According to tradition, the local ruler
Prince Gong of Lu demolished a building of the Kong family complex in the process of enlarging his palace, and some ancient texts were discovered hidden in a wall, including
Shangshu. They had apparently been hidden there in order to escape the
book burning of Emperor
Qin Shi Huang. This version of
Shangshu contained 16 more chapters than the one transmitted by Fu Sheng. As the hidden texts were written in the ancient
seal script, this newly discovered version is called "
Old Text"
Shangshu, whereas Fu Sheng's version is called the "
New Text". However, the
Shangshu Kongshi Zhuan was later lost during the
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD). In the early fourth century, during the
Eastern Jin dynasty, a purported copy of Kong's work suddenly reemerged. Scholar
Mei Ze submitted a copy of the Old Text
Shangshu to
Emperor Yuan of Jin, along with a preface supposedly written by Kong Anguo. The Jin court accepted Mei's version as authentic. In 653, during the
Tang dynasty, Mei Ze's Old Text further became the official version of the Confucian classic. Although many scholars had questioned the authenticity of Mei's version over the centuries, it maintained its official status for more than 1000 years until the
Qing dynasty. Mei Ze's version is now recognized as a forgery. The "ancient character" edition falsely attributed to Kong is fake. ==Notes==