an alternative interpretation to the traditional theory is that the work was the product of the taigong's disciples, growing and evolving around a core of material dating from antiquity until finally being compiled and revised shortly before qi's conquest by qin, in 221 bc. a third theory is that, rather than having anything to do with the taigong, huang shigong simply wrote the work himself shortly before giving it to zhang liang. supposedly, this accounts for the book's nominal early-han dynasty daoist perspective. another theory, historically identified with conservative literati in late chinese history, is that the work is a forgery dating from the wei-jin period (or later). typical condemnations by scholars associated with this theory are that the work's daoist perspective is "empty", that its content is "brutal", and that its language is "rustic".