This page lists discoveries of ancient Chinese manuscripts, and the focus is on bamboo and silk manuscripts, with the timeframe from Eastern Zhou dynasty to Eastern Han dynasty. The table complements the Manuscript Database from the University of Heidelberg, which currently covers discoveries to 2015 (the table supplies discoveries that predate 2015 and that are not listed in the database). It aims to provide an overview and references to an Anglophone audience of major discoveries in the last 10 years.

Table listing discoveries of ancient Chinese manuscripts

+Excavation year (begins)NameLocation / PeriodMateriality of Written Artifacts# ContentReportYear of publicationNotes1992老河口安崗竹簡M1, M2Late Warring StatesBamboo Strips 21tomb inventory 《湖北老河口安崗楚墓竹簡概述》，《文物》2017.72017Strips are very damaged.2009严仓 1 号Chu State, Warring States Bamboo Strips 650divination; prayers文物 2021.042021Texts are dated between 307-299 BCE. 2012高龍東漢墓Emperor Ling of Han 漢靈帝 steles2文物 2023.0820232012山西太原 complexHan Dynasties wall inscription1文物 2015.1220152014湘鄉Chu State, Warring States? ca. 900Administrative DocumentsNot yet published 2019胡家草場漢簡Han Wu DiBamboo Strips 4642calendars; medicine; legal texts; daybooks; registers荆州博物館:《湖北荆州市胡家草場墓地M12發出簡報》，《考古》2020年第2期，3—202020The corpus also includes 4 wooden tablets. The content includes records of events that took place during the Qin dynasty.2019龍會河Chu State, Warring StatesBamboo Strips 324military; writings 2019Wangjiazui 王家嘴Chu State, Warring StatesBamboo Strips800 (3,200 fragments)Philosophical writings; poetry. Jingzhou boquguan 荊州博物館. “湖北荊州王家嘴798號楚墓地法掘簡報” 江汉考古 2, no. 185 (2023): 2–1420232019Zaozhi 棗紙 Chu State, Warring StateBamboo Strips704Philosophical and historical narratives. See below. Current introduction by Zhao 2020From tomb 46 the 造紙廠 section of the Zaolinpu 棗林鋪 cemetery, Hubei 2019唐維寺 M126Chu State, mid to late Warring StatesBamboo Strips 8Divination to inquire about illnessCurrent introduction by Zhao 2020From the Zaolinpu Cemetery 2019Xiongjiawan 熊家灣 M4322019Pengjiawan 彭家灣 M183122020Hebosuo 河泊所Western and Eastern Han Bamboo strips; wooden tablets~4KAdministrative; chapters from the Analects; legal texts. Archaeology 考古 2023.720232023Qinjiazui 秦家嘴Chu State, Warring StatesBamboo Strips 1,500Introductions to the discovery talks of 5 genres of writings: 1) 六艺類 six arts 2) masters' writings 諸子類 3) writings in the style of ci 辭 and fu 賦 ("rhapsody") 4) writings on numbers and divinations, 术数 5) writings on "Recipes and Methods” 方技

Overview of contents

Wangjiazui strips

One manuscript reproduces the “Guo feng” 國風 section of the Book of Odes; A manuscript titled by the editors *Confucius said 孔子曰 collects sayings attributed to Confucius. A text is an annotation of what appears to be a music score.

Zaozhi strips

One manuscript is "Words from the Shi and the Shu" 詩書之言, a text that collects citations of texts known to use from the 詩經, 尚書, and 墨子. A manuscript of 99 strips has been titled *Duke Huan of Qi returns to Qi from Ju 《齊桓公自莒返于齊》. This narrative was previously attested in the Speeches of the States 國語 and Guanzi 管子. A manuscript titled 《吳王夫差起師伐越》, which parallels the Tsinghua manuscript 《越公其事》, hence confirming the authenticity of the latter corpus, which has been unfortunately looted and purchased by Tsinghua University in 2008 to preserve it. Li Hong 李泓 has discussed a few differences in terminology.

See also

Bamboo and wooden slips

References