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The Wooden and Bamboo Strips Found at Mo-Chü-Tzu (Kansu)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Michael Loewe
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Extract

The recent discovery of a comparatively large collection of inscribed wooden and bamboo strips in north-west China has aroused considerable interest on the part of Chinese scholars, as the material concerns both the extension of the Han government and the early methods of textual compilation in China. As the material finds are not available for inspection, the following notes can be no more than a summary of the information given in the few Chinese articles that have been published on the subject.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 97 , Issue 1 , January 1965 , pp. 13 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1965

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References

page 13 note a etc. Chinese characters for the less familiar proper names are given on p. 26 below.

page 13 note 1 The following articles have appeared in Kaogubp: (i) 1960 no. 5, pp. 10–12 and Plates 3–6; (ii) 1960 no. 8, pp. 29–33; (iii) 1960 no. 9, pp. 15–28 (the foregoing items appear over the name of the Provincial Museum, Kansu); (iv) 1960 no. 9, pp. 29–30, by the editors of the Research Room, Kaogu; (v) 1961 no. 3, pp. 160–2 and 165 (by Ch'en Chihbq); (vi) 1961 no. 3, pp. 163–5 (by Wu Po-lunbr); (vii) 1961 no. 5, pp. 259–260 (by Li T'angbs). A facsimile of some of the strips, similar to the one reproduced in Kaogu 1960 no. 9, p. 23, appeared on p. 3 of the issue of the Guangming Ribaobt of 15th March, 1961. For an English summary of information regarding some of the strips, see the Peking Review of 31st March, 1961, which includes a drawing of a reconstructed version of an original wooden document. The full texts of the strips, with facsimiles and an introduction, are included in the volume Wu-wei Han-chien (Wen-wu ch'u-pan-she, Peking 1964)Google Scholar which became available after these pages had been set up.

page 13 note 2 For an account of a neolithic site found nearby, see Kaogu Xuebaobu1960 no. 2, pp. 11–52 and 53–72.

page 14 note 1 Photographs of these staffs appear in Kaogu 1960 no. 9.

page 14 note 2 There is some doubt regarding the total number of strips that comprise series A. The figures of 398 surviving, and 24 strips known to be missing from the original work, are given in Kaogu 1960 no. 8, p. 29. In Kaogu 1960 no. 5, pp. 11–12, the figures amount to 378 and 40 respectively.

page 14 note 3 Kaogu 1960 no. 5, p. 11, gives the extreme measurements as 54–58 cm.

page 14 note 4 The figure of 9 is given in Kaogu 1960 no. 5, p. 11.

page 14 note 5 The pieh-lubv or Separate Lists, were the reports made by Liu Hsiangbw and Liu Hsinbx during their work on collating early texts, between 26 ? and 6 ? b.c.; see van der Loon, P., in T'oung Pao, XLI, nos. 4–5, pp. 359 f.Google Scholar

page 14 note 6 With some variation in the title.

page 15 note 1 Cheng Hsüan's statement occurs in his preface to the Lun-yü (now lost) which is cited by K'ung Ying-tabν (574–648) in notes to the preface of the Tso-chuan(see Shih-san-ching chu-shu,bz Canton reprint of the Palace edition, 1871, 7b).

page 15 note 2 By Wang Ch'ung (27–97); see Lun-heng 12.13b and 28.6b et seq.

page 15 note 3 Ssu-pu-ts'ung-k'an edition 1.3b, 4a.

page 15 note 4 No statement is possible in respect of series D.

page 16 note 1 Kaogu 1960 no. 8, p. 33.

page 17 note 1 Hou-Han-shu treatise 5.6b (references both to the Han-shu and the Hou-Han-shu are to the annotated editions of Wang Hsien-ch'ien).

page 18 note 1 A fragment of the Feng-su-t'ung, by Ying Shaococa (c. 140–206), which is cited by Hui Tungcb (1697–1758) in his note to Hou-Han-shu tr. 5.6b.

page 18 note 2 Ch'en Chih in Kaogu 1961 no. 3, p. 160. Ch'en's case is strengthened by the citation of the same passage in San-hsing's, Hu note to the Tzu-chih-t'ung-chien ch. 44 (Peking punctuated edition, 1956, p. 1434)Google Scholar; here again the length is given as 9 feet.

page 18 note 3 Cited in Hui Tung's notes to Hou-Han-shu tr. 5.6b.

page 18 note 4 Hou-Han-shu 2.8b.

page 18 note 5 Hou-Han-shutr. 4.8b.

page 18 note 1 Ibid., 3.17a.

page 20 note 1 In Kaogu 1960 no. 9, p. 23 (reproduced as Plate I below).

page 21 note 1 Kaogu 1960 no. 9, pp. 29 f.

page 21 note 2 The research editors of Kaogu refer to texts such as the versions of a statute preserved in Han-shu 30.24a and the Shuo-wen. (For a consideration of these passages, see Hulsewé, The Shuo-wen dictionary as a source for ancient Chinese law, in Studia Serica Karlgren, Bemharddedicata, pp. 239 f.Google Scholar)

page 22 note 1 Kaogu 1961 no. 3, pp. 160–2 and 165.

page 22 note 2 See Hulsewé, , Remnants of Han law (hereafter abbreviated as Remnants), pp. 38–9Google Scholar.

page 22 note 3 Kaogu 1961 no. 3, p. 164.

page 23 note 1 Kaogu1961 no. 5, pp. 259–260.

page 23 note 2 These two reigns lasted from 32 to 1 B.C. The Ch'eng-hsiang was renamed Ta-ssu-t'u in 1 b.c.; the Yü-shih-ta-fu was renamed Ta-ssu-k'ung from 8 to 5 b.c. and again in 1 B.C. The years 23, 19, 15, 11 or 5 b.c. would thus be possible. The old titles were re-adopted in 208.

page 23 note 3 Kaogu 1961 no. 3, p. 160.