The Date of the Merger of *-ps and *-ts in Old Chinese

Reviewed by: Ancestors, Kings, and the Dao by Constance A. Cook Ori Tavor Constance a. Cook, Ancestors, Kings, and the Dao. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2017. x, 337 pp. US$49.95 (hb). ISBN 978-0-674-97695-5 The study of early Chinese religion presents a unique challenge. Unlike the organized religious traditions of Daoism and Buddhism, it lacks many of the features modern scholars view as fundamental for a “religion,” such as a canonical set of scriptures, an ecclesiastical system, and a fixed pantheon of gods. Much like the category of “popular religion,” the label of “early Chinese religion” does not refer to a single empirical institution. It is a heuristic device, a term coined by sinologists to help make sense of the ideas, beliefs, and practices that circulated in China between the Shang 商 and Han 漢 Dynasties. Despite the inherent ambiguity of this category, most scholars agree that ancestor worship, a set of rituals designed to commemorate and venerate the spirits of one’s deceased forebears, occupies a central role. While ancestor worship is often associated with the Confucian notion of filial piety, it crosses the boundaries of religious traditions, geographical regions, and socio-economic groups. Dating back to the Neolithic period, ancestor worship is perhaps the single most enduring element of Chinese religious culture. In Ancestors, Kings, and the Dao, Constance Cook offers an outline of the evolution of early Chinese religion from the Western Zhou (西周, 1046–771 BCE) to the Warring States (戰國時代, 481–221 BCE) periods through the prism of ritual performances related to ancestor worship. Cook divides this process into three distinct phases. During the first phase, which corresponds to the early Western Zhou period, ritual performances were part of a theocratic framework focused on the worship of royal ancestors. The demise of the central Zhou regime resulted in a shift to the worship of mythical founder deities that also served as paradigmatic models for moral behavior. Finally, in the third stage, the collapse of the ritual system that centered on the royal Zhou ancestors resulted in a turn toward self-cultivation practices aimed at achieving individual benefits. Cook identifies two key tenets that serve as a common thread connecting the changing social and religious landscape of early China: the claim that ritual practice results in the accumulation of an inner power (de 德) and the central role of music in both communal performances and individual self-cultivation as a vehicle for displaying this inner power. The book is divided into two parts. Part I focuses on the Western Zhou period and chronicles the rise of eulogies and communal ritual performances designed to display royal “awesome decorum” (weiyi 威儀), whereas Part II demonstrates how Western Zhou rhetoric and aspects of ritual practice were reimagined to fit the sociopolitical contexts of the Spring and Autumn (春秋時代, 770–481 BCE) and Warring States periods. One of the strengths of this book is its choice of primary sources. Wishing to avoid an idealized and erroneous reconstruction based on prescriptive Warring States and Han transmitted texts, Cook opts to draw mainly on bronze inscriptions, which she describes as “the purest lens through which to study Zhou ritual” (p. 7). These are supplemented in Part II by canonical [End Page 285] sources like the Book of Odes (Shijing 詩經), as well as recently excavated Warring States bamboo texts from the Guodian 郭店, Shanghai Museum 上海博物館, and Tsinghua 清 華 University corpuses, such as Human Nature Arises from the Decree (Xing Zi Ming Chu, 性自命出), Elder Rulers of Ancient Times (Xizhe Junlao, 昔者君老), and The Lute Dance of the Duke of Zhou (Zhougong zhi Qinwu, 周公之琴舞). Cook’s command of these challenging texts, which are not accompanied by centuries of commentaries and annotations, results in a comprehensive and highly persuasive narrative of the interplay between continuity and change in early Chinese religion. Part I offers close readings of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, texts that were cast into the surfaces of vessels and bells used in ritual performances designed to nourish and communicate with ancestral spirits. These inscriptions, argues Cook, functioned as “physical memorials” of the link between their awardee and the ancestral spirits of their lineage. The sacrificial feasts in which they were presented took place in a...

本論文企圖依據涉及孔子稱《詩》、論《詩》、讀《詩》、言《詩》等的諸多史料，來探討孔子對《詩》的詮釋方法。本文依一、前言，二、對「詩」、「《詩》」與「《詩》三百」意涵的釐清，三、孔子以前《詩》文本的形成與運用，四、孔子對《詩》的詮釋方法，五、結論，進行論述。其重點在：（一）從授《詩》的文本論其詮釋方法，（二）從因周樂論其對《詩》的詮釋旨歸，（三）從稱《詩》論其對《詩》的詮釋方法。經過筆者的研究，發現孔子對《詩》的詮釋應該有兩個階段，早年的教學是因襲魯國官府所藏的《周詩》文本，晚年的傳授是寓己志以重編《詩》本，傳素王之道。最後，指出其詮釋方式是斷章取義，運用類比，其詮釋目的在成就君子之德，其對《詩》詮釋活動實含歷史主義、實用主義與假託主義三種面向，缺一不可。

