 11 Announcement of Zhonghui
align="center" | 12 Announcement of Tang
align="center" | 13 Instructions of Yi [Yin]
align="center" | 14-16 Great Oath parts 1, 2 & 3
align="center" | 17 Common Possession of Pure Virtue
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 6 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center"
| 18-20 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
Pan Geng parts 1, 2 & 3
align="center" | 21-23 Charge to Yue parts 1, 2 & 3
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 7 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center"
| 24 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Day
of the Supplementary Sacrifice of King Gaozong
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 8 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center"
| 25 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
Chief of the West [King Wen]'s Conquest of [the State of] Li
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 9 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center"
| 26 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" rowspan="30" | Zhou align="center" | 27-29 Great
Speech parts 1, 2 & 3
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 10 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 30 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Speech at Muye
align="center" | 31 Successful Completion of the War [on Shang]
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 11 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 32 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Great Plan [of Jizi]
align="center" | 33 Hounds of [the Western Tribesmen] Lü
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 12 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 34 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Golden Coffer [of Zhou Gong]
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 13 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 35 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Great Announcement
align="center" | 36 Charge to Prince Weizi
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 14 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 37 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Announcement to Kang
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 15 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 38 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Announcement about Drunkenness
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 16 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 39 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Timber of Rottlera
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 17 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 40 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Announcement of Duke Shao
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 18 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 41 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Announcement concerning Luoyang
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 19 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 42 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Numerous Officers
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 20 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 43 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Against Luxurious Ease
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 21 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 44 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Lord Shi [Duke Shao]
align="center" | 45 Charge to Cai Zhong
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 22 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 46 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Numerous Regions
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 23 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 47 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Establishment of Government
rowspan="2" align="center" | 48 Officers of Zhou
align="center" | 49 Lord Chen
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" rowspan="2" | 24 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 50 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Testamentary Charge
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 51 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Proclamation of King Kang
rowspan="3" align="center" | 52 Charge to the [Duke of] Bi
align="center" | 53 Lord Ya
align="center" | 54 Charge to Jiong
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 25 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 55 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | [Marquis] Lü on Punishments
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 26 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 56 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Charge to Duke Wen of Jin
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 27 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 57 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Speech at [the Battle of] Fei
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" align="center" | 28 bgcolor="#F5DEB3"
align="center" | 58 bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | bgcolor="#F5DEB3" |
bgcolor="#F5DEB3" | Speech of Duke Mu of Qin
Dating of the Modern Script chapters
======================================================================
Not all of the Modern Script chapters are believed to be
contemporaneous with the events they describe, which range from the
legendary emperors Yao and Shun to early in the Spring and Autumn
period.
Six of these chapters concern figures prior to the first evidence of
writing, the oracle bones dating from the reign of the Late Shang king
Wu Ding.
Moreover, the chapters dealing with the earliest periods are the
closest in language and focus to classical works of the Warring States
period.
The five announcements in the Documents of Zhou feature the most
archaic language, closely resembling inscriptions found on Western
Zhou bronzes in both grammar and vocabulary.
They are considered by most scholars to record speeches of King Cheng
of Zhou, as well as the Duke of Zhou and Duke of Shao, uncles of King
Cheng who were key figures during his reign (late 11th century BC).
They provide insight into the politics and ideology of the period,
including the doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven, explaining how the
once-virtuous Xia had become corrupt and were replaced by the virtuous
Shang, who went through a similar cycle ending in their replacement by
the Zhou.
The "Timber of Rottlera", "Numerous Officers", "Against Luxurious
Ease" and "Numerous Regions" chapters are believed to have been
written somewhat later, in the late Western Zhou period.
A minority of scholars, pointing to differences in language between
the announcements and Zhou bronzes, argue that all of these chapters
are products of a commemorative tradition in the late Western Zhou or
early Spring and Autumn periods.
Chapters dealing with the late Shang and the transition to Zhou use
less archaic language.
They are believed to have been modelled on the earlier speeches by
writers in the Spring and Autumn period, a time of renewed interest in
politics and dynastic decline.
The later chapters of the Zhou section are also believed to have been
written around this time.
The "Gaozong Rongri" chapter comprises only 82 characters, and its
interpretation was already disputed in Western Han commentaries.
Pointing to the similarity of its title to formulas found in the
Anyang oracle bone inscriptions, David Nivison proposed that the
chapter was written or recorded by a collateral descendant of Wu Ding
in the late Shang period some time after 1140 BC.
The "Pan Geng" chapter (later divided into three parts) seems to be
intermediate in style between this group and the next. It is the
longest speech in the 'Documents', and is unusual in its extensive use
of analogy. Scholars since the Tang dynasty have noted the difficult
language of the "Pan Geng" and the Zhou Announcement chapters. Citing
the archaic language and worldview, Chinese scholars have argued for a
Shang dynasty provenance for the "Pan Geng" chapters, with
considerable editing and replacement of the vocabulary by Zhou dynasty
authors accounting for the difference in language from Shang
inscriptions.
The chapters dealing with the legendary emperors, the Xia dynasty and
the transition to Shang are very similar in language to such classics
as the 'Mencius' (late 4th century BC).
They present idealized rulers, with the earlier political concerns
subordinate to moral and cosmological theory, and are believed to be
the products of philosophical schools of the late Warring States
period.
Some chapters, particularly the "Tribute of Yu", may be as late as the
Qin dynasty.
Influence in the West
======================================================================
When Jesuit scholars prepared the first translations of Chinese
Classics into Latin, they called the 'Documents' the "Book of Kings",
making a parallel with the Books of Kings in the Old Testament. They
saw Shang Di as the equivalent of the Christian God, and used passages
from the 'Documents' in their commentaries on other works.
Notable translations
======================================================================
*
*
* ; rpt. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1960. (Full Chinese
text with English translation using Legge's own romanization system,
with extensive background and annotations.)
** [
https://archive.org/details/chineseclassics07legggoog part 1]:
Prolegomena and chapters 1-26 (up to books of Shang)
** [
https://archive.org/details/chineseclassics01minggoog part 2]:
chapters 27-58 (books of Zhou), indexes
* Includes a minor revision of Legge's translation.
* Reprinted (1999), Paris: You Feng.
* (Modern Script chapters only) Reprinted as a separate volume by
Elanders in 1950.
*
*
*
*
*
External links
======================================================================
* [
https://ctext.org/shang-shu - 'Shang Shu'] at the Chinese Text
Project, including both the Chinese text and Legge's English
translation (emended to employ pinyin)
* [
https://religiondatabase.org/browse/1062/#/ Shangshu] at the
Database of Religious History.
*
[
https://web.archive.org/web/20110807130610/http://www.chinapage.com/confucius/classic/english.html
Selections from Legge's 'Shu Jing'] (also emended)
* [
https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666358/ Annotated Edition of 'The Book
of Documents'] (13th century)
* [
http://chinesenotes.com/shangshu.html 'Book of Documents' ] Chinese
text with matching English vocabulary at chinesenotes.com
mos:ZH
License
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Documents
