David S Nivison
Biographic Data
| ID | 312196 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David S Nivison |
| GIVEN NAMES | David S |
| FAMILY NAME | Nivison |
| SIGNATURE | NIVISON D S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stanford University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 33 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 9 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 33 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1952 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
The Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project: Two Approaches to Dating
In chronological studies, approximations through carbon-14 analysis can be improved with more work. But a mistaken date reached by historical detective work is either right or wrong, and if wrong it must be discarded: one cannot improve a flat mistake. Almost every date in the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project's published report is wrong. The basic cause of error is the Project's failure to examine carefully counterevidence in the Shijia chapters…
The Jin Hou Su Bells Inscription and its Implications for the Chronology of Early China
Since the Jin Hou Su chime-bells from the cemetery of the Jin lords at Tianma-Qucun, Shanxi, became known to the scholarly world, the problem of the dates contained in its inscription has attracted the attention of scholars both in and outside of China. In this article we discuss two aspects of this problem. First, while the “thirty-third year” date of the inscription must certainly refer to King Xuan's reign, which is to say 795 B.C., the four f…
The Ways of Confucianism: Investigations in Chinese Philosophy
The Ways of Confucianism: Investigations in Chinese Philosophy
An Interpretation of the “Shao Gao”
This article presents a new translation of the “Shao gao” chapter of the Shang shu . Contrary to the views of Edward Shaughnessy in Early China 18, the author argues 1) that the main speaker is the Duke of Zhou, not the Duke of Shao; 2) that the political philosophy expressed is consistent with other texts ascribed to the Duke of Zhou; and 3) that the Duke of Zhou did not die in disgrace or in exile. The author dates the Duke of Zhou's death to t…
Astronomical Evidence for the Bamboo Annals' Chronicle of Early Xia
Tradition says that Yu, first ruler of the Xia Dynasty, was chosen by the “sage emperor” Shun as Shun's successor. The “Modern Text” Bamboo Annals (Jinben Zhushu jinian) dates this act of choice to the fourteenth year of Shun. (With E. L. Shaughnessy, “On the Authenticity of the Bamboo Annals,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 46 (1986), we accept this text as at least in part the text found in a royal tomb of Wei in A.D. 281.) Following D. Pan…
David S. Nivison
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The “Question” Question
When we read Shang oracle-bone inscriptions, we should distinguish between what the diviner is saying (in the “charge,” mingci ) and what he is doing in the whole divination rite. What he is doing is not always seeking information; and even when he is doing this, what he says is usually not a question. This paper offers various arguments and examples to show this. For example, Li Xueqin's research proves that the oracle language possessed grammat…
The World of Thought in Ancient China
Pre-Chou Chronology: History VS. Numerology in Hsia, Shang, and Chou
(Ed. Note: This paper was an adaptation of Section X of my article “The Dates of Western Chou,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 43.2[1983]:482–580. In the article, this section is titled “Numerological Postscript,” and occupies pp. 556–566.) As now revised, this section (with related earlier sections of the article) represents my arguments that pre-Conquest dates in the present Bamboo Annals ([Chin-pen] Chu-shu chi-nien) that are relevant to t…
The “Question” Question
This paper takes issue with the widely prevailing assumption that the “charge” ( ming ci ) in a Shang oracle inscription must always be understood as a question. I hold that we must distinguish between what the diviner is saying in the charge, and what he is doing in the whole divination rite. What he is doing is not always seeking information; and even when he is doing this, what he says is usually not a question. I present various arguments and…
The Dates of Western Chou
As the Date of the Chou Conquest
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Two Roots or One?
