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“NEW” EVIDENCE ON THE ZHOU CONQUEST
Edward L. Shaughnessy
Department of Asian Languages
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305
利 𣪘 ​, a ves岐山 county of
fullest account of the Zhou conquest was rejected
outright as early as 2,300 years ago by one of the
first known historians of ancient China——Mencius
The inscription on the Li gui
sel unearthed in 1976 in Qishan
Shaanxi province, by substantiating certain key assertions of traditional Chinese historiography, has
once again focused attention on King Wu's conquest
of the Shang and his consequent establishment of
the Zhou dynasty. It is the expectation, and ever
increasing reality, of discovering ancient records,
usually in the form of bone or bronze inscriptions,
that makes the study of early China so vibrant and
open to new interpretations.
孟子
Unfortunately, however, in the excitement over
these new inscriptional discoveries, some scholars
have rejected, or at least neglected, other written records of the period that have come to us
by way of the more circuitous route of historical
transmission. This is not exclusively due to the
prejudices of the modern "scientific" historian. In
the case of at least one document, the "Shifu"
世俘
chapter of the Yizhoushu
逸周書 ,
(-371–289). (The text was known to Mencius
as the "Wucheng" 武成 ; see below, Pt. II, Sec.
1.) And with the prestige accruing to his thought
from other considerations, Mencius's rejection of
the account of the conquest given by the "Shifu"
and the idealized history he proposed in its place
have continued as more or less orthodox until the
present.­
But the modern historian has a responsibility to consider objectively all of the evidence at
hand. The "Shifu" is, I believe, worthy of such
careful consideration. Therefore, I offer here a
translation of the text and a discussion of its
authen­
ticity, in the belief that ancient records
are discoverable in places other than the soil of
north China.
the
* * * * *
Part I: Translation and Critical Text
The Great Capture
1
I
It was the fourth month, day yi-wei (day 32);
King Wu achieved rule over the four directions and
went through the countries that Yin had commanded.
《周書》《世俘》寫定本
2
維四月乙未日, 武王成辟四方 , 通殷
命有國 .
I
II It was the first month, ren-chen (day 29), the
(day of) expanded dying brightness. On the next
day, gui-si (day 30), the king then in the morning
set out from Zhou and went on campaign to attack
3
the Shang king Zhou. On jia-zi (day 1), five days
after (the day) "after the dying brightness" of
4
the following second month, (they) arrived in the
5
morning and defeated the Shang, thence entirely
decapitating the Shang king Zhou and shackling
(his) one hundred evil ministers.
III Grand Duke Wang was ordered to secure the area.
On the coming day, ding-mao (day 4), Wang arrived and reported about ears taken and captives.
維一月壬辰旁死霸 , 若翌日癸己 , 王
乃朝步自周 , 于征伐 (商王 ) 紂 , 越若來二月
既死霸越五日甲子 , 朝至于商 , 則咸劉商王
紂 , 執夫惡臣百人 .
II
III
俘.
6
57
太公望命禦方 , 來丁卯 , 望至告以馘
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On wu-chen (day 5), the king then performed a yu-­
exorcism and an inspection tour, and (then) made a
commemorative sacrifice to King Wen.8 (On) this day
the king established (his) government.
戊辰 , 王遂禦循 , 追祀文王 , 時日 ,
王立政
IV Lü Ta was ordered to attack Yue and ­
Xifang.
On ren-shen (day 9), Huang Xin arrived and
reported about ears-taken and captives.
­
呂他命伐越戲方 , 壬申 , 荒新至告
以馘俘 , 侯來命伐靡集于陳 , 辛巳 , 至告
以馘俘 , 甲申百弇命以虎賁誓 , 命伐衛 ,
告以馘俘 .
IV
Hou Lai was ordered to attack Miji and/at Chen.
On xin-si (day 18), (he) arrived and ­
reported
about ears-taken and captives.
On jia-shen (day 21), Bai Ta was ordered to
address the Tiger Vanguard, being ordered to ­
attack
Wei. He reported about ears-taken and captives.9
辛亥薦俘殷王鼎 , 武王乃翼矢琰矢
憲 , 告天宗上帝 , 王不革服 , 格于廟 ; 秉
黃鉞 , 語治庶國 ; 籥人九終 , 王烈祖自太
王 , 太伯、王季、虞公、文王、邑考以列
升 , 維告殷罪 , 籥人造 ; 王秉黃鉞 , 正國
伯.
V
On xin-hai (day 48), presentation of the
V
captured caldrons of the Yin king. King Wu then
reverently displayed the jade tablet and the
­
codice, making an announcement to the heavenly
­
ancestor, Shangdi. Without changing his robes,10
the king entered into the temple. Holding the yellow axe,11 he spoke and regulated the many states.
The flutists (played) nine refrains. The king's
honored ancestors from Taiwang, Taibo, Wang Ji,
Yugong, and King Wen to Yi Kao12 were arrayed and
elevated, in order to report the crimes of Yin.
­
The flutists entered. The king, holding the yellow
axe, confirmed the elders of the countries.
壬子 , 王服袲衣 , 矢琰 , 格廟 , 籥人
造 ; 王秉黃鉞 , 正邦君 .
On ren-zi (day 49), the king, wearing the royal
attire and displaying the yan-tablet, entered the
temple. The flutists entered. The king, holding the
yellow axe, confirmed the rulers of the states.
癸丑 , 藨俘殷王士百人 , 籥人造 ; 王
矢琰 , 秉黃鉞 , 執戈 : 王入 ; 奏庸 : 「大
享」, 一終 , 王拜手稽首 , 王定 ; 奏庸 :
「大享」, 三終 .
On gui-chou (day 50),13 presentation of
the 100 captured nobles of the Yin king. The
flutists entered. The king was displaying the yan-­
tablet, holding the yellow axe, and ­
grasping a
halberd. The king entered; the bell was struck;14
the "Great Sacrifice," one refrain. The king
folded his hands and touched his head to the floor.
The king (lit. settled =) sat; the bell was
struck;15 the "Great Sacrifice," three refrains.
On jia-yin (day 51), inspection of the military Yin at Muye.16 The king suspended red and
white pendants (from his sash). The flutists played
"Wu."17 The king entered and presented the myriad
gifts:18 "Brightly, Brightly," three refrains.
On yi-mao (day 52), the flutists played
"Venerable Yu (i.e., Yu the Great) begat (Kai =)
­
Qi," three refrains.19 The king sat.
甲寅 , 謁戎殷于牧野 , 王偑赤白旂 ,
籥人奏 「武」, 王入進萬獻 : 「明明」, 三終
王定 .
VI On geng-zi (day 37), Chen Ben was ordered to
attack Mo, Bai Wei20 was ordered to attack Xuanfang; and Huang Xin21 was ordered to attack Shu.22
乙卯 , 籥人奏 「崇禹生啟」 , 三終 ,
庚子 , 陳本命伐磨 , 百韋命伐宣方 ,
荒新命伐蜀 .
VI
On yi-si (day 42), Chen Ben and Huang Xin arrived (from) Shu and Mo23 and reported the netting
of the Archer-Lord of Huo,24 the capture of the Lord
of Ai,25 the Lord of Yi and minor ministers, and
the netting of 803 chariots, reporting about ears
taken and captives. Bai Wei arrived and reported
about the netting of Xuanfang and the netting of
30 chariots, reporting about ears-taken and captives. Bai Wei was ordered to attack Li: he reported about ears-taken and captives.
乙巳 , 陳本 , 荒新 , 蜀、磨至 ; 告禽霍侯 ,
俘艾侯、佚侯 , 小臣四十有六 , 禽禦几百
有三十兩 ; 告以馘俘 , 百韋至 , 告以禽宣
方 , 禽禦三十兩 , 告以馘俘 , 百韋命伐厲 ;
告以馘俘 .
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武王狩 : 禽虎二十有二 , 貓二 , 麋
五千二百三十五 , 犀有二 , 氂七百二十有
一 , 熊百五十有一 , 罷百一十有八 , 豕三百
五十有二 , 貉十有八 , 塵十有六 , 麝五十 ,
麋三十 , 鹿三千五百有八 .
VII King Wu hunted and netted 22 tigers, 2 panthers,
5,235 stags, 12 rhinoceri, 721 yaks, 151 bears, 118
yellow-bears, 353 boars, 18 badgers, 16 king-stags,
50 musk-deer, 30 tailed-deer, and 3,508 deer.27
VII
VIIIKing Wu had pursued and campaigned in the four
directions. In all, there were 99 recalcitrant
countries, 177,779 ears-taken registered,28 and
­
310,230 captured men. In all, there were 652 countries that willingly submitted.
武王遂征四方 : 凡憝國九十有九國 .
馘磨億有七萬千七百七十有九 , 俘人三億
萬有二百三十 , 凡服國六百五十有二 .
VIII
IX It was the fourth month, six days after (the
day) after the expanded growing brightness, gengxu (day 47),29 King Wu arrived in the morning and
performed a burnt-offering sacrifice in the Zhou
­
temple, intending that "I, the small one, bring
­
peace to the glorious ancestors."30
維四月既旁生霸越六日庚戌武王朝至
燎于周廟 , 維予沖子綏文考 .
IX
King Wu descended from (his) chariot and
caused Scribe Yi31 to intone the document in the
declaration to heaven. King Wu then shot the hundred evil ministers of (Shang king) Zhou.32 He
beheaded and offered their jia little prince, the
great master of the cauldron, and beheaded the
leaders of their forty families, masters of the
cauldron.33 The commander of foot-soldiers and the
commander of horses first (attended) to their declaration of the suburban sacrifice,34 then the southern
gate was flanked with the captives to be sacrificed,35
all of whom were given sashes and clothes to wear.
The ears-taken were first brought in. King Wu attended to the sacrifice and the Great Master shouldered the white banner from which the head of Shang
king Zhou was suspended and the red pennant with
the heads of his two consorts. Then, with the first
scalps, he entered and performed the burnt-offering
sacrifice in the Zhou temple.36
武王降自車 , 乃俾史伕繇書于天號 ,
武王乃廢于紂夫惡臣百人 , 伐右厥甲小子
鼎大師 , 伐厥四十夫家君鼎師 , 司徒 , 司馬
初厥于郊號乃夾于南門 ; 用俘皆施佩衣衣 ,
先馘入 , 武王在祀 , 大師負商王紂縣首白
旂 , 妻二首赤旗 , 乃以先馘入燎于周廟 .
On the next day, xin-hai (day 48), he performed
a sacrifice in his position (as king), therewith making a yue-offering37 to heaven.
Five days later on yi-mao (day 52), King Wu
then sacrificed in the Zhou temple the ears-taken
of the many countries,38 (declaring), "Reverently, I, the young son, slaughter six oxen and
slaughter two sheep. The many states are now at
an end." (He)reported in the Zhou temple, saying,
"Of old I have heard that (my) glorious ancestors
emulated the standards of the men of the Shang;
­
membered body of (Shang king) Zhou,
with the dis­
I report to heaven and to Ji (i.e., Hou Ji)." He
sacrificed) the minor offerings, sheep, dogs
(i.e., ­
and boar, to the hundred spirits, the water and
the earth,39 declaring to the altar of the earth,
saying, "It is I, the small one, who brings peace
­
to the ­
glorious ancestors; may it reach to the
ficed 504 oxen to Heaven and to Ji
small one." He sacri­
and used 2,701 sheep and boar, the minor offering,
to the hundred spirits, the water and the earth.
越五日乙卯 , 武王乃以庶國祀馘于周
廟 ; “翼予沖子，斷牛六，斷羊二，庶國乃
竟 .” 告于周廟曰 : “古朕聞文考脩商人典 ;
以斬紂身告于天于稷 .” 用小牲羊 , 犬 , 豕
于百神 , 水 , 土 ; 誓于社曰 ; “維予沖子綏
文考至于沖子 .” 用牛于天于稷五百有四 ,
用小牲羊 , 豕于百神 , 水 , 土二千七百有
一。
若翌日辛亥 , 祀于位 , 用籥于天位 .
商王紂于商郊 , 時甲子夕 , 商王紂
取「天智」玉琰 , 環身厚以自焚 , 凡厥有庶
玉 , 四千告焚 , 五日武王乃俾千人求之 , 四
千庶玉則銷 , 「天智」玉琰在火中不銷 , 凡
「天智」玉 , 武王則寶與同 , 凡武王俘商舊
五億有八萬 .
