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The Bamboo Annals (Chinese character: 竹書紀年; Pinyin: Zhúshū Jìnián) is a chronicle of ancient China.[1] It begins at the earliest legendary times (Huangdi, 2497 BC to 2398 BC) and extends to the Warring States Period (5th century BC–221 BC), particularly the history of the Wei state. It has 13 sections.
The original text was interred with the king of Wei (died 296 BC) and re-discovered in AD 281 (Xi Jin 西晋 dynasty) in the Ji zhong discovery. For this reason, the chronicle survived the great burning of the books by Emperor Shi Huangdi. Other texts recovered from the same tomb included the Guo yu, I Ching, and Mu tian zi zhuan 《穆天子传》. They were written on bamboo slips, the usual writing material for the Warring States period, and it is from this that the name of the text derives.
The original bamboo manuscript was lost during the Song dynasty. The so-called "old" version was recovered in early 20th century by Zhu Youceng and Wang Guowei through the painstaking examination of quotations in pre-Song works. There is another more detailed "new" version, printed in the 14th century, and it has been dismissed by some scholars as a forgery, while others consider it a largely authentic version of the original text.[2][3]
The Bamboo Annals is one of the most important ancient texts on early China, along with others such as the Zuo Zhuan, Shujing and the later Shiji.
[edit] Notes
- ^ David S. Nivison (1993), "Chu shu chi nien", Early Chinese Texts: a bibliographical guide (editor—Loewe M.) p. 39–47 (Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China).
- ^ Keightley, David N. (1978). "The Bamboo Annals and Shang-Chou Chronology". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 38 (2): 423–438. JSTOR 2718906.
- ^ Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1986). "On The Authenticity of the Bamboo Annals". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 46 (1): 149–180. JSTOR 2719078.
[edit] References
- James Legge (1865), The Chinese Classics, volume 3, part 1, Prolegomena chapter 4 "The Annals of the Bamboo Books", pp. 105–188, includes the "new" version of the Annals in Chinese and in English translation.
[edit] Literature
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- Nivison, David S., 'Chu shu chi nien' in: Early Chinese Texts. A Bibliographical Guide (Loewe, Michael, ed.) p.39-47, Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China, 1993, ISBN 1-55729-043-1.
- Shaughnessy, Edward L., 'The Editing and Editions of the Bamboo Annals', in: ibid, Rewriting Early Chinese Texts, Albany (State University of New York Press) 2006, ISBN 0-7914-6643-4.
- Nivison, David S., (倪德衛), The Riddle of the Bamboo Annals (竹書紀年解謎), Taipei (Airiti Press Inc.) 2009, ISBN 9789868518216. For the content sanmin.com.tw, Airiti Press, Amazon or ebook, or for a written summary by Nivison himself here.
- (Chinese) SHAO, Dongfang, (邵東方), Critical Reflection on Current Debates about The Bamboo Annals, Taipei (Airiti Press Inc.) 2010, ISBN 9789868518292. For the content Airiti Press, Sanmin.com.tw or Ebook.
- Nivison, David S., 'The Dates of Western Chou', in: Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 43 (1983) pp. 481-580.
- Nivison, David S., The Key to the Chronology of the Three Dynasties. The "Modern Text" Bamboo Annals, Philadelphia (Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pennsylvania) 1999, Sino-Platonic Papers 93. Click here for summary.
- Shaughnessy Edward L., 'On the Authenticity of the Bamboo Annals', in: Before Confucius. Studies in the Creation of the Chinese Classics, Ithaca (SUNY Press) 1997, ISBN 0-7914-3378-1, pp.69-101, Click here.:Also published in: Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies vol. 46 (1986), pp. 149-180.
