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== Dating of the Modern Script chapters == Not all of the Modern Script chapters are believed to be contemporaneous with the events they describe, which range from the legendary emperors [[Emperor Yao|Yao]] and [[Emperor Shun|Shun]] to early in the [[Spring and Autumn period]].{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1993|pp=377β380}} Six of these chapters concern figures prior to the first evidence of writing, the [[oracle bones]] dating from the reign of the [[Late Shang]] king [[Wu Ding]]. Moreover, the chapters dealing with the earliest periods are the closest in language and focus to classical works of the [[Warring States period]].{{sfnp|Nylan|2001|pp=133β135}} The five announcements in the Documents of Zhou feature the most archaic language, closely resembling inscriptions found on Western Zhou bronzes in both grammar and vocabulary. They are considered by most scholars to record speeches of [[King Cheng of Zhou]], as well as the [[Duke of Zhou]] and [[Duke of Shao]], uncles of King Cheng who were key figures during his reign (late 11th century BC).{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1999|p=294}}{{sfnp|Nylan|2001|p=133}} They provide insight into the politics and ideology of the period, including the doctrine of the [[Mandate of Heaven]], explaining how the once-virtuous Xia had become corrupt and were replaced by the virtuous Shang, who went through a similar cycle ending in their replacement by the Zhou.{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1999|pp=294β295}} The "Timber of Rottlera", "Numerous Officers", "Against Luxurious Ease" and "Numerous Regions" chapters are believed to have been written somewhat later, in the late Western Zhou period.{{sfnp|Nylan|2001|p=133}} A minority of scholars, pointing to differences in language between the announcements and Zhou bronzes, argue that all of these chapters are products of a commemorative tradition in the late Western Zhou or early Spring and Autumn periods.{{sfnp|Kern|2009|pp=146, 182β188}}{{sfnp|Vogelsang|2002|pp=196β197}} Chapters dealing with the late Shang and the transition to Zhou use less archaic language. They are believed to have been modelled on the earlier speeches by writers in the Spring and Autumn period, a time of renewed interest in politics and dynastic decline.{{sfnp|Nylan|2001|p=133}}{{sfnp|Lewis|1999|p=105}} The later chapters of the Zhou section are also believed to have been written around this time.{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1993|p=380}} The "Gaozong Rongri" chapter comprises only 82 characters, and its interpretation was already disputed in Western Han commentaries. Pointing to the similarity of its title to formulas found in the Anyang [[oracle bone inscriptions]], [[David Shepherd Nivison|David Nivison]] proposed that the chapter was written or recorded by a collateral descendant of [[Wu Ding]] in the late Shang period some time after 1140 BC.{{sfnp|Nivison|2018|pp=22β23, 27β28}} The "Pan Geng" chapter (later divided into three parts) seems to be intermediate in style between this group and the next.{{sfnp|Nylan|2001|p=134}} It is the longest speech in the ''Documents'', and is unusual in its extensive use of analogy.{{sfnp|Shih|2013|pp=818β819}} Scholars since the Tang dynasty have noted the difficult language of the "Pan Geng" and the Zhou Announcement chapters.{{efn|[[Han Yu]] used the idiom {{lang|zh|δ½Άε±θ±η}} (roughly meaning 'unflowing' and 'difficult to say') to describe the Zhou 'Announcements' and the Yin (Shang) 'Pan Geng'.}} Citing the archaic language and worldview, Chinese scholars have argued for a Shang dynasty provenance for the "Pan Geng" chapters, with considerable editing and replacement of the vocabulary by Zhou dynasty authors accounting for the difference in language from Shang inscriptions.<ref>{{lang|zh|η―ζηΎοΌ"γη€εΊγδΈη―ζ―η‘ε―ζ·ηηεζιΊζοΌη―δΈε―θ½ζθ¨θ©ζΉεοΌ"}}</ref> The chapters dealing with the legendary emperors, the Xia dynasty and the transition to Shang are very similar in language to such classics as the ''Mencius'' (late 4th century BC). They present idealized rulers, with the earlier political concerns subordinate to moral and cosmological theory, and are believed to be the products of philosophical schools of the late Warring States period.{{sfnp|Lewis|1999|p=105}}{{sfnp|Nylan|2001|p=134}} Some chapters, particularly the "Tribute of Yu", may be as late as the [[Qin dynasty]].{{sfnp|Nylan|2001|pp=134, 158}}{{sfnp|Shaughnessy|1993|p=378}}
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