X
X
The Shang king Zhou was in the suburb of Shang
on that jia-zi (day 1) evening. Shang king Zhou
took the "Heaven's Wisdom" jade and jewels and,
wrapping them thickly around his body, immolated
­
himself. In all, four thousand (pieces of) jade
­
were reported to have been fired. On the fifth
day, King Wu then caused one thousand men to seek
them. The four thousand pieces of jade40 were
burnt (but) the "Heaven's Wisdom" jade and ­
jewels41
were unburnt in the fire. King Wu then ­
treasured
59
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and shared all of the "Heaven's Wisdom" jade
(pieces). In all, King Wu captured 180,000 pieces
­
of old, Shang jade.
The coincidence of this quotation is by no
means the only evidence that the present "Shifu"
text does in fact represent the original text of
the "Wu cheng" chapter. The "Preface to the Documents" (Shuxu 書序 ) states with regard to the
"Wucheng": "King Wu attacked Shang; he went out
and attacked, returned and hunted; he made known
the affairs of government and composed the 'Wu44
cheng'."
While this description is inconsis-
Part II: The Authenticity of the Text
The significance of a text such as this would,
of course, be enormous if it could be demonstrated
to be a genuine product of the early Western Zhou
period. In attempting to determine the authenticity
of a transmitted document, three factors must be
considered: the history of the text's transmission,
its linguistic usage, and whether the content displays internal consistency. In the following, each
of these factors will be considered in turn, and
all three will, I believe, demonstrate beyond any
doubt that the "Shifu" is indeed a document con­
temporary with the events it describes.
tent with the contents of the guwen 古文 "Wucheng" text now extant, it corresponds perfectly
with the "Shifu" text. Especially noteworthy is
the ­
mention of hunting, which figures so prominently in the text of the "Shifu" (Sec. VII), but
which in the guwen "Wucheng" has been transposed
into a pasturing of the war animals, symbolizing
45
King Wu's pacifistic nature.
Section 1. Textual Transmission
Another early reference to the "Wucheng" is
also illustrative of the content of the "Shifu,"
and not the "Wucheng" now existing. Mencius, for
whom ancient history was a vital philosophical
topic, apparently was unable to reconcile his view
­
of a moral imperative manifesting itself through
the Zhou conquest with the narrative given in the
"Wucheng" text available to him. He voiced his
opinion in a well-known passage.
The occurrence in the text of three full-date
notations (i.e., month, lunar phase, and ­
cyclical
day; see sections II and IX in the text), while
constituting a source of confusion for later
commentators (see below, Sec. 3), has proven to be
­
a happy coincidence; the paucity of such dates in
the transmitted literature has made each of them
extremely valuable to scholars of ancient China's
chronology. The first of these scholars, Liu Xin
Mencius said, "If one were to believe
everything in the Book of History (Shu),
it would have been better for the Book of
History not to have existed at all. In the
"Wucheng" chapter, I accept only two or three
strips. A benevolent man has no match in the
Empire. How could it be that the blood flowed
with pestles (xue zhi liu chu), when the
most benevolent waged war against the most
46
cruel?"
­
劉歆 (c. -46–+23), quoted these three dates
verbatim and at rather considerable length in his
­
42
Shijing 世 經 (as quoted in Han shu, "Lüli zhi" ),
all the while identifying the source of the dates
as the "Wucheng"
尚書 . Comparing
virtual identity
sent one and the
minor inversions
武成
chapter of the Shangshu
the two texts (see fig. 1) their
leaves no doubt that they represame text. Except for two or three
of word order, the only differ43
ence of note lies in the first full-date notation.
But the fact that the cyclical day specified in the
By the time of the Han dynasty, Mencius's
view of history (and the attendant selection of
historical sources) seems to have prevailed along
with the Confucian school. Even the generally
"Shifu" date (惟一月丙辰旁生魄 , 若翼日丁巳
... "It was the first month, bing-chen (day 53), the
(day of) "expanded growing brightness." On the next
day, ding-si (day 54), ...) is incompatible with
the date given for the battle at Muye, while the
date given in the "Wucheng" is both mathematically
compatible and independently verifiable (see n. 3),
leads to the conclusion that the "Shifu" text is
here corrupt, and not a separate text, and should
be emended in light of the "Wucheng" text.
conscientious Sima Qian 司馬遷 -145-86) made no
use of the "Wucheng" qua "Shifu" in his account of
the Zhou victory, relying instead on the "Taishi"
泰誓
chapter of the Shangshu and especially the
"Ke Yin" 克殷 chapter of the Yizhoushu, both
of which contain linguistic features demonstrably anachronistic to the Shang—early Western Zhou
47
period.
Apparently only the skeptical pragmatist
Wang Chong 王充 (+27—97) was not seduced by the
Mencian view of history.
"Wu cheng": 惟一月壬辰旁死霸 , 若翼日
惟一月丙辰旁生魄 , 若翼日
丁巳 , 王乃步自于周 , 征伐商王紂 , 越
若 来 二 月 既 死 魄 越 五 日 甲 子 朝 至 接​
于 商 則 咸 劉 商 王 紂 ... 時 四 月 既 旁
生魄越六日庚戌 , 武王朝至燎于周 ...
若翼日辛亥祀于位 , 用籥于天位 , 越五
日乙卯武王乃以庶國祀馘于周廟 .
"Shifu":
癸巳 , 武王乃朝步自周 , 于征伐紂 ...
粵若来三月既死霸粵五日甲子, 咸
劉 商 王紂 ... 惟 四 月 既 旁 死 霸 粵 六
日 庚 戌 , 武王燎于周廟 , 翼日辛亥 ,
祀于天位. 粵五日乙卯乃以庶國
祀馘于周廟。
Figure 1
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Now there are those who say that, when King
Wu defeated Zhou, the blades of his weapons
were not stained with blood. When a man with
such strength (as Zhou) that he could twist
iron and straighten out hooks, with such supporters as Fei Lian and E Lai tried issues with
the army of Zhou (the people), King Wu, however
virtuous he may have been, could not have deprived him of his natural abilities, and Zhou,
wicked though he was, would not have lost the
sympathy of his associates....
the identification of the "Wucheng" with the "Shifu."
The text was originally an integral part of the early
Western Zhou documents linked together as the Shu.
But having been denounced by Mencius, whose idealized
view of history came to prevail, it was expunged
from the Shu. By chance it was included in the collection of "left-over" texts, the Yizhoushu, which
appears to have taken shape in the mid- -3rd cen­
tury.51 With the subsequent appearance of the forged
guwen chapters of the Shangshu, including a spurious "Wucheng" chapter consistent with the ­
romantic
notions of Mencius, even the title of the text was
compromised.
King Wu succeeded King Zhou, and Gao Zu
took over the inheritance of Ershi Huangdi
of the house of Qin, which was much worse
than that of King Zhou. The whole empire
rebelled against Qin, with much more violence
­
than ­
under the Yin dynasty. When Gao Zu had
defeated the Qin, he still had to destroy
­
Xiang Yu. The battle field was soaked with
blood, and many thousands of dead bodies lay
strewn about. The losses of the defeated army
were enormous. People had, as it were, to die
again and again, before the Empire was won. The
insurgents were exterminated by force of arms
with the utmost severity. Therefore it ­
cannot
be true that the troops of Zhou (the people)
did not even stain their swords with blood. One
may say that the conquest was easy, but to say
that the blades were not stained with blood is
an exaggeration.
Fittingly, this matter of title is the ­
final
piece of evidence linking the "Shifu" with the "Wu­
cheng." Two methods of entitling ­
ancient documents
were current during the late Warring States–­
early
Han period: a title could either characterize the
general import or contents of the text, or it
could be based on the first words or the most significant words of the first line. In the case of the
"Shifu" qua "Wucheng" text, both of these methods
seem to have been employed. "Shifu," the "great
capture," evokes the main theme of the text—the
capture of the Shang domain, the Shang and their
allies' subjects, of the Shang treasures, and also
the capture of the animals in the victory hunt; in
all, an extremely appropriate title. But the germ
of the title "Wucheng" is also to be seen in the
first line of the text, "Wuwang chengbi sifang, tong
ming­
youoguo" 武王成辟四方 , 通殷命有國 ,
Yin ­
where "Wuwang chengbi" ("King Wu achieved rule")
must be considered the most important phrase of this
preface. Taking the first words of each compound,
a ­
common practice of the Warring States title-­
givers,52 the result is, of course, "Wu cheng."53
... According to the "Wu cheng," the battle
in the plain of Mu was so sanguinary that the
flow of blood floated pestles (xue zhi liu chu)
and over a thousand li the earth was red. According to this account the overthrow of the
Yin by the Zhou must have been very much like
the war between the Han and Qin dynasties.
The statement that the conquest of the Yin
territory was so easy that the swords were not
­
stained with blood is meant as a compliment to
the virtue of King Wu, but it exaggerates the
48
truth.
In summary then, at least the following four
points about the "Wucheng"
--- the Hanshu, "Lüli zhi" quotation, which accords, with the exception of one corruption, exactly with the "Shifu" text;
--- the Shuxu description, which is consistent with the contents of the "Shifu";
In addition to its general approbation of the "Wu­
cheng"—"Shifu" text, Wang's statement also throws
light on another feature of the identification problem; that is, Mencius's description of the "Wucheng"
as "the blood flowed with pestles" (xue zhi liu chu
--- the characterizations of the text given
by Mencius and Wang Chong;
--- the possibility of deriving the title
"Wucheng" from the first line of the
"Shifu,"
血之流杵 ),
which commentators of the Mencius have
assumed to be taken verbatim from the "Wucheng,"
and the absence of which in the "Shifu" has led
leave little doubt that the "Shifu" text in front of
us now is in substance the "Wucheng" text known to
Mencius at the end of the -4th century.
some scholars, Cheng Tingzuo 程廷袏 (1691-1767),
cation between
for example, to dismiss the identifi­
the "Wucheng" and the "Shifu." But it is at least
as likely that with this four character phrase
Mencius was simply using a euphemism for widescale bloodshed to describe the chapter—just as it
would seem that Wang Chong was doing when he used
the phrase "over a thousand li the earth was red"
Section 2: Linguistic Usage
While the identification of the "Shifu" with
the "Wucheng," and especially its attested existence
as such as early as the time of Mencius, suggests
the authenticity of the text, the most reliable
criterion of its antiquity lies in its linguistic
­
usage. Not only is the text free of the sort of
tell-tale linguistic anachronisms that frequently
mar forgeries, but language similar to that in the
early western Zhou chapters of the Shangshu has
54
long attracted the attention of commentators.
More important, features of the text apparently
anomalous within the context of the transmitted
(chidi qianli 赤地千里 ) to describe the text.
That the "Shifu" does not contain these exact words
should not imply that it was not the text consulted
by Mencius--its ­
record of 177,779 deaths, 310,230
captives taken, 99 ­
countries defeated, and routine
human sacrifice, fits better than anything else the
50
description "blood flowing with pestles."
All of this suggests the following process for
61
View Scan
literature have appeared also in the inscriptions on
oracle bones and bronze vessels. In the following, I
will discuss some of these idiomatic constructions
that seem to me to verify the text's contemporaneity
with the events it describes.
The significance of the full date notations is
discussed elsewhere in this chapter with respect to
other considerations (see Part II, Sec. 1 and Sec.
3), but let us again examine the date for the battle
at Muye, this time from the standpoint of linguistic
甲子 , 朝至接于商 , 則咸劉商王紂 "On jia-zi
(day 1), five days after (the day) "after the dying
brightness" of the following second month, (they)
arrived in the morning and defeated the Shang, thence
­
entirely decapitating the Shang king Zhou." Compare
乙
8893 甲申卜 : 啄命宅正
Crack on jia-shen (day 21): "Shi
is ordered to make a residence at
Zheng."
隹伯屖
"It was when Boxin fu
took the Cheng troops and proceeded to the east,
being ordered to attack the Southern Yi." In this
58
line, ming must be construed as a passive.
It
is also interesting to note that it occurs in
the same construction as throughout the "Shifu";
召誥 chapter of
越若來三月惟丙午朏 , 越三日戊
申 , 太保朝至洛卜宅 ; 厥既卜 , 則經營 . "In
the following third month, on bing-wu (day 43), the
day of the moon's appearance; three days later on
wu-shen (day 45), the Taibao arrived in the morning at Luo and divined about establishing residence;
after he had obtained the divination, he thence laid
out the encampment." Not only are the general structures of the two sentences similar, but such idiom-
日,
父以成​ 即東命伐南尸
this with-a line in the "Shao gao"
越若來 ,
8898 甲申卜 : 命啄宅正
Crack on jia-shen (day 21): "Order
Shi to make a residence at Zheng."
