My main research interests are Chinese manuscript culture(s) and the history of the book in China, early imperial law and administration as well as the history of Chinese medicine. Currently, I am conducting a research project at the Cluster of Excellence "Understanding Written Artefacts" at the CSMC in Hamburg, which focuses on the medical manuscripts in the Unschuld collection (for the collection, see https://themen.crossasia.org/chinese-medical-manuscripts/). The project is part of the working group "Facing New Technologies", which is - among other things - concerned with the role manuscripts played (and are still playing) in the age of print. For a brief description of my project, see https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/written-artefacts/working-groups/fnt/fnt07.html. Phone: +49 40 42838 9788 Address: Universität Hamburg Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures Warburgstr. 26 20354 Hamburg
In "Legal Practice in the Formative Stages of the Chinese Empire", Ulrich Lau and Thies Staack of... more In "Legal Practice in the Formative Stages of the Chinese Empire", Ulrich Lau and Thies Staack offer a richly annotated English translation of the "Wei yu deng zhuang si zhong" 爲獄等狀四種, a collection of criminal case records from the pre-imperial state of Qin (dating from 246 BC–222 BC) that is part of the manuscripts in the possession of Yuelu Academy. Through an analysis of the collection and a comparison with similar manuscript finds from the Qin and Han periods, the authors shed new light on many aspects of the Qin administration of justice, e.g. criminal investigation, stages of criminal procedure, principles for determining punishment, and interaction of judicial officials on different administrative levels.
Written artefacts (WAs), artificial or natural objects with visual signs applied by humans, are t... more Written artefacts (WAs), artificial or natural objects with visual signs applied by humans, are the central focus of the Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefacts: Materiality, Interaction, and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures. The present paper considers the observation that WAs are shaped by complex processes of production and use, as well as by different settings and patterns. These factors might be subject to change, depending on where, by whom and how a WA is used after its creation. Hence, far from being stable or unchanging entities, many WAs evolve over the course of time, acquiring ‘layers’ akin to archaeological strata. Such layers either modify a WA’s contents and might serve to extend, delete or replace them or they are not linked at all to the WA’s contents. Yet they always affect the WA they are applied to on the material level, leaving identifiable traces that add to the WA’s complexity. This paper suggests calling such complex WAs ‘multilayered’ – a concept that is arguably best suited to capturing the outcome of continued, at times long-term, or intermittent uses of a WA. The paper also suggests further terms for a more precise analysis of the multilayered nature of WAs, including the distinction between ‘primary layer’ and ‘secondary layer(s)’, and between ‘closed’ and ‘open’ primary layers, as well as a taxonomy of the acts creating secondary layers (addition, subtraction and replacement of content and/or material).
East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine, 2024
The Imperially Commissioned Golden Mirror of the Orthodox Lineage of Medicine (Yuzuan yizong jinj... more The Imperially Commissioned Golden Mirror of the Orthodox Lineage of Medicine (Yuzuan yizong jinjian 御纂醫宗金鑑), first printed in 1742, was one of the most important and widely circulating works on medicine in late imperial China. This paper analyzes a group of twenty-three medical manuscripts from the nineteenth and early twentieth century that include parts of the Golden Mirror. The findings suggest that most of the manuscripts should not be considered mere copies, but as deliberate selections. They served didactic as well as epistemic functions that differ from, or go beyond, those that could be fulfilled by the printed Golden Mirror (or a faithful manuscript copy alone). This is indicated not only by different content type selections (verse form for memorization or recitation; prose form for study or consultation) and the combination with medical knowledge from other sources, but also by the ways in which these contents were formatted, usually to facilitate reading and navigation. Adjustment, updating or supplementation of Golden Mirror contents likewise functioned epistemically, integrating previous medical knowledge into the medical discourse of the time. Hence, the findings of the present study help to clarify the lasting importance of manuscripts in the age of print, for which possibilities of adapting knowledge to personal interests and requirements seem to have been decisive factors.