We can find records of ‘Heaven’s command (天命)’ in the literature and excavated materials prior of the Qin Dynasty. The Heaven’s command was an command order that had a significant impact on the actions and decisions of the ancient china’s kings. They carried out an order by command of the Heaven emperor and also the Heaven’s command was actively used as a means to effectively govern the country along with the legitimacy of power in connection with the ruling class. The term Heaven’s command was frequently used in sentences inscribed on bronze vessels made during the Zhou Dynasty. At that time, Heaven was recognized as a central area that ruled East Asia, creating and developing all things for people, and where the emperor lived. Heaven also played a key role in important historical projects such as the Chisu (治水) project, the replacement of the Ha (夏) and Shang (商) Dynasties, and the replacement of the Shang and Zhou (周) Dynasties. During the national project and the replacement of the dynasty, there was Heaven command ordered by Heaven. Records of these texts and excavated materials suggest that, the ancient times, Heaven was considered the most important place to serve as the center of the empire or the federal headquarters. However, Heaven gradually lost its power during the Warring States period and became symbolic, and Heaven command was changed to an abstract meaning of absolute command or mandatory instructions.

The Shijing, or Book of Odes (aka Classic of Poetry, Book of Songs, etc.) is the fountainhead of the Chinese literary tradition. An anthology of 305 undated and anonymous poems that probably arose from the regional courts of the Eastern Zhou period (770–256 bce) and according to tradition was arranged by Confucius (551–479 bce), it contains, in this order, 160 “Airs of the States” (guofeng國風), 74 “Minor Court Hymns” (xiaoya小雅), 31 “Major Court Hymns” (daya大雅), and 40 “Eulogies” (song頌). The poems are customarily believed to have been composed between 1000 and 600 bce; ancient accounts mention their recitation as texts and performance as musical pieces. Recent finds of ancient bamboo manuscripts show that written versions of the anthology, especially of the “Airs of the States,” existed since at least the fourth century bce, though no complete anthology including all four sections of the text is documented yet from before the Western Han (202 bce–9 ce). Numerous short quotations from the poems appear in Warring States period (453–221 bce), philosophical texts to invoke the weight and authority of tradition. These testimonials mark the Shijing as the single most quotable and most widely known text in Chinese antiquity and as the cultural hallmark of the educated elite. While the “Hymns” and “Eulogies” were performed in the religious and political rituals of the Zhou royal house to recall the glory of the founding and heyday of the Western Zhou (1046–771 bce), the original context of the “Airs of the States” remains uncertain. Their simple, repetitive structures are often taken as evidence of their origins in folk song, even though the poems have survived only in the writings of the ancient elite. Unlike especially the “Major Court Hymns,” none of the “Airs” offers a sustained narrative, and few contain any historical reference at all; already in antiquity, their semantic ambiguity gave rise to widely different interpretations. At the Western Han imperial court, the Shijing was officially canonized as one of the Five Classics, the core of Confucian learning. Since then, it has attracted thousands of commentaries, subcommentaries, and studies on all of its literary, historical, and linguistic aspects. In recent decades, new discoveries of ancient manuscripts dating from the last four centuries bce have led to yet another flood of books and articles on the Shijing, in particular from Mainland China.

This paper proposes an independent system of prosodic application used in ”Lisao” 離騷(attr. Qu Yuan, c.340-278 B.C.), different from the one in ”Shijing” 詩經 (Book of Odes). It is shown that while a fixed dipodic prosody (二步律) was used in ”Shijing”, a caesura-based prosody (頓歎律) was developed in ”Lisao” during and after the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.). By the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) however, flexible caesura prosody was gradually replaced by syllabically-fixed patterns: first trisyllabic, then pentasyllabic and finally heptasyllabic. To date, there has been no reasonable explanation proposed for why and how only odd numbers of syllables in lines developed. This paper deals with this question from a prosodic point of view. It is argued here that poetic evolutions in classical Chinese are determined by the grammar of poetic prosody.

The origin of “tai ” (Chinese high-platform architecture) dated considerably early. Shiji (Historical Records) indicates the existence of “Lu tai” in Shang dynasty, and Shijing (Book of Songs) records the existence of “Ling tai” in Zhou dynasty, which shows us that we can trace it’s presence back at the time of the Three Generations. In the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring states period, there were a lot of tais, and during Qin-Han times, the continuous development of tai made it finally an important type of architectures in ancient China. However if we observe this “tai” before Han more closely, we could discover that the “Ling tai” of the Zhou dynasty differs from the later “Tai” during the Spring and Autumn period, there are changes of its inner quality and its function. Xong Yang, a poet in Han Dynasty, qualifies the “Ling tai” as a good building whereas the “Zhang-hua tai” in the period of the Spring and Autumn as bad. This article attempts not only to clarify some basic conceptions of “tai” architecture, but also, by using the example of “Ling tai “ and “Zhang-hua tai” as models, to contextualize the development of the Chinese high-platform architectures from pre-Qin to Han dynasty.

