Shanghai Museum Collection of Chu Bamboo Slips from the Warring States Period · II

Author: Ma Chengyuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features: The second volume contains six articles, including 115 bamboo slips, approximately 4,000 words. It includes 140 pages of color illustrations of bamboo slips arranged in order and color enlargements of the slips by 3.65 times, as well as 150 pages of black-and-white original-sized bamboo slips and their annotations. The first article has no title; it is now titled "The People's Parents." It consists of 14 slips and 397 characters, mostly complete and well-preserved. The content largely appears in the Book of Rites·Confucius at Leisure and the Analects of Confucius·Discussions on Rites, featuring dialogues between Confucius and Zixia on the "Five Approaches" and "Three Absences," as well as the so-called "Five Rises." It holds significant reference value for understanding Confucian moral views and also helps clarify the nature of the Book of Rites and the Analects of Confucius. The second article is titled "Zigao." It consists of 14 slips and 395 characters, with no complete slips. The content includes Confucius answering Zigao's questions about the abdication of Yao and Shun, and the succession of Yu, Qi, and Houji as emperors, which differs from the Five Emperor system recorded in the GreatRites·Five Emperors' Virtues and the Records of the Grand Historian·Basic Annals of the Five Emperors, but the deeds of these five emperors align with common accounts. The third article, along with "Zigao" and "Confucius on Poetry," belongs to the same collection but has unrelated content. It is now listed separately and titled "Great Drought in the State of Lu." It contains 6 bamboo slips of varying lengths and preserves 208 characters. The content records the state of Lu's great drought, where Duke Ai of Lu seeks advice from Confucius, Confucius replies that sacrifices and prayers are futile, and a discussion between Confucius and Zigong about the impact of this event on the people. The fourth article is titled "Engaging in Governance," divided into Part A and Part B due to the varying lengths of the slips. Part A has 18 slips and 519 characters, while Part B has 6 slips and 140 characters. It proposes that rulers should focus on "promoting the Five Virtues, strengthening the Three Oaths, and eliminating the Ten Grievances," along with detailed explanations. These ideas can be cross-referenced with similar statements in Confucian classics like the Analects and the Book of Rites, providing new material for Confucian political thought. The fifth article has no title; it is now titled "Formerly the Lord Was Old." It consists of 4 slips and 158 characters. None of the slips can be read consecutively, and the extent of the missing content is unknown. The content broadly covers the rituals and norms during the transition from a ruler's old age to his death, including the's visits. The sixth article was originally titled "Rongcheng Shi." It contains 53 complete and incomplete slips, approximately 2,200 characters. The content relates to legends about ancient emperors and can be divided into seven parts: the first part discusses 21 ancient emperors including Rongcheng Shi; the second part covers the Gaoxin clan before Emperor Yao; the third part discusses Emperor Yao; the fourth part discusses Emperor Shun; the fifth part covers Emperor Yu of the Xia Dynasty; the sixth part discusses Emperor Tang of the Shang Dynasty; the seventh part covers King Wen and King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty. It mentions Yu dividing the nine states, with state names differing from those in books like the Book of Documents·Yu's Tribute. The pacification of nine states by King Wen is mentioned, with state names previously unknown. Han scholars could not elaborate on this, but the text here provides supplementary information.