David Shepherd Nivison

David S. Nivison
Nivison in 2012
Born(1923-01-17)January 17, 1923
DiedOctober 16, 2014(2014-10-16) (aged 91)
Alma materHarvard University (AB, PhD)
Known forDiscovery of accurate Zhou dynasty founding date
Spouse
Cornelia Green
(m. 1944; died 2008)
Scientific career
FieldsSinology
InstitutionsStanford University (1948-88)
Academic advisorsJohn King Fairbank
James Robert Hightower
William Hung
Yang Lien-sheng
Notable studentsPhilip J. Ivanhoe, Edward Shaughnessy, Kwong-loi Shun, Bryan W. Van Norden
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese倪德衛
Simplified Chinese倪德卫
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinNí Déwèi
Wade–GilesNi2 Te2-wei4

David Shepherd Nivison (January 17, 1923 – October 16, 2014) was an American sinologist known for his publications on late imperial and ancient Chinese history, philology, and philosophy, and his 40 years as a professor at Stanford University.[1] Nivison is known for his use of archaeoastronomy to accurately determine the date of the founding of the Zhou dynasty as 1045 BC instead of the traditional date of 1122 BC.