On the Author and the Writing Time of Poetics Bamboo Slips in Shanghai Museum ──Also on the Possibility of Zi Gao's Contribution to Poetry

It is unjustified to attribute all 29 Poetic s bamboo slips in Shanghai Museum to Confucius, for they consist of both Confucius' doctrine and that of his disciples. Most probably Zi Gao should be th e disciple who expounds Poetry. The other disciples after Zi Gao m ay propagate Confucius' and Zi Gao's doctrines on Poetry. After Confucius, many scholars of pre-Qin days transmit Poetry, with Zi Gao and his disciples included.