The suggested definition is the result of exchanges, reflections, and discussions in the TNT work... more The suggested definition is the result of exchanges, reflections, and discussions in the TNT working group which took place during the regular meetings in the years 2021–2022. The short paper that accompanies the definition has no pretension to a systematic coverage of the topic: it has an empirical character, reflects the development of the discourse on and around the definition of written artefact, and does not pursue any ultimate limit. It only aims to provide an agreed basis for further reflection at a still intermediate stage of the research. The working definition suggested by TNT is the following: A written artefact is any artificial or natural object with visual signs applied by humans.
In recent years, scholars have drawn attention to the fact that manuscripts are hardly static obj... more In recent years, scholars have drawn attention to the fact that manuscripts are hardly static objects but prone to change over the course of time. Following this line of research, the present paper considers ancient Chinese scrolls as evolving entities and discusses some of the implications for their reconstruction and description.
Tied and Bound: A Comparative View on Manuscript Binding, 2023
The poor state of preservation of ancient Chinese bamboo and wood scrolls often makes it impossib... more The poor state of preservation of ancient Chinese bamboo and wood scrolls often makes it impossible to study these artefacts in their intact form, allowing us to view the whole only on the basis of its parts. This paper traces typical features of scrolls by gathering the piecemeal information that is available on their production and form, especially their bindings. The topics addressed include the ways in which slips were prepared before tying them together in a scroll, the materials that were used for the binding strings, different techniques by which the strings were applied to the slips, and the relationship between the number of binding strings and visual organisation. Based on a close observation of the traces of binding strings on individual slips, the paper also proposes new lines of research. These might shed further light on largely unknown aspects of early Chinese manuscript culture, such as the direction in which bamboo and wood scrolls were bound, even for specimens that are no longer intact.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2023
With a view to the necessities as well as the possible problems of a document-based administratio... more With a view to the necessities as well as the possible problems of a document-based administration, this paper approaches the area of conflict between standardization and flexibility in the production of administrative documents in ancient China. Recently published sources from the imperial Qin period (221–207 BCE) have provided the opportunity to compare administrative documents excavated at Liye with standards regulating their production. With the help of two case studies, the paper explores to what extent official document standards were implemented in everyday practice or purposefully neglected in ancient Qianling county. It also discusses which standards were followed more closely than others, and what might be the reasons behind this. Shedding light on the large grey zone between faithful adherence and complete neglect, the paper suggests that officials chose a pragmatic way influenced by both economic considerations informed by the local circumstances and the requirements imposed by the central government.
This is a Chinese translation, by Li Jingrong 李婧嵘, of my 2020 paper "From Copies of Individual De... more This is a Chinese translation, by Li Jingrong 李婧嵘, of my 2020 paper "From Copies of Individual Decrees to Compilations of Written Law: On Paratextual Framing in Early Chinese Legal Manuscripts", in Antonella Brita, Giovanni Ciotti, Florinda De Simini and Amneris Roselli, eds., /Copying Manuscripts: Textual and Material Craftsmanship/ (Napoli/Hamburg: Università degli Studi di Napoli "L’Orientale", Dipartimento Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo/University of Hamburg, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures), 183–240.
Jörg B. Quenzer (ed.): Exploring Written Artefacts: Objects, Methods, and Concepts (Studies in Manuscript Cultures, 25), 2021
The origins of 'textual criticism' in China are usually traced back to Liu Xiang 劉向 (79-8 BCE), w... more The origins of 'textual criticism' in China are usually traced back to Liu Xiang 劉向 (79-8 BCE), who is credited with the invention of philological tools, especially 'collation' (jiaochou 校讎). However, scholars have also noted that the terms jiao 校 and chou 讎 occur in earlier sources, especially manuscripts with legal or administrative texts. Surveying evidence on the mentioned collation techniques from received literature and from manuscripts dating to the late third and early second century BCE, this paper lays bare the administrative roots of later philological tools. It argues that Liu Xiang adopted established methods and terminology from the administrative and legal sphere that had been around for at least 200 years.
