This book is the result of discoveries made by Nivison beginning in 1979, It uses critically (without superseding) his monographs from 1983 through 2002, combined with his discoveries through 2008. Its main thrust is to show that the methods and results of the PRC “Three Dynasties Project” are invalid, and that recovering chronology before 841 BCE can be solved only by using the supposedly spurious Jinben Zhushu Jinian (“Modern Text” Bamboo Annals), combined with hypothesis that reign lengths of record were normally the years after completion of mourning for the preceding king. Part One presents resulting exact dates form the beginning of Xia, confirmed by discoveries in astronomy by D. W. Pankenier and Kevin Pang. Part Two criticizes the Three-years Dynasties Project and argues for the post-mourning hypothesis and the high antiquity of the three-years mourning institution. In Part Three, applying a discovery by E. L. Shaughnessy, the author reconstructs the first 303 bamboo strips of the original Bamboo Annals text (perhaps five-sevenths of the whole). In so doing he shows that the entire chronology in the Zhushu jinian is the product of Warring States manipulation of the true chronology; therefore any attempt to recover accurate dates must begin by analyzing the “Modern” Zhushu jinian – which the Project ignored completely. Appendices present more data and analysis, notably (Appendix 4) pinpointing the source of the Project’s errors in dating late Shang events.

• 目錄
• Preface (2007)
• Introduction (2007)
• Part One: Recovery of Information from the Bamboo Annals
• Chapter One The Date of the Zhou Conquest of Shang (1997)
• Attachment 1: The Myth of the Preliminary Campaign (2007)
• Astrology of the Conquest Campaign (2007)
• Chapter Two Chronology of the Three Dynasties (2000)
• Attachment: The 853 Problem (2007)
• Part Two: The Challenge of the Three Dynasties Project (1996-2000)
• Introduction to Part Two
• Chapter Three Getting the Dates Right: the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project
• Criticism of the Sandai Project ”Brief Report” (2000)
• Chapter Four The Three Dynasties Chronology Project: Two Approaches to Dating
• Chapter Five The H. G. Creel Lecture (University of Chicago 2002):“The Three Years Mourning Institution and the Chronology of Ancient China”
• Chapter Six “Zai Tan” (written for international conference on chronology，set for Oct ‘03， suspended): a plea for a conference on the Bamboo Annals
• Part Three: Recovery of the Strip Text of the Bamboo Annals
• Introduction to Part Three
• Chapter Seven Recovery of Strip Text (AAS April 2006)
• Chapter Eight Strip Text， Huang Di through Jin Wu Gong (2006)
• Chapter Nine Evolution of Chronology and Text (2006)
• Appendix 1: Sandai Science Survey (2000)
• Appendix 2: Material Supporting “Two Approaches to Dating” (2002)
• Appendix 3: Proposed Absolute Dates for Fully Dated Bronzes (2007)
• Appendix 4: The Late Shang Ritual Cycle (2007 and 2008)
• Bibliography
• Index