Books have three meanings in ancient China: "books" as characters (including inscriptions and books), "books" as archives (documents), and "books" (ancient books) as classics. Since the 1970s, a large number of ancient bamboo slips and silk books from the Pre-Qin, Qin and Han dynasties have been unearthed, providing an opportunity to reflect on previous research on the academic history of the Pre-Qin, Qin and Han dynasties, and making it possible to re-examine the ancient knowledge system and knowledge structure. > > "Books" as classics did not exist since ancient times. They suddenly appeared during this period and became a very significant phenomenon. Official science is its source. The so-called official science is the study of kings and officials that integrates government, teachers, and education. It is a product of the aristocratic politics of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Under the official education system, there is no free academic (i.e. private education), and academics are controlled by the government. Official science generally includes the following aspects: (1) Most of the official documents in ancient times, the so-called "dianchu", were guarded by officials from the Zhu, Zong, Bu, and Shi systems. Among them, Zhu and Zongzhang worship the ancestors of gods, and have corresponding rituals and rituals; divination, divination, astronomy and calendar, record of historical events and official appointments, have corresponding divination records and historical genealogies. Scholarship at the time focused mainly on this system, especially in the hands of historians. (2) In addition to the above-mentioned officialdom, ancient scholarship was mainly concentrated in schools. At that time, the subjects studied by the children of the aristocracy included the so-called "six arts" of etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. Books and mathematics are the training of reading, writing and calculation skills and belong to the "elementary school"; etiquette, music, archery and imperialism are the core contents of the "university". (3) In ancient times, health care, cooking and other technologies were mainly controlled by palace officials in the system of slaughter and diners. (4) The predecessor of ancient written laws may be certain royal decrees. Si Shi (responsible for prison affairs) and Si Kou (responsible for prison work) were in charge of the law, but the law was collected by historians. (5) Various books and atlases in ancient times were probably kept by officials in charge of administrative affairs at all levels, especially officials of the Situ system (who were in charge of the land and the people). (6) Ancient agricultural knowledge may be related to the agricultural officials of the Situ system. (7) Ancient craft knowledge may be related to the agricultural officials of the Si Gong (i.e. Sikong) system. > > The above-mentioned seven kinds of official learning can be roughly divided into two categories. One is the study of numerology centered on astronomy, calendar and various divination, the study of alchemy centered on medicine and health care, and the knowledge of technology and agronomy, which are mainly related to what we call science and technology today. Religious superstition is related; the first category is political, economic and military knowledge centered on etiquette, laws and various books and archives. > > In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a period of great change in ancient and modern times, the replacement of official schools became the background for the rise of various private schools. For example, the books on the "Six Arts" include Zhanzhan ("Yi"), Dianmo Xungao ("Book"), poetry ("Shi"), etiquette ("Li"), and Chunqiu ("Spring and Autumn"). It comes from the first and second categories of the study of kings and officials; the Mohist emphasis on skills may be related to the (seventh) category; the Yin-Yang school is related to numerology and comes from the divination system of the first category; the Taoist emphasis on the way of heaven , Nourish life, related to category (3). In fact, the studies of the various scholars during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period can be divided into two categories in terms of intellectual background: one is Confucianism based on aristocratic education such as poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, music, etc. or arguing around this background. The Yin-Yang and Tao families, which are based on practical techniques such as numerology and square skills, and the Fa and Ming families derived from Taoism. If you extend your horizons backward, you will find that the local Chinese culture since the Qin and Han Dynasties can also be divided into two major systems: Confucianism and Taoism: Confucian culture not only preserves and promotes poetry, rituals and music, but also mixes criminal names, magic, and upper-level politics. Closely integrated; Taoist culture is based on the knowledge system of numerology, Yin-Yang and Taoism as philosophy, and folk beliefs as the social foundation. It is formed by combining the three and has a great influence among the people. > > After understanding the background of the succession of official schools and the rise of various schools of thought, we will discover the problems existing in previous studies. For example, understanding of ancient Chinese culture often only pays attention to the process from the contention of a hundred schools of thought to the consolidation of Confucianism, and rarely considers that in addition to the pre-Qin scholars, there are also various practical cultures with the study of mathematics and square techniques as the core. In terms