Introduction to Bamboo and Wooden Slips

Introduction

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What Did Ancient "Social Media" Look Like? Unveiling the Millennium-Old Bamboo and Wooden Slips: From "Chidu" to "Sealing Clay," Ancient Wisdom Beyond Imagination!

Did you know? Long before the invention of paper, ancient Chinese used bamboo and wooden slips to record texts, even creating "ancient envelopes"—"Chidu" and "sealing clay"! These slips were not only the prototype of ancient books but also recorded important information such as laws, letters, and maps. Today, let’s travel back thousands of years to uncover the stories behind these slips and marvel at the wisdom and creativity of our ancestors!

Classification of Bamboo and Wooden Slips

Bamboo Slips

Typically made from bamboo strips, they are cut into long, narrow pieces with a polished surface. Bamboo slips also undergo a process called "sweating" or "killing the green" to prevent insect damage and make them easier to write on. The width of a slip is usually 0.5 to 1 cm, and the length varies, with common sizes being three feet, two feet four inches, and one foot two inches. Each slip usually contains one line of text, and longer texts are written on multiple slips, which are then bound together into a "volume" or "book."

Wooden Slips

Mostly made of wood, they are wider than bamboo slips and rectangular in shape. They were often used for writing contracts, medical prescriptions, calendars, and letters. Letters were typically written on one-foot-long wooden slips, hence the term "Chidu" (one-foot letter). Wooden slips were also used for drawing maps, which is the origin of the term "territory" (literally "map and slips") in Chinese.

Multi-Sided Wooden Slips (Gu)

Made by carving wood into multi-sided prisms, they are usually longer, with some reaching over 80 cm. They were often used to copy character books (such as "Jijiupian" and "Cangjiepian") or for note-taking, drafting, and calligraphy practice.

Production and Writing of Bamboo and Wooden Slips

The production process involves splitting bamboo or wood into thin, narrow strips and smoothing the surface. Bamboo slips also undergo the "sweating" process to prevent insect damage and facilitate writing. The primary writing tools were brushes, ink, and knives. Knives were mainly used to correct mistakes, not for carving characters. Texts on slips were mostly written with brushes. During the pre-Qin period, ancient script and seal script were commonly used. After the unification of China by the Qin Dynasty, clerical script became the dominant writing style.

Content of Bamboo and Wooden Slips

Documentary Texts

These include official documents, household registers, notices, letters, and burial inventories. Many of the unearthed slips contain legal documents, imperial edicts, arrest warrants, and border defense notices, providing valuable insights into ancient laws and administrative systems.

Literary Works

These include Confucian classics, works of various philosophical schools, and character books. The content recorded on the slips covers a wide range of fields, including philosophy, history, literature, and medicine.

Binding and Storage of Bamboo and Wooden Slips

Multiple slips were bound together with hemp rope, silk thread, or leather straps to form a "volume" or "book." Typically, 2 to 5 bindings were used, depending on the length of the slips. The first two slips of a volume were usually blank, known as "head slips" or "redundant slips," which later evolved into the title pages of books. The storage method involved rolling the slips with the written side inward, using the last slip as the axis. The title and chapter number were written on the back of the first slip.

Historical Significance of Bamboo and Wooden Slips

As an important medium for writing in ancient China, bamboo and wooden slips were used for over a thousand years until they were gradually replaced by paper after the Eastern Jin Dynasty. These slips not only recorded political, legal, economic, and cultural information but also provided precious physical evidence for studying ancient scripts, calligraphy, and book systems.

The excavation and study of bamboo and wooden slips have greatly enriched our understanding of ancient Chinese history, particularly in areas such as Qin Dynasty laws and Han Dynasty administrative systems, offering irreplaceable value.

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