A Supplementary Variorum And Research On The Current Version Of Zuo Luo Of Yi Zhou Shu

The 48th book of Yi Zhou Shu(《逸周书》),which has received little attention and has been rejected as a fabrication,is Zuoluo(《作雒》).It is a very important document in the early years of Western Zhou dynasty,and it is a chronological account of the major historical events of the early years of Zhou dynasty,such as King Wu’s conquest of Shang(武王克商),the rebellion of the“Three Supervisors”(“三监之乱”),the Duke of Zhou’s expedition to the east(周公东征),the feudal of Kangshu(康叔封建)and the building of the city of Luo(营建雒邑).Many of its records can be cross-referenced with Luogao(《洛诰》),Duoyi(《度邑》),Oracle bone script and bronze inscriptions,Tsinghua Bamboo Slips and other excavated materials.It is clear that Zuoluo is an important pre-Qin document.The text of Zuoluo is similar to the later history presented in separate accounts of important events,with more obvious traces of “writing”,suggesting that it had been purposefully selected and compiled,that it was produced and written in the late Spring and Autumn period,with some later modifications to the text or words.The text or words may have been retouched by later generations.Zuoluo is a typical chapter of the Duke of Zhou(“周公篇章”)in Zhou Shu(“周书”).Its theme is the buliding of the city of Luo,and the subject of the description is the Duke of Zhou.Zuoluo describes in detail the political actions of the Duke of Zhou in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty,especially the close relationship between him and the city of Luo,which provides a basis for further understanding the strategy and political thought of the Duke of Zhou.The reading of Zuoluo with newly unearthed materials such as Xinian of Tsinghua Bamboo Slips(清华简《系年》)and the inscription of Zenggongqiu’s chimes(曾公求编钟)can provide a new Angle for solving the related problems of feudal vassal represented by Kangshu(康叔)in the Western Zhou period,and provide an important reference for further restoration of the operation of the feudal system in the Western Zhou period.