of the number and coverage of ancient bamboo slips and silk books unearthed, numerology and alchemy are the most prominent categories. This will be very helpful for us to reflect on the old knowledge system. > > Here we take ancient bamboo slips and silk books on mathematics and formulary as examples to briefly describe their value. For one thing, the unearthing of ancient bamboo slips and silk books on mathematics and alchemy has greatly enriched our understanding of Chinese culture, especially our understanding of various practical cultures, allowing us to intuitively feel two clues to Chinese culture. The second is the study of the history of philosophy. After clarifying the source of the books of Zhuzi, we should look beyond the books of Zhuzi: we should not only refer to the books of the Six Arts to interpret the scriptures, but also use numerology, formulary and military books as clues for interpretation. The third one is the study of the history of science and technology. Numerology involves astronomy, calendar, earth science, phenology, etc., while alchemy involves medicine, pharmacy, health care, etc. It is the source of ancient Chinese "science and technology" (and the source of ancient Chinese superstition). For example, the compass of the "Four Great Inventions" originated from Shi Zhan and was a tool of numerologists; gunpowder originated from alchemy, and alchemy was done by alchemists. Four, the study of religious history. The focus is on the relationship between numerology, alchemy and early witchcraft, as well as the background of the emergence of Taoism. Taoism not only uses mathematical techniques as its own knowledge system, but also regards the learning of Lao and Zhuang as its philosophical expression. It has a certain relationship with both Yin-Yang School and Taoism, but it is more closely related to Taoism, especially Taoist health-preserving thoughts. For example, what Taoism calls "immortals" is actually a state of health preservation, and its origin is still derived from the study of prescription techniques.
> > The study of the style and classification of ancient bamboo slips and silk books is the prerequisite for understanding their meaning and value. Style is the understanding of the way of creating and reading ancient books, and classification is the concept of genre established based on this understanding. > > When reading ancient books, you should know the style of ancient writings. Yu Jiaxi’s description of this is the most concise. First, the author of the ancient book. In Yu Jiaxi's words, "None of the ancient books of Zhou and Qin have authors mentioned." Yu Jiaxi: "General Regulations of Ancient Books" (including "Bibliography"), China Renmin University Press, 2004 edition, page 190. Note: All quotes from Yu Jiaxi's judgments, without special annotation, are derived from this book. . The unearthed ancient bamboo slips and silk books prove this: so far no inscribed author has been found. Ancient books generally write about the author (that is, the author), starting with "Sui Shu·Jing Ji Zhi". Second, the age of the ancient books. Since the author of the ancient book is difficult to determine, the age of the ancient book is naturally also a problem. Ancient books have “authors” (who create and invent them), “narrators” (who inherit and preserve them), and “writers” (the author is the person who selects and compiles the ancient books, and the author is the person who writes the book. They are relatively close to each other). What we call "authors" today), so the writing era of ancient books (especially pre-Qin, Qin-Han ancient books) is bound to be unclear. Third, the title of the ancient book. Ancient books have book titles (major titles) and chapter titles (minor titles). It may have been a habit since the Sui and Tang Dynasties to generally write big titles in books. Yu Jiaxi said, "The naming of ancient books has been pursued by many future generations, and not all of them are from the hands of the authors." The ancient bamboo slips and silk books that have been discovered have no major titles, only minor titles. The official collection of books has major titles. Most of the titles of the ancient bamboo and silk books seen today were added by the organizers in accordance with the naming principles of ancient books (that is, taking the first two characters of the first sentence as the title of the book), except for some markings. Fourth, the structure of ancient books. When the ancients wrote books, they often composed several chapters at once to serve as a guide for the world, so they were often written in separate chapters. Many of the unearthed bamboo and silk books are single articles, especially books on mathematics and alchemy. Corresponding to the separate lines of a single article, ancient books are often divided and combined indefinitely: that is, the same or similar content can appear in different classics, sometimes forming many types of books that are divided and combined indefinitely. Fifth, the authenticity of ancient books. The debate on the authenticity of ancient books has been around since ancient times, and has become a big issue in modern times. The concept of authenticity is relative to "author", and "author" actually has different meanings, so the concept of authenticity is bound to be confused. Yu Jiaxi said, "I don't know the style of ancient writings, but trying to discuss the authenticity of ancient books" will often lead to many "unjust, false and wrong cases". For example, ancient books such as "Wei Liao Zi" and "Liu Tao" (or "Tai Gong") are mostly regarded as forgeries. However, from Yinqueshan Han Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Slips and Bajialong