Yegor Grebnev examines crucial noncanonical texts preserved in the Yi Zhou shu (Neglected Zhou Scriptures) and the Grand Duke traditions. He develops an innovative framework for the study and interpretation of these texts, focusing on their role in the mediation of royal legitimacy and their formative impact on early Daoism. Mediation of Legitimacy in Early China brings together two too often overlooked sources to make fresh observations concerning the structure of early Chinese texts, and what this structure shows about the process of their composition. It has far-reaching implications for understanding all aspects of the early Chinese literary tradition.