Search

Food is a biological imperative as well as a core material that humans use in socializing ourselves, and the things we choose to consume are infused with cultural meanings. Children, especially very young children, have little agency in subsistence decisions, and therefore the foods that caretakers feed to children may hold profound information about cultural value systems and reveal social processes and idealized identities. Here we focus on relationships between food, sex, and gender in early life by studying the childhood diets of 57 Eastern Zhou period individuals from the Central Plains region of China (771-221 BCE). Using stable isotope analysis of incremental dentin samples, we create detailed dietary histories of childhood years. From very early in life, the average δ15N value for boys is notably higher than the average for girls, indicating slightly more protein consumption for most males, and this continues across childhood. Foods such as meat and millet were highly valued in ancient China and, whether intentional or not, become associated with aspects of sex and gender through preferential feeding to male children. These isotopic data reveal a key aspect of the socializing processes of children across generational interactions with caretakers, with food communicating information about social worth and gender, which becomes embodied in the developing child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mohists may have been the first consequentialists on earth. Their most important principles are that right action is what benefits the world and that the underlying outlook for benefiting the world is inclusive care, whereby each person receives equal consideration. The early Mohists are clearly objective-list consequentialists, whereby benefiting the world amounts to promoting the most basic goods. Stephens argues that the later Mohists shift to a preference-satisfaction consequentialism whereby benefiting the world amounts to promoting what happens to please individual people. Stephens argues that while the direct texts are ambiguous between an objective-list interpretation and a preference-satisfaction interpretation, the latter better explains later Mohist engagement with opponents. I argue that the direct texts actually preclude Stephens' preference-satisfaction interpretation, which moreover has the later Mohists concede an implausible amount to their opponents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on two ideas addressed in Benoît Vermander's essay "Edit by Number." First, how can we apply "coherence in structure" to the historical development of textual production and edition in ancient China? And second, what concept of number underlies the considerations in the Huáinán Zǐ 淮南子? To answer the first question, this article compares the different compositional patterns of texts that, as with the Lǎo Zǐ 老子and the Yì Jīng 易經, are available to us in different versions. The result of the comparison shows that the differences seem to outweigh the coherent patterns, so we must assume that some texts have undergone very large changes historically. Regarding the concept of number, different views on number are highlighted in texts of the Warring States Period and the Hàn 漢 dynasty, which shows that the Huáinán Zǐ contains a very specific concept of number and its own theory of the One. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the intricate relationship between the concepts of "dao" and "One" in Daoist philosophy, emphasizing the significance of the One in various aspects of early Daoism. Topics include the role of the One as the central concept, its ontological, generative, and political implications, and the varying perspectives on whether the One or dao takes precedence in Daoist thought.

The article focuses on the governmental accounting achievements in China during the Chou Dynasty. The book "Rites of Chou," by an unknown author, provides an early description of how the Chinese government at that time operated. The Chou rulers recognized the importance of using funds to allocate resources for specific purposes, which would be later known as general revenue funds. The government did have a relief fund for needy people that was supplied with surplus from the government's own store of grain. The calendar that was used during the Hsia dynasty differed from that used by the Chous and influenced how the government ordered its spending. The financial management system used by the Chous is compared to that of modern times, particularly how surpluses and taxes were handled.