I stand before you as your president with a good deal of diffidence and humility. Professor Kaplan has just kindly explained who I am to the many of you who may never have heard of me. And while he has had very generous things to say, it is evident to you that I am not a main line philosopher. This being so, I am the more deeply honored that you should have chosen to put me in this position, this year and this evening. A large part of my time is …
On Translating Mencius
Royal “Virtue” in Shang Oracle Inscriptions
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Moral Decision in Wang Yang-ming: "The Problem of Chinese "Existentialism
David S. Nivison, Moral Decision in Wang Yang-ming: The Problem of Chinese "Existentialism", Philosophy East and West, Vol. 23, No. 1/2, Proceedings of East-West Philosophers' Conference on Wang Yang-ming (Jan. - Apr., 1973), pp. 121-137
Self and Society in Ming Thought
Confucianism in Action
The Life and Thought of Chang Hsueh-Ch'eng (1738-1801)
The Life and Thought of Chang Hsüeh-ch'eng (1738-1801)
Confucianism in Action
Instructions for Practical Living: Surrejoinder
Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings
Confucianism in Action
The Dates of Western Chou
Aspects of Traditional Chinese Biography
Any historian approaching the subject of traditional Chinese biography may be confident of at least one fact: he will be overwhelmed. The sheer volume of this material available in the Chinese sources is exceedingly large.In discussing Chinese historical writing, it is customary to point first to the chengshih, the so-called "standard histories," dealing with all of Chinese history down to 1644. There are twenty-five histories, all bulky, in this…
The Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project: Two Approaches to Dating
In chronological studies, approximations through carbon-14 analysis can be improved with more work. But a mistaken date reached by historical detective work is either right or wrong, and if wrong it must be discarded: one cannot improve a flat mistake. Almost every date in the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project's published report is wrong. The basic cause of error is the Project's failure to examine carefully counterevidence in the Shijia chapters…
As the Date of the Chou Conquest
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Communist Ethics and Chinese Tradition
This paper is an analysis of certain aspects of recent Communist thought in China. By "recent" thought is meant that of the last two decades, and in fact this study is concerned essentially with developments from 1937 to 1949. The study is not based on an appraisal of the whole body of Chinese Communist writing in this period, nor even on a representative selection of it, but it does bring together for analysis some very interesting examples of C…
Chinese Thought: From Confucius to Mao Tse-tung
Melanges Posthumes sur les Religions et l'Histoire de la Chine: I, Les Religions Chinoises; II, Le Taoisme; III, Etudes Historiques
Melanges Posthumes sur les Religions et l'Histoire de la Chine: I, Les Religions Chinoises; II, Le Taoisme; III, Etudes Historiques
Chinese Thought: From Confucius to Mao Tse-tung
A Short History of Confucian Philosophy
Communist Ethics and Chinese Tradition
This paper is an analysis of certain aspects of recent Communist thought in China. By "recent" thought is meant that of the last two decades, and in fact this study is concerned essentially with developments from 1937 to 1949. The study is not based on an appraisal of the whole body of Chinese Communist writing in this period, nor even on a representative selection of it, but it does bring together for analysis some very interesting examples of C…
Confucianism in action
Confucianism in Action
Confucianism in Action
Confucianism in Action
Aspects of Traditional Chinese Biography
Any historian approaching the subject of traditional Chinese biography may be confident of at least one fact: he will be overwhelmed. The sheer volume of this material available in the Chinese sources is exceedingly large.In discussing Chinese historical writing, it is customary to point first to the chengshih, the so-called "standard histories," dealing with all of Chinese history down to 1644. There are twenty-five histories, all bulky, in this…
Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings
Confucianism in Action
Instructions for Practical Living: Surrejoinder
The Life and Thought of Chang Hsueh-Ch'eng (1738-1801)
The Life and Thought of Chang Hsüeh-ch'eng (1738-1801)
Confucianism in Action
Self and Society in Ming Thought
Moral Decision in Wang Yang-ming: "The Problem of Chinese "Existentialism
David S. Nivison, Moral Decision in Wang Yang-ming: The Problem of Chinese "Existentialism", Philosophy East and West, Vol. 23, No. 1/2, Proceedings of East-West Philosophers' Conference on Wang Yang-ming (Jan. - Apr., 1973), pp. 121-137
Royal “Virtue” in Shang Oracle Inscriptions
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Two Roots or One?
I stand before you as your president with a good deal of diffidence and humility. Professor Kaplan has just kindly explained who I am to the many of you who may never have heard of me. And while he has had very generous things to say, it is evident to you that I am not a main line philosopher. This being so, I am the more deeply honored that you should have chosen to put me in this position, this year and this evening. A large part of my time is …
On Translating Mencius
As the Date of the Chou Conquest
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Dates of Western Chou
Pre-Chou Chronology: History VS. Numerology in Hsia, Shang, and Chou
(Ed. Note: This paper was an adaptation of Section X of my article “The Dates of Western Chou,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 43.2[1983]:482–580. In the article, this section is titled “Numerological Postscript,” and occupies pp. 556–566.) As now revised, this section (with related earlier sections of the article) represents my arguments that pre-Conquest dates in the present Bamboo Annals ([Chin-pen] Chu-shu chi-nien) that are relevant to t…
The “Question” Question
This paper takes issue with the widely prevailing assumption that the “charge” ( ming ci ) in a Shang oracle inscription must always be understood as a question. I hold that we must distinguish between what the diviner is saying in the charge, and what he is doing in the whole divination rite. What he is doing is not always seeking information; and even when he is doing this, what he says is usually not a question. I present various arguments and…
The World of Thought in Ancient China
Chinese history and philosophy (29 works) · Philosophy (20 works) · History (16 works) · Political science (13 works) · Epistemology (11 works) · Law (10 works) · China (9 works) · Ancient history (8 works) · Art (8 works) · Archaeology (7 works)