Han Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Slips, we can see that these two ancient books are not only not fake books but also authentic. The book was written earlier. >> Li Xueqin advocated classifying ancient bamboo slips and silk books with reference to "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi". This follows the old method of classifying historical books into the six arts. According to Li Ling's research, they are summarized into the following six categories. In "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi", "Guoyu", "Warring States Policy", "Tai Shi Gong Shu" ("Historical Records") and other historical books are included The reason why the "Spring and Autumn" Classics were included in the Qin and Han dynasties was that historiography appeared as a vassal of Confucian classics and had no independent status; The category appeared, and it was called the History Department in "Sui Zhi". The practice of making history books independent fails to reflect the development process of the history department. , the ancient books found on bamboo slips and silk are also included in the category. >> (1) Six Arts Category (equivalent to the "Six Arts" in "Han Zhi" and the "Jingbu" in "Sui Zhi"). The "six arts" are "rituals", "music", "shooting", "imperialism", "calligraphy" and "numerology". They were originally six courses taught to the children of nobles. These courses were about moral cultivation and skill training. The "Six Arts" are also six courses: "Poetry", "Calligraphy", "Etiquette", "Music", "Yi" and "Spring and Autumn". No matter what the content of the "Six Arts" is, they were not originally book titles, nor did they involve what books to read. They were just category names for certain types of books. Later generations often regard it as the title of books, such as "The Book of Songs", "Spring and Autumn", etc., but it is actually a selection of such books. The six arts categories can be divided into three sub-categories: classics, such as "Poetry", "Book", "Li", "Yi", "Spring and Autumn", etc. The "Poetry" category found on bamboo slips includes Fuyang Han Bamboo Slips "The Book of Songs", the "Ritual" category includes Wuwei Han Bamboo Bamboo Slips "Yili", and the "Yi" category includes Mawangdui Silk Slips "Zhouyi" and so on. Regarding the "Six Arts" classics, there have been new discoveries in recent bamboo slips and silks. On October 22, 2008, Tsinghua University officially announced that approximately 2,100 Warring States Bamboo Slips donated by alumni were brought to Tsinghua University. This batch of slips dates from the middle period of the Warring States Period and belongs to the book category. Most of its contents are related to history. Among these bamboo slips is the Book of Documents, which was written before Qin burned the book. There are handed down versions of chapters such as "Jin", "Kang Gao" and "Gu Ming", but there are many differences in the text and sentences, and even the titles of the chapters are different. Many of them are unprecedented and lost. There is also a chronological history book among Tsinghua bamboo slips. The style and some sentences are very similar to the "Bamboo Book Annals". The recorded historical events range from the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Warring States period. It is compared with the "Spring and Autumn" classics and "Historical Records". Many new connotations. Li Xueqin: "First Meeting with Tsinghua Slips", Guangming Daily website:?gmw?cn/01gmrb/2008-12/01/content_864238?htm. Biographies, that is, the biographies, notes, explanations, explanations, training, exegesis, chapters, etc. of the above-mentioned books. Primary school books, such as "Cangjie", "Shi Zhen", "Jijiu" and other books. Among the bamboo slips and silks found are "Cangjie Pian" on Fuyang Han bamboo slips, "Jijiu Zhang" on Juyan Han bamboo slips, etc. > > (2) Zhuzi categories (equivalent to "Zhuzi" in "Han Zhi" and "Zibu" in "Sui Zhi"). Zhuzishu is the main body of ancient books of the Warring States Period. People in the Han Dynasty summarized the hundreds of schools of thought as "six schools" or "nine streams and ten schools".
"Six Schools" is what Sima Tan said in "The Essentials of Six Schools", including "Yin and Yang", "Confucianism", "Mo", "Fa", "Ming", and "Tao". "Han Zhi" added "Zongheng", "Miscellaneous", "Nong" and "Novel" are among the "nine and ten schools". Regardless of whether there were so many "families" or "streams" in the pre-Qin period, at least there were still three schools: "Confucianism", "Mohism" and "Taoism". Therefore, various subcategories can be divided into four subcategories: Confucianism, such as "The Analects of Confucius", "Xunzi", etc. (Li Ling believes that "The Analects of Confucius", "The Book of Rites", etc. should come from the classics and enter the Confucius). The bamboo slips seen on bamboo slips include octagonal gallery Han bamboo slips "The Analects of Confucius", "Confucian Sayings", etc.; Mohism, only "Mozi" remains today; Taoism, such as "", "", "", "Mawangdui" silk scrolls, "Laozi", "Jingfa", etc.; others , mostly related to Taoism. >> (3) Poems and Fu (equivalent to "Poems and Fu" in "Han Zhi" and "Ji Bu" in "Sui Zhi"). The poems and poems of the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties were collected in "Han Zhi", except for those recorded in "Chu Ci" and "Selected Works" and cited in "Historical Records" and "Han Shu", many of them have been lost. Its "poems" are song poems, which can be sung according to music scores. The recorded poems are mainly Yuefu songs and poems of the Han Dynasty; its "fu" is Ci Fu, which is divided into four categories. The first three categories are Yi, Lu Jia and Xun Qing. The