The New Book Launch: The Complete Works of the Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts from Mawangdui Han Tombs in Changsha

At the beginning of the 1970s, the Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts were excavated from Mawangdui Han Tombs, Changsha. Many classics were included, such as I Ching (Classic of Changes or Book of Changes in English, is an ancient divination text and the oldest of the Chinese classics), and Laozi (or Tao Te Ching). These manuscripts cover a wide range of areas, including politics, military affairs, philosophy, culture, and technologies from Pre-Qin Dynasty to Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). They are of great academic value and culture significance. The manuscripts have never been completely published due to different reasons. Therefore, in September 2008, Hunan Provincial Musuem, Fudan University and Zhonghua Book Company jointly launched the compilation project. Qiu Xigui, a famous Chinese palaeographer and director of Center for Research on Chinese Excavated Classics and Palaeography in Fudan University, is the chief editor of the compilation. Together with the research team from this center and researchers from Hunan Provincial Museum and other institutions, Qiu leads them to study and compile the bamboo and silk manuscripts.

The project lasts for over six years and finally at the 40th anniversary of the excavation of Mawangdui Han Tombs, The Complete Works of the Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts from Mawangdui Han Tombs in Changsha was published. The information in this compilation is exhaustive and well organized. It is a huge project as there are seven volumes in this compilation. The first volume and the second volume contain the pictures of the manuscripts which are re-organized. The third, fourth, fifth and six volumes are texts with notes and explanations. The seventh volume contains the pictures of the original manuscripts. The volumes are beautifully printed on good quality paper and well bound, with a lot of accurate explanatory notes. At present, this compilation is the most exhaustive and most accurate on the bamboo and silk manuscripts from Mawangdui Han Tombs.