The special article column section of the 39th issue, titled “Writing and Compilation: The Interplay between Unearthed Texts and Pre-Qin Records and Documents” will be coordinated by Huang Ting-Chi, Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese Literature, National Chengchi University. The “Numerous Officers” chapter of The Book of Document states: “the forefathers of the Yin dynasty had their archives and statutes.” The system of archives and statutes has a long history that can be traced back to ancient times, however, much of the ancient records and documents have been lost to wars and the passage of time. The unearthing of large quantities of oracle bones, bronze vessels, bamboo strips, silk manuscripts since last century, provides new research material not known before, and also introduces new perspectives and methods for the exploration of pre-Qin texts and records. Unearthed texts can facilitate the collation, interpretation, identification and dating of ancient texts and records, and verify the determination of styles and lineage of ancient texts made by scholars in the Qing dynasty. For example, the approximately twenty pieces of The Book of Document texts found among the Tsinghua Bamboo Strips differ from extant texts in titles and sentences. By comparing unearthed and extant texts, we can gain an understanding of the formation and circulation of the “new-text” version of The Book of Document, and obtain new perspectives. Another example is the manuscript related with The Book of Odes found among the Anhui University Bamboo Strips, which reveals what early texts of The Book of Odes look like and inspires new way to understand the canonization process of The Book of Odes. In addition to unearthed texts and documents, scholars also compare inscriptions on bronze vessels and extant texts, to prove that they originate from the same sources by demonstrating consistency in content, style and wording. This type of research is also meaningful for the understanding of the style of pre-Qin texts and records, to a certain degree. The study of unearthed and extant texts forms the cornerstone for academic research on the pre-Qin era. The 39th issue of the Bulletin invites submissions for the “Writing and Compilation: The Interplay between Unearthed Texts and Pre-Qin Records and Documents” special column, which encompasses topics such as the study of formation process of texts and records by examining unearthed records and documents, analysis of style and compilation of unearthed material including oracle bones, bronze vessel inscriptions, stone inscriptions, etc., comparison between unearthed and extant texts. We welcome scholars to submit articles related with unearthed texts to promote research in this field. Submission for this special article column section ends by the beginning of March 2023.
The Bulletin of the Department of Chinese Literature,
National Chengchi University Editors
National Chengchi University Editors