Antonella Brita, Giovanni Ciotti, Florinda De Simini, Amneris Roselli (eds), Copying Manuscripts: Textual and Material Craftsmanship (Napoli: Università degli studi di Napoli “L'Orientale”, Dipartimento Asia Africa e Mediterraneo), 2020
The present paper investigates three terms that were all used to refer to acts of writing in the ... more The present paper investigates three terms that were all used to refer to acts of writing in the early imperial administration: shu 書 , xie 寫 , and shu 署. Based on an analysis of their usage in administrative and legal texts, it illustrates the semantic differences of these terms, which also bear implications for our understanding of the production and use of administrative documents.
Received and excavated sources from early imperial China employ various terms for pieces of bambo... more Received and excavated sources from early imperial China employ various terms for pieces of bamboo or wood that served as writing support. In many cases, neither the exact meanings nor diachronic differences in usage of these terms are sufficiently clear. What kinds of concrete objects the terms actually referred to in a certain period accordingly turns out to be quite an intricate question. This article focuses on the terms du 牘 and die 牒, which not only occur most frequently in the sources, but can also be considered as a complementary pair. Investigating differences in form and function that can be gathered from the way the terms are employed in both administrative documents and legal prescriptions of the Qin and Han period (including a newly published Qin ordinance) it argues that du and die were connected to two conceptually different types of manuscripts, namely single- and multi-piece manuscripts. It shows that these two types also entailed differences in how the manuscripts were kept for storage and transport, which were likewise reflected by special terminology. Finally, it proposes that the increasing use of multi-piece manuscripts instead of single-piece ones, especially since the time of Emperor Wu of Han 漢武帝 (r. 141–87 B.C.E.), probably had both pragmatic and economic reasons, which fit well into the setting of a gradually consolidating empire with an ever-growing volume of bureaucratic record keeping.
heiDOK - University of Heidelberg open access platform, Jul 2017
One of the basic problems that researchers have to face, when dealing with early Chinese bamboo o... more One of the basic problems that researchers have to face, when dealing with early Chinese bamboo or wood manuscripts, is natural disintegration. In almost every case, the binding strings that once held together the slips originally constituting a manuscript do either not exist anymore or only remain as traces on individual slips. The problem of reconstruction becomes even more complex, if the manuscript in question was not scientifically excavated or even is of unknown provenance. The present article shows how an analysis of verso lines and mirror-inverted imprints of writing on a group of bamboo slips from the Yuelu Academy collection can help to reconstruct the original structure of the respective manuscript roll. The described analysis can in certain cases enable or facilitate the complete reconstruction of bamboo manuscripts , even if external archeological evidence is lacking.
heiDOK - University of Heidelberg open access platform, Jan 2017
In an article that was recently published in Guangming ribao 光明日報, Professor Xing Wen 邢文 of Dartm... more In an article that was recently published in Guangming ribao 光明日報, Professor Xing Wen 邢文 of Dartmouth College argues that the Laozi 老子 from the Peking University collection of Han bamboo slips is without doubt a forgery. To prove this, Xing forwards several arguments relating to the two main areas “outer appearance/material design” (xingzhi 形制) and “calligraphy” (shufa 書法). Although the article indeed uncovers certain problems of the Peking University Laozi edition, the forwarded arguments are insufficient to support the claim for a forgery, as will be shown in the following.
Journal of Hunan University (湖南大学学报) 30.4, Jul 2016
This paper discusses four slips that belong to the Yuelu Academy calendars but were not included ... more This paper discusses four slips that belong to the Yuelu Academy calendars but were not included in the respective edition. The reason for this is that it was formerly unclear to which of the manuscripts in the Yuelu Academy collection these slips should be assigned. Fortunately, an analysis of material factors such as verso lines has meanwhile made it possible to determine that they were originally attached at the end of the “Calendar of the 27th Year”. As it turns out, the four slips contain a concise curriculum vitae of an official named Shuang. From an analysis of this attachment and the three Yuelu Academy calendars it becomes clear that Shuang was very likely a subordinate of the owner and user of the calendars. Furthermore, that owner and user very likely once was the vice prefect of Jiangling and after his death became the occupant of the tomb, from which the Yuelu Academy Qin slips in all likelihood derive.
