The contribution of Qiu Xigui and Lin Yun to the debate over the proper dating of the Diviner Li-group inscriptions require a fundamental revision in oracle-bone periodization methodology. Starting with a review of Dong Zuobin's reasons for placing the Li-group inscriptions in his period IV, this article proceeds to consider the new information provided by the Xiaotun nandi oracle-bone inscriptions excavated in 1973 and by the discovery of the Fu Hao tomb in 1975. Li Xueqin's reason for dating the Diviner Li-group inscriptions as roughly contemporary with those of the Diviner Bin-group are summarized, followed by an account of the fuller discussions of Qiu and Lin. Qiu focuses in particular on the significant identity of personal names and specific events recorded in both inscription groups. The use of differing ancestral titles permits the division of the Li- and Bin-group inscriptions into different chronological segments and reveals that a significant percentage of the Diviner Bin-group inscriptions should be dated to the reign of Zu Geng. Lin's epigraphic approach allows him to conclude that the Diviner Dui-group inscriptions are earlier than those of the Diviner Li-group; hence the Dui-group must also precede the Bin-group. The presence of different diviner groups operating contemporaneously and for only portions of a king's reign leads to the conclusion that Dong Zuobin's periodization categories are now too vague. They should be replaced by the more precise categorization of diviner groups.

The significance of the conferral of gifts recorded in Western Chou appointment inscriptions, together with some related linguistic issues, is considered in this article, with the intention of indicating the distinction between gifts as regards and gifts as insignia of office, and, in the latter case, of establishing the far greater importance to the recipient of the “charge” or appointment to the king's service, with its attendant implications of recognition and honor.

On the basis of a chronology developed after a review of the datable events in Xunzi's life, his career is divided into seven periods which characterize distinct phases of his intellectual development, some well-attested, others poorly understood. Within his works there are a number of clues, principally conversations he has with historical figures or discussions of and allusions to historical events, which allow some books, or passages within books, to be dated with confidence. These provide a general framework for the development of his ideas. Combining these with the seven phases of his career, makes possible the identification of sixteen criteria that can be used to date his various books and work out the details of his intellectual development. Using these criteria a tentative dating of twenty-six of his thirty-two books is proposed.

(Translator's Note: This article originally appeared in Kaogu Xuebao 1981.3: 269-284, and is translated with the author's permission.)

I. The appearance of metal is a very important event in human history, marking the start of an age. From the patriarchal clan communes of the late Neolithic period to the slave society of the Bronze Age, there was a great change in the relationship between social development and production. As a result, the origin and development of metal-working is one of the important issues in archaeological research (p. 269).

Early in the Shang dynasty, China had already advanced into slave society, and its brilliant bronze culture is an outstanding phenomenon in the history of the ancient world. Shang civilization evolved from Longshan foundations, and there is ample archaeological proof of the close relationship between the two. But from what origins did Shang bronze arise? Before the Shang, was there an aeneolithic period in which copper was used? These questions have not yet been satisfactorily answered. Since 1949 the new discoveries of copper objects and of bronze objects belonging to an early period have contributed important clues to the solution of these problems.