cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/6812473

On a quiet autumn morning in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, a set of bamboo slips — no larger than a hand and nearly forgotten for two millennia — offered a revelation that has electrified China’s archaeological and literary communities.

Infrared scans of newly studied slips from the Marquis of Haihun tomb have confirmed the first known complete version of The Book of Songs (Shijing) from the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties, marking a milestone in the study of early Confucian classics.

Archaeologists identified key inscriptions such as "305 poems "and “7,274 lines”, fully matching the traditional structure of the anthology, says Yang Jun, a research fellow at the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and head of the Haihun excavation team. This confirms that the Haihun manuscript is a full version of The Book of Songs and the first complete Qin-Han-era copy ever discovered, he says.

More than 1,200 slips relating to the classic were unearthed from the tomb of Liu He, the dethroned emperor-turned-marquis of Haihun principality and a grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

IAccording to Fang Beisong, director of the Jingzhou Cultural Heritage Conservation Center, the Haihun bamboo slips are the most difficult conservation project his team has handled due to their severely damaged state. “We have completed conservation of over 4,000 slips (found at the tomb), with about 1,000 remaining,” he says, adding that all work is scheduled for completion by 2026.

Among the restored texts, the Qi version of the Analects (Qi Lun) stands out for clear handwriting and well-preserved layout. “The slips are written in clerical script, with neat characters and no use of repetition marks,” Yang says. “The overall meaning remains highly coherent.”

In addition to The Book of Songs and The Analects, the Haihun cache of bamboo slips includes The Book of Rites, Spring and Autumn Annals, The Classic of Filial Piety and a rare divination text known as Yi Zhan, previously unseen in archaeological records.