The cosmetic measures of humans emerged very early. As far back as the late Palaeolithic age related cosmetic decorations came into being. In the Shang and Zhou dynasty, there were already cosmetic people who applied rouges and powders. In the Spring and Autumn dynasty and Warring States periods, because of the increase awareness of aesthetic enjoyment and the prevalence of attention paid to cosmetology, people began to discuss aesthetics. The development of TCM also caused the fusion of the cosmetology and TCM. The records of the early ancient literature such as Shan Hai Jing and silk scrolls of Ma Wang Dui reflected the overview of TCM cosmetology in pre-Qin dynasty.

In Chinese, there is such a term as "harmony of the five tastes". "Harmony of five tastes" is the highest degree of harmonization of the taste qualities of a dish in traditional Chinese cuisine. The "Harmony of the Five Tastes" theory was first formed about 3000 years ago and was revered as one of the philosophies that govern the daily lives of people during the "Spring and Autumn" and "Warring States" eras. The Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 B.C.) had a court system of training "imperial nutritionists" who were responsible for overseeing the health and nutrition of the court and members of the royal family. "Harmony of the Five Tastes" was closely intertwined with the flow and change of seasons. "Harmony is achieved by imparting refreshing sourness to the dish in spring, tart bitterness in summer, spicy pungency in autumn and brackish intensity in winter, combined with notes of mild sweetness out of season" was a common notion shared by the social elite living some twenty centuries ago. As a dietary system, it was used not only at the court of the Zhou Dynasty, at that time these ideas were shared by aristocrats in all corners of China. And by the end of the Warring States period (around 221 B.C.), the common people of China had already developed a deep understanding of the philosophy of taste harmonization. Thus, we see that the theory of the "Harmony of the Five Tastes" has been formed over the years, based on the experience of using various methods of cooking, and reflecting the Confucian ideals regarding food as part of the meal.

The field of traditional Chinese studies is an academic tradition with its roots in the Confucian classics and the humanities. Its research paradigm is rooted in the long-term practice of the interpretation of ancient classics but has little to do with natural sciences. The Chinese classics have been at the centre of much scholarship and learning in China for thousands of years. The official education system in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties was based upon them, as were numerous schools of thought throughout the Warring States Period. Later, they were central to the studies of scholars in the Han and Song periods, and formed the basis of textual criticism in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

There are 18 volumes of Huangdi Neijing(, Inner Canon of Huangdi) and 37 volumes of Waijing in Hanshu:Yiwenzhi. Base on Huangfu Mi's preface to Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing(, Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), "Now there are Classic of Acupuncture and Plain Questions that are Neijing", and researchers think Huangdi Waijing has been lost for a long time. However, the study of historical records shows that with the gradual loss of records in Huangdi Neijing and Huangdi Waijing, the inheritance of Huangdi Suwen and Huangdi Zhenjing has become increasingly clear. From the bibliography of Yiwenzhi of Qingshi Gao, Suwen and Lingshu were undoubtedly two books. According to the development process of ancient Chinese society, the medical system of Zhou Dynasty, the achievements of Yiyin medicine, and the evolution of doctors' Appellations of "Wu"(Wizard), "Gong"(craftsman) and "Yi"(physician), this paper thinks that Huangdi Neijing and Huangdi Waijing can only be written in the Western Zhou Dynasty, while the state power was highly concentrated, not in the Warring States period. Huangdi Neijing was probably written in response to the needs of "disease medicine" and "food medicine" of the Zhou Dynasty. Its inheriting writing is the current edition of plain questions, covering the major internal medicine system; Huangdi Waijing is likely to be written in response to the needs of " skin and external diseases medicine" of Zhou Dynasty, and its inheriting writing is the current version of Lingshu(, Miraculous Pivot), covering the general anatomy of the human body, acupuncture, sores, massage, guidance, etc., quite the grand surgical system.

