The Shanghai Museum bamboo strips () is a collection of ancient Chinese texts from the
Chu state
Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...
dating to the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
and written in ink on
strips of bamboo. The texts originated through
illegal excavation, probably of a tomb in
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...
or
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...
province. They appeared on the Hong Kong market in 1994, and were acquired by the
Shanghai Museum
The Shanghai Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the People's Square in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, China. Rebuilt at its current location in 1996, it is considered one of China's first world-class modern museums and fa ...
. The large size of the collection and the significance of the texts for scholarship make it one of the most important discoveries of early Chinese texts.
The manuscripts have been published in nine volumes by the Shanghai Museum starting in 2001, under the supervision of Ma Chengyuan 馬承源.
See also
*
Guodian Chu Slips
The Guodian Chu Slips () were unearthed in 1993 in Tomb no. 1 of the Guodian tombs in Jingmen, Hubei Province and dated to the latter half of the Warring States period.
The tomb is located in the Jishan District's tomb complex, near the Jingmen ...
*
Shuanggudui
Shuanggudui () is an archeological site located near Fuyang in China's Anhui province. Shuanggudui grave no. 1, which belongs to Xiahou Zao (), the second marquis of Ruyin (), was sealed in 165 BCE in the early Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 C ...
*
Yinqueshan Han Slips
*
Zhangjiashan Han bamboo texts
*
Tsinghua Bamboo Slips
References
External links
《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》（1-8冊）總目錄
Bamboo and wooden slips
Archaeological artifacts of China
Chu (state)
Collection of the Shanghai Museum
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