This article offers a new reading of Mozi’s chapter “Ming gui” 明鬼, conventionally considered as a treatise explaining Mohist ideas about ghosts and spirits, by shifting the focus from the ghosts (gui 鬼) to the concept of ming 明, interpreted as “sagely illumination.” The “Ming gui” chapter does not discuss ghosts in general, but instead a specific group of “punitive ghosts” who mete out punishments and rewards; it also shows that ming gui was not a group of ghosts particular to Mozi or Mohism alone, but was widespread in the beliefs and practices of the period. The execution of justice, which is the crucial concern of the treatise, depends on ming—the principle of justice and Heaven’s agency in human life—and not on ghosts. Ming also is an indispensable component of sagehood, as it is the illuminated sage ruler (ming jun 明君) who, on behalf of Heaven, ultimately metes out just punishments and rewards.

The two parts of this study concern the three extant versions of “The Metal-bound Coffer” (“Jin teng”): the two received texts in the Book of Documents and the Grand Scribe's Records and the newly recovered Warring States manuscript now at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The first part considers an uncontroversial detail shared by all three versions: the reference to a poem composed by the Duke of Zhou called “The Owl” (“Chixiao”). Cross-referencing “The Metal-bound Coffer” with a poem of the same title, now found in the Book of Odes, it is possible to explain not only the place of this poem in the overall narrative of “The Metal-bound Coffer,” but also the considerations of the poem's two ancient commentators, Mao and Zheng Xuan. In the second part of the study, the discussion turns to the three versions of “The Metal-bound Coffer,” looking in turn at three different passages. By positing a greater number of testimonies than the ones that happen to survive, I argue that a comparison of the extant versions reveals an effort by transmitters, commentators, and the re-teller Sima Qian to teach a single lesson: the Duke of Zhou occupied a subordinate place vis-à-vis the ruler, and must never undermine him in any way.

This essay examines some key statements in the Later Mohist treatises to gain a sense of their views on language and disputation (bian 辯). I first show that the Later Mohists viewed disputation as an exercise in familiarizing oneself with patterns of language use and the verification of truth-claims in the phenomenal world. I then demonstrate that such an activity helps one attain one of the Mohists’ highest goals: the clarification of ethical imperatives about how to behave, as expressed through Heaven for all people. This claim ultimately links Early and Later Mohist ethical concerns and offers a religious explanation for Later Mohist involvement and interest in disputation. Lastly, I frame these writings from within a culture of debate about language in Early China—a culture which, for example, yielded not only Mohist views concerning the necessary correlation between language and reality, but also Confucian formulations on the rectification of names, and a Zhuangzian insistence on the emptiness of sayings.

When Li Xueqin was born in Beijing on 28 March, 1933, the Republic of China was in power, with its capital in Nanjing, and the Japanese occupied Manchuria. On 29 July 1937 Japanese troops invaded Beijing and brought it under control in little more than a week. The occupation of Beijing lasted until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. The People's Liberation Army entered Beijing in the end of January of 1949 and on 1 October 1949, when Li Xueqin was sixteen, Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. This period of warfare was followed by periods of political turmoil which often centered around intellectuals—thought reform in the early fifties, the anti-rightest campaigns and the Great Leap Forward of the late fifties and early sixties, the Cultural Revolution from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies.

If one were to speak of the “incipient period” of research on Western Zhou oracle bones, he would have to refer to that period of time after the discovery in 1950 at Sipanmo (SP 11) of oracle bones whose “writing was not consistent with inscriptional standards,” and before November of 1956 when Professor Li Xueqin pointed out that the inscribed oracle bones from Fangdui village of Shanxi's Hongzhao County were artifacts of the opening period of the Western Zhou. Through the study of these oracle bones discovered at Sipanmo and Fangdui village, as well as in Bin county in Shaanxi and Taishanmiao in Luoyang, it was then possible for the first time to recognize that in addition to Shang oracle bones there were also Western Zhou oracle bones, thus debunking the traditional belief that all oracle bones were produced by the Shang. The excavation in 1956 of inscribed oracle bones at Fengxi in Shaanxi then provided positive proof of the existence of Western Zhou oracle bones.

