Acknowledgements
ShÄ«jÄ«ng 272 (Karlgren 1950: 241)æå ¶å¤å¤ï¼ç天ä¹å¨,äºæä¿ä¹ãMay we day and nightfear the majesty of Heaven,and thereby preserve it.
Volume 1 of ÄnhuÄ« Dà xué cáng Zhà nguó zhújiÇn å®å¾½å¤§å¸èæ°å竹簡 had just appeared when, on a bright winter day in ZhÅ«hÇi, we began reading the ShÄ« at United International College of BÄijÄ«ng Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University (UIC) in 2019. This wasnât planned. We had arranged to meet at Hong Kong for an Oxford-Hong Kong Baptist University lecture series on the ShÅ« æ¸ (Documents) Traditions. But then things changed. Hong Kong was railing from violent protests, and instead of giving public lectures on the ShÅ« in Hong Kong, we were reading the ShÄ« in ZhÅ«hÇi in what felt like cloistered isolation.
When the first productive visit to ZhÅ«hÇi came to an end, it was clear that more had to follow. We met again for an extended period on the campus of UIC to read the songs systematically. Our visits at UIC were a blessing. We were given a fully equipped room on campus, and inexhaustible access to the local food halls and cafés. We could begin reading in the morning and our sessions always ran late into the night. But then, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Visits had to be put on hold and, instead of reading the songs together in ZhÅ«hÇi or Oxford, the shaping of our project was done on-line. Our sessions were no longer open ended but, further restricted by the time difference between Hong Kong and the UK, determined by when the kids would sleep or go to school (as long as the schools and nurseries were open, that is, which was not for very long). We could not continue, as we had hoped, and bring out two planned volumes at once, one on the Royal ZhÅu (âZhÅu Nánâ) and the Royal Shà o (âZhÅu Nánâ), the other on the songs of the common states. Instead, we decided to finalise the book on the songs of royal states first, before we conclude the songs of the common states (our planned volume 2).
Many friends and colleagues helped us along the way. First and foremost, we thank Chén Zhì, friend, colleague, mentor. Chén Zhì not only believed in the value of deepening the academic collaboration between Oxford and Hong Kong, butâas a scholar of the ShÄ«âhe immediately saw the potential of our analysis of the songs. He further helped us realise the project by funding our visits to ZhÅ«hÇi. Sincere thanks also go to the Associate Editors of Ancient Languages and Civilizations (ALAC), Carlotta Viti and Shawn Wang. Rens Krijgsman and Nick Williams read earlier versions of the whole manuscript and offered constructive feedback. Two anonymous readers provided valuable corrections and suggestions. Anthony Lappin (Stockholm) proofread the entire manuscript. Thank you, all! At UIC, we wholeheartedly thank the administrative and academic team. At Brill, special thanks go Elisa Perotti, who saw the project through to the end, from manuscript submission to its publication.
None of this would have been possible without the enormous support of our families. With huge thanks, we dedicate the book to Ãine and Yè DÅngyÃ.
Dirk Meyer and Adam Schwartz
Oxford and Hong Kong, March 2022