Some evidence about the foundation of Lùo-yì 雒邑 from Yì-Zhōu-shū 逸周書 (“Lost Book of Zhou”)

Abstract

The article is a study on the structure and content as well as specific features of chapter 48 (Zùo Lùo jiĕ 作雒解 “The Foundation of Luo-[yi]”’) from the Yì-Zhōu-shū 逸周書 (“Lost Book of Zhou”). The chapter has never been translated into Russian before. Therefore the study is accompanied by a translation of this chapter into Russian. The chapter comprises a narrative about the foundation of the Western Zhou capital Luo-yi including the information about the size of the capital and its suburbs, the administrative division and the features of the building of palaces. Besides, this chapter contains some valuable data about the historical events of the beginning of the existence of Western Zhou (1027–771 BC). For the better understanding of the text, the present author completed the analysis of the structure and content of the chapter, selected the information of pure historical nature (the beginning of Western Zhou and its first ruler). She also compared the information about the construction of Luo-yi with the description of the same event as found in one of the chapters of the Shū-jīng 書 經 (“Canon of Records”) – Lùo gào 洛 誥 (“Conversion [made] in Luo-[yi]”). The analysis has shown that Yì-Zhōu-shū contains a work similar in structure and content, namely, chapter 55 of Míng-táng jiĕ 明堂 解. It is not impossible that both works, before being included into the Yì-Zhōu-shū, belonged to a collection of texts, which contained the description of exploits of Zhou-gong 周公. The information offered to the attention of scholars will no doubt improve their understanding of the political history in the early Western Zhou.