Ancient historical texts contain numerous problems in their records of pre-Qin history. Some are due to the great lapse of time, which has led to distortions in the records; others stem from differing standpoints, as later recorders used their discursive power to deliberately conceal or distort the history of earlier periods. Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) is Sima Qian's comprehensive work drawing together the pre-Qin historical materials available in his time, yet it suffers from the same problems. Traditional textual criticism confined to the scope of transmitted literature cannot fundamentally resolve the issue of the credibility of historical sources. With the development of Chinese archaeology in the 20th century, the "method of triple evidence," a "new verification" of ancient history that cross-references excavated documents, archaeological artifacts, and transmitted classics, has become an important methodology in pre-Qin historical research.

Speaker: Prof. Jianing CHEN (Assistant Professor, Beijing Normal–Hong Kong Baptist University)