The first line of this inscription reads:
the Shangshu:
atic features as yueruolai
乙
This inversion clearly shows the possibility of
ming being used as a passive. A perhaps more substantive example occurs in a later Western Zhou
57
bronze inscription, that of the Jing you 競卣 .
越若來二月既死霸越五日
usage. The line reads:
i.e., ming fa
命伐
("ordered to attack").
Bringing this information to bear on the
sentence under discussion, another oracle-bone
inscriptional idiom, yu fang 禦方 , appears.
Although yu is regularly defined as "to defend,"
越 X
ze 則 ,
yue X ri
because of its combination here with fang 方 ,
("country") it has been interpreted as a place59
name by several renowned oracle bone scholars.
Analyzing the following examples, however
zhao zhi yu 朝至于 , and the usage of
"thence," are identical. Moreover, in the "Junshi"
君奭 chapter of the Shangshu, the compound xian
liu 咸劉 , "entirely decapitate," occurs in a similar context: 咸劉厥敵 , "Entirely decapitated his
下
後
41.16卜師乎御方于商
Crack-making, Shi (divining); "Call
to yu fang at Shang."
霸 is standard in Western Zhou bronze inscriptions
(but, significantly, never appears after that period),
virtually every segment of this "Shifu" sentence rep55
resents attested early Western Zhou usage.
下
後
42.19壬午卜師貞玒命多視御方于 ...
Crack-making on ren-wu, Shi divining:
"The king orders the many Shi (?) to
yu fang at ..."
Despite these parallels with the Shangshu, it
is now recognized that a more valid authenticating
methodology is to compare usage with oracle bone and
­
bronze inscriptions, materials presumably unavailable
to the aspiring forger. With this in mind, let us
then consider the passage which immediately ­
follows
enemies" (said of King Wu and his subordinates). When
it is considered that the date notation ji siba
in the text. It reads :
既死
The word ming
命
外
太公命禦方來丁卯望
至告以馘俘 , and has been interpreted by several
modern scholars as "The Grand Duke Wang ordered the
56
Yufang to come. On ding-mao ... "
Three features
demonstrate the fallacy of this interpretation.
佚
348 .. 巳卜王貞于中商乎御方
Crack on ..-si , the king divining:
"At Zhong Shang call to yu fang."
30 己卯卜王命御方
Crack on ji-mao: "The king orders to
yu fang."
南坊 3.62 丙辰卜​ 御方
Crack on bing-chen : "Proceed to yu
fang."
occurs throughout the "Shifu"
in a passive mode; e.g., 陳本命伐磨 , "Chen Ben
was ordered to attack Mo" (Sec. VI). Although this
usage has no parallels in the Shangshu or Shijing,
it does occur in the contemporary inscriptional
literature. Consider, for example, the following
­
pair of oracle bone inscriptions:
62
庫
前
595 余勿乎御方
"I should not call to yu fang."
5.2.7 貞 , 冓于入御方
Divining: "Have Gou go to yu fang."
View Scan
甲
3539 辛 亥 卜 ​
方 于 陟​
This inscription is related to that on the Guo-
貞, 令 冓 以 ​ 御
Crack on xin-hai, Zhong divining:
to yu fang at
"Order Gou with
Zhi
."
one notes that the compound never acts as the subject of a sentence nor precedes an active verb. What
is more, the several examples here of yu following
hu
乎
hu qu
are comparable to such usages as hu fa
乎取 , hu cong
乎從 , hu lai
乎伐 ,
乎來 , and hu
乎出 , where hu is always followed by a verb.
前 5.2.7 has been noted as evidence of
yu fang being a place-name, following yu 于 as it
60
does,
comparing this inscription with 甲 3539,
where gou 冓 is certainly a personal name, it would
seem that this yu 于 must have its verbal sense of
chu
And while
"to go" rather than its prepositional sense "at."
Thus, yu fang should not be interpreted, in any of
these examples, as a place-name, but rather as a
verb-object compound.
The inscription on the Buqi gui
不 𡢁𣪕 ,
宣 , reads:
This is also the meaning that the context
of the "Shifu" calls for. Significantly, it is
intended by his gloss:
來
which dates
It was the ninth month, first auspiciousness,
wu-shen (day 45); Bo shi said: "Buqi, secure
61
the area (yu fang 駿方 ).
The Xianyun widely
attacked Western Yu. The king commanded us to
follow up in the west. I came in return to present the catch.
the phrase "yu zhui yu Luo" 御追于​ , where yu
combines with zhui to give the sense "to defend
against by chasing after," which is to say, to
conduct a sort of "mopping-up" operation.
also the meaning that Kong Zhao 孔晁 (c. +265),
the earliest commentator of the text, apparently
An example of yu 御 in a Western Zhou bronze
inscription confirms this verbal usage and also provides sufficient context to determine its meaning.
from the reign of King Xuan
jizi Bo pan 虢季子白盤 , which provides the
setting for the action described here. The Guojizi Bo pan has a full date placing it in the
12th year of King Xuan, and narrates the court
ritual marking a victory by Guojizi Bo. It appears that this victory, though conclusive, was
not quite final, for while the Buqi gui inscription lacks a year notation, the otherwise complete date corresponds exactly with the 11th year
of King Xuan. The content of the inscription
shows this date to be correct. It begins with a
reference to Bo's (i.e., Guojizi Bo) recent victory, which is followed by an order to his lieutenant Buqi to complete the pacification of the
area. This order, first mentioned in the opening,
prefatory paragraph, is further elaborated by
Two words, yi 翌 and lai 來 , are used
in oracle bone inscriptions to describe future
63
time.
The following examples show the distinction between them:
乙
6385 甲寅卜​ 貞 ,翌乙卯易日 .
Crack on jia-yin (day 51), Que
divining: "On the next yi-mao (day
­
52), it will be a clear day."
乙
7258 癸卯卜​ , 翌甲辰酒大甲 .
Crack on gui-mao (day 40), Que
divining: "On the next jia-chen (day
­
41), perform a wine libation to Da
Jia."
"I ordered you to mop up at Luo (yu zhui
yu Luo 御追于​ ).You took our war-carts and
thoroughly attacked the Xianyun at Gaotao. You
cut off many heads and shackled many captives.
The Rong greatly converged to counter-attack
you, and you were endangered. The Rong greatly
pressed the attack but you were victorious, not
taking our war-carts and sinking them in difficulty, but cutting off heads and shackling captives."
Bo shi said,"Buqi, you little child; you
have begun adeptly in military merit. I present
you one bow and a quiver of arrows, five families
of servants, and ten fields of land, to be used
in fulfilling your affairs."
Buqi folded his hands and touched his head
to the ground, herewith making "my illustrious
grandparents Gongbo and Mengji" precious guivessel, and herewith entreating many blessings
and long life without limit, eternal purity and
a spiritual end. Would that my children's children and grandchildren's grandchildren eternally
62
treasure and use it in sacrifice.
63
太公受命追禦紂黨方
"The Grand Duke received an order to chase
after and yu (the Shang king) Zhou's allies, the
Fanglai." But because Kong, writing in the late
+3rd century, was unfamiliar with the language of
Shang Chinese,he was led to make one minor mistake in his comment.
粹
605 乙酉卜賓貞 , 翌丁亥不其易日 .
Crack on yi-you (day 22), Bin
divining: "On the next ding-hai (day
­
24), it will not be a clear day."
前 7.27.2 戊辰卜爭貞 , 來乙亥不雨
Crack on wu-chen (day 5), Zheng
divining: "On the next yi-hai (day
­
12), it will not rain."
續 3.15.1 丁酉 𣪗 貞 , 來乙巳王入于​ .
Ding-you (day 34), Que divining:
"On the following yi-si (day 42), the
king will enter at
."
View Scan
粹
692 自今辛至于來辛有大雨
From this xin (day) all the way to
the coming xin (day), there will be a
great rain.
Xiao Yu ding
Yi is used for either the next day (as it is also
used elsewhere in the "Shifu" [Sec. II] and in
the early portions of the Shangshu), or occasionally two days hence, but never more. Lai, on the
other hand, always indicates a day separated by
a longer interval. This is also the case with
the construction in the "Shifu," lai ding-mao,
where ding-mao (day 4), the day of the Grand
Duke's return, is four days distant from jia-zi
(day 1), the day on which he received his orders.
This correspondence with Shang usage demonstrates
that lai here is neither a verb meaning "to come"
(as so many oracle bone scholars have assumed)
lai, as
nor part of a compound place-name (Fang­
interpreted by Kong Zhao). Rather, it is a marker
of future action, which, when combined with the
other idiomatic usages discussed above (ming, yu,
fang), shows that the sentence should be translated, "The Grand Duke Wang was ordered to secure
the area. On the following ding-mao, Wang arrived
and reported about ears-taken and captives."
I took prisoner two of their chiefs,
obtained 4,8X2 scalps, captured 13,081
men, captured... horses, 30 chariots of
64
war, 355 oxen, and 38 sheep.
Shi Yuan gui
out saying that the parallel between the liao 燎
burnt-offering sacrifice here with that in the Xiao
Yu ding inscription is striking. (See above, n.
34.) More subtle, perhaps, but equally characteristic of contemporary usage are the other terms used
in the "Shifu" for sacrifice. Fa 伐 , which mid-way
through the Western Zhou period came to be used
exclusively to indicate military attacks, was the
most commonly used specific human-sacrifice term in
Shang oracle bone inscriptions. As the character
graphically depicts, it indicated the decapitation
66
prisoner.
of a ­
The use of fa in the "Shifu," as
The word fu 俘 , of course, occurs often in
the text. Although in later usage fu is generally
nominal, in this text it is used in three distinct ways: as a noun meaning" captive" (gao yi
告以馘俘 ;
侯佚侯 ;
for example 伐 厥 四 十 夫 家 君 鼎 師 "(He)
beheaded their forty family, masters of the caldron"
(Sec. IX), certainly indicates the same type ritual.
Sec. III, IV, VI), as a verb
for the capture of humans (fu Aihou, Yihou
俘艾
In addition to specific sacrifice terms such as
liao and fa, oracle bone usage also included a pair
67
of general sacrifice terms, you 㞢 , 又 (i.e., 侑 )
68
Let us consider here just the case
and yong 用 .
of yong.
sec. VI), and as a verb for the capture
俘殷王
武王俘商舊
of inanimate objects (fu Yinwang ding
鼎;
玉;
Sec. V; Wuwang fu Shang jiu yu
Sec. X). The latter two uses were common in
the language of the Shang-early Western Zhou, as
the following examples (first a Shang notational
inscription, and then two bronze inscriptions)
demonstrate.
菁
師㝨 𣪕 : 毆俘士女羊牛 , 孚吉金
We routed and captured men, women,
sheep and oxen; we captured auspicious
65
metal.
­
As significant as the record of the captures is
in the text, it is clear that for the Zhou ­
composer
of the narrative, the sacrifices, particularly the
human offerings, which followed the captures held
much greater symbolic significance. It goes with-
The above two examples both demonstrate clusters of Shang—Western Zhou idioms. The text also
abounds with individual vocabulary items with characteristics dating from that linguistic ­period. I
will briefly illustrate just three or four of these.
guo fu
小盂鼎: 執嘼二人 , 隻​ ​ ​八 百□
十二​ , 孚人萬三千八十一人 , 孚
馬□□匹 , 孚車​ 兩 , 孚牛三百五
十五牛 , 羊​ 八羊
續 1.44.1 丁卯卜 : 用 𠬝 于兄已
Crack-making on ding-mao: " Yong captives to Xiong Ji."
南明 525 其用人牛十又五
"Let us yong men and oxen, 15."
5 四日庚申亦㞢棧艱自北 ,
子​
告曰 : 昔甲辰方征于​ , 孚人
十又五人 , 五日戊申方亦征 , 孚
人十又六人 , 六月在 . . .
This sacrificial sense of yong is also evident in
such early Western Zhou bronze inscriptions as that
on the Ling yi
令彜 : 乙酉 , 用牲于康宮
"On
69
yi-you, yong offering in the Kang Pavillion."
To
these examples compare the sentence of the "Shifu,
Four days (later), on geng-shen (day
57), there again came trouble from the
north. Prince Tuan reported saying:
"Last jia-chen (day 41), the Fang were
on campaign in You and captured 15 men.
Five days (later), on wu-shen (day 45),
the Fang were again on campaign and
captured 16 men. Sixth month at...