As integral part of the broader field of the study of early Chinese manuscripts, reconstruction e... more As integral part of the broader field of the study of early Chinese manuscripts, reconstruction efforts regarding bamboo and wood manuscripts from pre-imperial and early imperial China can be dated back to the first important finds of such manuscripts in the early 20th century. To explain the importance of the most recent developments and to be able to integrate these new perspectives into the frame of criteria and methods that have been developed over the past century, a review seems in order. As new stages in the development of criteria and methods were often enabled by new discoveries and the respective manuscript publications, this review will not try to draw a comprehensive picture of all research related to this topic. Instead it will highlight the most important trends and the manuscript discoveries they were based on. In conclusion it will provide a catalogue of the criteria that were applied for reconstruction until the year 2010 and point out remaining problems.
The year 2010 witnessed two important publications of early Chinese bamboo manuscripts, which in ... more The year 2010 witnessed two important publications of early Chinese bamboo manuscripts, which in addition to photographs of the recto of all slips for the first time also included photographs of their verso. One year later Sun Peiyang 孫沛陽 published the first study on the verso line phenomenon, mainly as it is reflected in a part of the manuscripts contained in these two volumes. As the material basis for a discussion of the verso lines has grown significantly over the past few years and seven more publications that included photographs of the slips’ verso have been issued, the phenomenon has also gained further attention in the scholarly community and the evaluation and improvement of the first preliminary research results and hypotheses by Sun Peiyang are now possible and necessary.
Following Sun Peiyang, several others have argued that the verso lines are obviously related to the original sequence of the slips inside a manuscript, meaning that the ‘line sections’ on the verso of individual slips can – by and large – be linked and appear to form continuous lines, if the slips are arranged according to the text written on the recto. At least with regard to this point, which underlines the importance of this phenomenon for the reconstruction of bamboo manuscripts, a consensus appears to have been reached in the scholarly community. Other aspects, however, are still disputed. This particularly concerns the issue at which point during the production process of a manuscript and by the use of which method the verso lines were applied to the verso of the slips. The following will show that these questions are not only important for a further improvement of our understanding of how bamboo manuscripts were actually produced in pre-imperial and early imperial China. They are likewise necessary to clarify in which ways the verso lines relate to the slips of a certain manuscript and in which ways they can or cannot be utilized for the purpose of manuscript reconstruction. Finally, the basic function of the verso lines will also have to be reconsidered.
In "Legal Practice in the Formative Stages of the Chinese Empire", Ulrich Lau and Thies Staack of... more In "Legal Practice in the Formative Stages of the Chinese Empire", Ulrich Lau and Thies Staack offer a richly annotated English translation of the "Wei yu deng zhuang si zhong" 爲獄等狀四種, a collection of criminal case records from the pre-imperial state of Qin (dating from 246 BC–222 BC) that is part of the manuscripts in the possession of Yuelu Academy. Through an analysis of the collection and a comparison with similar manuscript finds from the Qin and Han periods, the authors shed new light on many aspects of the Qin administration of justice, e.g. criminal investigation, stages of criminal procedure, principles for determining punishment, and interaction of judicial officials on different administrative levels.
Written artefacts (WAs), artificial or natural objects with visual signs applied by humans, are t... more Written artefacts (WAs), artificial or natural objects with visual signs applied by humans, are the central focus of the Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefacts: Materiality, Interaction, and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures. The present paper considers the observation that WAs are shaped by complex processes of production and use, as well as by different settings and patterns. These factors might be subject to change, depending on where, by whom and how a WA is used after its creation. Hence, far from being stable or unchanging entities, many WAs evolve over the course of time, acquiring ‘layers’ akin to archaeological strata. Such layers either modify a WA’s contents and might serve to extend, delete or replace them or they are not linked at all to the WA’s contents. Yet they always affect the WA they are applied to on the material level, leaving identifiable traces that add to the WA’s complexity. This paper suggests calling such complex WAs ‘multilayered’ – a concept that is arguably best suited to capturing the outcome of continued, at times long-term, or intermittent uses of a WA. The paper also suggests further terms for a more precise analysis of the multilayered nature of WAs, including the distinction between ‘primary layer’ and ‘secondary layer(s)’, and between ‘closed’ and ‘open’ primary layers, as well as a taxonomy of the acts creating secondary layers (addition, subtraction and replacement of content and/or material).
