OftheChinesecharactersshi(history)picturesamanholdinganopenbookinhishand.AccordingtotheopinionofthefamousscholarWangGuowei(1877-1927)shiwasanofficialtitleinchargeoftheimperialarchiveandlibrarywhichhadbeenanimportantpositionsinceearlytimes.WedontknowexactlythefunctionandpositionofshiinthecourtbeforetheShangDynasty(1700-1045BC)howeverthefactthatmanytitlesofcourtiersincludedshiandeventransformedfromshiseemsproofofthehighpositionofshiatthattime.DowntotheperiodbeforetheQinDynasty(22
