Editing Book of Documents (section)

=== Han dynasty: Modern and Old Scripts ===
[[File:Wang Wei 001.jpg|thumb|alt=Elderly Chinese man, seated at a low writing desk and holding a scroll|''Fu Sheng expounding on the Classic'', attributed to [[Wang Wei (Tang dynasty)|Wang Wei]] (8th century)]]
Many copies of the work were destroyed in the [[Burning of books and burying of scholars|Burning of Books]] during the [[Qin dynasty]].
[[Fu Sheng (scholar)|Fu Sheng]] reconstructed part of the work from hidden copies in the late 3rd to early 2nd century BC, at the start of the succeeding [[Han dynasty]]. The texts that he transmitted were known as the "Modern Script" ({{lang|zh|今文}} {{tlit|zh|jīn wén}}) because it was written in the [[clerical script]].{{sfnp|Nylan|2001|p=130}}{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1993|p=381}}
It originally consisted of 29 chapters, but the "Great Speech" 太誓 chapter was lost shortly afterwards and replaced by a new version.{{sfnp|Nylan|1995|p=26}} The remaining 28 chapters were later expanded into 30 when Ouyang Gao divided the "Pangeng" chapter into three sections.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Liu Qiyü 劉起釘.|title=Shangshu xue shi 尚書學史|publisher=Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju 中華書局|year=1996|pages=153}}</ref>

During the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]], renovations of the home of Confucius are said to have uncovered several manuscripts hidden within a wall, including a longer version of the ''Documents''.
These texts were referred to as "Old Script" because they were written in the pre-Qin [[seal script]].{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1993|p=381}}
They were transcribed into clerical script and interpreted by Confucius' descendant [[Kong Anguo]].{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1993|p=381}}
Han dynasty sources give contradictory accounts of the nature of this find.{{sfnp|Nylan|1995|pp=28–36}} According to the commonly repeated account of the ''[[Book of Han]]'', the "Old Script" texts included the chapters preserved by Fu Sheng, another version of the "Great Speech" chapter and some 16 additional ones.{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1993|p=381}}
It is unclear what happened to these manuscripts. According to the ''Book of Han'', [[Liu Xiang (scholar)|Liu Xiang]] collated the Old Script version against the three main "Modern Script" traditions, creating a version of the ''Documents'' that included both groups. This was championed by his son [[Liu Xin (scholar)|Liu Xin]],{{sfnp|Nylan|1995|p=48}}
who requested in a letter to Emperor Ai the establishment of a ''boshi'' position for its study.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hanshu 漢書 |pages=36.1967–1970}}</ref> But this did not happen. Most likely, this edition put together by the imperial librarians was lost in the chaos that ended the Western Han dynasty, and the later movement of the capital and imperial library.

A list of 100 chapter titles was also in circulation; many are mentioned in the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', but without quoting the text of the other chapters.{{sfnp|Brooks|2011|p=87}}

The ''shu'' were designated one of the [[Five Classics]] when Confucian works made official by [[Emperor Wu of Han]], and {{tlit|zh|jīng}} ('classic') was added to its name.
The term {{tlit|zh|Shàngshū}} 'venerated documents' was also used in the Eastern Han.{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2000|pp=475–477}}
The [[Xiping Stone Classics]], set up outside the imperial academy in 175–183 but since destroyed, included a Modern Script version of the ''Documents''.{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1993|p=383}}
Most Han dynasty scholars ignored the Old Script version, and it disappeared by the end of the dynasty.{{sfnp|Brooks|2011|p=87}}