The Mandate of Heaven: Hidden History in the Book of Changes - Hardcover

Marshall, S J; Marshall, S. J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0700712992 ISBN 13: 9780700712991

Publisher: Routledge, 2000

Synopsis

The Mandate of Heaven was originally given to King Wen in the 11th century BC. King Wen is credited with founding the Zhou dynasty after he received the Mandate from Heaven to attack and overthrow the Shang dynasty. King Wen is also credited with creating the ancient oracle known as the Yijing or Book of Changes. This book validates King Wen's association with the Changes. It uncovers in the Changes a record of a total solar eclipse that was witnessed at King Wen's capital of Feng by his son King Wu, shortly after King Wen had died (before he had a chance to launch the full invasion). The sense of this eclipse as an actual event has been overlooked for three millennia. It provides an account of the events surrounding the conquest of the Shang and founding of the Zhou dynasty that has never been told. It shows how the earliest layer of the Book of Changes (the Zhouyi) has preserved a hidden history of the Conquest.

About this title

Book Description:

The I Ching is one of the cornerstone texts of Chinese civilization and remains a tremendously popular book throughout the world. Scholars have increasingly dismissed the traditions surrounding the text, while many readers in both China and the West have been more willing to accept this divinatory work at face value. S. J. Marshall sets out to reconcile these opposing approaches.

About the Author:

S. J. Marshall works as an editor for one of the premier medical journals, The Lancet, when he is not pursuing his interest in ancient Chinese history.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0700712992
• ISBN 13: 9780700712991
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 252