Before Confucius
Subtitle: studies in the creation of the Chinese classics
By: Edward L. Shaughnessy.
Series: SUNY series in Chinese philosophy and culture
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Albany, N.Y
Language: eng; chi
Number of pages: 262
Subjects: Chinese classics -- History and criticism.; China -- Civilization -- To 221 B.C.
Description: Edward L. Shaughnessy examines the original composition of China's oldest books, the Classic of Changes, the Venerated Documents, and the Classic of Poetry. By describing the original contexts in which these books were written and what they meant to their original authors and readers, this work sheds light on both the degree to which Chinese culture already was literate by 1000 BC, and also on how the later classical tradition eventually diverged from these origins.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-245) and index.