The present study focuses on the concept of leisure in early China. Leisure is a form of disengagement with the usual concerns of life; but the message of many early texts is that there is no time in which one can afford to be disengaged. However, toward the mid-to-late Spring and Autumn period, when traditional power structures began to spiral out of control, political disengagement became a morally acceptable option for those faced with unscrupulous rulers who could not be served without fear of moral compromise. Political disengagement thus opened a space for leisure in early Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study suggests that the so-called “Jinteng” manuscript held by Qinghua University should be read independently of its received counterpart. When read on its own terms, the manuscript provides a straightforward account of rituals surrounding the Duke of Zhou’s ascension to the throne after the demise of King Wu. As such it represents a continuation of King Wu’s abdication in favor of his meritorious brother, as recorded in the Yi Zhou shu. Read in this light, the fourth century BCE manuscript provides further evidence for the prominence of abdication doctrines during the Warring States period, an intellectual tradition that was deemed subversive in the early empire and became gradually obliterated over the course of the Qin-Han dynasties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intellectual history of the ancient philosophical "Masters" depends to a large extent on accounts in early historiography, most importantly Sima Qian's Skiji which provides a range of longer and shorter biographies of Warring States thinkers. Yet the ways in which personal life experiences, ideas, and the creation of texts are interwoven in these accounts are diverse and uneven and do not add up to a reliable guide to early Chinese thought and its protagonists. In its selective approach to different thinkers, the Shiji under-represents significant parts of the textual heritage while developing several distinctive models of authorship, from anonymous compilations of textual repertoires to the experience of personal hardship and political frustration as the precondition for turning into a writer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the category of "Master" as it was used in texts produced during the Warring States. Though scholars have generally assumed that common conventions informed the role and figure of the Master across early texts, close analysis of the sources does not support this reading. The present essay focuses upon the figure of Mo Di as it is constructed in the anecdotes anthologized in the "Dialogues" of the Mozi, comparing the social, political, and economic roles the text ascribes to "Master Mozi" with those ascribed to figures such as Confucius and "Master Yan" in other roughly contemporary writings. Such a comparative reading reveals a distinctive and salient model of Mastership advocated by the early Mohists, which in turn demonstrates that basic categories such as "Master" and "disciple" were fluid and contested in the larger discourse of the Warring States [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the transformation in the Zhou dynasty China (1046–256 BC) of the concept of education in relation to the process of social selection, which concerns the distribution both of knowledge and of social ranks. An approach in terms of historical semantics, mainly influenced by Luhmannian sociological theory with some reference to Koselleck, will place the focus on social change and the changing meaning of concepts. The analysed sources include archaeological evidence and passages from traditional classics. The paper will show how the semantics of education were closely tied to the changing principles of social selection and the changing Chinese cultural concept of Tian (Heaven). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines choices of earth-working tools made by Neolithic Chinese populations. In the Hemudu Culture (7000-5000 B.P.), bone (scapula) digging tools were used from the earliest times, whereas peoples in surrounding areas used stone spades. A range of experiments on manufacturing costs, durability, and use efficiency under realistic conditions show that bone and stone spades are functionally equivalent when soils are soft, but that stone implements provide significant and easily perceived advantages when working harder soils. The persistence of scapular spades in the Hemudu Culture would have constrained decisions about undertaking large construction projects under normal soil conditions. Our results show that, in addition to generalized labor for construction, labor demands for producing earth-working implements for largescale prehistoric earthworks could have also been substantial. These findings not only help explain the processes of intensifying rice-agriculture and sedentary settlements in the Lower Yangzi Basin, but also create a solid foundation for further investigation of how the recruitment of both generalized and specialized laborers, the organization of craft production, and the relevant logistics for large-scale earthworks may have paralleled concentrations of political power in prehistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work demonstrates that the European state system-which, since the Middle Ages, saw the recurrent formation of balances of power-constitutes a historical exception rather than the rule among anarchic international systems. In this study, I set out to explain why Europe avoided hegemony. I argue that the character of state-society relations at the time of intensified geopolitical competition leads to different systemwide outcomes with respect to balancing and hegemony. Where multiple privileged groups already exist, rulers must negotiate with a range of societal actors to extract revenue and resources for warfare. This further entrenches institutional constraints on rulers and the privileges enjoyed by societal groups, which in turn make it difficult for rulers to convert conquest into further