Yinqueshan Han Slips

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The Yinqueshan Han Slips (Chinese: 銀雀山漢簡; pinyin: Yínquèshān Hànjiǎn) were 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.

[edit] Contents

Group Chinese Translation ##
01 孫子兵法

(十三篇殘文;佚文五篇)

Sunzi's Art of War

(13 chapters and 5 attributed chapters)

001-018
02 孫臏兵法

(十六篇)

Sun Bin's Art of War

(16 chapters)

019-034
03 尉繚子

(五篇)

Weiliaozi

(5 chapters)

035-039
04 晏子

(十六篇)

Yanzi
(16 chapters)
040-055
05 六韜

(七篇殘文;傳本佚文七篇)

Six Strategies
(7 original and attributed chapters)
056-069
06 守法守令十三篇
(十篇)
Keeping Peace and Order

(10 chapters)

070-079
07 論政論兵之類
(五十篇)
Discourses of Politics and Wars, etc.

(50 chapters)

080-129
08 陰陽時令占候之類
(十二篇)
Yin Yang and Divination, etc.

(12 chapters)

130-141
09 其他之類
(十三篇)
Other, etc.

(13 chapters)

142-154

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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