Recorded on Bamboo Slips -- Ancient Chinese Textual Records (Century Library)

Author: Qian Cunxun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: A century ago, China was renowned worldwide for major archaeological discoveries such as the oracle bones from Yinxu, bamboo slips from the western frontier, and Dunhuang manuscripts. Since the classic work A Study of Bamboo Slips was written by the renowned scholar Wang Guowei, only Qian Cunxun, a Chinese scholar living in the United States, has been able to comprehensively synthesize and conduct systematic and in-depth research on various aspects of the history of books and cultural relics. Before him, Dr. Joseph Needham of the University of Cambridge once said, "We can confidently say that Qian's work and Carter's masterpiece (The Invention and Dissemination of Chinese Printing) are entirely comparable and rival each other." The entire book, written in accessible language and with a graceful, narrative style, guides all "outsiders" in textual and archaeological studies into the evolution of ancient Chinese writing, its carriers, and writing tools, offering a multi-faceted perspective on its long-standing and diverse history. As for the profound insights in academic research, they are abundant and cutting-edge, making this book an essential reference for scholars studying Chinese archaeology, cultural history, and the history of science.