The article introduces one of the most important sources on the legendary history of Ancient China – the apocryphal text Minglixu, compiled in the middle of the 2nd c. AD. The article contains an attempt to date this text, provides a description of its current state, an overview of its contents, and an analysis of its fragments dealing with the notion of ancient history. The unique material this text contains attests to the serious reconsideration of the ideas about national antiquity that developed in China by the 1st century AD.