用牛于天于稷五百有四
"He used 504 oxen to
heaven and to Ji," where yong is equally unmistak70
able as a sacrifice term.
Added to the features discussed above in the
notes to the translation, such as the general and
64
View Scan
specific similarities with the Xiao Yu ding inscription (see n. 36), the parallels with Shang hunting
records (see n. 27), and the place-names mentioned
in the text (and especially their attested locations; see notes 9 and 22), such linguistic features
as these strongly suggest that the text was indeed
composed at or about the time of the events it describes.
logistical requirements of moving an army from the
76
environs of Anyang to Xi'an.
Allowing for this extra 60 days between the
battle at Muye and the victory ceremonies at Zhou,
the interval is not 47 days but 107 days. When the
cyclical days indicated for these events (i.e.,
jia-zi and geng-xu are inserted into a lunation
chart covering this 107-day interval (see the appended "Calendar of Events"), it can be seen that
the lunar-phase notations for the two dates coincide exactly with their standard definitions. Such
a calendar also brings to light another interesting feature: both the victory celebration at Zhou
and the parallel ceremonies in the Shang capital
begin on the 16th day of their respective lunar
months. This is not coincidental, for the 16th day
of a luna­
tion marks the day after the full-moon,
and evidence from Western Zhou bronze inscriptions
confirms that it was during the pre-dawn hours of
­
this day (i.e., still during the 15th night, when
the moon is at its fullest) that ceremonies were
77
commonly held.
Section III: Content and Textual Integrity
The final criteria to be considered in judging
the historical worth of any document are appropriate content and textual integrity. In the preceding discussion, specific points of linguistic usage
have been shown to be appropriate to the Shang-Zhou
transition era, but in general flavor as well, it
seems self-evident, as Wang Chong noted during the
period (see above, p. 61), that the "Shifu" is
Han ­
a realistic account of the events surrounding the
conquest of one dynastic power and the investiture
of a new people with that power. Granted, the observation of Wang Chong was based in large part on a
common-sensical comparison with contemporary events,
but such common-sense generally makes for better
historiography than the idealism characteristic of
Mencius, for example.
­
But as appropriate as this correspondence
between the lunar-phase notations and the cyclical days looks, there is one major problem: the
sacrifice in the Zhou capital is stipulated as
taking place in the fourth month, while this interval of 107 days beginning from the 28th day
of a second month satisfies the requirements for a
It is within the sphere of textual integrity,
however, that most scholars have presumed difficulties with the text. These difficulties revolve around
the three full date notations. Disregarding for the
moment the problems with the first of these dates
which has been discussed at some length above (p.
3), the correlation between the second and third
dates and the events that could have occurred within
their interval is the crux of a perceived textual
disorder. The second date, that for the battle at
Muye, corresponds to the 28th day of the second
month, while the third date, that for the burnt-­
offering sacrifice in Zhou, corresponds to the 16th
71
day of the fourth month.
The interval between
these two dates is generally consistent, allowing
one minor modification, with the interval of 47 days
indicated by the cyclical days mentioned, jia-zi
72
(day 1) and geng-xu (day 47).
If these two dates
were the only evidence available, as they are in
the Hanshu quotation of the "Wucheng," it would be a
simple matter to make the minor calendrical modifica73
tion required.
But the blessing, and to some the
bane, of the "Shifu" is that, to a great extent, it
fills in the events that occurred during the interval (unfortunately not with full-date notations,
but always with cyclical days), and this chronicle
demonstrates that such a simple 47 day interval is
impossible.
sixth month. Stymied by this, Gu Jiegang 顧頡剛
(1893–1980),the most thorough modern commentator of
the "Shifu," despaired of being able to make sense
78
of the text's calendrical system.
But I believe
that, as is so often the case, a very simple proposal resolves the problem. On wu-chen (day 5; and
corresponding to the 3rd day of the third month),
five days after the climactic victory at Muye and
the day after the Grand Duke Wang reported his success in eliminating the last enemy resistance in
the capital area, the text states laconically that
King Wu "established his government" (Sec. III).
I propose that at this time, he also promulgated
a new calendar, declaring the beginning of a new
year. Thus, what according to the calendar in effect before the conquest would have been designated
as the third month, was thence designated the first
month. In like fashion, what would have been the
sixth month became the fourth month in the new Zhou
calendar. In this way, both the arrangement of the
text and the two full-date notations are mutually
corroborating, and combine to confirm the integrity
of the text.
In addition to being logically required by
the text, there is also support for this calendar
revision in later tradition. Since at least the
­
The impossibility of this simple calendrical
sequence is shown most clearly by the dual occurrence of the cyclical date xin-hai (day 48), the
first time marking the presentation to King Wu of
the captured Yin caldrons in the Shang capital (Sec.
74
IV);
and the second time, when King Wu ritually
assumed his throne in the Zhou capital (Sec. IX).
It is naturally inconceivable that a person 3,000
years ago could have performed actions in two places
separated by some 550 km. on the same day. The inescapable conclusion is that these two xin-hai day
notations must have been separated by a full sixtyday cycle, which is both consistent with the se75
quence given in the text,
and compatible with the
devel­
opment of the san-tong 三統 theory by Liu
Xin, it has been believed that the custom in antiquity was to promulgate a new calendar upon the
establishment of a new dynasty. The most explicit
statement of this tradition is found in the "Zhou
yue" 周月 chapter of the Yizhoushu, a chapter
which dates from very late in the Warring States
79
period.
­
The ten-thousand things are born in spring
and grow in summer, are collected in autumn
and stored in winter: this is the correctness
65
View Scan
of heaven and earth, the epitome of the four
seasons, and the unchanging Way. The numeration of the Xia dynasty accorded with heaven,
and the hundred kings have shared in it. With
Tang of the Shang dynasty, troops were used
against the Xia: he dispelled the misfortunes
of the people, and in accord with Heaven overturned the mandate; he revised the first month,
changed the clothing and distinguished the
titles. One refined (the Shang) and one substantial (the Xia), the sacrifices were incompatible, and the chou month (i.e., that after
the month containing the winter solstice) was
taken as the first month.
­alendar, the 10th day of the second month [prec
conquest calendar]; Dec. 28 -1046) that the king
reached the troops." Combined with the specificity
of the "Shifu" that King Wu, and presumably only
King Wu, departed on gui-si, this shows that the
Zhou army must have departed at an earlier date (as
the logistics of the campaign would dictate; see
above, n. 3). When did the army depart? A wellknown tradition in the "Zhouyu"
the Guo yu
gives a precise astronomical date.
昔武王伐殷 , 歲在鶉火 , 月
在天駟 , 日在析本之津 , 辰在斗柄 , 星在天
黿 and has been translated by Prof. Nivison as,
"Long ago, when King Wu attacked Yin, the Year Star
was in Quail Fire, the moon was in the Heavenly
Sky Team of Four, the sun was in the Ford at Split
Wood, the (next) conjunction (of sun and moon)
was in the Handle of the Dipper, and the Star was
83
in the Sky Turtle."
According to Prof. Nivison,
the combination of locations for Jupiter, the sun,
moon, and the lunisolar conjunction given here, is
satisfied by only one day during the years -1046–45;
that day is Nov. 16 1046. Correlating this date
with the dates required by the "Shifu," it corresponds to the 27th day of the twelfth month (preconquest calendar). Computing then the cyclical
day for this date, one finds that it is, certainly
not by coincidence, a jia-zi day. Deeply concerned
with temporal portents it is to be expected that
the Zhou would select a particularly auspicious day
on which to begin their conquest campaign. As the
decisive battle at Muye, which the Zhou apparently
timed to occur on a jia-zi day, shows, there could
be no day more appropriate for this than jia-zi,
the first of the cycle.
year (gai zheng 改正 ) and differentiated the
standards, leaving to posterity the santong
(the three systems).
As for respectfully granting timeliness to
the people and maintaining the sacrifices, it
is still the Xia (calendar) that is the best.
That which is called the Zhou months is used in
以紀于政 ).
From this passage it is clear that there was indeed
a tradition concerning a change of calendar at the
time of the Zhou conquest, but it would seem that
the original simple declaration of a new year by
King Wu had been later elaborated into a systematic
change, consistent with the philosophical system80
atizing of the period.
chapter of
The passage reads:
Changing the views of the people, like the
great changes in the heavenly time, is also
the affair of a single dynasty. Coming then to
our Zhou kings, they were brought to attack
the Shang. They revised the beginning of the
government annals (yi ji yu zheng
國語
周語
This concern for timely actions conceivably
also dictated the departure date of King Wu. It is
well known that the governmental custom during the
late Shang (particularly period V) was for the king
to divine on gui days, the last day of the tenday week, as a means of ensuring good fortune in
the coming ten days. It is plausible that the Zhou
shared this divination tradition, in which case one
might assume that on the morning of gui-si (Dec.
15, -1046), one month after the departure of the
army, King Wu performed the final formal divination
future
in the Zhou temple. Having thus ensured that ­
actions would be fortuitous, he set out to join his
troops. Whether in chariot or on horseback, there
is no doubt that the king and his entourage would
have moved far more rapidly than the large Zhou
army. That he overtook the troops on bing-wu (day
43; Dec. 28, -1046) adds a practical verification of
the date Nov. 16 for the departure of the army, for
this shows that King Wu in 14 days covered the same
distance that it took the army 43 days to traverse,
a ratio which practical experience might indeed
suggest.
Finally, the calendrical reconstructions
of Dong Zuobin 董作賓 (1895–1963) also offer
a striking confirmation of this calendar of the
"Shifu." The calendar required by the "Shifu," with
lunar months beginning on cyclical days ding-mao
(day 4), ding-you (day 34), bing-yin (day 3), bingshen (day 33), yi-chou (day 2), and yi-wei (day
32), respectively (see the appended "Calendar of
Events"), coincides precisely with that of the year
81
-1045,
the year which Professor David S. Nivison
has, on the basis of several independent factors,
82
determined to be the year of the Zhou conquest.
This firmly establishes that the "Shifu" can be
nothing other than an authentic account of the
events immediately following that conquest.
Part III: The Conquest Campaign
Being thus satisfied of the authenticity of the
"Shifu" text, it is possible to use it as the basis
for the following chronicle of the Zhou conquest
campaign.
The next mention of the conquest army's movements has them completing the crossing of the Yellow
Although the text of the "Shifu" begins with
King Wu's departure from Zhou on gui-si (day
30), the 27th day of the first month (pre-conquest
calendar; Dec. 15, -1046), there is reason to
­
believe that this did not mark the beginning of
River at Mengjin 孟津 on wu-wu (day 53; Jan. 9,
84
-1045).
From there, a march of six days brought
them on gui-hai (day 60; Jan. 14 -1045) to Muye,
where they deployed in anticipation of the battle
which would take place the next morning. Everyone
now knows that the battle resulted in an over­
the campaign. The "Taishi" 泰誓 chapter of the
Shangshu includes the curious statement, "It was
on bing-wu (day 43; correlated with the "Shifu"
66
View Scan
whelming triumph for the Zhou army; but as the "Shifu"
shows, and as common sense should lead us to expect, it was by no means the end of all hostilities.
Still to come would be a series of ­
"mopping-up"
operations before the Zhou could be secure in their
victory. The first of these operations was initiated as soon as the victory at Muye had been won;
the Grand Duke Wang, the commanding general of the
Zhou forces, was ordered to secure the area of the
Shang capital. Wang accomplished his mission in
four days, and on the following day, wu-chen (day
5; Jan. 19), King Wu formally declared the "establishment of government."
It is one thing to establish a government;
it is quite another thing to ensure that it is a
lasting one. The next section of the "Shifu" mentions campaigns, beginning on ren-shen (day 9; Jan.
23), against a number of Shang vassal states located to the north and east of the former capital.
But immediately before these campaigns began, King
Wu presided over a sort of victory ceremony in an
important cult center near the Shang capital. The
Li gui, the vessel discovered in 1976 which has
excited so much interest because of its verification of the jia-zi date for the battle of Muye, was
cast after the presentation of metal to Youshi Li
有使利 , its maker, by the king.85 This presentation took place on xin-wei (day 8; Jan. 22) at Jian
, which inscriptions on late Shang bronze vessels
show to have been a powerful Shang ally situated
near the Shang capital, and where a "great temple"
86
When correlated with
(taishi 太室 ) was located.
the narrative of the "Shifu," this ceremony appears
to have been intended to reward the soldiers ­
after
one great victory and to encourage them in the
battles to come.