East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine, 2024
The Imperially Commissioned Golden Mirror of the Orthodox Lineage of Medicine (Yuzuan yizong jinj... more The Imperially Commissioned Golden Mirror of the Orthodox Lineage of Medicine (Yuzuan yizong jinjian 御纂醫宗金鑑), first printed in 1742, was one of the most important and widely circulating works on medicine in late imperial China. This paper analyzes a group of twenty-three medical manuscripts from the nineteenth and early twentieth century that include parts of the Golden Mirror. The findings suggest that most of the manuscripts should not be considered mere copies, but as deliberate selections. They served didactic as well as epistemic functions that differ from, or go beyond, those that could be fulfilled by the printed Golden Mirror (or a faithful manuscript copy alone). This is indicated not only by different content type selections (verse form for memorization or recitation; prose form for study or consultation) and the combination with medical knowledge from other sources, but also by the ways in which these contents were formatted, usually to facilitate reading and navigation. Adjustment, updating or supplementation of Golden Mirror contents likewise functioned epistemically, integrating previous medical knowledge into the medical discourse of the time. Hence, the findings of the present study help to clarify the lasting importance of manuscripts in the age of print, for which possibilities of adapting knowledge to personal interests and requirements seem to have been decisive factors.
The suggested definition is the result of exchanges, reflections, and discussions in the TNT work... more The suggested definition is the result of exchanges, reflections, and discussions in the TNT working group which took place during the regular meetings in the years 2021–2022. The short paper that accompanies the definition has no pretension to a systematic coverage of the topic: it has an empirical character, reflects the development of the discourse on and around the definition of written artefact, and does not pursue any ultimate limit. It only aims to provide an agreed basis for further reflection at a still intermediate stage of the research. The working definition suggested by TNT is the following: A written artefact is any artificial or natural object with visual signs applied by humans.
In recent years, scholars have drawn attention to the fact that manuscripts are hardly static obj... more In recent years, scholars have drawn attention to the fact that manuscripts are hardly static objects but prone to change over the course of time. Following this line of research, the present paper considers ancient Chinese scrolls as evolving entities and discusses some of the implications for their reconstruction and description.
Tied and Bound: A Comparative View on Manuscript Binding, 2023
The poor state of preservation of ancient Chinese bamboo and wood scrolls often makes it impossib... more The poor state of preservation of ancient Chinese bamboo and wood scrolls often makes it impossible to study these artefacts in their intact form, allowing us to view the whole only on the basis of its parts. This paper traces typical features of scrolls by gathering the piecemeal information that is available on their production and form, especially their bindings. The topics addressed include the ways in which slips were prepared before tying them together in a scroll, the materials that were used for the binding strings, different techniques by which the strings were applied to the slips, and the relationship between the number of binding strings and visual organisation. Based on a close observation of the traces of binding strings on individual slips, the paper also proposes new lines of research. These might shed further light on largely unknown aspects of early Chinese manuscript culture, such as the direction in which bamboo and wood scrolls were bound, even for specimens that are no longer intact.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 2023
With a view to the necessities as well as the possible problems of a document-based administratio... more With a view to the necessities as well as the possible problems of a document-based administration, this paper approaches the area of conflict between standardization and flexibility in the production of administrative documents in ancient China. Recently published sources from the imperial Qin period (221–207 BCE) have provided the opportunity to compare administrative documents excavated at Liye with standards regulating their production. With the help of two case studies, the paper explores to what extent official document standards were implemented in everyday practice or purposefully neglected in ancient Qianling county. It also discusses which standards were followed more closely than others, and what might be the reasons behind this. Shedding light on the large grey zone between faithful adherence and complete neglect, the paper suggests that officials chose a pragmatic way influenced by both economic considerations informed by the local circumstances and the requirements imposed by the central government.
