DATING A PRE-IMPERIAL TEXT: THE CASE STUDY OF THE BOOK OF LORD SHANG. (8th June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pines, Yuri
• Is Part Of: Early China. Volume 39(2016)
• Page Start: 145
• Page End: 184
• Publication Date: 2016-06-08
• Subjects: authenticity, -- Book of Lord Shang, -- dating, -- Shang Yang, -- Warring States; 真僞, -- 《商君書》, -- 寫作年代, -- 商鞅, -- 戰國時代, -- 諸子百家; China -- Periodicals; China -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; China -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 931.005
• DOI: 10.1017/eac.2016.3
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0362-5028

Abstract

Abstract: This article explores the dating of the Book of Lord Shang ( Shangjunshu 商君書). Despite the importance of this text as one of major ideological products of the Warring States period (453–221b.c.e. ), it remained largely ignored in mainstream Western Sinology, in part because of the confusion about the dates of its composition. The article analyzes different criteria employed by earlier scholars to ascertain the dates of individual chapters of the Book of Lord Shang and investigates the relative weight of each of these criteria. This results in a methodologically transparent discussion, which not only advances our understanding of the complex textual history of the Book of Lord Shang but also makes a step toward establishment of a commonly acceptable set of dating determinants which may be employed in investigating the dates of other pre-imperial (i.e. pre-221b.c.e. ) texts. 提要: 本文討論《商君書》各篇的寫作年代。儘管《商君書》是戰國時代政治思想最重要作品之一, 但它長期被西方主流學術界所忽略。其被忽略的主要原因是該書的寫作年代不清晰。我在文章中討論了其他學者在判斷《商君書》各篇的寫作年代時所採用的標準及該標準的得失。文章所採用的極具透明性的研究方法, 不僅有助於提高我們對《商君書》的本質和寫作過程的了解, 而且也初步嘗試了提出適用于其他先秦文獻寫作年代研究的共同標準。作者希望这种標準能被廣泛接受以改善我們對諸子百家文獻年代問題的研究方法。