expansion. In the absence of preexisting multiple privileged groups, however, geopolitical competition instead further weakens the ability of societal actors to check their rulers. This dynamic creates a return-to-scale logic that facilitates systemwide conquest. My argument accounts for the diverging trajectories of, on the one hand, medieval and early modern Europe and, on the other hand, ancient China-where the state of Qin eliminated its rivals and established universal domination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xinian is a recently published bamboo manuscript from the collection of Qinghua (Tsinghua) University. It is the lengthiest, most detailed historical text unearthed in recent decades. The text narrates major events from the history of the state of Chu, its rivals, and its allies from the beginning of the Western Zhou period to the early fourth century bce. In this introductory article I argue the following: first, both the language and the content of Xinian indicate that this text was based on earlier historical sources from the states of Chu and Jin, in addition to sources from within the Zhou royal domain; second, the authors' utilization of their primary sources differs markedly from those observable in Zuo zhuan (with which Xinian has many overlapping parts) and in later collections of anecdotes; and third, Xinian may represent a heretofore unknown genre of "informative history." In addition, I explore the new perspectives that Xinian sheds on early Qin and Chu history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work on deities and the extrahuman has been relatively sparse in studies on religion in Early China, tending to only incorporate the topic in so much as it matters to other discussions. This paints a picture of religious activity in which the extrahuman is at best passively involved and at worst simply not present. This article illustrates that such understandings are far from accurate and that deities are actually a very common and complex element of the religious practices and activities displayed in pre-Qin (pre-221 BCE) writings by looking at Lesser Deities, specifically shen 神, in the Zuozhuan 左傳 and Guoyu 國語, two texts that display a vast swathe of information of this period. It shows that these texts depict these Lesser Deities in complex ways, constructing identities for them as active agents in socio-political roles with prescribed duties and responsibilities in the religious systems espoused by these texts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author of the article, editor-in-chief of the abovementioned publication, acquaints the reader with its content in detail. He emphasizes that Zhongguo, Qing and Han epoch was of crucial importance for the formation and development of Chinese civilization, when the basic institutions of the state had been formed, ensuring China's sustainable development for several millennia up to this day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative history on ancient empires has seen a flourishing renewal in recent years. Many studies are devoted either to the study of a particular aspect (or aspects) in many societies of the past, or to the analysis of selected characteristics present in two ancient states, usually China and Rome. However, pre-Ptolemaic Egypt is conspicuously absent in such discussions despite the considerable wealth of Pharaonic sources and archaeological evidence. Therefore, several paths for prospective comparative research are proposed, from the organization of agriculture and productive activities in general to the ways in which ancient states promoted and "captured" flows of wealth through trade, imperialism, and taxation; from the reproduction of power and authority in the long run to the integration of different actors with their own (and often diverging) interests into a single political entity. The final aim is to contribute to a theory of ancient states where long-lived monarchies like ancient China and Pharaonic Egypt could play a leading role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to analyze how "the fall of the Luan clan" of the Jin state (...) is interpreted in various historiographical documents in pre-Qin and early Han periods, and discusses the association between the genre and the narrator's viewpoint and intention of those particular documents. The paper compares the differences in narrative -- including aspects of plot, character image, theme, and viewpoint--between the Zuo Commentary and Sayings of the States, indicating that the two books, though only slightly different in plot, represent "realities" of diverse views. It discusses in what way the content is associated with the genre in the narrative of the pre-Qin and early Han historiographical texts, both archaeological findings and textual records, with particular emphasis on "The Chronicles" in Tsinghua Bamboo Slips II. By comparing the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Zuo Commentary, Sayings of the States, Records of the Grand Historian, and "The Chronicles", the paper points out that "The Chronicles" is of a different genre from the Spring and Autumn Annals. The paper ends by focusing on pre-Qin and early Han historiographical documents regarding "the Fall of the Luan clan," such as the Gongyang Commentary, Guliang Commentary, The Annals of Lu Buwei, Shizi, etc. By illustrating the differences in genre among the books aforementioned, the present study expects to explain the relationship between narrative and genre in historiographical texts from pre-Qin to early Han periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focuses on the ways in which the Zuo zhuan depicts the disruptive and often violent impact of political ambition on the female members of the family of one woman, Bo Ji of Song, across three generations. It examines the ways in which the Zuo zhuan both characterizes the issues at stake and envisions measures to prevent the preemptory and ruthless disordering and dissolution of families for the sake of political expediency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pre-Qin