On the tenth anniversary of the announcement of the archaeological findings of the Haihunhou Tomb in Nanchang, Yang Jun, the leader of the archaeological excavation team and a research fellow at the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said in an interview with The Paper | Ancient Art yesterday that 1,200 bamboo slips of the Book of Songs were unearthed from the Haihunhou Tomb, which contain "350 poems, 1,760 chapters, and 7,274 characters". This proves that the Book of Songs buried with the Haihunhou Tomb is a complete version of the Book of Songs, which is also the first discovery of a complete version of the Book of Songs from the Qin and Han dynasties.
" Although the Haihun Tomb contained a complete copy of the Book of Songs, due to the preservation environment of the tomb, it may not have been preserved in its entirety. However, it is the Book of Songs bamboo slips with the most characters discovered in archaeological excavations to date. The restoration work on the Haihun bamboo slips has lasted for more than 10 years and is a classic case of extremely high technical difficulty and interdisciplinary collaboration in the history of Chinese cultural relic protection. It is expected to be fully restored in 2026," said Yang Jun.
How was the complete version of the Book of Songs from the Qin and Han dynasties discovered and confirmed?
In 2011, the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, dating back to the Han Dynasty, was discovered in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. The tomb belonged to Liu He, grandson of Emperor Wu of Han and later the deposed emperor. It is hailed as the best-preserved and most structurally clear Western Han Dynasty marquis cemetery. In 2015, the archaeological excavation of the tomb of Marquis Liu He of Haihun, with its vast scale and rich cultural relics, unveiled the mysteries of the Western Han Dynasty's marquis system and material culture, attracting widespread attention from academia and society. Over ten thousand pieces (sets) of precious artifacts systematically demonstrate the ritual norms, craftsmanship, and lifestyle of the Western Han Dynasty, becoming important evidence for interpreting the diverse yet unified pattern of Chinese civilization.
Among them, the more than 5,200 Western Han Dynasty bamboo and wooden slips unearthed from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun caused a national sensation due to their sheer quantity and rich textual content, and are regarded as treasures by scholars. These slips not only reveal the reading interests of the tomb owner, Liu He, but also reflect the era's customs and features. Approximately 1,200 of the slips are related to the Book of Songs.
Yang Jun, a research fellow at the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the leader of the archaeological excavation team at the Haihunhou Tomb, said in an interview with The Paper | Ancient Art that the discovery of the Haihun bamboo slips of the Book of Songs was first announced to the public in 2018, but based on the archaeological evidence at the time, it could only be identified as the Book of Songs with the most characters.
A bamboo slip containing the text of the Book of Songs, which reads "350 poems, 176 chapters, and 7274 characters" (Image provided by Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology).
As research into the unearthed artifacts deepens, especially with the second infrared scan during the preservation and restoration of the wooden slips, the slips inscribed with "350 poems, 176 chapters, and 7274 characters" from the *Classic of Poetry* prove that the *Classic of Poetry* buried in the Haihunhou tomb is a complete version. In this sense, this is the first discovery of a complete *Classic of Poetry* from the Qin and Han dynasties. Yang Jun emphasized, "Although this is a complete version of the *Classic of Poetry*, due to the preservation environment of the tomb, it may not have been preserved in its entirety. However, it is the *Classic of Poetry* slip with the most characters discovered in archaeological excavations to date."
According to reports, the bamboo slips of the *Classic of Poetry* unearthed from the Tibetan outer coffin of the tomb of Liu He, Marquis of Haihun, are 23 cm long and 0.8 cm wide, bound with three cords, and contain 20-25 characters. They include the text itself, exegesis appended to the main text, and a preface-like text at the end of each poem, showcasing the textual form of the *Classic of Poetry* from the early to mid-Western Han Dynasty. The bamboo slips have a rigorous structure and orderly chapter division, totaling 305 poems and 1076 chapters, the same number of poems as the extant *Mao Shi* (the ancient text of the *Classic of Poetry* compiled and annotated by Mao Heng of Lu and Mao Chang of Zhao during the Western Han Dynasty), but 66 fewer chapters.
Bamboo slips of the Book of Songs buried with the Haihun Tomb (Photo provided by Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
Wang Shi, the tutor of Liu He, the Marquis of Haihun, was an important transmitter of the study of the *Classic of Poetry* during the Western Han Dynasty. The *Book of Han, Biographies of Confucian Scholars* records: "I (Wang Shi) taught the King the 305 poems of the *Classic of Poetry* morning and evening. As for the poems about loyal ministers and filial sons, I never failed to recite them repeatedly for the King; as for those about rulers in peril and who had lost their way, I never failed to tearfully and deeply plead for them. I used the 305 poems to remonstrate, therefore I have no written remonstrances." In Wang Shi's view, teaching the *Classic of Poetry* was an important way for him to offer advice. Liu He died in the third year of the Shenjue era of Emperor Xuan of Han, and the *Classic of Poetry* of Haihun was compiled before this time, preserving the appearance of early and mid-Western Han Dynasty texts on the study of the *Classic of Poetry*.
