Abstract :
In this article I provide a complete translation and analysis of the recently
unearthed bamboo manuscript, Rong Cheng shi, from the Shanghai
Museum collection. This manuscript presents a previously unknown version
of China’s early history from the time of legendary rulers Yao, Shun, Yu and
their predecessors to the establishment of the Zhou dynasty. The narrative is
critical of both the dynastic principle of rule and “righteous rebellion”, and
advocates instead the ruler’s abdication in favour of a worthier candidate
as the best mode of rule; in addition, it hints at the unusually active role of
“the people” in establishing the supreme ruler. Moreover, despite being
associated with the southern state of Chu, the Rong Cheng shi presents a unitary
view of the past, which rejects the multi-state world and promulgates the
notion of the unified “All-under-Heaven” as singularly legitimate. The text
has far-reaching significance in terms of both history of Chinese political
thought and of early Chinese historiography.