A surprisingly large number of texts, many heretofore lost to us, werediscovered in a lacquer box in Tomb Three at Mawangdui. (For a summary ofthe excavation and contents of the tomb see Early China 1[1975]:10-15.) Thescrolls had fused together as a result of being tightly packed in thelacquer box; after separation, two of the scrolls were found to contain sixseparate treatises on medicine as well as a set of illustrations oftherapeutic calisthenics.

1. The word yu in Classical Chinese usually has the apparent meaning of the existential quantifier in logic, and the grammatical functin of a transitive verb. (That is, e.g., in Nan jen yu yen … … “Among the southern people there is a saying…,” the word yen “saying” is the grammatical object of yu, and if we substitute a pronoun the substitute has to be the object pronoun chih.) Yu also is used in a noun phrase before a group name or general term, and the analysis of its syntax and meaning in this use is the problem that motivates this paper. The use is rare except before dynasty names, where it has continued to the present, e.g., yu Yin, yu Ming, etc. The analysis of this latter use has been disputed by Chinese grammarians for the past three centuries. Two interpretations have emerged. At present, one interpretation appears to be accepted by prominent Chinese linguists and philologists, while the other is generally followed by the leading Western translators of early texts.

This study introduces a bamboo-strip manuscript of the Zhou Yi or Zhou Changes purchased by the Shanghai Museum in 1994. The fragmentary manuscript includes 58 strips, about one-third of the received text of the Zhou Yi. Orthographic features suggest that it was copied in the southern state of Chu about 300 B.C.E. Although the manuscript includes numerous orthographic variants vis-à-vis the received text, it does show that the text was stable by this date of copying. The most unusual feature of the manuscript is a pair of symbols written after the hexagram name and at the end of the hexagram text. Although several explanations of these symbols have been advanced, none of them appears to be convincing to date. A final question about the manuscript concerns the sequence of hexagrams in it. Since the binding straps of the manuscript had already decayed and the strips become disordered, and since each hexagram text begins on a new bamboo strip, no sequence is apparent. However, the physical circumstances of the strips, especially the points at which they are broken, may suggest that the sequence was more or less similar to that of the received Zhou Yi.

Our knowledge of the genealogy of the feudal houses of the Chou period is based primarily on the Shih Chi “Hereditary Houses” and secondarily on frequent quotations in medieval commentaries of the Shih Pen, a systematic genealogical treatise which, before it was lost in the T'ang, found favor among such historians as Tu Yü (222-284) and Ssu-ma Cheng (fl. 719-736) and classicists like K'ung Ying-ta (574-648). In the “Hereditary House of Wei,” the Shih Chi presents a genealogy at some variance with the genealogy quoted from the Shih Pen in Ssu-ma Cheng's commentary to the Shih Chi and K'ung Ying-ta's “sub-commentaries” to the Tso Chuan and Li Chi. A central point of disagreement concerns Marquis Wen , who is described as the son or grandson of Viscount Huan . This conflict of genealogy is coupled with a serious discrepancy concerning the length and date of the reign of Marquis Wen between the Shih Chi and the reconstructed Chu-shu Chi-nien. I believe that a careful examination of the chronological difficulty will contribute to a resolution of the genealogical conflict and thus prepare the way for a more general solution of points of conflict between the Shih Chi and Shih Pen versions of the genealogy of the House of Wei.

A number of interesting anecdotes are recorded in the Shih-chi and the Han-shu, especially in the biographies of various renowned figures. Some of these anecdotes are related to the concept of predestination and fate. The most frequently mentioned cases are the stories of the births of emperors and founders of dynasties and legends related to the ancient sage kings.

