Yinqueshan Han Slips

The Yinqueshan Han Slips (zh-cp|c=銀雀山漢簡|p=Yínquèshān Hànjiǎn) are ancient Chinese writing tablets, made of bamboo strips and were discovered in 1972. The tablets contain many important writings that were not previously known, and important copies of existing work.

Discovered in 1972 in Tombs no. 1 and 2 at the foot of Yinqueshan (Silver Sparrow Mountain), located southeast of the city of Linyi in the province of Shandong. Discovered in Tomb no. 1 were 4942 bamboo strips covered in closely written words and included portions of known texts, as well as a number of previously unknown military and divination texts, some of which were shown to resemble chapters in "Guanzi" and "Mozi". The occupant had been identified as a military officer bearing the surname Sima.

Tomb no. 2, unearthed the same year, contained 32 strips of bamboo writings which clearly represent sections of a calendar for the year 134 BC.

The time of burial for both tombs had been dated to about 140 BC/134 BC and 118 BC, the texts having been written on the bamboo slips before then. After restoration and arrangement, the slips were organised into a sequential order of nine groups and 154 sections. The first group included 13 fragment chapters from Sunzi's "The Art of War", and 5 undetermined chapters; the second group were the 16 chapters of Sun Bin's "Art of War", which had been missing for at least 1,400 years; the third included the 7 original and lost chapters from the "Six Strategies" (before this significant find only the titles of the lost chapters were known); the fourth and fifth included 5 chapters from the "Weiliaozi" and 16 chapters from the "Yanzi"; the rest of the groups included anonymous writings.

Contents

ee also

* Guodian Chu Slips
* Mawangdui Silk Texts

References

*cite book | author=Yinqueshan Zhengli Xiaozu | title=Bamboo Slips from Han Tomb in Yinqueshan (Revised Edition) | publisher=Wenwu Chubanshe | location=Beijing | year=1985 | id=CN-K877.5
*cite book | author=Song Aizhen et al | title=Yinque Mountain Bamboo Slip Museum | publisher=Yinqueshan Han Tomb Zhujian Museum | location=Linyi | id=CN-K878.8/36
*cite book | author=Zhu Yuanqing | title=Excavated Chinese Texts and Their Traditional Studies:Yinqueshan, Military Science and Wars | publisher=East China Normal University Chubanshe | location=Shanghai | year=2001 | id=ISBN 7561724853
*cite book | author=Li Xueqin | title=The Lost Bamboo and Silk Texts and the Academic History | publisher=Jiangxi Education Publishing House | location=Nanchang | year=2001 | id=ISBN 753923606X