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CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFACE
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. xiii
THE SHŮ.
CHAP.
1
INTRODUCTION. I. THE NATURE AND HISTORY OF THE SHO. . . .
Meaning of the name Sha King. The Shù existed as a collection of documents before Confucius. Number of documents in it in his time. The Preface ascribed to him. The sources of the Shů. Destruction of the classical litera
ture by the emperor of Khin. Recovery of the Sh. II. THE CREDIBILITY OF THE RECORDS IN THE SHO. .
Are the records reliable or not? The Books of Kau; of Shang; of Hsia. The Books of Thang and Yü are professedly later compilations ; legendary; based on ancient documents. The Tribute of Yü. Yao, Shun, and Yü are all historical personages.
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III. ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF CHINA, AND THE PRINCIPAL ERAS IN THE SH0 .
. . . . No detailed chronological system can be made out from the Sha. Attempts at systematic chronology began in the Han period. Ancient method of determining the length of Chinese history. The period of the Kâu dynasty; of the Shang; of the Hsia ; of Yao and Shun.
A CHART BY THE REV. PROFESSOR PRITCHARD, representing
the principal zodiacal stars above the horizon of any place in central China, about the year B.C. 2300 ; with note, and table of the apparent positions of the principal stars in B. C. 2300, B. C. 1500, A. D. I, A.D. 1000, and A. D. 1878. . . 27-30
PART I. THE BOOK OF THANG. The Canon.of Yao . . . . . .
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