At the beginning of the “Annals of Liu Pang,” the founder of the Han dynasty, it is related that he was engendered by a dragon and from this acquired an unusual physiognomy resembling the face of a dragon. His unusual appearance impressed his prospective father-in-law, who decided to let him marry his daughter, the future Empress Lü. An old lady, Madame Hsu, who was noted for her ability to prophesize by physiognomy, was so impressed by the appearance of Liu Pang that she prophesized a good fortune for the whole family. The legend associated with Liu Pang, that his killing of a white snake was lamented by a mysterious old lady as the act of killing the “Son of the White Emperor” by the “Son of the Red Emperor”, is very familiar. It is further related that Liu's wife never failed to locate his hideout because there was always a colorful haze and mist over it.

One of David S. Nivison's (1923–2014) most important contributions is his work in bridging philological studies and philosophical inquiry. His methodological approach resonates in spirit with an approach to the study of Chinese thought advocated by Confucian thinkers such as Zhu Xi and Tang Junyi, who both emphasize jing toward early thinkers. He pays careful attention to textual details, is respectful of cultural context, and seeks to preserve the distinctive features of Chinese traditions of thought and avoid imposing on them western philosophical conceptions. In doing so, he exemplifies the spirit of jing, a serious and cautious attitude dedicated to a proper understanding of early thinkers in their cultural context.

With the major exception of the Yi jing, we have neither formal canons nor commentaries for most early Chinese mantic traditions. Indirect reflections on these traditions appear in scattered commentaries, in biographical narratives, and, importantly, in excavated texts. The major source for mantic materials from the received textual tradition is the lists of their titles in Han shu 30, the “Yiwen zhi” or Bibliographic Treatise. It is a guide to the categories of knowledge used by Han thinkers, and created an influential paradigm for the classification of texts and knowledge. The present study provides a necessarily selective survey of mantic texts in the “Yiwen zhi,” with a specific view to: (1) how it underscored the authority of some techniques and marginalized others; (2) its relation to what we know of Han mantic practices; and (3) what it reveals about the role of the mantic arts as constituents of scientific observation and systematic inquiry in early China.

While research on Warring States, Qin, and Han manuscripts is flourishing, much less is known about the use of manuscripts during the earlier stages of Chinese history, for which material evidence has not been preserved. Based on the layout features and textual anomalies in the Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, this article explores the traces of use of perishable writing supports in the process of the production of bronze inscriptions in this period and reconstructs their functions and physical qualities. Based on the surveyed evidence, the article posits that two distinct exemplar manuscripts were used in the inscription-making process: an original “master copy” that was kept aside for proofreading purposes and a secondary “blueprint” that was employed directly in the technical process of inscription-making. A single blueprint would be used consecutively by several craftsmen to produce a set of inscriptions on different types of vessels. The word count and layout of many inscriptions were already carefully planned during the process of their composition, and any study of a bronze text should therefore begin with the evaluation of its visual qualities. Moreover, this probe provides unambiguous evidence for the use of tube-lining in the inscription-making process and reconstructs the complete chaîne opératoire of bronze inscription production in the Late Western Zhou period. The article also offers insights into the level of literacy and the division of labor in bronze workshops, and touches upon the display function of bronze epigraphy during the Western Zhou period.

Over the past few years, additional evidence has surfaced that supplements my prior authentication of the Peking University Han strips, and in particular the *Cang Jie pian 蒼頡篇 manuscript from this collection. The present article surveys this fresh evidence, including confirmation of spiraling verso lines on the archaeologically excavated Shuihudi 睡虎地 Han strips, as well as further textual parallels, both with a previously unidentified Cang Jie pian strip from Niya 尼雅, and also with newly published content from the Shuiquanzi 水泉子 *Cang Jie pian. The article also critically examines in greater detail the methodology previously employed to authenticate the Peking University Han strips. Limitations are acknowledged, both in regard to supporting negative appraisals, and in the determination of “novelty” for manuscript features. To demonstrate these issues, the article analyzes a conflict between the Peking University and Shuiquanzi Cang Jie pian manuscripts and introduces the publication of the so-called “Han board” *Cang Jie pian witness largely unknown to the field before.

