What are the ancient bamboo slips in China made of?

Bamboo slips are ancient writing materials made of bamboo slips and wood chips in China.

Bamboo slips, bamboo slips and wood chips used for writing in ancient China are called open-book books. In fact, it is a general term for several things, referring to bamboo slips, wooden slips, bamboo slips and wooden slips. Before the invention of paper, bamboo slips were the most important form of China's books, which had a far-reaching influence on the book system of later generations.

Today, the terminology, writing format and writing method of books still inherit the tradition formed during the bamboo slips period. In 2023, more than 2000 bamboo slips 10000 were unearthed at Hebo Suo site in Jinning, Yunnan, among which more than 2000 were written.

Bamboo slips are the general name of bamboo slips and wooden slips with characters left over from ancient China. Books written with bamboo pieces are called "Jian Ce", and books written with wood blocks (also called "boards") are called "editions".

The value of bamboo slips:

Most of the bamboo slips in Baoshan No.2 Chu Tomb are dated, which not only provides a batch of chronological data and historical events of Chu with exact dates, but also contains all the historical materials that can be dated.

Baoshan bamboo slips are not simple legal documents, but their documentary bamboo slips are files dealing with actual government affairs, containing many complete judicial cases, and also involving the social and economic situation of Chu in the Warring States period, which makes up for the lack of information on the political and legal system of the Warring States period in handed down books.

Divination prayer is the divination record of the tomb owner during his three years (3 18 BC to 3 16 BC), mainly asking about the future and diseases. These bamboo slips have also been unearthed in Wang Shan, Tianxingguan and other Chu tombs, but they are poorly preserved. Baoshan bamboo slips recorded a complete divination procedure, retaining a large number of divination terms and gods.

The Dispatching Policy records the funerary objects in detail, involving many aspects of ancient laws and regulations, which is of great research value. This is of great benefit to the study of the names of Chu artifacts in the Warring States period. The records of food names and cooking methods in bamboo slips provide valuable information for studying the economic life of Chu people in the Warring States period. It is also of great value to study the funeral system and sending strategy of Chu people.

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