The "mopping-up" campaign against the states
Yue, Xifang, Chen, and Wei then lasted until jiashen (day 21; Feb. 4; for a full discussion of the
location of these place-names and the possible
ramifications, see above, n. 9) After the report
­
of the successful conclusion of this campaign,
the "Shifu" record is blank for nearly a month.
We can only conjecture that the time must have
been filled attending to the routine duties of an
occupation army. But on the first full moon af­
ter having thus put the former capital firmly under
its control, the Zhou celebrated their victory in
the Shang capital. The events of days xin-hai (day
48; March 2) to yi-mao (day 52; March 6) are sufficiently well described in the text that they need
no amplification here. Suffice it to make one general
remark: these ceremonies display a certain diplomatic and psychological intuition on the part of
King Wu. They seem to have been designed to invoke in the conquered Shang people awe and respect
for the somewhat barbarian Zhou conquerors, while
at the same time attempting to minimize any feelings of enmity. It is undoubtedly for this reason
that although King Wu was there presented with the
captured Shang officials, he did not execute and
sacrifice them immediately, but preferred instead to
87
transport them back to the Zhou homeland.
Although Sec. IX shows that he did indeed execute and
sacrifice them there, this was exclusively a Zhou
affair, well out of sight of the Shang people. It
was perhaps in part because of this seeming policy
of clemency that the Shang army was willing to submit to Zhou command, as the events of jia-yin (day
51; March 5) seem to suggest they did.
With the conquest now complete, not only in
military terms but just as importantly ­
politically
(note the "confirmation" of the heads of states on
days xin-hai [day 48] and ren-zi [day 49]) and psycho­
logically, King Wu and the Zhou army (or at least
that portion of the army that was not to be garri­
soned in the former Shang domain) were free to
return to Zhou. Considering the logistics of the
march, the departure must have taken place very
soon after the end of these ceremonies. But, even
though the Zhou were now masters of the Shang and
their subjects, that was no longer sufficient to
content the people who considered themselves the
recipients of Heaven's mandate to rule all of ­
­
China.
It was now incumbent upon King Wu to bring even
those states in the west, hitherto enemies of both
the Shang and the Zhou, under his control. This was
effected by means of a final "mopping-up" operation,
conducted against the states of Mo, Xuanfang, Shu,
and Li, while the Zhou army was making its return
to the Zhou homeland.
With this western campaign successfully concluded (on yi-si [day 42; April 25]) and all recalcitrant states now submissive, King Wu, once again
in the Zhou capital, was then free to celebrate
his victory at home. The celebrations again began
on the first full-moon after this occasion (geng-xu
[day 47; April 30]), and this time were marked by
Despite
a rather liberal shedding of human blood. ­
the protestations of later Confucians that the
founding fathers of the Zhou were too virtuous to
­
engage in such violence, the "Shifu" leaves no doubt
that they engaged in the practice with all the vigor
for which the Shang, their more "civilized" predecessors, were noted. Whether or not the victims'
blood propitiated the Zhou ancestors, it must certainly have demonstrated to the Zhou people that
they were indeed now the rulers of China.
* * * * *
In conclusion then, modern scholars are justifiably excited whenever a bronze vessel bearing
an inscription is unearthed. But earth is not the
only thing that can bury authentic records. In the
case of this "Shifu" text, Confucian idealism has
been nearly as obscurant. Let us not succumb to our
own prejudices against "unattested" evidence, but
instead examine this text just as we would a newly
discovered bronze inscription. Whether in terms of
chronology, military affairs, or court ritual, it
has much to tell us about the very early Zhou.
NOTES
1. Due to a loan possibility of "shi"
世
for
"da" 大 in archaic Chinese, commentators of the
text generally interpret the title to mean "da fu,"
i.e., "The Great Capture." (See e.g., Gu Jiegang,
1963:2.) In terms of modification, this reading
seems preferable to "world's capture," and is here
(Notes continue on p. 70)
67
View Scan
Calendar of Events
建戍 ,
12
月
(10/21-11/18)
建亥 ,
1
月
(11/19-12/18)
建子 ,
2
月
(12/19-1/16, -1045)
1
丁卯
丁酉
2
戊辰
戊戌
2
己亥
3
庚子
4
辛丑
5
壬寅
6
癸卯
7
甲辰
8
乙巳
9
1
 34
4
5
 35
3
己巳
4
庚午
5
辛未
6
壬申
7
癸酉
8
甲戌
9
乙亥
10
丙子
11
丁丑
丁未
11
12
戊寅
戊申
12
13
己卯
己酉
13
14
庚辰
庚戌
14
15
辛巳
辛亥
15
16
壬午
壬子
16
17
癸未
癸丑
17
18
甲申
甲寅
18
19
乙酉
乙卯
19
20
丙戌
丙辰
20
21
丁亥
丁巳
21
22
戊子
戊午 : Army
22
23
己丑
己未
23
24
庚寅
庚申
24
25
辛卯
辛酉
25
26
壬辰
壬戌
26
癸亥
27
甲子 : Zhou
28
乙丑 : 29
6
7
 37
8
 38
9
 39
 10
 40
 11
 41
 12
 42
丙午 : King
 13
 43
 14
 45
 16
 46
 17
 47
 18
 48
 19
 49
 20
 50
 21
 51
 22
 52
 23
 53
 24
 54
fords Yellow River at
 55  Mengjin.
 25
 26
 56
 27
 57
 28
 29
甲子 : Zhou
癸巳 : King
28
army departs.
1 (Nov. 16, -1046)
乙丑
甲午
 31
29
2
丙寅
乙未
3
 30
Wu reaches Zhou army.
 44
 15
27
30
 36
 58
Wu departs from Zhou.
 59
 60
victory at Muye. Grand Duke
1 Wang ordered to secure capital.
 32
2
丙申
10
30
 33
68
View Scan
Calendar of Events (2)
建丑 , 3-1 月 (1/17-2/16) 建寅 , 2 月
1
丙寅
2
丁卯 : Wang
3
戊辰 : King Wu performs rituals, 戊戌
4
3
4
丙申
reports success.
 33
6
 36
3
丁卯
4
己亥
戊辰
5
5
庚午
庚子
6
辛未 : Ceremony
7
壬申 : Victory over Yue, Xifang, 壬寅
8
癸酉 : 9
甲戌
10
乙亥
11
丙子
12
丁丑
13
戊寅
14
己卯
15
庚辰
16
辛巳 : Victory
17
壬午
壬子 : Ritual
18
癸未
癸丑 : Presentation
19
甲申 : Attack
20
乙酉
乙卯 : Musical
21
丙戌
丙辰
22
丁亥
丁巳
23
戊子
24
己丑
25
庚寅
26
辛卯
27
壬辰
28
癸巳
29
甲午
30
乙未
7
8 cast.
at Jian; Li gui
 40
over Chen.
 19
 23
 24
 25
 26
 27
 28
 29
 30
 31
辛亥 : Presentation
 48  caldrons.
on Wei led by
 50  captives.
甲寅 : Inspection
 51  at Muye.
 52
 59
 60
1
 47  temple.
in Zhou
 48
as king.
16
 49
 50
 51
乙卯 : Feudal
 52  court.
lords come to
17
21
22
戊子
24
己丑
25
庚寅
26
辛卯
27
壬辰
28
癸巳
29
甲午
30
 31
69
庚戌 : Liao-sacrifice
23
 30
 32
 46
丁亥
 29
甲子
 45
20
 28
癸亥
 44
甲寅
 27
壬戌
 43
19
 26
 58
11
癸丑
 25
辛酉
reported.
 42
癸未
 24
 57
乙巳 : Victory
18
 23
庚申
 41
壬子
丙戌
 56
 40
壬午
 22
己未
 39
辛亥 : Sacrifice
乙酉
 55
 38
辛巳
 21
戊午
6
15
甲申
 54
on Mo, Xuanfang,
 37  Shu.
己酉
 20
 53
庚子 : Attacks
14
 19
ceremony.
5
 36
戊申
 18
of Yin army
己亥
13
 17
of Yin
4
 35
丁未
庚辰
ceremonies.
 49
戊戌
丁丑
 16
of Yin
3
 34
12
己卯
 47
丁酉
丙午
 15
庚戌
2
 33
丙子
戊寅
 46
丙申
10
 14
己酉
 16
1
 32
甲辰
 13
 45
(4/17-5/16)
9
 12
戊申
 15
月
癸卯
乙亥
 44
4
8
 11
丁未
 14
乙未
壬寅
甲戌
 43
建子 ,
壬申
 10
丙午
(3/17-4/16)
7
癸酉
 42
月
辛丑
9
乙巳
 13
 22
癸卯
3
辛未
8
 41
 12
 21  Bai Ta.
7
甲辰
 11
 20
庚午
 38
 10
 18
6
辛丑
 39
 17
己巳
 37
9 attack on Chen.
乙丑
丙寅
 34
 35
建卯 ,
2
丁酉
5 ­
establishes government.
己巳 : (2/17-3/16)
View Scan
adopted.
in the day placements within the lunation, my calen­
dar giving this first full-date as the 27th day of
the first month, and the date for the battle at Muye
as the 28th day of the second month. (When correlat­
ing these two dates, however, the interval between
them, 32 days, is identical to that given by Wang.)
The recension and these textual notes are based
on the Sibu congkan 四部叢刊 text, Yizhoushu
(the "Shifu" comprises chapter 40, 4.9a–12a), which
in turn is a photo-reprint of a Ming Jiajing era
edition (printed in 1543), the oldest extant text.
­
(In these notes it is this text that is intended
when I refer to the "original text.") I have also
extensively consulted the critical recension by Gu
Jiegang (1963), which not only presents Gu's original research but also synthesizes the various Qing
editions and scholarship.
After having determined by means of the lunar
phase notation the placement of the days within the
lunation, it is a simple matter to count the cyclical days to see that the two dates, as given in the
Hanshu, are in perfect correspondence. (It is perhaps worthy of note that they are also in perfect
correspondence according to Liu Xin's definitions,
but with his definitions the date for the battle
and the fourth month date for the burnt-offering
sacrifice in Zhou can be made to correspond only
through the insertion of an intercalary month.) Such
is not the case with the date given in the original
text of the "Shifu." The lunar-phase notation
2. It would seem that this summation is a later
addi­
tion to the basic text, akin to the "Preface to
the Documents " (Shuxu 書序 ). The record, however,
does seem reliable when correlated with the remainder of the chapter. According to my chronological reconstruction of the events, yi-wei marks the
first day of the fourth month, a time at which King
Wu and the Zhou army were returning through former
Shang territory to the Zhou homeland. (See below,
p. 67, and especially the appended "Calendar of
Events.")
there (旁生魄若翼日 ) designates either the 10th
or the 11th day of the lunation, but the cyclical
day ding si (day 54) is completely out of synchronization with the date for the battle (see, "Calendar of Events.")
Despite the calendrical correctness of the
Hanshu "Wucheng" date here, Qu Wanli (1965: 317-19)
has argued that it is also suspect because the
inter­
val of 31 days thus afforded between the
depar­
ture from Zhou and the battle at Muye would
be insufficient time to move an army the roughly 550
km. between the Xi'an area and Chaoge. (Qu mentions
700 km., relying on Liu Xin's estimation of the
distance instead of a map.) Qu's suspicions with
regard to the logistical problems are well-taken,
yet a correct reading of this line resolves the
difficulty. The date does not mark the departure of
the Zhou army; rather, it is explicit in mentioning
only King Wu's departure. Other sources indicate
that the Zhou army began its march 30 days earlier,
and that it was only 14 days after the date given
here that King Wu joined his troops en route to the
battle. (For a full discussion, see below, p. 66)
The marching time of 60 days thus afforded is quite
consistent with the speed of troop movements in ancient times.
維一月丙辰旁生魄若
翼日丁巳王乃步自于周征伐商王紂 ;
3. The original text reads
the emendation is based on the quotation in Han­
shu, "Lüli zhi" (1015-16) of Liu Xin's
劉歆
Shijing 世經 , which in turn quotes the "Wucheng"
chapter of the Shangshu. The occurrence here of a
full-date notation (i.e., month, lunar-phase, and
cyclical day) makes it possible, when correlated
­
with the two other full-date notations (Sec. II,
Sec. IX), which are identical in the "Shifu" and
Hanshu texts, to determine the correctness of the
"Wucheng" date.
