The Duke of Zhou ́s catalogue of dreams is the oldest known text on the interpretation of dreams. Being 3100 years old, it ́s principles and advice on the meaning and interpretation of dream images yield as valid results and council as in it ́s own day. By studying the meaning of the different images, the reader not only is able to gain valuable insight on the meaning of his dreams, but also can deduce the basic patterns and principles of the "Language of Dreams" itself.

Approximately 1045 BCE the ruler of an independent province on the frontier of ancient China named Ji Fa defeated the reigning Emperor Di Xin's vast forces to found China's 3rd dynasty, the Zhou. The rise of the Zhou with their military, scientific, cultural, and economic superiority and their triumph over the Shang dynasty is the subject of this novel.For the most part, Ji Fa's conquest was made possible by three extraordinary men: (1) Ji Chang- Ji Fa's father, primary author of the world's oldest book, founder of the world's first public school system and citizen's college, the Thomas Jefferson of his age; (2) Ji Dan (Zhougong)- Ji Fa's younger brother, a political and administrative genius, significant contributor to the oldest book, the Ben Franklin of his age; (3) Lu Shang (Taigong)- an immigrant to Zhou, China's greatest military leader, the Robert E. Lee of his age. These three men are still today considered among China's most revered heroes, as they were by the great sage himself, Confucius, five centuries later. Indeed, much of what has become Chinese culture as now known originated, not with Confucius, but with Ji Chang and Ji Dan, whom Confucius admired greatly.The I Ching (The Book of Changes) was written by Ji Chang during a seven year captivity by the last Shang emperor, an atrocity that contributed crucially to the downfall of the Shang. After the Zhou conquest, Ji Dan added significantly to the book even during a post-conquest period of terrific instability and authored several other ancient volumes that have had vast influence on Chinese society and thought. Except for an appendix added by Confucius and other miscellaneous latter day scribbling, The Book of Changes has come to us through the ages just as the two leaders wrote it.The story of their conquest concerns itself with conflicts of values: morality versus practicality, independence versus social propriety, self-restraint versus the exercise of power, and so on. This period is prior to Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, even Judaism (perhaps even Hinduism). Viewing the world from 3,000 years ago as China emerged from the stone age, some of our most respected modern attitudes become suspect. Through their eyes nature and primitivism were a lifelong threat, virtue and social propriety were a practical necessity, and ritual and sacrifice was vital to cultural progress. Indeed, as modern China increasingly considers itself in "exceptionalist" terms, the Zhou concept of "tianxia" (all under heaven) is being proffered by Chinese thinkers as an alternative to the current, prevailing "nation state" model of civilization [Banyan: "Nothing New Under Heaven." The Economist, Vol. 399, No. 8738 (6-18-2011), p.50].The drama of the story arises from the contrast between Ji Chang, one of China's finest men, and the corrupt and decadent Shang Emperor, Di Xin, one of China's worst (whose depravity, incidentally, pales in comparison to well known latter day despots). This contrast is extended to the men around the two leaders and ultimately to their cultures as a whole as the characters are swept into the maelstrom of civil war.

This second volume of the ongoing annotated translation of Ssu-ma Ch'ien's Shi chi(The Grand Scribe's Records), widely acknowledged as the most important early Chinese history, contains the "basic annals" of five early Han-dynasty emperors. The annals trace the first century of Han rule (206 BC to ca. 100 BC) in a year-by-year account that focuses on imperial activities. In The Grand Scribe's Records, Ssu-ma Ch'ien revitalised the style of the annals he had written for previous rulers. Here are accounts of the peasant who founded the dynasty, Liu Pang, a man noted as much for his licentiousness as he was his ruthless political instinct, and of his cruel wife, Empress Lÿ, who murdered her chief rival for Liu Pang's affections in the most gruesome manner. The annals of two relatively undistinguished emperors follow. The volume concludes with Ssu-ma's depiction of perhaps the greatest ruler of the Han, Emperor Wu, told within the context of his delusive attempts to find a means to achieve immortality. When completed this translation will bring all 130 chapters of the Shih chi into English. Volumes 1 and 7 were published by Indiana University Press in 1994.

A thought-provoking book on the archaeology of power, knowledge, social memory, and the emergence of classical tradition in early China.

Set in ancient China, DREAMING OF ZHOU GONG is a beautiful story of Hudan, one of the mysterious Wu who lives on the sacred mountain of Li Shan. the Wu have been living in isolation for decades while the Shang Emperor and his enchantress have ruled the land. It has been a terrible time for the common people and the noble Ji brothers are keen to bring the emperor's arrogant bloodthirsty reign to an end. they believe an ancient prophecy has predicted the fall of the Shang emperor and they are keen to enact it, but first they must journey to the mountain and seek out the Wu. When the Ji brothers join forces with the beautiful, enigmatic Hudan and her equally mysterious tiger sister, they begin a powerful journey of love and adventure. But the Shang emperor is not their greatest threat. there is a dark curse that has plagued the rulers of the land for generations. And the mysterious Sons of the Sky who visit Hudan in her dreams have a plan to destroy it. Can Hudan trust them? DREAMING OF ZHOU GONG, the first book in the timekeepers trilogy, is a beautiful, evocative journey through ancient China.

Statecraft and Classical Learning is devoted to the Rituals of Zhou, one of the ancient Chinese Classics. In addition to its canonical stature in classical learning, the massive text was of unique significance to the pre-modern statecraft of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam where it served as the classical paradigm for government structure and was often invoked in movements of political reform. The present volume, with contributions from twelve leading North American, European, and East Asian scholars, is the first in any language to illuminate the Rituals in both dimensions. It presents a multi-faceted and fascinating picture of the life of the text from its inception some two millennia ago to its modern political and scholarly discourse.

Roger Des Forges here examines the puzzle of Li Yan, a Chinese scholar who advised the rebel Li Zicheng (1605-1645), and helped him to overthrow the Ming, only to die at his hands. For more than three centuries, Li Yan’s identity and even existence were seriously questioned. Then, in 2004, there was discovered a genealogical manuscript which includes a Li Yan (1606-1644). He now appears to be the principal historical reality behind the Li Yan story, which became a powerful metaphor for the rise and fall of Li Zicheng’s rebellion. Offering a fresh theory of Chinese and world history, the author elucidates Li Yan’s historical significance by comparing and contrasting him with similar figures in other times and places around the globe.