By the 1st century, a new controversy had begun between these two texts. The "New Text" works are those that had been transliterated into the new orthography back in the beginning of 2nd century BC, either from oral transmissions or from texts that had survived the Qin dynasty's
burning of the books or were rescued by the Han dynasty in the provinces. Surviving scholars in the direct line of transmission of these texts got hold of surviving copies and transliterated them into the new orthography. The "Old Text" works were the ones that off and on since the late 2nd and during the 1st century BC had turned up, some discovered in the walls of Confucius's residence, or in Warring States period graves. They were called the "Old Text" works because they were written in the pre-Qin writing. The discoverers of the "Old Text" works, such as
Liu Xin, claimed that all existing texts suffered from an interrupted pedigree, which was rectified by the newly discovered texts. "New Text" supporters claimed that the "Old Text" works are forgeries that lack a line of transmission. In reality, the burning of the books probably did little more than symbolically burn a few copies of the Confucian books conveniently at hand in the capital. Many other copies survived elsewhere, and these were available for copying into the new orthographic standard set by Qin and its
clerical script successor which evolved under Han dynasty. It was the change in orthography which divided the
Warring States and early imperial period textual traditions, and in this respect the newly discovered texts were no different from those used as the basis for the "New Text" transcriptions soon after the fall of
Qin dynasty. The "New Text" works portray Confucius as a prophet or "uncrowned king" that should have received the
Mandate of Heaven. He could perform miracles and wrote the Five Classics himself. The New Text school, founded by
Dong Zhongshu, believed the texts were sacred and carried hidden clues to the future that they tried to decode. They were also interested in apocryphal writings that were abstruse and esoteric. They believed historical events were caused by cosmic forces beyond the control of man. They also believed officials should disobey the sovereign's decree if it will harm the state or dynasty. To betray the sovereign for the sovereign's own sake will keep the Mandate of Heaven in the dynasty's hand and is an act of greater loyalty. The Old Text School was rationalistic. They rejected
apocrypha and believed that the classics were only edited by Confucius. They believed history was caused by human actions and viewed the Son of Heaven (the
emperor of China) as the
axis mundi whose will was
absolute. Officials may advise but not disobey as it is the emperor who is ultimately responsible for keeping or losing the Mandate of Heaven. The Old Text works had a peculiarly archaist bent. They emphasized the sage-like as opposed to the prophet-like characteristics of Confucius, thereby making him look more like the earlier sages who founded and ruled the
Zhou dynasty or even the still more archaic states which preceded it. And yet, these archaic sage-kings are shown ruling China with a bureaucratic apparatus peculiarly like that available to Han dynasty rulers, and hence by methods which strikingly echoed those of putative enemies of
Wang Mang, the modernists. The Former Han (206 BC – AD 8), prior to Wang Mang, had favored the New Text work. When Wang seized power, he declared the Old Text works to be the state orthodoxy. After the Han restoration, the New Text works became orthodox again. Later Han (AD 25–220) scholars began favoring the Old Text works.
Zheng Xuan synthesized the teachings of both schools. While he was very influential, he was unable to unseat the New Text orthodoxy though the issue became moot when both schools disappeared after the collapse of the Han. The Old Text School was promoted under Wang Mang and remained influential from the Later Han to modern times. Zheng became the mainstream source of interpretation until the appearance of
Neo-Confucianism in the
Tang and
Song dynasties. The controversy was forgotten until it was rediscovered during the
Qing dynasty by scholars of
Han learning. == Modern interpretations ==