This is a Chinese translation, by Li Jingrong 李婧嵘, of my 2020 paper "From Copies of Individual De... more This is a Chinese translation, by Li Jingrong 李婧嵘, of my 2020 paper "From Copies of Individual Decrees to Compilations of Written Law: On Paratextual Framing in Early Chinese Legal Manuscripts", in Antonella Brita, Giovanni Ciotti, Florinda De Simini and Amneris Roselli, eds., /Copying Manuscripts: Textual and Material Craftsmanship/ (Napoli/Hamburg: Università degli Studi di Napoli "L’Orientale", Dipartimento Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo/University of Hamburg, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures), 183–240.
Jörg B. Quenzer (ed.): Exploring Written Artefacts: Objects, Methods, and Concepts (Studies in Manuscript Cultures, 25), 2021
The origins of 'textual criticism' in China are usually traced back to Liu Xiang 劉向 (79-8 BCE), w... more The origins of 'textual criticism' in China are usually traced back to Liu Xiang 劉向 (79-8 BCE), who is credited with the invention of philological tools, especially 'collation' (jiaochou 校讎). However, scholars have also noted that the terms jiao 校 and chou 讎 occur in earlier sources, especially manuscripts with legal or administrative texts. Surveying evidence on the mentioned collation techniques from received literature and from manuscripts dating to the late third and early second century BCE, this paper lays bare the administrative roots of later philological tools. It argues that Liu Xiang adopted established methods and terminology from the administrative and legal sphere that had been around for at least 200 years.
Antonella Brita, Giovanni Ciotti, Florinda De Simini, Amneris Roselli (eds), Copying Manuscripts: Textual and Material Craftsmanship (Napoli: Università degli studi di Napoli “L'Orientale”, Dipartimento Asia Africa e Mediterraneo), 2020
The present paper investigates three terms that were all used to refer to acts of writing in the ... more The present paper investigates three terms that were all used to refer to acts of writing in the early imperial administration: shu 書 , xie 寫 , and shu 署. Based on an analysis of their usage in administrative and legal texts, it illustrates the semantic differences of these terms, which also bear implications for our understanding of the production and use of administrative documents.
Received and excavated sources from early imperial China employ various terms for pieces of bambo... more Received and excavated sources from early imperial China employ various terms for pieces of bamboo or wood that served as writing support. In many cases, neither the exact meanings nor diachronic differences in usage of these terms are sufficiently clear. What kinds of concrete objects the terms actually referred to in a certain period accordingly turns out to be quite an intricate question. This article focuses on the terms du 牘 and die 牒, which not only occur most frequently in the sources, but can also be considered as a complementary pair. Investigating differences in form and function that can be gathered from the way the terms are employed in both administrative documents and legal prescriptions of the Qin and Han period (including a newly published Qin ordinance) it argues that du and die were connected to two conceptually different types of manuscripts, namely single- and multi-piece manuscripts. It shows that these two types also entailed differences in how the manuscripts were kept for storage and transport, which were likewise reflected by special terminology. Finally, it proposes that the increasing use of multi-piece manuscripts instead of single-piece ones, especially since the time of Emperor Wu of Han 漢武帝 (r. 141–87 B.C.E.), probably had both pragmatic and economic reasons, which fit well into the setting of a gradually consolidating empire with an ever-growing volume of bureaucratic record keeping.
heiDOK - University of Heidelberg open access platform, Jul 2017
One of the basic problems that researchers have to face, when dealing with early Chinese bamboo o... more One of the basic problems that researchers have to face, when dealing with early Chinese bamboo or wood manuscripts, is natural disintegration. In almost every case, the binding strings that once held together the slips originally constituting a manuscript do either not exist anymore or only remain as traces on individual slips. The problem of reconstruction becomes even more complex, if the manuscript in question was not scientifically excavated or even is of unknown provenance. The present article shows how an analysis of verso lines and mirror-inverted imprints of writing on a group of bamboo slips from the Yuelu Academy collection can help to reconstruct the original structure of the respective manuscript roll. The described analysis can in certain cases enable or facilitate the complete reconstruction of bamboo manuscripts , even if external archeological evidence is lacking.
heiDOK - University of Heidelberg open access platform, Jan 2017
In an article that was recently published in Guangming ribao 光明日報, Professor Xing Wen 邢文 of Dartm... more In an article that was recently published in Guangming ribao 光明日報, Professor Xing Wen 邢文 of Dartmouth College argues that the Laozi 老子 from the Peking University collection of Han bamboo slips is without doubt a forgery. To prove this, Xing forwards several arguments relating to the two main areas “outer appearance/material design” (xingzhi 形制) and “calligraphy” (shufa 書法). Although the article indeed uncovers certain problems of the Peking University Laozi edition, the forwarded arguments are insufficient to support the claim for a forgery, as will be shown in the following.
