@Article{JAS-2-1,
author = {S., NIVISON, David},
title = {Two Studies in Shang Chronology and Warring States Historiography},
journal = {饒宗頤國學院院刊},
year = {2015},
volume = {2},
number = {1},
pages = {1--29},
abstract = {<p style="text-align: justify;">David S. Nivison, well known for his wide-ranging studies of Chinese
history and philosophy, was the Walter Y. Evans-Wentz Professor Emeritus at
Stanford University. Before he passed away on October 16, 2014, he sent the
following two essays to BJAS. Though conceived separately, the relationship
between the two essays is self-apparent, and the editors have chosen to present
them together in this issue.
Both essays attempt to take seriously the knowledge of Warring States
scholars with regard to Chinese chronology as ancient as the beginning of
the second millennium B.C. The first essay is entitled
“Was Warring States
China ahead of Greece in Science?
” Using both the Bamboo Annals and other
early sources, Nivison argues that the compilers of the Bamboo Annals had
astronomical records from the remote past that were far superior to those of
the	ancient	Greeks.	He	thus	answers	his	own	question	in	the	affirmative	with	
regard to this particular issue. The second,
“The 31 Years Problem,
” presents
an intricate argument regarding a single discrepancy in the chronology of the
Bamboo Annals, which Nivison argued was an authentic and largely accurate
chronology.	The	essay	includes	thought-provoking	reflections	on	epistemology	
and the philosophy of history.
Nivison&#39;s unique combination of historical breadth and rigorous numbercrunching leads to countless keen observations, and challenges us to treat
ancient texts seriously and with imaginative sympathy. The two essays are
presented here with only slight editing, since their informal writing style
vividly captures Nivison&#39;s creative thought processes.</p>},
issn = {},
doi = {https://doi.org/2015-JAS-17002},
url = {https://global-sci.com/article/84024/two-studies-in-shang-chronology-and-warring-states-historiography}
}