Bamboo slips containing the Analects were found in the Haihun Tomb (Photo provided by Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
Yang Jun stated that among the thousands of bamboo slips, there are over 500 bamboo slips containing the *Analects*, including the lost *Qi Analects*. The *Qi Analects* unearthed from the Haihunhou tomb, specifically the "Knowledge" chapter, is well-preserved with clear characters. The slip has a flat top, blank space before the text, and slight damage at the bottom, but no visible writing. This slip is written in ink in clerical script, with neat and orderly characters, repeated characters, and no use of reduplicated symbols, resulting in a relatively complete meaning. Besides the *Analects* and *Classic of Poetry*, the Haihun slips also contain *Book of Rites*, *Spring and Autumn Annals*, and *Classic of Filial Piety*, reflecting Emperor Wu of Han's promotion of Confucianism and extensive collection of texts. In addition, there are approximately 200 slips containing *I Ching* texts; the *I Ching Divination* among the Haihun slips is a divination text, previously unseen.
The restoration work lasted for more than 10 years, and the wooden slips were given a new lease on life.
With the discovery of over 5,000 bamboo and wooden slips from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, the preservation and restoration of these slips has been ongoing for more than a decade. The preservation and restoration of the Haihun slips is a collaborative effort between the Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Jingzhou Cultural Relics Protection Center in Hubei Province. Most of the preservation work has been completed, and full completion is expected by the end of 2026.
The restoration of the bamboo slips unearthed from the Haihunhou Tomb is a classic case of extremely high technical difficulty and interdisciplinary collaboration in the history of Chinese cultural relic preservation. The main burial chamber of the Haihunhou Tomb had been sealed for over two thousand years before excavation, exhibiting a "micro-ecosystem" characterized by high humidity, low oxygen, low temperature, and rich organic matter. While this environment prevented the artifacts from oxidizing and carbonizing, allowing the bamboo slips to be preserved, they were extremely prone to rapid drying, cracking, warping, fragmentation, and mold growth once exposed to air. Therefore, the restoration work had to be carried out simultaneously with the archaeological excavation.
Fang Beisong, director of the Cultural Relics Protection Center of Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, said that the bamboo and wooden slips unearthed from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun have various defects, including problems with the body such as decay, incompleteness, water saturation, and breakage, as well as difficulties in recognizing the characters due to blurred or deformed handwriting.
The restoration of the bamboo slips began in 2015. "When the bamboo slips were first unearthed, they were in poor condition, stuck together like mud, and could not be cleaned on-site. They were extracted as a whole and placed in a box to be preserved in the laboratory," Yang Jun told The Paper. The number of bamboo slips was enormous, and the bamboo and wood were fragile with a high water content. After being soaked in mud and water, they stuck together and deformed. The ink on the bamboo slips was very faint and easily lost during the process. The cleaning and fixing of the writing layer had to be completed without damaging it. These were all difficulties that had to be overcome in the restoration of the bamboo slips.
Its protection and restoration involves a series of steps, including sorting and peeling, infrared scanning, reinforcement, cleaning, dehydration, repair, and sealing. Each step is extremely difficult and time-consuming.
The photo shows cultural heritage preservation workers uncovering the artifacts. (Photo provided by Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
"When cleaning and peeling, the sticky bamboo slips must be separated one by one. Since the bamboo slips have already fallen apart, special attention must be paid to the order of the strips and the relationship between the top and bottom strips during the peeling process." "This process is very time-consuming. The peeling process alone took more than a year."
Before the bamboo slips were fixed in place (Photo provided by Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
"Most of the bamboo slips were waterlogged when they were unearthed, but some of them were shrunken and curled like hair. During the reinforcement process, we need to use chemical agents to moisten and reshape the bamboo slips, basically restoring them to the state of the same batch of waterlogged bamboo slips. The bamboo slips straighten out as if they have stretched."
The photo shows cultural heritage preservation workers washing the bamboo slips. (Photo provided by Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
Washing bamboo slips is also a delicate technical task. The mud on each slip is removed one by one with a brush; if the pressure isn't controlled properly, the mud might be washed away along with the ink. "It's an extremely meticulous job. Our restorers can only wash a dozen or so slips a day at most. With over 5,000 bamboo slips, and several people each only able to wash a dozen or so slips a day, how long would that take? There are still nearly a thousand bamboo slips that haven't been washed yet."
