China has a long history and rich classics, so it has a lot of fake books. According to incomplete statistics, there are 73 fake books in Ministry of Sutras, 93 in Ministry of History, 317 in Zibu, and 129 in Zibu. In addition, there are 493 fake books that are still in question, as well as Buddhist and Taoist canon. The Ministry, together, a total of more than 1,100. Friends who like Chinese studies, when reading these fake books, should not be confused about their content and pay attention to time of appearance of fake books. The editor will then list some fake books that are common in life.

The first counterfeit book in China is current Shangshu. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he taught law and officials as teachers and practiced "book burning and Confucianism burial". With exception of Legalists, most of books of various schools of thought were inevitable, among them Confucian classic "Shanshu" certainly could not escape destruction. Under such circumstances, Dr. Fu Sheng hid Shangshu in his hand in wall of house. At beginning of Western Han Dynasty, Fu Sheng took out books again, but most of bamboo slats were damaged. After sorting, he finally received full 28 pieces and constantly taught his students in Qilu. This version of "Shanshu" is written in official script, so it is called "Jingwen Shangshu". During reign of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, King Lu Gong discovered an even older version of Shangshu in ancient residence of Confucius, which was written in pre-Qin script, hence it was called Guwen Shangshu. "After sorting Kong Anguo, there are 44 ancient texts and books left. This ancient text is most likely a fake book.

During Yongjia Rebellion of Western Jin Dynasty, China faced its second major cultural crisis and many documents disappeared in riots, including Jinwen Shanshu and Guwen Shanshu. After establishment of Eastern Jin dynasty, classics became widely demanded, and Yuzhang Neishi Meizi presented a copy of Guwen Shangshu. This "Shanshu" is version of "Shanshu" that we see now, and problem with this Shanshu is relatively serious. First of all, there are 58 articles in book, which is number of fifty-eight ancient essays mentioned by Liu Xiang and Zheng Xuan. This Shanshu was soon officially recognized and then became a classic textbook. During Tang Dynasty, Kong Inda wrote The Five Classics of Justice and Shanshu part was based on this version of book.

Among hundreds of schools of thought that have been circulated so far, some of them are fake books, including Liezi. The Liezi is considered one of three classics of Spring and Autumn and Warring States period and is contrasted with Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi. There are classic fables in Liezi such as "Stupid old man moving mountains", "Stupid as a wooden rooster", "Lost sheep at crossroads", "Worry about sky", "Suspicion of neighbors and theft of axes", "High mountains and current water” and “Children arguing about sun”. However, studies have shown that Liezi book is a fake book written by people of Wei and Jin dynasties, and not by Li Yukou during Warring States period.

Lisey

Guiguzi is one of most popular books in street stalls in China. “Guiguzi” is first book in history of our country, in which, based on a comprehensive study of psychological characteristics of people and laws of mental activity, advice, advice, negotiations, negotiation and general communication skills are considered. It is said to have been written by Guiguzi during Warring States period. However, title of book first appeared in Sui Shu, and even Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan thought it was a fake book written by later generations, imitating tone of political strategists of Warring States period. Ji Xiaolan of Qing Dynasty considered Guiguzi to be "insignificant", that is, there was nothing special about it, which shows that forgeries of later generations were not very skillful.

Among military books, perhaps most counterfeit book is The Six Secret Teachings. The Six Secret Teachings are said to have been written by Jiang Taigong during Western Zhou Dynasty, but literary language of Jiang Taigong's time was far from being as mature. According to latest research, The Six Secret Teachings is a Warring States period book written by a war strategist of Qi state of Warring States period under name Jiang Taigong. Kong Inda, Luo Mi, Zhang Xuecheng, and Ji Xiaolan believed that Six Secret Teachings was a fake book.

The Book of Guanzi is written as if it was written by Guan Zhong during Spring and Autumn period, but much of book's content is actually from Warring States period. According to people's research, book "Guanzi" is a book published by people from Jixia Academy at end of Warring States period based on Huang Lao's thoughts. It was written under name of Guan Zhong, so it is called "Guanzi". . Some people think that Guanzi book reflects Guan Zhong's philosophy of governing country, but this is a big mistake.

In field of medicine, most counterfeit books are Huangdi Neijing and Shen Nong's Herbal Classics. Of these two books, one is recorded as written by Huangdi and other is recorded as written by Emperor Yang. In fact, these two books were constantly edited by people from Warring States period to Qin and Han dynasties, Wei and Jin dynasties.

In field of historiography, first false book is Zuo Zhuan. Zuo Zhuan was actually written by Liu Xin during Han Dynasty, not by Zuo Qiuming during Spring and Autumn period. Liu Xin admired ancient prose, Mao's poetry in Poetry, and Zuo family in Spring and Autumn. Because of his distaste for modern writers, he forged ancient books to obtain "Chunqiu Gongyang Zhuan" and "Biography of Spring and Autumn Ghulyang". Use "Mao's Poetry" to subvert "Book of Songs" of Qilu Han Family; use "Zhou Li" to reject "Yi Li", which is actually book he tampered with.

Of course, fake books are not worth reading. For example, "Huangdi Neijing" and "Shen Nong Herbal Classic" are classics of traditional Chinese medicine. It's just that when we read these books, we should not blindly believe in their titles, but wait for era when these books were released. For example, Liezi book was not released during Warring States period, but it is very good for studying metaphysics of Wei and Jin dynasties. Although written by Guanzi, Guanzi is best suited for studying Huang Lao thought at end of Warring States period.