Journal of Hunan University (湖南大学学报) 30.4, Jul 2016
This paper discusses four slips that belong to the Yuelu Academy calendars but were not included ... more This paper discusses four slips that belong to the Yuelu Academy calendars but were not included in the respective edition. The reason for this is that it was formerly unclear to which of the manuscripts in the Yuelu Academy collection these slips should be assigned. Fortunately, an analysis of material factors such as verso lines has meanwhile made it possible to determine that they were originally attached at the end of the “Calendar of the 27th Year”. As it turns out, the four slips contain a concise curriculum vitae of an official named Shuang. From an analysis of this attachment and the three Yuelu Academy calendars it becomes clear that Shuang was very likely a subordinate of the owner and user of the calendars. Furthermore, that owner and user very likely once was the vice prefect of Jiangling and after his death became the occupant of the tomb, from which the Yuelu Academy Qin slips in all likelihood derive.
As integral part of the broader field of the study of early Chinese manuscripts, reconstruction e... more As integral part of the broader field of the study of early Chinese manuscripts, reconstruction efforts regarding bamboo and wood manuscripts from pre-imperial and early imperial China can be dated back to the first important finds of such manuscripts in the early 20th century. To explain the importance of the most recent developments and to be able to integrate these new perspectives into the frame of criteria and methods that have been developed over the past century, a review seems in order. As new stages in the development of criteria and methods were often enabled by new discoveries and the respective manuscript publications, this review will not try to draw a comprehensive picture of all research related to this topic. Instead it will highlight the most important trends and the manuscript discoveries they were based on. In conclusion it will provide a catalogue of the criteria that were applied for reconstruction until the year 2010 and point out remaining problems.
The year 2010 witnessed two important publications of early Chinese bamboo manuscripts, which in ... more The year 2010 witnessed two important publications of early Chinese bamboo manuscripts, which in addition to photographs of the recto of all slips for the first time also included photographs of their verso. One year later Sun Peiyang 孫沛陽 published the first study on the verso line phenomenon, mainly as it is reflected in a part of the manuscripts contained in these two volumes. As the material basis for a discussion of the verso lines has grown significantly over the past few years and seven more publications that included photographs of the slips’ verso have been issued, the phenomenon has also gained further attention in the scholarly community and the evaluation and improvement of the first preliminary research results and hypotheses by Sun Peiyang are now possible and necessary.
Following Sun Peiyang, several others have argued that the verso lines are obviously related to the original sequence of the slips inside a manuscript, meaning that the ‘line sections’ on the verso of individual slips can – by and large – be linked and appear to form continuous lines, if the slips are arranged according to the text written on the recto. At least with regard to this point, which underlines the importance of this phenomenon for the reconstruction of bamboo manuscripts, a consensus appears to have been reached in the scholarly community. Other aspects, however, are still disputed. This particularly concerns the issue at which point during the production process of a manuscript and by the use of which method the verso lines were applied to the verso of the slips. The following will show that these questions are not only important for a further improvement of our understanding of how bamboo manuscripts were actually produced in pre-imperial and early imperial China. They are likewise necessary to clarify in which ways the verso lines relate to the slips of a certain manuscript and in which ways they can or cannot be utilized for the purpose of manuscript reconstruction. Finally, the basic function of the verso lines will also have to be reconsidered.