cultural tradition of Qi espoused a harmony between heaven and earth, which connected sacrificial rites, physical perception and transformative education. Based on an analysis of the ritual classics and related texts, this study probes the close relationship between Qi, spirit and body found in sacrificial ceremonies that employed various types of aromas to worship gods in the pre-Qin period. In these ceremonies, aromas were said to initiate strong physical experiences and feelings, and this study investigates how personal cultivation, moral conduct and transformative education were involved in the transformation of Qi and blood. It begins by analyzing the significance and effectiveness of aroma in the descriptions of sacrificial rites found in the ritual classics. It then explores what aromas were valued in sacrificial ceremonies as well as the conceptions of spirits prevalent at the time. Looking at views of blood Qi and virtuous Qi (“Mingde Weixin”), this study examines the shift in emphasis in primitive sacrificial ceremonies from blood Qi to virtuous Qi. This shift indicates the important role aroma played in transformative education; it also reveals how aroma served as a metaphor for virtuous conduct and how physical Qi was used to describe the condition of the mind. Moreover, in terms of atmosphere, the ritual actors who participated in sacrificial ceremonies maintained concentration and respect by preparing religious instruments, fasting and worshiping. This study examines how atmosphere informed the ritual actors' sincerity and respect, and suggests that they were based on strong physical experience and emotion. The synaesthesia of emotions causes ritual to harmonize with heaven and earth, the body, the emotions and the nature in a way that not only prevents formal ossification, but which also succeeds in establishing an ideal world of ritual and music characterized by flowing vitality and the synaesthesia of emotions and Qi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay, one of the two parts of my research on Shang militarism, focuses on Shang military rituals and war preparations. I tackle issues such as the Shang king's way of decision-making in regard to battles and military actions, the Shang communications system and logistics network, and the details of how the Shang produced grains and meats. Finally, I argue that careful scrutiny of the excavated buildings at Yanshi city, an early Shang capital before Anyang, strongly suggests that the Shang excelled at defense as well. In contrast to the first part of my research, which relied on secondary materials published by modem Chinese scholars, in the present essay I utilize published collections of oracle bone inscriptions. I have analyzed more than one hundred inscriptions and also discuss several individual graphs in order to ground my arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues against the strong “holist” position that the early Chinese lacked any concept of mind–body dualism, and more broadly against a “neo-Orientalist” trend that portrays Chinese thought as radically different from Western thought. In the first half, it makes the case against strong mind–body holism by drawing upon traditional archeological and textual evidence. In the second, it turns to resources from the sciences, arguing that large-scale quantitative–qualitative analyses of early Chinese texts suggest that they embrace a quite vigorous form of mind–body dualism, and further that a huge body of evidence coming out of the cognitive sciences suggests that this is not at all surprising. In this section, the role that deep humanistic knowledge can, and should, play in scientific approaches to culture is also explored. The article concludes by suggesting that a mutually informed, humanities–scientific approach to religious studies is the best way for our field to move forward. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the history of political philosophy, liberty, Taosim, and Confucianism in ancient China, with a focus on the development of Legalism. Topics include Legalist ideas of government, the history of the Zhou dynasty, the sociopolitical order supported by the Mandate of Heaven, and political power under absolute rulers.

The article considers the ancient Chinese schools of philosophy known as Mohism and Confucianism. Confucian beliefs are based on the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius and his creed of rù, whereas Mohism is based on the teachings of Chinese philosopher Mòzĭ and his doctrine of mò. Topics considered include problems associated with translating ancient texts, the definition of classicists, and the intellectual history of China during the Warring States and Western Han periods. Commentary of notable Chinese scholars also considered includes that of Zhào Qí, Hú Shì, and Zhāng Tàiyán.

The origins of the strategically and economically important Quebei reservoir have long been attributed to the sixth-century B.C. Chu statesman Sunshu Ao, making it China's earliest major irrigation complex. Despite sparse evidence, this tradition became widely accepted, especially in the Huainan region. Challenges to the attribution did not rest on stronger bases and likewise assumed the reservoir to be of pre-Han origin. In reality, careful examination of the sources, of the development of hydraulic technology, and of the political context points to a Western Han origin for the Quebei irrigation complex. The result is a better appreciation of the transitional nature of the Western Han for Chinese agriculture and a cautionary example of the pitfalls of studying local history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the "ding" bronze vessel of Chinese mythology, focusing on its role in concepts of divine authority and legitimacy of the state during the Shang era of 1640-1046 BCE. Topics include evidence of ritual use of dings including in sacrifices, metallurgical research into the bronze alloy compositions from different regions, and the role of the king as a divine intermediary.

