Abstract
That Zheng Xuan arranged the chronology of the early Zhou dynasty according to the Yin calendar is a fact that can be verified through Zheng’s annotations of “Binfeng” and “Zhoushu.” Because later scholars failed to understand Zheng Xuan’s Yin calendar-based chronology, these scholars’ explanations for Zheng’s annotations to “Zhoushu” are all quite different and largely erroneous. This article uses the Yin calendar to restore Zheng Xuan’s chronological table for the early Zhou dynasty and, upon this foundation, seeks to examine problems apparent in Qing dynasty scholars’ new and old text classifications of Zheng’s theories. Additionally, this article discusses how the distinction between new and old texts is equally unsuitable to provide a satisfactory explanation for Zheng’s veneration for Zhouli. Thus, when discussing Zheng Xuan’s work on the Confucian classics, we should not only consider the differences between new and old texts, but should explore as well Zheng’s arguments and their foundations.
Keywords
Zheng Xuan, Yin calendar, chronology of the early Zhou dynasty, Zhouli
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