The photo shows cultural heritage preservation workers preparing for infrared scanning. (Photo provided by Jiangxi Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
The cleaned bamboo slips were easier to identify during the second infrared scan. Although the first infrared photo revealed the text "350 poems, 176 chapters, 7274 words", the second infrared scan further confirmed that the Book of Poetry buried with the Marquis of Haihun was the complete Book of Poetry.
Fang Beisong, director of the Jingzhou Cultural Relics Protection Center, who is in charge of the restoration of the bamboo and wooden slips unearthed from the Haihunhou Tomb, recently revealed that more than 5,200 Haihunhou bamboo and wooden slips were found to be stuck together during this year's cultural relics protection and restoration process. After the restoration team peeled them off again, the total number has now reached 5,795.
The conservation work on most of the bamboo and wooden slips has been completed, with the remaining work expected to be completed in 2026. This includes the preservation work on 514 bamboo slips, such as sorting, peeling, and cleaning, as well as the preservation work on 1,840 bamboo slips, such as dehydration, restoration, and sealing.
"Because the bamboo slips were unearthed in poor condition, with rot and corrosion, the protection and restoration plan has been repeatedly reviewed by experts. The protection and restoration cycle is very long, which is the biggest challenge," said Yang Jun. "Although the Haihun bamboo slips have not been fully restored, a batch of newly restored bamboo slips will be on display to the public in the near future, including bamboo slips related to the Analects of Confucius."
A profound reconstruction and re-understanding of Chinese classics
It is said that the transmission of the *Classic of Poetry* was interrupted by the burning of books during the Qin Dynasty, and it was not until the early Han Dynasty that the "Four Schools of Poetry"—Qi, Lu, Han, and Mao—were revived. The *Classic of Poetry* we read today is actually the *Mao Shi* transmitted by Mao Heng of the Han Dynasty. Although the transmitted *Classic of Poetry* is a copy of Mao's ancient text, some poems are riddled with doubts, and scholars of *Classic of Poetry* exegesis throughout history have struggled to reach a consensus.
The *Classic of Poetry* found in the Warring States period bamboo slips (Anhui University bamboo slips) is the earliest known version of the *Classic of Poetry*, but it is largely fragmented. In terms of "completeness" and "key position in the classical studies system," the newly announced *Classic of Poetry* from the Haihunhou tomb has irreplaceable value. Currently, it is the first complete Qin-Han dynasty version of the *Classic of Poetry* that we can see, and it may have been used for official education and rituals.
"When the Haihunhou Tomb revealed the true form of the complete Qin and Han Dynasty version of the *Classic of Poetry*, this discovery transcended the realm of mere archaeology. It was not only a successful rescue of underground artifacts, but also a profound reconstruction and re-understanding of the early classical text tradition of Chinese civilization, with far-reaching and magnificent cultural significance," a relevant cultural scholar told The Paper. This is not merely adding an ancient copy; it is authentically written on bamboo slips in the then-common ink calligraphy style. "This material carrier transforms abstract textual history into a tangible and visible cultural scene, its significance far exceeding that of later printed documents. It opens a completely new window to the academic and intellectual world of the Qin and Han dynasties, allowing us to glimpse the original ecology of classic dissemination and interpretation during that period of great cultural transformation."
The Book of Songs from the Warring States period bamboo slips (referred to as "Anhui University Slips") previously discovered at Anhui University was largely fragmented.
The *Classic of Poetry* from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, as the earliest complete version discovered to date, provides irreplaceable firsthand material evidence for re-examining the true nature of the "Three Hundred Poems" in the early Han Dynasty, with its text, chapter order, verses, and even accompanying exegesis. Born in the crucial early period after the establishment of Confucianism's official status, the *Classic of Poetry* from the Marquis of Haihun likely preserves a wealth of early information unprocessed or altered by later scholars, including textual forms and interpretive clues that may differ from those of different schools of thought in the Han Dynasty, such as the *Mao Shi*, *Qi Shi*, *Lu Shi*, and *Han Shi*.
Furthermore, the impact of this discovery will extend to the entire field of ancient Chinese classical studies, intellectual history, and even philology. Examining it from a broader perspective of civilizational history, the complete set of *Shijing* (Classic of Poetry) bamboo slips from the Haihunhou Tomb, along with other unearthed documents such as the Anhui University bamboo slips of the *Shijing*, will reshape our understanding of early versions of the *Shijing*, greatly enhancing the credibility and continuity of the early Chinese classical transmission chain. The cultural energy and academic potential contained within will undoubtedly continue to ferment, profoundly influencing future generations of scholars' understanding and imagination of the origins of ancient Chinese civilization.
