BEIJING, (Xinhua) — Scholars from China’s Tsinghua University have released three documents after sorting and deciphering bamboo slips dating back over 2,000 years, according to a press conference held in Beijing on Friday.
These documents reflect the governance ideology of rulers in the early Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC) and ancient legends and political thoughts in the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BC).
They offer valuable insights into the study of ancient history and political ideology, said Shi Xiaoli, an associate professor at the Research and Conservation Center for Unearthed Texts of Tsinghua University.
For example, one document advocates that policies should not be implemented too urgently or too slowly, but rather at an appropriate pace and scale, ensuring that people are not confused and can follow them, Shi explained.
Tsinghua houses nearly 2,500 precious bamboo slips from the Warring State Period (475-221 BC). The university’s research team has collated and studied the ancient documents since 2008.
Since 2011, Tsinghua scholars have released their research findings annually, publishing 14 volumes of reports that cover a wide range of topics, including classics, history, politics, astronomy and mathematics.
The latest outcomes on the translation of the original bamboo slip texts into çağdaş Chinese and English were also released at the conference, with the aim of making them more accessible to readers and promoting their international dissemination and research. ■
This undated photo shows the newly published books on the study of bamboo slips from the Warring State Period (475 BC-221 BC) housed by Tsinghua University. (Tsinghua University/Handout via Xinhua)