In archeological studies, the Qin people have often been a subject of research. The areas of investigation about the Qin include their origin, structure of tombs, funeral rites and interment processes, and cities and settlements. Although there are some studies on the Qin people’s diet which were conducted through isotope analyses, research on the agricultural system of the Qin people is still limited, especially during the period from the Qin people’s settlement in the Guanzhong Basin to the First Emperor bringing the seven states under his dominion. In the backdrop of the Warring States Period, it is necessary to investigate the nature of the Qin people’s agricultural economy and how it impacted their social progress. This study evaluates the Qin people’s agricultural practices based on flotation results from the Matengkong site, located southeast of the Guanzhong Basin in Shaanxi province. The results showed that the inhabitants practiced multi-cropping, and the crop assemblage comprised five categories, including dominant foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and wheat (Triticum aestivum), important broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), less important soybean (Glycine max) and adzuki bean (Vigna angularis), less utilized barley (Hordeum vulgare), and cannabis (Cannabis sativa), and rice (Oryza sativa) of the lowest utilization. Wheat planting played a consistent and important role in agricultural production, and it appears to have had a high yield as same as foxtail millet. However, it appears to have contributed a small part of dietary intake. Rice does not appear to have been an important part of the Qin people’s subsistence at the site and there is no supporting evidence that rice was grown at Matengkong. Rather, it is possible that rice might have been imported from Chu, a neighboring state to the south of Qin, through the ancient mountain passage. Adzuki bean, as a kind of crop resource, was widely used during the Zhou Dynasty. Moreover, Chenopodium sp. and Vitex negundo appear to have been intentionally used because of the high density in each single sample, but they might be multifunctional in nature.

The passage beginning with the line ”On the death of the king,” in the Warring States Period text, Chu Bamboo Strips (Ⅱ), in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, records that at the time the king was dying, his son, the crown prince, had an audience with him. The text portrays the crown prince as being present at the deathbed of the king. The king's younger brother had the duty of taking the crown prince to see the dying king. This passage is written succinctly, finely and smoothly; it describes the rigorous procedure for a solemn inheritance of the throne during the Zhou dynasty. The crown prince dutifully performed the mourning rites due to the king around the time he passed away. My paper conducts a thorough investigation of the passage and offers an explanation of the text and the ways it resembles and differs from the ”Guming” chapter of the Book of Documents.

The early period of Western Zhou Dynasty witnessed the germination of commerce in Luoyi. After the Emperor Ping moved the capital to Luoyi, the city, as the capital of Zhou Royal Family, it played a vital role in politics inCentral Plains and the role of business had been promoted greatly. By Warring States Period, Zhou Royal Family continued fading while Luoyi declined politically as well. Zhou People took advantage of Luoyi's favorable geological position and the unique special status of the dynasty to revitalize the capital via business and commerce. Thereby, Luoyi maintained the position of national business center and some economic departments developed even faster. On the whole, in the Pre-Qin Period, the political status of Luoyi continued to decline gradually while it played an increasingly important role in businesses. Through investigating the business development history in Luoyi in Pre-Qin period, a case study is provided to study China's early business development. Luoyang, called Luoyi in ancient China, was named after its sunny side of the Luoshui River. It was located at the southern riverside of the Yellow River's middle reaches. The Yellow River basin has been reputed as the cradle of Chinese civilization while Luoyi was at the center of the cradle. Over the past thousand years, it was the national political, economic and cultural center. However, the previous researches failed to study the continuous business development from early Western Zhou Dynasty to East Zhou Dynasty, which led to incomplete understanding of Luoyi's business development in Pre-Qin Period. Centering on historic conditions of business development, market setting, business policies of the dynasty, its role in trade and changes of its political status in that period, it observedchanges of Luoyi's political status in Pre-Qin Dynasty. By finding the characteristics of business development in various periods, it penetrates the development history of Zhou Royal Family from the dynastic perspective.

Tracing the history of land use and vegetation change to the year 221 BC may help understand the environmental evolution of the Loess Plateau. Research has revealed that vegetation on the plateau maintained a natural state during the Zhou Dynasty and Warring States period. Natural vegetation still accounted for a large proportion during the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, natural forests disappeared from valleys and plains, and vegetation in hills and mountainous regions were also destroyed. The northern desert began to expand and the overall natural environment was in a state of deterioration. Serious deterioration of natural vegetation on the Loess Plateau mainly occurred during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (AD 1368–1911). Reasons for the drastic vegetation changes during this era are associated with both natural and human factors, for example forest cutting, land reclamation and overgrazing. In the last half of twentieth century, artificial plantations have been constructed as the primary means of ecosystem restoration on the plateau. A series of ecological projects implemented in recent decades significantly has changed vegetation cover and the environment there. These projects have eventually changed the trend of historical degradation to one of restoration.

With the development of society in ancient China, there came into existence complete systems of politics, law, and selecting officials. Even the source of this system was enormously different from those of Western civilizations. During the process of evolution from a primitive society to a class-based society, a system of patriarchal politics came into being in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties, known as the Three Dynasties (San Dai) which still bore most of the features of tribal rule. After more than 1,000 years in gestation, a political system with a centralized authority was born in the Warring States Period. With the founding of the monarchical feudal states of the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, Chinese society began to be ruled by a system of bureaucratic politics which operated on behalf of the absolute monarchy. This type of government endured until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Bureaucratic politics improved gradually through the course of successive dynasties until Western civilization posed a challenge to it during the late Qing Dynasty.