Documents and Writing Materials in East Asia, edited by Tomoyuki Nagata, 1-27. (Occasional Research Reports of International Oriental Studies, no. 1)., Dec 2014
Recent scholarship has proposed to approach written artefacts as ‘evolving entities’ (Friedrich a... more Recent scholarship has proposed to approach written artefacts as ‘evolving entities’ (Friedrich and Schwarke 2016) and suggested frameworks for the analysis of their development over the course of time (Gumbert 2004). Such a stratigraphic analysis, aiming to identify the multiple ‘layers’ of written artefacts, has been successfully applied to artefacts produced in the course of a more or less clearly identifiable and planned ‘project’. However, the potential of the strat-igraphic approach remains largely untapped for written artefacts that are designed or ex-pected to accumulate notes over a given period of time such as diaries, notebooks, or logs and in which their production and development does not follow a predefined plan or necessarily proceed in an orderly fashion.
Focusing on the multifarious manifestations of notes as material tools for the visualization, organization, and transmission of knowledge, the present workshop invites scholars working on written artefacts involved in practices of note-taking to address them as multilayered ob-jects. Taking into account not only the development of collections of notes over time, but also the different origins and (possibly) further uses of notes, it aims to uncover patterns in the practice(s) of note-taking and the artefacts resulting from such practices.
A hybrid conference addressing the issue of how writing practices were standardised in pre-modern... more A hybrid conference addressing the issue of how writing practices were standardised in pre-modern China and beyond. Please register at https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/en/register-workshop27.
Online workshop on palimpsests and related phenomena organized by the Centre for the Study of Man... more Online workshop on palimpsests and related phenomena organized by the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC). 7-8 October 2021
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have been issued, the phenomenon has also gained further attention in the scholarly community and the evaluation and improvement of the first preliminary research results and hypotheses by Sun Peiyang are now possible and necessary.
Following Sun Peiyang, several others have argued that the verso lines are obviously related to the original sequence of the slips inside a manuscript, meaning that the ‘line sections’ on the verso of individual slips can – by and large – be linked and appear to form continuous lines, if the slips are arranged according to the text written on the recto. At least with regard to this point, which underlines the importance of this phenomenon for the reconstruction of bamboo manuscripts, a consensus appears to have been reached in the scholarly community. Other aspects, however, are still disputed. This particularly concerns the issue at which point during the production process of a manuscript and by the use of which method the verso lines were applied to the verso of the slips. The following will show that these questions are not only important for a further improvement of our understanding of how bamboo manuscripts were actually produced in pre-imperial and
early imperial China. They are likewise necessary to clarify in which ways the verso lines relate to the slips of a certain manuscript and in which ways they can or cannot be utilized for the purpose of manuscript reconstruction. Finally, the basic function of the verso lines will also have to be reconsidered.
have been issued, the phenomenon has also gained further attention in the scholarly community and the evaluation and improvement of the first preliminary research results and hypotheses by Sun Peiyang are now possible and necessary.
Following Sun Peiyang, several others have argued that the verso lines are obviously related to the original sequence of the slips inside a manuscript, meaning that the ‘line sections’ on the verso of individual slips can – by and large – be linked and appear to form continuous lines, if the slips are arranged according to the text written on the recto. At least with regard to this point, which underlines the importance of this phenomenon for the reconstruction of bamboo manuscripts, a consensus appears to have been reached in the scholarly community. Other aspects, however, are still disputed. This particularly concerns the issue at which point during the production process of a manuscript and by the use of which method the verso lines were applied to the verso of the slips. The following will show that these questions are not only important for a further improvement of our understanding of how bamboo manuscripts were actually produced in pre-imperial and
early imperial China. They are likewise necessary to clarify in which ways the verso lines relate to the slips of a certain manuscript and in which ways they can or cannot be utilized for the purpose of manuscript reconstruction. Finally, the basic function of the verso lines will also have to be reconsidered.
Focusing on the multifarious manifestations of notes as material tools for the visualization, organization, and transmission of knowledge, the present workshop invites scholars working on written artefacts involved in practices of note-taking to address them as multilayered ob-jects. Taking into account not only the development of collections of notes over time, but also the different origins and (possibly) further uses of notes, it aims to uncover patterns in the practice(s) of note-taking and the artefacts resulting from such practices.
7-8 October 2021