This paper examines the reasons why Physician He (Yi--He, sixth century BCE) was regarded as a founder in the classical medical tradition of China. By most accounts, Physician He's importance owes much to his theoretical innovations. In contrast to earlier healers, Physician He purportedly framed the aetiology of illnesses solely in terms of natural causes, as opposed to attributing sickness to gods or demons. In this paper, I reread a famous episode in the Commentary by Zuo, which is often cited as evidence of the physician's naturalism. By paying close attention to the formal elements of the narrative as well as its larger discursive context, I argue that the standard reading of Physician He falls short. The episode provides little evidence of any secular challenge to religious conceptions of illness, and Physician He was, in fact, patterned after occult experts. A careful look moreover at the reception of Physician He in premodern histories of medicine reveals that the physician was extolled for his attunement to the will of the spirits as well as his powers of examination. Physician He's reputation as a naturalist furthermore represents a modern interpretation, one that reflects efforts to defend the indigenous medical tradition against its biomedical detractors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the history of Chinese sarcophagi from the first millennium B.C. and the characteristic images of the afterworld that encompassed the paintings that were portrayed on the stone-carved coffins. The author provides a historical background on the coffins, including the prevalence of the sarcophagi in the Shandong peninsula in eastern China and the province of Sichuan in southwest China, the importance of the protection of the deceased through paintings of ancestors on the coffins and how Chinese religious beliefs and cultural environment influenced the robust construction and simple decoration of the majority of the coffins.

What does the qualitative increase in the brutality of international relations in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient China (770-221bc) mean for the implicit progressivism of Alexander Wendt's constructivism, as espoused in his landmark text Social Theory of International Politics (1999)? Wendt's constructivism is useful in understanding international systems outside the contemporary Westphalian order and provides an excellent analytical tool for understanding ancient China. However, this article argues that Wendt's implicit teleology of progressively cooperative 'cultures of anarchy' in international politics is empirically questionable. It is demonstrated that such a progression is not supported by the historical evidence of ancient China, which represents an instance of an international system 'regressing' from a more to a less cooperative international social structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, accompanied by colour photos, records the author's recent archaeological expedition in the Taklamakan Desert. His advance northwards along the now mostly sand-covered beds of the Keriya River proved to be a march backward through time, from the Iron Age city of Jumbulakum to the early Bronze Age necropolis of Ayala Mazar. The artifacts he found are contemporary with, and similar to Chinese discoveries at Xiaohe. This proves that Xiaohe was not an isolated case and provides evidence for a whole culture based on some sort of fertility cult. The remains also suggest that some, at least, of the peoples concerned had Indo-European affiliations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The calendrical records inscribed on bamboo slips nos. 69-91 from the Qin Zhoujiatai tomb, whether for the 36th and 37th years of Qin Shi Huang or the tenth and eleventh years of his reign as King of Qin are not consistent with the Six Ancient Calendars or their derivations. The method of predicting the calendrical new moon in the Qin calendar is unrelated to the Six Ancient Calendars, but its "solar calendar elements" may have been arranged according to the Zhuxu Calendar. The Qin calendar took dingsi of the tenth month of the year before 361 BC as the starting point of the lunar month; its prediction of the calendrical new moon was consistent with the quarter-day calendar and its method of intercalation was artifically arranged in a sequence of 3-3-3-2-3-3-2. Although we do not know its original starting point, the second year of Qin Shi Huang's reign as King of Qin can be taken to be the starting point of a sequence (chapter). On this basis we can reconstruct the calendar of this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different civilizations not only develop in accordance with common laws, but also show their own characteristics, combining generality and particularity. Ancient Chinese civilization, which constitutes an important part of the history of human civilization, is subject to the laws of development of human civilization but also has its own distinctive national characteristics. In studying the origin of ancient Chinese civilization and state, comparisons with other civilizations are inevitable in terms of both methodology and point of view. Exploration of this issue will help deepen our understanding of the generality and diversity of human civilizations. Since the 1980's, the origin of ancient Chinese civilization and state has attracted widespread attention in academic circles and resulted in important academic achievements. In recent years particularly, with the unearthing of more archaeological materials and the application of theories of cultural anthropology, much progress has been made. Against this background, the SSIC Editorial Office