Abstract
This article explores lexical differences among several historical and philosophical texts composed between the fifth and the third centuries B.C. By tracing the changing usage of seven major terms of philosophical and political discourse, clear patterns of temporal change are demonstrated. These findings may suggest a new and reliable means of dating pre-imperial texts, or, more precisely, of dating their Ur-texts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 691-705 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal of the American Oriental Society |
| Volume | 122 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2002 |