Photo: Courtesy of the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House

China has unveiled the world's first comprehensive reference dictionary for the study of ancient bamboo and silk manuscripts, a discipline that has grown from early 20th-century archaeological discoveries into an international field spanning archaeology, history, law and paleography. Experts said this publication has closed a century-old academic gap in systematic scholarship in one of East Asia's most vital ancient textual disciplines. 

Published by the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, the Dictionary of Bamboo and Silk Manuscript Studies is the world's first large-scale, authoritative lexicon to fully systematize global research on China's ancient bamboo slips, wooden tablets and silk manuscripts, the publishing house told the Global Times on Monday.

"Before paper was widely adopted, bamboo and wooden slips were China's most crucial carrier of writing, bearing the inheritance of Chinese civilization for thousands of years," Feng Shengjun, chief editor of the dictionary and vice president of the Chinese Society for the Study of Ancient Writing, told the Global Times.

"Major excavations of bamboo and silk relics have always been groundbreaking events in academic circles. By sorting out and interpreting these precious unearthed documents in a standardized dictionary form, we make the historical development of Chinese civilization clearer and more complete," Feng added, underscoring the book's foundational academic and cultural value.

The dictionary contains more than 9,000 entries and over 600 color illustrations and images. Entries cover the theory of bamboo and silk manuscript studies, excavated texts, manuscript forms and institutions, scholars and works, and preservation and research. 

Before paper became widespread, bamboo and wooden slips, along with silk fabrics, were the principal writing materials in China. Originating in the early 20th century with the discovery of Dunhuang bamboo relics, the field has evolved into an internationally recognized scholarly frontier. It integrates archaeology, ancient history, legal systems, paleography, document conservation and multiple other sectors, fueled by successive landmark discoveries including the Shanghai Museum bamboo texts, Tsinghua University bamboo slips, Yuelu Academy Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC) manuscripts and the famed Mawangdui silk documents, said the publishing house.

Photo: Courtesy of the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House

For generations, the fast-growing global discipline lacked a comprehensive, standardized specialized dictionary. More than 60 specialists took part, drawing on the latest Chinese and international research and working through multiple rounds of drafting, editing, review and final revision.

Zhao Hang, editor at the publishing house, told the Global Times that the volume comprehensively incorporates research achievements and academic works by Japanese and South Korean scholars, making it an important resource for foreign scholars who study bamboo and silk manuscripts. 

It is intended for specialists, early-career researchers and general readers interested in early Chinese history. The entries range from theoretical concepts to biographies of leading scholars and descriptions of major excavation sites, with cross-references designed to help readers move across disciplines.

Feng said the volume will support research into the politics, laws, economics, military affairs, thought, science and technology, ethnic groups and social life of ancient China. It will also help standardize terminology across different scholarly traditions.

The publication is part of broader state-backed efforts to advance ancient script research and document the continuity of Chinese civilization. It aims to help make texts written more than 2,000 years ago "core material evidence" for interpreting a continuous 5,000-year Chinese civilization. For the field, it added, the dictionary is a landmark in a century of bamboo and silk manuscript studies.