Book of Documents Commentaries -- Standard Edition of Classical Masterpieces

Author: Chen Xuguo
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Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-08-01
Features: A significant achievement in the study of the Shangshu in the last century was the conclusion that the Shi Fu in the Yuzhou Shu is indeed the true Wucheng of the Shangshu, a view that has become widely accepted. For thousands of years, the true Wucheng has been included in the Shangshu as a reliable text, and our Shangshu Annotation is second, hoping that the academic community will not find it strange. With the inclusion of the true Wucheng, the narrative and historical records in the Shangshu have become more prominent. The Shangshu reflects the Shang and Zhou dynasties, a period when oracle bone and bronze inscriptions had already emerged and been used. The Zhou people recorded events of their own dynasty and compiled rumors or textual materials from previous dynasties, including the Shang, into the Shu, a process that was likely underway before the early Spring and Autumn period and finally completed around that time or slightly later. The Grand Historian had not seen ancient Shang or earlier scripts, and his Records of the Grand Historian used Shangshu materials to write the history of ancient times, essentially equating to Sima Qian's father interpreting and translating the corresponding Shangshu texts according to his own understanding (what is known as "interpreting and translating the Shangshu with glosses"). Later, the stone classics and Dunhuang manuscripts also included parts of the Shangshu. Many diligent scholars of the Shangshu have noticed these circumstances.