fourth type of Fu is the Fu with unknown author or thematic collection nature. The poetry category is divided into two categories: poetry and poetry. There are not many poetry and prose materials found on bamboo slips. Among the bamboo slips found on bamboo slips are "Tang Le" on Yinqueshan Han bamboo slips, "Shenwu Fu" on Yinwan Han bamboo slips, etc. > > (4) Military Book category (equivalent to the "Military Book" in "Han Zhi" and the "Zi Bu" military category in "Sui Zhi"). "Han Zhi" divides military books into four categories: "strategy" is mainly about strategy, with a comprehensive and theoretical nature; "situation" is mainly about tactics, with a topical and practical nature; "yin and yang" is the numerology in military science Its application focuses on astronomy and geography; "skills" refer to the art of siege and defense, plus the study of weapons and martial arts. The first two categories are strategies, and the last two categories are techniques, which can reflect the general scope of ancient military books. Among the military books seen on bamboo slips and silk slips, the Yinqueshan Han bamboo slips are the best, including "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and "The Art of War". Zhangjiashan Han Bamboo Slips "Gai Lu" belongs to the Yin and Yang family of soldiers. >> (5) Numerology category (equivalent to the "Numerology" category of "Han Zhi" and the "Zibu" astronomy, almanac, and five elements categories of "Sui Zhi"). "Hanshu Shushulue" contains six categories of books on fractions: "astronomy" and "lipu" are the science of astronomical calculations, among which "astronomy" also includes predictions of good and bad fortune (divination of stars and gases), which are recorded on bamboo slips and silk There are Mawangdui silk books such as "Five Stars Divination" and "Astronomy and Meteorology Miscellaneous Divination", as well as Fuyang Han Bamboo Bamboo Slips "Tianli", Zhangjiashan Han Bamboo Bamboo Slips "Arithmetic Book", etc.; "Five Elements" is the sun (specializes in time and day divination) The skills of those who have experienced it, including formulas and various selection skills, including "yin and yang, five elements, seasons" (related to calendar taboos and day selection), etc., as seen on bamboo slips and silk bamboo slips, "Sleeping Tiger Land" Qin Bamboo "Rishu" A , Yi version, Kong Jiapo Han Bamboo Slips "Ri Shu", etc.; "Yarrow Turtle" refers to the art of divination, including turtle divination (using tortoise shells for divination by burning) and yarrow divination (using yarrow grass for divination), which are the above-mentioned The most important divination techniques besides divination include "Gui Zang" on Wangjiatai Qin bamboo slips, "Sixty-Four Hexagrams" on Mawangdui silk scripts, etc.; "Miscellaneous divination" refers to divination in addition to star divination, divination, tortoise divination, and divination. Other divination methods include "dream divination", "dream divination" (expelling ghosts, eliminating evil spirits, and bringing blessings), etc. The "Dream" chapter in the "Rishu" of the Qin bamboo slips "Sui Hu Di" can be seen on bamboo slips and silk. The Mawangdui silk book "Pictures of Avoiding Soldiers" and so on; "Xingfa" refers to the art of physiognomy, which is mainly based on the physiognomy of terrain and houses (similar to the Feng Shui masters of later generations), and also includes the physiognomy of people, animals, utensils, etc. There are horses seen on the silk slips. Wang Dui's silk book "Xiangma Jing", Ju Yan's Han bamboo slips "Xiang Bao Jian Dao", etc. These six categories can reflect the general scope of ancient numerology. > > (6) Prescription type (equivalent to the "Fang Technique" category in "Han Zhi" and "Zi Bu" medical prescription type in "Sui Zhi"). "Han Zhi" divides the study of prescription techniques into four categories: "Medical Classics" is a comprehensive medical book that emphasizes theory, among which pulse theory is the most important. The bamboo slips include "Moxibustion Classic of the Twelve Meridians of the Foot and Arms" written by Ma Wangdui on silk. , "Pulse Book" on Zhangjiashan Han Bamboo Bamboo Slips, etc.; "Jingfang" is a thematic medical skill with a focus on application. Examples found on bamboo slips include "Fifty-Two Disease Prescriptions" on silk slips in Mawangdui, Han Bamboo Bamboo Slips on Wuwei Hantanpo Medical Prescriptions, etc. ; "Fangzhong" refers to content such as the art of handover in the room, and the bamboo slips include "Ten Questions", "Integration of Yin and Yang", etc.; "Shenxian" refers to other health-preserving techniques other than "Fangzhong", including taking food ( Special diet), qi circulation (also called "conquering qi", "regulating qi", similar to what is called "qigong" today), daoyin (gymnastics with breathing methods), etc., there are horse kings seen on bamboo slips Stacked silk books "Que Gu Shi Qi", "Daoyin Picture" and Zhangjiashan Han Bamboo Bamboo Bamboo Slips "Yin Shu", etc. > > Of the above six categories, the first three categories focus on humanities, while the last three categories focus on skills. The first three types of books have always been valued by scholars, but the last three types of books have received little attention, so that there is a situation of "learned but not skilled". Affected by the old knowledge structure and knowledge background, there are not only many problems in the research of the first three types of books, but also the significance of the last three types of books cannot be fully explored. Paying full attention to and using ancient bamboo slips and silk books for research will become the key to "rewriting" the academic history of Qin, Han and Pre-Qin.