ThisbookistheresultofdiscoveriesmadebyNivisonbeginningin1979,Itusescritically(withoutsuperseding)hismonographsfrom1983through2002,combinedwithhisdiscoveriesthrough2008.ItsmainthrustistoshowthatthemethodsandresultsofthePRC“ThreeDynastiesProject”areinvalid,andthatrecoveringchronologybefore841BCEcanbesolvedonlybyusingthesupposedlyspuriousJinbenZhushuJinian(“ModernText”BambooAnnals),combinedwithhypothesisthatreignlengthsofrecordwerenormallytheyearsaftercompletionofmourningfortheprecedingking.PartOnepresentsresultingexactdatesformthebeginningofXia,confirmedbydiscoveriesinastronomybyD.W.PankenierandKevinPang.PartTwocriticizestheThree-yearsDynastiesProjectandarguesforthepost-mourninghypothesisandthehighantiquityofthethree-yearsmourninginstitution.InPartThree,applyingadiscoverybyE.L.Shaughnessy,theauthorreconstructsthefirst303bamboostripsoftheoriginalBambooAnnalstext(perhapsfive-seventhsofthewhole).InsodoingheshowsthattheentirechronologyintheZhushujinianistheproductofWarringStatesmanipulationofthetruechronology;thereforeanyattempttorecoveraccuratedatesmustbeginbyanalyzingthe“Modern”Zhushujinian–whichtheProjectignoredcompletely.Appendicespresentmoredataandanalysis,notably(Appendix4)pinpointingthesourceoftheProject’serrorsindatinglateShangevents.