In his Shengba siba kao, Wang Guowei demonstrated on the basis of bronze inscriptional evidence that the traditional definitions of Liu Xin
for the lunar phase notations (defining "shengba" as
the full-moon and "siba" as the new moon) were incorrect. Wang, on the other hand, divides the month
Having said this, it is necessary to digress
slightly and consider more fully this problem of
logistics. Included with the passages from the "Wu­
cheng" in the Hanshu quotation is a remark by Liu
Xin that troops moved 30 li per day, or ­
roughly 15
km. per day. This figure seems to have been widely
accepted in ancient sources, being cited by Du Yu
初吉 representing
既生霸 (note that
into four quarters, with chuji
days 1 to 7 or 8, ji shengba
there is a functional equivalence between the terms
ba
霸
and po
魄
which occurs in the "Shifu") days
既望
既死霸 days
8 or 9 to 14 or 15, ji wang
15 or 16 to 22
杜預 (+222-284) in his commentary to the Zuozhuan
(Chunqiu jingzhuan jijie, 7 .5a), and in the Baihu
23 to the end of
or 23, and ji si ba
the lunation. In his essay Wang discusses the dates
of the "Shifu" (as given in the Hanshu quotation),
concluding that this first full-date designates the
26th day of the first month, and that the date given
for the battle at Muye designates the 27th day of
the second month.
tong (p. 628). Moreover, Mao Chang 毛萇 (-2 c.)
gives the same gloss, interpreting the poem "Liu
yue"
六月
(Mao, 177) of the Shijing as testifying
to this same tradition at a much earlier time:
While generally reliant on Wang's thesis, the
calendrical reconstructions presented in this paper
represent a slight modification in detail. Instead
of interpreting ji siba as designating the first day
of the third quarter, as does Wang, I interpret it
to be the following day, "ji" having a common meaning of "after." This entails a one day divergence
我
服既成 , 于三十里 "Our clothes being ready, we
marched 30 li" (Maoshi, 10.6b-7a).
According to this tradition, the marching time
between Xi'an and Chaoge would have been about 35
days. But this type of tradition must be authenti­
70
View Scan
cated by actual campaign records. Surprisingly,
there exists a nearly day-by-day account of a
10-month campaign virtually contemporary with that
of King Wu's against the Shang (and it is even more
temporally comparable in that it was also ­
conducted
during the inclement winter months.) This campaign
帝辛 , the
Renfang 人方 , a
was led by Di Xin
4. As outlined above (n. 3), this date corresponds to the 28th day of the month.
經典釋文 (2.14b)
接 in the ZhouYi
捷 ("to defeat"). For other
5. The Jingdian shiwen
glosses an occurrence of jie
周易 as a loan for
examples of this loan in
Gao Heng, 1947: 120; and
discussion of a "ji-jie"
attack, to conquer," see
final Shang king,
campaign which though
against the
successful is credited by the Zuozhuan (Zhao 11;
Legge, CC V: 633-4) as having so weakened the Shang
state that it prepared the way for the Zhou conquest. During this campaign, Di Xin routinely
performed divinations, and a corpus of 150 of the
divination inscriptions has been compiled by Dong
Zuobin (1945: Xia 9.48a-63b). Because nearly all of
the inscriptions record the date (giving month and
cyclical day) and location, it is possible to plot
the course of the campaign rather precisely. (See
e.g., Chen Mengjia, 1956: 301-9 and esp. the appended map, pl. 10.) Analyzing the most reliable
segments of the march, the following table of troop
movements can be compiled. (See fig. 2)
Depart
Point
Arrival
Point
Depart
Date
Arrival
Date
Distance
Time
km/day
1.
雇
雷
4-9
27-28
150
18-24
6.258.33
2.
亳
攸
50
6-10
110
17-21
5.246.47
3.
攸
𣴛
11
21
130
10
7
13.00
18.57
4.
商
云
44
10
200
25
8.00
classical texts, see
for a phonological
word family meaning "to
Ping Xin, 1979: 55-60.
6. For a detailed discussion of this sentence,
see below, pp. 62-64.
7. According to tradition, the left ear of a
slain enemy was severed to prove the kill; the
Shuowen definition reads:
聝或从首
聝軍戰斷耳也
...
"Guo, the severing of ears by troops
in battle.... It may also be written with 首
('head') signific." (Shuowen jiezi gulin: 5361a)
8. Emending 自祀 to 追祀 with Kong Zhao
(c. +265)'s commentary.
孔晁
Both yu 禦 and xun 循 occur commonly in
oracle bone inscriptions, meaning an exorcistic
ritual (see Xu Jinxiong, 1963: 3b) and a kingly
inspection tour (see Li Xiaoding's comments in
Li Xiaoding, 1965: 567-9) respectively. Previous commentators have apparently not been aware
of these usages, stating, for instance, only
that yu is the name of a sacrifice (Kong Zhao),
or worse, have misinterpreted the nature of the
ritual, with such suggestions as a sacrifice to
Figure 2
陳逄衡 , Yifor zhai 柴 , a form
the chariot god (Chen Pengheng
zhoushu buzhu) or a variant
of burnt-offering sacrifice (Gu Jiegang; for all
of these interpretations, see Gu Jiegang, 1963:
6, n. 5.)
The table divides naturally into two sections, 1,
2, and 4 showing an average speed of 7-8 km/day,
and 3 showing a revised (discounting three days
spent in one encampment) speed of 18 km/day. There
is a simple explanation for this divergence. The
march described in 3 was in enemy territory, presumably in pursuit of the enemy. With the exception
of the three day encampment, it can be assumed that
the army was on the march every day. 1, 2, and 4,
on the other hand, represent segments of the march
to and from the battle area, and the inscriptional
record shows that they were not sustained marches.
In general, the practice seems to have been to
march a day and camp a day. To account for this 50%
of the campaign time spent encamped, the average
rate of troop movement/day for 1, 2, and 4 should
thus be approximately doubled, giving an average
marching speed of about 15-16 km/day, corresponding
exactly with the later tradition.
Interpreted correctly, these ritual actions
on the part of King Wu can be seen to constitute
an integral part of this section. It is not coincidental that yu is used twice in the section,
once in its temporal usage of "driving out"
enemies, describing the Grand Duke Wang's military actions, and once in its spiritual usage of
"driving out" inauspicious influences, the ritual
responsibility of the king. Having thus spiritually purified the area, the king would naturally
set off to inspect the new territory.
9. The place-names indicated by the "Shifu" are
越 , Xifang 戲方 (perhaps Miji 靡集 ),
Chen 陳 , and Wei 衛 . Qu Wanli (1965: 329-330)
Yue
This is just as we should expect. A large army
on the move cannot sustain over a long period the
pace it can keep for one day. Applying the logistical information from this record to the campaign
described in the "Shifu," we should likewise not
expect the Zhou army to have covered the 550 km
distance in the 36 days a daily march of 15 km
­
would permit, but should rather expect something
closer to the 60 days re-constructed here for the
march on Shang, or the 55 days for the return to
Zhou.
has identified these places with the following
Chunqiu period locales: Yue, the southwestern
part of the state of Wei
ern Zheng
衛;
Xi, in northeast-
鄭 ; Chen, the state by the same name
to the west of Song 宋 , and Wei, the state of
the same name to the northeast of the former
Shang capital. While I have been unable to correlate these identifications with evidence from
oracle bone inscriptions, as would be preferable, they seem generally reliable.
71
View Scan
The case of Wei, however, calls for some elaboration.
Historical sources record that Feng 封 , the
youngest brother of King Wu, was, at the time of the
conquest, enfeoffed at Kang 康 , and hence was known
in early Zhou texts as Kang hou, the Archer-Lord of
Kang. After quelling the rebellion of the Shang scion
Wugeng
叔
武庚
and his two Zhou overlords, Guan shu
and Cai shu
蔡叔 ,
管
both of whom were also broth-
ers of King Wu, King Cheng 成 ordered the ArcherLord of Kang to oversee the Yin area, appointing
him the Lord of Wei
衛.
侯 𣪕 : 王朿伐商邑 , 征令康侯 , 啚于衛
康
There are however two traditions regarding the
location of Wei. The Hanshu, "Dili zhi" identifies it
with Chaoge, the capital of the last Shang king, Di
Xin: "Chaoge was the capital of Zhou (Xin), and the
feudatory of King Wu of Zhou's younger brother Kang
shu. Its name was changed to Wei." (Hanshu: 1554)
On the other hand, both the Zuozhuan (Ding 4;Legge,
家
格
to ge
革
on the basis of Kong
Zhao's commentary: 不改祭天之服 "He did not
change his clothes for sacrificing to heaven."
朱右曾 (Yizhoushu jixun
jiaoshi 逸周書集訓校釋 and Gu Jiegang in adding huang yue 黃鉞 on the basis of parallel ex-
"It was
when the king (i.e., King Cheng) attacked the city
Shang; he ordered the Archer-Lord of Kang to be enfeoffed at Wei." (See Chen Mengjia, 1955: 25; Shirakawa Shizuka, 1964: 4.144-152.)
CC V:754) and the "Wei Kangshu shijia"
10. Emending ge
11. Following Zhu Youceng
This appointment is clearly
recorded in the inscription of the Kang hou gui
"Shifu," with the exception of the Grand Duke Wang
(for whom there is a rich tradition; see e.g.,
Shiji, 1477-81; and Allan, 1972-73), who can be so
identified in other texts, suggesting that he was of
a higher stature than the other generals, and hence
suitable for leading so important a campaign.
amples in the following text; see Gu Jiegang, 1963:
9, n. 6.
12. Tai Wang, great-grandfather of King Wu, was the
illustrious Gugong Danfu
虞仲
衛康叔世
chapter of the Shiji (1589) identify it with the
"Waste of Yin" (Yinxu), now known as the capital during most of the late Shang. That the Kanghou gui and
its various related vessels were discovered, about
1931, in northern Henan in the vicinity of Anyang,
lends credence to this latter identification.
This passage of the "Shifu" further substantiates that identification. Chaoge having been captured
immediately after the battle at Muye, it would be
redundant to now, twenty days later, make it the
target of a campaign. The passage makes perfect sense
however, when Wei is seen as the former capital, and
presumably still an important cult center, at Anyang,
approximately 100 km to the north. The importance of
such an objective would explain why the "Tiger Vanguard," the crack troops of the army, were explicitly
ordered to make the attack. This consideration was
probably also applicable in the choice of commanders
for the mission. The general here ordered to lead the
attack is Bai Ta 百弇 . I believe that this is the
same man who is said in Sec. 6 to have led the attack
on the Xuanfang, although there the name is Bai Wei
古公亶父 ,
the ruler who
moved the Zhou people to the Qishan 𡵨 山 area.
Taibo was his eldest son and Yugong (i.e., Yuzhong
) his second son, both of whom acceded to
Kangji (i.e., Jili 季歷 ), their younger halfbrother and the father of the future King Wen, when
Taiwang made known his wishes that Wen one day be
king. Yikao was the eldest son of King Wen who predeceased his father, thus enabling King Wu, the
next eldest son, to be the next king. (For this account, see Shiji: 112-5.)
Gu Jiegang has pointed out that this form of
collateral ancestor sacrifice, including not only
the kingly ancestors but also other members of the
royal family in a given generation, is akin to the
Shang ancestor sacrifices displayed in the oracle
bone inscriptions. He regards this as evidence
of the authenticity of the "Shifu." (Gu Jiegang,
1963:9, n. 9; 29.)
13. The original text here reads gui-you 癸酉 (day
10), which,from the sequence of cyclical days, is
obviously corrupt, and should read gui-chou
14. Following Gu Jiegang in adding ru
入
癸丑 .
after
wang 王 , as in similar constructions below; 1963:
11, n. 20.
盧文弨 (Yizhoushu) and
yong 庸 (i.e., yong 鏞 ) for
15. Following Lu Wenchao
百韋 (note the graphic similarity between 弇 and
韋 , which combined with the identical first charac-
Gu Jiegang in reading
lead me to identify this figure with Bai Da 百達 ,
a deputy of King Wu who figures prominently in the
wo 我 . The usage of ye 謁 here is somewhat of a
problem, with most commentators glossing it as:
­
qi
ter leaves little doubt about this identification.)
Moreover, both phonetic and graphic considerations
post-­
conquest events narrated in the "Ke Yin"
chapter of the Yizhoushu (4.3b).
其;
ibid. 11, n. 23.