invited some scholars to discuss this issue from the point of view respectively of archeology, ancient literature, cultural anthropology and language and script, in the hope of promoting further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I provide a complete translation and analysis of the recently unearthed bamboo manuscript, Rong Cheng shi, from the Shanghai Museum collection. This manuscript presents a previously unknown version of China's early history from the time of legendary rulers Yao, Shun, Yu and their predecessors to the establishment of the Zhou dynasty. The narrative is critical of both the dynastic principle of rule and "righteous rebellion", and advocates instead the ruler's abdication in favour of a worthier candidate as the best mode of rule; in addition, it hints at the unusually active role of "the people" in establishing the supreme ruler. Moreover, despite being associated with the southern state of Chu, the Rong Cheng shi presents a unitary view of the past, which rejects the multi-state world and promulgates the notion of the unified "All-under-Heaven" as singularly legitimate. The text has far-reaching significance in terms of both history of Chinese political thought and of early Chinese historiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original ancestors gradually learnt to build a well in the process of their struggle with the nature, which was a natural product on a certain stage of social development with many social factors, such as survival pressure, environmental change, improvement of production. From the perspective of habitat change, we studies the influence of the ecological environment on the origin, shape and functions of the wells during the Pre - Qin period and their ecological protection consciousness during this process. On the Environmental Impacts on Wells during the Pre -- Qin Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towards the end of his life, Lord Ling of Wei (r. 534-493 BCE) effectively abdicated in favor of his wife, Lady Nanzi. Such a transfer of power seems to have been unique in Zhou dynasty China, and these events were discussed at some length in ancient historical and philosophical texts. Throughout the imperial era scholars and commentators continued to study Lord Ling and Lady Nanzi, producing a considerable body of research which reflects changing attitudes to the nature of ruler's rights and authority, and which also documents responses to the couple's apparent rejection of accepted social and gender roles. Although their actions were often portrayed positively in early Chinese texts, the overwhelming majority of scholars who studied their biographies in the imperial era were hostile to the concept of a woman taking control of the government of a state. The tension between the accounts found in ancient texts and subsequent scholarship is the subject of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The later Warring States household registration bamboo slips at Liye Village seem to be a product of Qin's invasion of the "territory west of Qingyang" of Chu State. "Nanyang" in the slips is the name of a village in Qianling. Some twenty or more households were on the register for Nanyang, made up of seven or eight family names whose houses were intermingled. Registered families largely fall into three types: nuclear families, stern families and joint families, with the former two predominant. The occasional joint family can be regarded either as a temporary intermediate form or an individual case arising from poverty or other factors. Bondservants were subordinate members of registered households whose affiliation with their master's household had legal recognition. Bondwomen could enhance their social and familial status through marriage or child bearing. Many such grass-rots social forms can be seen as common to both Chu and Qin in this period. However, the military service system of local residents may belong to Qin culture rather than being something that already existed in Chu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the use of a phrase pertaining to punishments found in five pre-Qin-era (221-206 BCE) textual sources in China: The Shangshu, or Book of Documents; the Mozi; the “Black Robes” chapter in the Book of Rites (Liji); and two sets of bamboo slip texts, one of which is the part of the newly discovered Guodian bamboo slips found in Hubei Province. The phrase varies in each of these texts, but all relate to the chapter entitled “Lu Regulation of Punishment” found in the Shangshu. The earliest of these citations is that from the Guodian bamboo slips, which were buried in a noble’s tomb around 300 BCE in the state of Chu prior to being conquered by the Qin. The variations in text represent the evolution of a political concept that is found in early Confucianism and, later, in the notion of a “Mandate of Heaven.” [ABSTRACT FROM CONTRIBUTOR]

The article discusses evidence in ancient Chinese historical records and legend for contact with other cultures during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, via trade routes through southwestern China into India and Central Asia. Research on discoveries at the Sanxingdui and Jinsha archaeological sites on the Chengdu Plain suggesting Indian and Near Eastern cultural influences are discussed. These findings are seen as lending possible credence to references to peoples of the Far East in ancient Greek and Roman sources.

Analyzes the pluralism of Chinese political thought of the Zhanguo era from 453 to 221 B.C. Advocacy of the ideal of unified rule; Importance of the Great Unity paradigm in Chinese political culture; Rejection of the Eastern Zhou multi-state system.

