The Origin of Yizhoushu
Yi Zhou Shu, formerly known as Zhou Shu and Zhou Zhi, also known as Zhou Shu in Jizhong, is one of the earliest historical documents in China. However, there have been many different opinions about the origin of Yizhoushu.
It is said that this book is from Wang Wei's ancient tomb in Ji 'an County (now Weihui City, Henan Province). In October (279), the fifth year of Xianning, Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty, people in Jixian county were not allowed to dig the tomb of Wei Xiangwang in the Warring States period. When the government learned about it, it sent it to the secret library (Royal Library). In the second year of Taikang (28 1), Du Yu, the general of Zhennan, led an army to destroy Wu and returned to Korea, only to see ancient books in central Hebei. At that time, the doctor in charge of sorting out this book was Shu Xi, so both Du Yu and Shu Xi wrote down the contents of ancient books in Jizhong. Since then, Sui Shu Jingji Zhi, New Tang Shuyi Wen Zhi and Taiping Yu Lan, which were compiled in the Tang and Song Dynasties, all thought that it was easy to come from the Wei tomb in central Hebei, so the words "Yi" or "Jizhong" should be added.
It is said that this book has existed since ancient times, and it is not buried with him. In the Han Dynasty, Zuo Zhuan, Sima Qian's Historical Records, Xu Shen's Shuowen Jiezi, Ma Rong's Annotation on the Analects of Confucius, and Zheng Xuan's Annotation on Zhou Li have all quoted Zhou Shu's materials, indicating that this book has been widely circulated from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty, not from Jizhong. "History of Han Art and Literature" also clearly records: "There are seventy-one Zhou Shu." Obviously, this book was officially confirmed in the Han Dynasty. In addition, there is no Zhou Shu in the list of Zhu Ji recorded by Tu Yu. It is a fallacy that Zhou Shu was unearthed in Zhu Ji.
Up to now, many scholars still hold two views on the origin of Yizhoushu, namely, "Jizhongshu" and "Guyi", and the debate is fierce. Steven Zhang, Jin Yufu, Li Zongdong, Zhu and other scholars wrote books to prove that there was a Zhoushu in the Han and Wei Dynasties, which was not written by Ji's tomb. However, scholars such as Xu Beiwen still believe that there are three ancient history books: Annals of Bamboo Books, Biography of Mu and Biography of Zhou Shu, which were collected and handed down from generation to generation during the Warring States Period. After textual research, Liu Lailai pointed out that the content of Zhou Shu was often inconsistent with Confucianism, and Mencius also strongly criticized the book, so it was ignored after the Han Dynasty and suffered great losses. The book "Zhou Shu in Jizhong" was destroyed by grave robbers and seriously damaged. Coupled with the long-term melee after the demise of the Western Jin Dynasty, this book has been kept in the secret room and has not been circulated. Therefore, this version of Yizhoushu may be a combination of the handed down version and the Zhu Ji version. Because both versions are incomplete, it is still incomplete. Although this is a new explanation, who co-edited the incomplete handed down book and the incomplete sacrifice card book into a book in what era? Still inconclusive.