There is no more salient figure in early Chinese literature than Kongzi and yet he remains a figure about whose beginnings we know very little. The present essay explores this paradox of bibliographic salience and biographic silence through an in-depth examination of the principal narratives of the Kongzi legend from the Shiji and the Kongzi jiayu, paying particular attention to the language of their respective accounts of the birth of the sage. Finding a distinct lack of fit between the form and content of these these stories, I propose a narrative alternative drawn from the early Han weishu accounts of Kongzi's beginnings. Finding in this alternative a more coherent fit between language and narrative structure as well as recurrent themes such as divine visitation, infertility, jiaomei sacrifice, and cranial disfigurement, vestiges of which are also found in the accounts of Wang Su and Sima Qian, the essay suggests that the weishu texts preserve a fuller popular legend of fertility sacrifice by the childless coordinated with the winter solstice also present in the very name Kongzi and resonating with the charter myth of the Zhou, “Sheng min.” The evident implication of this finding is that the historicity of Kongzi is arguable. The name is more like a mythic literary fiction and probably began, as did that of Hou Qi, as a symbolic deity that was made historical in one of its many Warring States incarnations, that one transmitted to us exclusively through the normative biographical tradition.

This study traces the origins and development of the concept of Li 理 (Pattern) in early Chinese Cosmology, locating its foundation in the root metaphor derived from the natural lines or veins along which a block of jade can be split by a skilled artisan. From this relatively concrete image, li comes to eventually represent in Daoist cosmology the more abstract quality of the natural patterns or structures within the universe along which all phenomena move and interact with one another without the interference of human beings. After examining how early Confucian works emphasize the more abstract and derivative qualities of order and structure, we see that the likely Yangist authors in the Lüshi chunqiu return to the original metaphor of veins in jade but, instead, apply this to the veins through which the qi circulates through the human body.

We then see how this metaphor is expanded beyond the human body in the classical Daoist texts to come to represent the natural guidelines both within all phenomena and those that guide their movements within the cosmos. Within phenomena these include such varied things as the structures for the generation and expression of emotions within human beings as well as the natural lines along which the butcher's chopper passes in order to cleave oxen. In Daoist inner cultivation literature it is these patterns with which sages accord so that their spontaneous actions are completely in harmony with the greater forces of the cosmos. Only after long practice of the apophatic contemplative methods that include concentrating on one breathing and emptying out the normal contents of consciousness can the sage be able to accomplish this goal of “taking no action yet leaving nothing undone.” Thus the concept of li as these natural guidelines comes to serve as an explanation for why this classical Daoist dictum is effective in the world.

Finally, the Huainanzi contains the most sophisticated and sustained usages of the concept of li as the natural patterns and guidelines in the cosmos arguing that complying with them is the key to a genuinely contented life.

Traditional studies of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions have long centered on the issue of dating, but have ignored technical aspects regarding the creation of the inscriptions. In these studies, scholars generally considered bronzes with “identical” inscriptions to have been produced simultaneously. This article demonstrates, with the example of the newly excavated Ke lei and Ke he, that an inscription could be reproduced during the Western Zhou. The Ke lei was cast at the outset of the Zhou dynasty to celebrate the granting of the state of Yan, while the Ke he was probably cast somewhat later, with inscriptions imitating the original inscriptions. This article also demonstrates that “identical” inscriptions can display different calligraphy, the calligraphic styles corresponding to sets in the original composition of bronzes. For example, the thirteen “identical” inscriptions on the extant eight Ci gui and three Ci ding vessels were inscribed in three different calligraphic styles; the ornamentation and size or weight of these eleven bronzes show them to have belonged originally to three different sets, corresponding to the three calligraphic styles. These cases of “identical” inscriptions not only provide solid evidence for the contemporary co-existence of different calligraphic styles within the Western Zhou period, but also provide critical information on the organization of technology and labor in the creation of Western Zhou bronzes.