Songs of the Royal Zhou and the Royal Shao: Shi of the Anhui University Manuscripts

The songs of the Royal Zhou ( Zhou Nan

) and of the Royal Shao ( Shao Nan

) have formed a conceptual unit since at least the late Spring and Autumn period (771-453 BC). With this book Meyer and Schwartz provide a first complete reading of their earliest, Warring States (453-221 BC), iteration as witnessed by the Anhui University manuscripts. As a thought experiment, the authors seek to establish an emic reading of these songs, which they contextualise in the larger framework of studies of the Shi (Songs) and of meaning production during the Warring States period more broadly. The analysis casts light on how the Songs were used by different groups during the Warring States period.