16. Following Lu Wenchao in reading rong
克殷
戎
for
告也 "to report." While a "report" is certainly
reporting
a part of what ye means, it is a formal ­
given in person, usually to one's superior. I
­
believe that the line should be interpreted to
­
mean that the defeated Shang troops were drawn up
This is the only general mentioned in the
72
View Scan
on the former battlefield of Muye, and that King
Wu, their new sovereign and commander, there received a report of their condition, i.e., "inspected" them. (For further remarks on this line,
see below, n. 74.)
in the Shang oracle bone inscriptions, but with
evidence of having had a long-term vassalage rela­
tionship with the Shang; (e.g., in Per. I the Shang
divined about Shu's harvest [乙 5280; 6422], and
in Per. IV performed divinations in Shu [庫方 993;
981]).
17. Zuozhuan (Xuan 12; Legge, CC V: 320) states
武王克商 ... 作武
"When King Wu had subdued
Shang,... he composed 'Wu' (Shijing, Mao 285)."
The identification of this poem seems relatively
firm, but it is my feeling that any attempt to
identify the other poems mentioned in the text
would be mere conjecture.
This vassalage relationship notwithstanding,
Shima Kunio (1958: 378) has located Shu far to the
west of Shang, just to the south of the great bend
in the Yellow River. Shima's placement, in addi­
tion to being firmly based on contemporary evidence,
has recently received further verification from the
Western Zhou oracle bones discovered in 1977 at
Qishan, Shaanxi province. Inscription Hll: 68 of
18. Gu Jiegang interprets this line quite differently, marshalling considerable evidence to show
that find reads 伐蜀 (𢆶 ) "Attack Shu. (This)"
(Wenwu 1979.10:40; a photograph of the shell is
on. pl. 5, no. 4, and a drawing can be found on p.
43, diagram 11. See also, Xu Xitai, 1979: 189.)
If these oracle bones were in fact inscribed by
the Zhou during the time of kings Wen and Wu, this
inscription demonstrates two things: first, Shu was
indeed in the general vicinity of Zhou, and second,
a short time before the Zhou conquest of Shang it
was an enemy of the Zhou. Judging from this passage
in the "Shifu," the adversary relationship presumably continued and was resolved only after the Zhou
conquest of Shang.
that wan 萬 was the name of a dance. (Gu Jiegang,
1963: 12, n. 29) He may be correct but I provisionally interpret the word in its typical sense.
19. Deleting zhong
鍾.
With the reign of Han
Jingdi 漢景帝 (-156–141), the word qi 啟 became taboo and this line must have been changed
to read kai 開 at that time. Qi, of course, was
the son of Yu the Great, the progenitor of the Xia
dynasty.
20. To be identified with Bai Ta in Sec. IV, as
noted above; see n. 8.
21. The original text here reads xin huang 新荒 ;
I reverse the order on the basis of the reading in
Sec. IV. It is of course possible that Xin Huang
is the correct reading, in which case the first occurrence should be emended.
22. I here retain the original sequence of the
text. Gu Jiegang (1963: 14, n. 13), however, rearranges the text, thinking with previous commentators that this campaign occurs in the same locale
as that chronicled in Sec. IV. To the contrary,
the states here enumerated lie far to the west, in
the vicinity of the Zhou capital, and on the basis
of the cyclical dates given, this campaign would
had to have taken place in the fourth month, just
days before the victory celebration in the Zhou
capital.
Of the place-names in this section, Mo
23. The original text is here corrupt, reading
綜圖
22.4:
陳
本命新荒蜀磨至 . I follow the emendation of Gu
Jiegang, 1963: 13, n. 7.
24. In the oracle bone inscriptions, there is a
Per. V Shang vassal state called
sumably the same as this Huo
234.1.
磨,
霍;
靃,
which is pre-
see Shima, 1971:
25. Ai 艾 is possibly the 乂 of the oracle bone
inscriptions (since both graphs are read ai and are
defined as a type of mugwort, the later elaboration
Xuanfang 宣方 , Shu 蜀 and Li 厲 , I have been
unable to make any identification of Mo and Li.
And despite its occurrence in Shang oracle bone
inscriptions, I have also been unable to locate
Xuanfang. (Qu Wanli (1965: 329-30) notes that the
absence of this place-name in later literature
makes its occurrence here strong evidence for the
authenticity of the "Shifu.") But it is possible
to determine that Xuanfang was an enemy of the
Shang state; for example
(N.B. It is true that Shu is listed in the
"Mushi" 牧誓 chapter of the Shangshu, as one of
eight major allies in the Zhou conquest campaign.
But the "Mushi" is a late composition, and when
such evidence is contradicted by the "hard" inscriptional sources, it must be discounted. It is
interesting however, that this tradition confirms
the location of Shu in the west near the Zhou homeland.)
of the "grass" signific would be natural), which
前
14 1.44.7: 貞王狩于乂 . "Divining: 'The king will
hunt in Ai'," shows to have been a territory under
the control of the Shang king.
26. The number in the original text reads
甲申卜貞​
三百 , an obvious corruption.
及亘方 "Crack on jia-shen, divining: 'Capture the Xuanfang.'"; suggesting at least that it
was located outside of the sphere of direct Shang
influence.
The anomalous usage here of yu
禦
as
八百有
"chariot" is dictated by the qualifier liang 兩 .
­
In later ­
usage yu commonly indicates "charioteer,"
which might suggest "pairs of charioteers" here,
This suggestion is confirmed by the final
place-name, Shu. A state of this name also occurs
73
View Scan
33. I here interpret fa 伐 in its normal Shang
and early Western Zhou sense of "to behead" (being
the pictograph of an axe cutting through a man's
especially in that this passage is otherwise an
enumeration of human captives. However, there is
no parallel for liang being used as a qualifier for
humans, and I provisionally follow the Chinese
­
commentators in reading "chariot."
­
neck), and you
㞢,
書序 )
武王伐商 , 往
27. The "Preface to the Documents" (Shuxu
for the "Wucheng" chapter states:
34. This reading was suggested by David ­
Pankenier
(1981: 19, n. 10). Shirakawa observes that the
suburban sacrifice was originally a ceremony of
initiation, either of a new reign or of a new city
(1965: 6.299). Moreover, the Duke of Zhou's per-
Moreover, Qu Wanli (1965: 330) cites this hunting record as one of the reasons he considers the
text authentic. He points out that not only does
the grammar resemble the hunting notations found on
oracle bones, but what is more, the numbers of animals recorded as being caught is consistent, species
by species, with the Shang records.
formance of the sacrifice in the "Shaogao" 召誥
chapter of the Shangshu shows that it was, in its
earliest form, not necessarily presided over by
the king himself.
35. Following Gu Jiegang in deleting wu wang
(1963: 19, n. 9).
Finally, in an interesting analysis of oracle
bone inscriptional evidence, Yu Xingwu (1979: 2757) has observed that hunting expeditions played an
important function after victorious battles. My
own study of the inscriptions concerning the Shang
Period V campaign against the Renfang confirms that
­
hunts were both frequent and seemingly significant
(they being the only specified activity recorded;
i.e., non-routine divination) during the return
march from the victorious battle. In all these ways,
this hunt notation in the "Shifu" accords well with
contemporary practice.
萬 ; with yi
十萬
億
tion attributed to the Xiao Yu ding 小盂鼎 (the
vessel is no longer extant) have been noted by
many scholars of bronze inscriptions. The Xiao Yu
ding inscription also records a victory celebration of sorts, and the language is so consistent,
both in general and in technical points, with that
of the "Shifu" that it merits extensive quotation.
At dawn, the King entered the Ancestral
Temple of the Chou House, .. .. .. .. The Receiver of Guests waited upon the guests of the
States (the feudal lords from outside metropolitan Chou). They laid aside their travelling clothes (for ceremonial robes) and stood
facing east. I, Yu, with all the belted and
beflaqged (prisoners) of the Guifang .. .. ..
entered the South Gate. I reported "The King
commanded me, Yu,together with .. .. to attack
the Guifang .. .. .. I took prisoner two of
their Chiefs, obtained 4,812 scalps, captured
13,081 men, seized .. .. horses, 30 chariots
of war, 355 oxen, and 38 sheep.
億有十
(100,000), the shi wan following is obviously
archaic form of qi
sort of confusion.
十
七萬 ,
the
easily giving rise to this
29. On the basis of the lunar-phase notation, this
date can be designated as the 16th day of the lunation. "Shengba," the first day of the second quarter, would be the eighth day of the lunation, "pang
I, Yu, .. .. say .. .. .. called out "report our campaign." I took prisoner one of
their Chiefs, obtained 237 scalps, captured ..
.. men, seized 104 horses and 100 (plus ..)
chariots of war."
shengba" (旁 , meaning "expanded") would be two days
later, or the 10th, "jipang shengba" would be the
day after pang, or the 11th, and six days later,
counting inclusively, would be the 16th. I should
like to mention here that my understanding of these
lunar-phase notations owes much to the work of my
teacher, David S. Nivison, on Western Zhou chronology; for a preliminary report of his research, see
Nivison, 1980.
文
The King commanded Rong (one of the Chiefs
of the Guifang) ".. their .. .. .. Chiefs,
examine its cause." .. The Earl of Ge .. ..
­
Guifang, Guifang prior to this with the newly
.., followed Shang."
on the basis of the
The Chiefs were beheaded in the .. .
The King called out ".. .. order Yu, with
his prisoners and scalps, to come in at the
(South) Gate and to present them at the West
Walk. With .. to enter and sacrifice them by
31. Scribe Yi also figures in the "Ke Yin" chapter's
account of post-conquest activities; Yizhoushu,
4.3b.
32. Emending shi 矢 to fu
parallel usage in Sec. II.
夫
The king .. said "We are pleased."
I, Yu, bowed deeply and saluted and, together with the captured Chiefs, came forward
and took my place in the Great Court.
For a discussion of the significance of this
date, see below, p. 65.
30. Adding kao 考 after wen
parallel text below.
武王
36. Parallels between the "Shifu" and the inscrip-
being defined in antiquity as shi wan
corrupt. It should probably read qi wan
as oracle bone inscriptional
was later elaborated into you 侑 "to offer"; see
further, K. Takashima, 1979-80: 52-3.
伐歸獸 "King Wu attacked Shang; he went out and
attacked, returned and hunted," one of the reasons
for identifying the "Shifu" with the "Wucheng"; see
below, p. 60.
28. In the original text this number begins
右
又 , also a common Shang sacrifice term, which
on the basis of the
74
View Scan
fire in the Ancestral Temple of the Chou House."
Shang king) Zhou. He waged war on Yan for
three years and punished its ruler; he drove
Fei Lian to the edge of the sea and executed
him. He extinguished fifty states. He drove
tigers, rhinoceroses and elephants to the
distant wilds, and the Empire rejoiced.
(Tr. Dobson, 1962), 231–32)
The underlining here represents parallels with the
"Shifu." As one can tell at a glance, whole sections correspond in exact detail, offering another
piece of evidence for the authenticity of the
"Shifu."
Mencius 3B/9; Tr. Lau,
1970: 113 (modified)
37. Yue 龠 offerings are recorded in both Shang
oracle bone and Western Zhou bronze inscriptions;
­
e.g., the Chen Chen xiang
宗周
We have seen that King Wu's victorious hunting
­xcursion was regarded as significant both in his
e
own time (see above, n. 27) and also later (e.g.,
in the Shuxu), and Mencius here accepts it as historically valid. And it goes without saying that
the "mopping up" campaigns against recalcitrant
states mentioned here by Mencius comprise the
major portion of the "Shifu" text. (It would seem
however, that by linking the Duke of Zhou with
King Wu, Mencius has here confused his history.
Traditional accounts [e.g., Shiji: 132] associate
the Duke of Zhou with the campaign against Wugeng,
Guan shu and Cai shu, during the reign of King
Cheng.)
臣辰盉 : 住王大龠于
"it was when the king performed the great yue
offering in Zongzhou." (Luo Zhenyu: 14. 12a) While
the context in these inscriptions allows little
insight into the nature of the offering, later
­
texts are fairly consistent in defining it as an
agricultural (i.e., vegetarian) offering. For example, the Baihu tong (p. 678) states:
夏曰禴者 ,
麥熟進之 "In the summer it is called the yue;
when the wheat is ripe it is offered."
38. The original text reads
47. The "Taishi" is a guwen chapter of the
Shangshu; for a discussion of the anachronisms in
the "Ke Yin," see Huang Peirong, 1976: 289–97.
武王乃以庶祀馘于
國周朝 ; the emendation is based on the "Wucheng"
quotation in the Hanshu.