These are random remarks made out of my review of Jao Tsung-i's two essays collected in The Prehistory of China. They are divided into two parts. The first, which focuses on Jao's essay on the historical events in the Western Chou period, consists of the following main points. 1 ) King Wên as a royal title is the earliest record of Hsi Po (the chief of the West). 2) Does the use of the character, "wang," in names like Wang Chi-li, Wang Chi follow the practice of later generations? 3) Is the theory that Hsi Po was imprisoned in Chiang-li by King Chou of Shang credible? 4) Is Hsi Po posthumously conferred as king by later generations? 5) Hsi Po subdued Li ...(alternatively..,...,...,...,..., or...; ... or ...on oracle bones found in the dwelling place of the Yin people). 6) Yü (alternatively; or ...on bronze inscriptions), subjugated by King Wên, was located in between the riverbank of the Li village in the present Mei district of Shensi; its people also once dwelt in the present Ch'in-yang district of Honan. 7) According to the "Shih-chia" of the Shih-chi, the feudal estates of King Ch'êng's uncles Kuan and Ts'ai were installed after, rather before, King Wu's conquest of Yin. 8) Opinions divide regarding the feudal estates of King Ch'êng's uncles Kuan, Ts'ai and Ho; after King Chou's death, King Wu's ambition to unite the world was not yet completely realized. 9) During the reign of King Mu, the wild tribes of Hsti who vanquished the royal house of Chou came to the Yellow River, Prince Hsti Yen practised benevolence and righteousness, and King Wên of Ch'u exterminated Hsü; these the "Tung Yi chuan" of the Han-shu maintains to have happend at the same time, but actually they did not. 10) The "Lü-hsing" of the Shang-shu is not a record of King Mu's admonition to Prince Lü. 11 ) "Kung-ho" and "Kung" are names of kingdoms, and "Ho" is the name of a king. 12) Hsiang Hsiu's and Kuo Hsiang's citing of ol theory related in the Lu-shih fa-hui, left out in the Chia-ch'ing edition, is available in Chapter 2, pp. 1-2 of the Ming edition. 13) In the calamity caused by Ch'üan-jung, the account that King Yu having died, the two kings of the Western and Eastern Chou enthroned themselves is not preserved in the "Shih-chia" of the Chou-shu. 14) Though compiled the period of the Warring States, the Chou-lii contains many essays o earlier eras and old interpretations. 15) The important content of the Chou-li is conjectured. 16) In the era of Spring and Autumn, the southern part of the Yangtze River was called South Sea. 17) The Pin of the early Chou was located in the present Hsün-i district of Shansi; the theory that it was situated in the present Fên district or in the region around the present T'ai-yüan and Wên-hsi of Shensi is probably wrong. 18) The event that Duke Chou took his punitive action eastwards against the insurgency of the three Superseers as well as the wild tribes of Yi, Hsü and Yen is correctly recorded in the "Lu-sung" and "Lu shih-chia." The second part, which aims at Jao's essay on the Ch'u culture, includes the following main points. 1) There was a Ch'u in the east during the Western Chou era; the Ch'u where Duke Chou fled and resided, however, was located in the south. 2) The character, "yen"... , in the kingdom of Yen is alternatively written as ...; the surname, "Ying"..., is alternatively.... 3) The character, "po," in Ch'u Po refers to the "baron" in the feudal ranks, or probably the chief of a feudal state. 4) The Ch'u's claim of kingship did not begin with Hsüng T'ung. 5) The people of Ch'u was originally a tribe of China, and the so-called "barbarians" referred to the native only. 6) King Ling of Ch'u believed in sorcery most earnestly. 7) The origin of Nuo is traced. 8) The so-called "liang-kuang" in the military system of Ch'u is dealt with.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the life and thought of Yang Chu, a Chinese philosopher of the 4th century BCE during the Warring States period. The disputed historical evidence for Yang Chu's biography is surveyed, including debates about whether he even existed. Also discussed are his teachings, including his concept of "wei wo," a kind of ethical self-interest. Yang Chu is also compared with contemporaries like Mo Tzu (Mozi) and Mencius, the latter of whom strongly opposed Yang Chu's deviation from Confucianism.