Book Series
Ancient China in Context

The creation of the Chinese Empire in 221 BC was the culmination of centuries of political development, in which the palace states of the 08th century (the "Spring and Autumn") were gradually transformed into the resource bureaucracies of the 05th and following centuries (the "Warring States"), a time of state rebuilding, law creation, and military progress. This period saw the rise of public controversy between the many individuals and schools which had conflicting ideas about where society should be going, how to get there, or in some cases, how to opt out. This was the Golden Age of Chinese thought, a time which to this day remains a treasure of the world cultural heritage.

A full understanding of these centuries has been hampered by uncertainty about the nature and date of the texts. To this problem, the Project brings the fruits of decades of historical-critical research, using classical methods enriched by a new stylistic difference measure, which helps to clarify intertextual relations and adjudicate authorship questions.

First to be released was a survey of the Warring States period, The Emergence of China. It weaves together the contributions of the major Warring States schools of thought into a consecutive account of the intellectual and social history preceding the creation of the Empire. Other planned volumes take a close look at individual texts of the classical period: first, the Spring and Autumn chronicle, a detailed court history of the years before and during the lifetime of Confucius; then the texts of major philosophical schools and the military manuals, one of which is still studied by modern nations; and finally, a look at the real Confucius and the late Confucian movement, as it gains official recognition in the unified Han Dynasty.

In rough chronological order by subject, with dates of intended or actual publication.

Spring and Autumn: State Transition in Ancient China (2024)
The Original Analects: Sayings of Confucius and His Successors ( Columbia 1998)
Arts of War: The Classical Chinese Military Tradition (2024)
Quiet Ways: The Mystical Statecraft of the Dau/Dv Jing (2023)
The Emergence of China: From Confucius to the Empire (2015)
Introducing Confucius: The Man and the Movement (2022)