于
39. Reading here yu
of yu
於
for yu
於,
48. Lunheng: 7.14b–16a; Tr. Forke, 1907: 482–84
(modified).
this occurrence
49. Cheng Tingzuo, Wanshu dingyi: 26.4a.
being anomalous in the text.
50. It appears however that the Han dynasty composer of the text masquerading under the title
"Wucheng" also interpreted Mencius's characterization as a quotation, and in an attempt to camouflage
his forgery, incorporated the phrase into his text.
40. Adding yu 玉 after shu 庶 , following Lu
Wenchao, whose emendation is based on the Taiping
yulan
太平御覽
41. Reading yan
phrase above.
text.
琰
for wu
五,
This presentation of Warring States and Han
reflections on the "Wucheng" has been adapted substantially intact from the seminal study by Gu
Jiegang, 1963: 24–27.
as in the parallel
42. Hanshu: 1015–16.
51. Huang Peirong, 1976: 141–236.
43. It is true that the "Wucheng" date for the
52. For a fuller discussion, see Huang Peirong,
1976: 300–302.
三
二月 ),
battle at Muye reads "third month" (san yue
月)
rather than "second month"(er yue
but this is universally considered a textual corruption.
53. This also demonstrates that the traditional
interpretation of this title, i.e., "The Suc­
cessful Completion of the War" (Legge, CC III:
306, following the pseudo-Kong Anguo
歸馬于華山之
陽 , 放牛于桃林之野 , 示天下弗服 "He sent
45. The guwen "Wucheng" states:
孔安國
let
back his horses to the south of Mount Hua, and ­
loose his oxen in the open country of Taolin, showing the empire that he would not use them again."
(Legge, CC III: 308)
­ommentary, 文王受命 , 有此功成於克商
c
"King Wen received the mandate; there was this
military success, completed in the conquest of
Shang," Shangshu, 6.8a), is incorrect. The title
should be translated "(King) Wu's Achievement (of
Rule)."
46. Mencius 7B/3; Tr. Lau, 1970: 194 (modified).
While it is clear that the violence of the Zhou
conquest detailed in the "Wucheng" was anathema
to Mencius' idealistic historiography, elsewhere
he seems in fact to have used the "two or three
strips" of the text he considered reliable to fill
out his history of the conquest.
54. See the discussions by such Qing dynasty
scholars as Wei Yuan, Shu guwei: 171.17a–b and
Cheng Tingzuo (Wanshu dingyi: 26.4a). Modern
scholars who have made linguistic studies of the
text include Guo Moruo (1929: 269-71, Gu Jiegang (1963: see esp. 28–29), and Qu Wanli (1965:
327–31).
55. This comparison is adopted substantially intact from Gu Jiegang, 1963: 6, no. 5.
The Duke of Zhou helped King Wu to punish (the
75
View Scan
56. See, for example, Chen Mengjia, 1956: 283;
Guo Moruo, 1929: 270; and Xu Jinxiong, 1963: 8a.
68. For a discussion of these two general sacrifice
verbs, see Yao Xiaosui, 1979: 381-82.
57. For this inscription, see Guo Moruo, 1957:
Inscription-174, Study-36ff.
69. See, e.g., Shirakawa, 1965: 6.296. I should
note here that vestiges of this technical usage
continued well into the classical period, as the
following passages from the Chunqiu, Zuozhuan and
Du Yu's commentary demonstrate.
58. Shirakawa Shizuka interprets ming here as a
noun, being modified by dong
東
and the object of
Chunqiu (Zhao) 昭 , 11) : Winter, eleventh
month, ding-you (day 34); the army of Chu
vanquished Cai, captured You, the heirapparent of Cai, and returned with him,
"using" (yong) him.
the verb ji 即 . He interprets this to mean, "to
respond to the Eastern order" (1968: 17.154-6).
Despite the awkwardness of his reading, ­
Shirakawa
objects that ming is never used as a passive,
hence it cannot be so used here. Guo Moruo, on
the other hand, states flatly that this is a passive use of ming (1957: Study-36).
Zuoihuan: Winter, eleventh month; the viscount
of Chu vanquished Cai and "used" (yong)
the heir-apparent on Mount Gang.
59. See above, n. 44. Other scholars identifying
yu fang as a place-name include Wang Guowei, Yang
Du Yu: To "use" yong him is to kill him and
sacrifice to the mountain.
(Chunqiu jingzhuan jijie, 22.8b)
Shuda 楊樹達 , and Chen Banghuai 陳邦懷 ; see
Shirakawa Shizuka, 1971: 32.817–19, for a summary
of their views.
For other examples of this usage, see Chunqiu,
60. Xu Jinxiong, 1963: 8a.
Xi
is the ancient form of
jiezi gulin: 1257a). The occurrence of both forms
in this one inscription would suggest a difference in nuance, but taking the ·opening paragraph as a sort of preface to the main body of
the inscription, there seems to be no substantive
distinction.
于 in this line, as well
告于天于稷 "I report to Heaven
70. The use of yu
as
and to
above in
Ji" is also worthy of note. Compare, for example,
續
1.42.5: 毋又于且辛于毋辛 "Do not make
an offering to Grandfather Xin and to Mother Xin"
62. For a study of this inscription, including a
detailed summary of the arguments on yu fang, see
Shirakawa Shizuka, 1971: 32.814-840.
and 粹 32: 既燎于河于岳 "After performing a
burnt offering sacrifice to the River (-spirit) and
to the Mountain (-spirit)." Whether the second yu
of these lines be interpreted as a re-duplicative
preposition or as a conjunction,the parallel between the "Shifu" and the oracle-bone usage remains
striking.
63. In his study of early archaic Chinese,
W.A.C.H. Dobson notes that "sequence in months
and days is indicated by yih (翌 ) 'next' (before
days) or lai (來 ) 'come' (before months)" (Dobson, 1962: 88). While this distinction may not be
questioned on the basis of the linguistic sample
to which Dobson restricted himself (Western Zhou
materials), the following oracle bone usages show
that this sense is derived from an earlier usage
where yi marked short intervals and lai marked
relatively longer intervals of time.
71. See above, notes 3 and 28 respectively.
72. For this 47-day interval to be compatible with
the lunar-phase notations of the two full-date
notations, one would have to assume either two
consecutive short (i.e., 29-day) months, or that
­
jipang shengpo refers to the 10th day of the lunation instead of the 11th, and that six days later
would then be the 15th instead of the 16th.
64. Dobson, 1962: 231.
65. Guo Moruo, 1957: Inscription-135-36, Study-146.
73. As, for example, Wang Guowei, who in his Sheng­
ba siba kao referred only to the Hanshu "Wucheng"
quotation. But it is interesting to note that Liu
Xin himself, who after all was quoting the original "Wucheng," did not subscribe to this 47-day
interval calendar. Based on his definitions for the
lunar-phase notations (see above, n. 3), he dated
the battle at Muye to the 5th day of the second
month, and the sacrifice at Zhou to the 22nd day of
the fourth month (fifth lunation), which was preceded by an inter-calary month. In other words, he
interpreted the text to require a 107-day interval.
66. It is well known that a significant percentage
of the corpses found at Anyang had been thus decapitated; see Shih Chang-ju, 1959: 7-8, 297-99.
67. I suspect that this usage of you is also evi-
小子鼎大師
Zuozhuan, Zhao 10, and Du Yu's respective
commentaries (ibid. 6.3b, 22.6a), and Mozi 墨子
4.14b. I do not believe however that these later
archaicisms detract from the contemporaneity of the
"Shifu"'s usage.
)
馭 (i.e.,
御 : 馭吉文御 (Shuowen
61. The Shuowen notes that yu
dent in the "Shifu," in the phrase
僖,
伐右厥由甲
"He beheaded and offered their jia
little prince, the great master of the cauldron,"
but the reading of you 侑 for you 右 , while
adopted in the translation, is too uncertain to
serve as evidence of authenticity. See further,
above, n. 33.
74. Kong Guangsen has argued that both the cere­
76
View Scan
monies of sec. V and those of sec. IX took place
in the Zhou capital (Jingxue zhiyan: 11.8347).
There are two compelling reason why this cannot
be the case. However one may interpret the word
81. See Dong Zuobin, 1960: I.124.
82. Nivison, 1980.
83. Guo yu 3.22b–23a. Nivison, 1980: 4.
ye 謁 of the phrase 謁戎殷于牧野 (Sec. V),
it must be admitted that it is the only verb in
the sentence, and being modified by the prepositional phrase yu Muye, the act of ye-ing must
have taken place in Muye, just outside of the
Shang capital.
84. See for example, the "Preface to the Documents" (Legge, CC III: 6–7), and Shiji: 121.
85. Wenwu 1977.8:1-12.
86. For a discussion of the relationship between
Jian and Shang, see Akatsuka Kiyoshi, 1977: 665,
and 138ff.
Furthermore, it will be noted that in Sec.
IX the captured nobles of the Shang are executed on geng-xu (day 47). In Sec. V, they are
presented to the king on gui-chou (day 50). If
­
these two sections were indeed to be conflated,
one would have to explain the rather distasteful
presentation of four-day-old corpses to the Zhou
king.
87. Inscriptional evidence suggests Shang precedents for this type of post=-conquest behavior.
Consider, for example, the following period V
bone inscriptions:
綜圖
16.2: Minor Vassal Qiang participated in the attack, netting (X number of
men of) Wei, 24 men of X, 1,570 men of Er,
XX (men of) Fan, .. 2 chariots, 183 shields,
50 auxiliary shields (?), and (X number of)
arrows. Earl Wen was sacrificed to Da Yi,
Earl Pi was sacrificed..., (Earl) Fan (was
sacrificed) to Ancestor Yi, Mei was sacrificed
to Ancestor Ding.
75. I mention this, because in addition to Kong
Guangsen's proposal to conflate Sec. V with Sec. IX,
Gu Jiegang has also proposed a re-arrangement of
the text, joining the campaign of Sec. VI with
that of Sec. IV (1963: 22-23), thus eliminating
any actions between the ceremonies in the Shang
capital and those in the Zhou capital. As argued
above (n. 22), this is based on a mis-perception
of the geographical location of the states named
in Sec. VI, Mo, Xuanfang, Shu, and Li, which in
fact lie in the vicinity of the Zhou homeland.
The attack against these states would naturally
have occurred during the return of the Zhou army
from the Shang to the Zhou homeland, and the sequence of the original text is confirmed.
哲庵 315: Crack on bing-wu (day 43), divining at You: "The king should perhaps call
out to .. to bring the manacled leader of
the Renfang .., and make a burnt-offering
of .. .. captives." In the first month, when
(we) are coming (from) the campaign against
the Renfang.
76. See above, n. 3.
77. Note especially that the ceremonies recorded
in the Xiao Yu ding inscription take place on
Although unfortunately incomplete, both of these
pieces allow interesting insights into the behavior of victors in warfare at the time of the
ji wang 既望 , the 16th day of a lunation. See
above, n. 42, and also the discussion in Dobson,
1962: 231–33.
Zhou conquest. 綜圖 16.2 records the capture
of 1,694+ prisoners in the course of a battle,
but, significantly, only the leaders of the four
enemy states were sacrificed after the battle.
(For a full discussion of the development of this
custom, see Yao Xiaosui, 1979: 385–90.) Likewise,
78. Gu Jiegang, 1963: 31. Gu does discuss at some
length the very interesting solutions of Kong
Guangsen and Chen Yiwang 陳​ 綱 . Both of these
proposals are ultimately damned, however, because
of their reliance on Liu Xin's definitions of the
lunar-phase notations.
in 哲庵 315, it is apparently only the leader
of the Renfang, an enemy of the Shang, who is
brought forward to face execution. The place of
execution, You 攸 , is also noteworthy, for the
corpus of inscriptions concerning the campaign
against these Renfang (see Dong Zuobin, 1945:
Xia 9.48a–63b) shows that You was an ally of
the Shang in the campaign and served as a sort
of forward base for the Shang army. Thus, the
return to You before executing the leader of the
Renfang would be comparable to King Wu's return
to Zhou with the Shang nobles before executing
them.
79. The "Zhou yue" comprises chapter 51 of the
Yizhoushu; this passage can be found at 6.2a.
For a detailed discussion of the dating of this
chapter, see Huang Peirong, 1972: 1-38.
­
80. According to the san-tong theory, the first
month of the Shang year was the chou 丑 month
(i.e., the month after the month containing the
winter solstice) while the first month of the Zhou
year was the zi 子 month (that containing the
winter solstice.) But Huang Peirong (1972: 76
overleaf) has organized the calendrical ­
studies
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