Bamboo and wooden slips
Primary writing medium in China before paper's spread.
Bamboo and wooden slips, known in Chinese as jiǎndú, are slender strips of wood or bamboo, each usually bearing a single vertical column of several dozen characters written with a brush. Before paper became common in China during the first two centuries AD, these strips served as the primary writing material. Silk was used occasionally, as seen in the Chu Silk Manuscript, but its high cost made it impractical for most documents.
The strips vary mainly in length: bamboo slips range from about 9 cm to 45 cm, while their width is more consistently around 0.6 cm. Writing runs vertically, from right to left. After being inscribed, the strips were bound together with hemp, silk, or leather to form a folding book, called jiǎncè or jiǎndú. Binding usually happened after writing, with only a few exceptions.
The oldest surviving bamboo and wooden slips date to the 5th century BC, during the Warring States period. However, earlier texts preserved on other media indicate that a forerunner of these slips was already in use by the late Shang period, around 1250 BC. Bamboo and wooden strips were the standard writing material throughout the Han dynasty, and many examples have been excavated. Later, the improvements to paper made by Cai Lun during the Han dynasty began to replace them, and by the 4th century AD, bamboo had largely been abandoned for writing in China.
Because durable bamboo strips were often buried in royal tombs, many works have survived in their original form. An important early find was the Jizhong discovery in 279 AD, from a tomb of a king of Wei, though the original strips have since been lost. Several major caches have been uncovered in recent years.
Major collections include the "old Juyan texts": in 1930, the Sino-Swedish Expedition excavated ten sites in the Juyan Lake Basin, unearthing 10,200 wooden slips from the Western Han. In 1937, after the Second Sino-Japanese War began, Chung-Chang Shen moved these slips from Beijing to the University of Hong Kong. Another 20,237 slips were excavated between 1972 and 1976 by the Juyan Archaeological Team in Gansu, now held by the Provincial Museum of Gansu and known as the "new Juyan texts." The Shanghai Museum corpus was purchased in Hong Kong the year after the Guodian tomb was excavated, and is thought to have been taken by graverobbers from a nearby tomb. The Tsinghua collection was donated by an alum
- earliest_surviving_examples
- 5th century BC (Warring States period)
- precursor_in_use
- Late Shang period (from about 1250 BC)
- standard_writing_material
- Han dynasty
- largely_abandoned
- 4th century AD
- typical_width
- 0.6 cm
- typical_length_range
- 9 cm to 45 cm
Lore & Background
Bamboo and wooden slips were bound together with hemp, silk, or leather to form folding books called jiǎncè or jiǎndú. Writing proceeded vertically from right to left, and the binding usually took place after writing, with a few exceptions. A small knife was used to scrape away mistakes and make amendments; decorated knives became a symbol of office for some officials, indicating their power to amend records and edicts.
Reader's Guide
Bamboo and wooden slips served as the dominant writing medium in China for centuries, from at least the late Shang period until the 4th century AD, when paper largely displaced them. Their durability, especially when interred in royal tombs, preserved many works in their original form. Major collections include the 'old Juyan texts' (10,200 slips excavated in 1930), the 'new Juyan texts' (20,237 slips excavated 1972–1976), the Shanghai Museum corpus (purchased after graverobbing), the Tsinghua collection (donated after auction), and the Anhui University corpus (purchased from the antiquity market). These finds have provided invaluable primary sources for understanding ancient Chinese administration, law, literature, and daily life. The custom of interring bamboo-strip books in tombs has been key to their preservation, as seen in the Jizhong discovery of 279 AD, though those original strips have since disappeared.
Did You Know?
- The earliest surviving bamboo and wooden slips date from the 5th century BC during the Warring States period.
- Bamboo slips range in length from 9 cm to 45 cm, with a consistent width of about 0.6 cm.
- A small knife was used to scrape away mistakes when writing on bamboo slips.
- The 'old Juyan texts' consist of 10,200 wooden slips excavated in 1930 by the Sino-Swedish Expedition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are bamboo and wooden slips (jiǎndú)?
They are narrow strips of bamboo or wood, each carrying a single vertical column of handwritten characters, that functioned as China's principal writing surface before paper became widespread.
When did bamboo and wooden slips first come into use?
Their use as a writing medium traces back to the Late Shang period around 1250 BC, although the oldest physical specimens still in existence date to the 5th century BC during the Warring States era.
What did the individual slips look like?
Each strip measured roughly 0.6 cm in width and anywhere from 9 to 45 cm in length, with characters brushed vertically down the face of the strip.
Why did bamboo and wooden slips fall out of use?
Paper became cheap enough to produce at scale during the first two centuries AD, eliminating the need to cut, bind, and write on dozens of separate strips; by the 4th century AD the practice had largely disappeared from everyday use.
Why are bamboo and wooden slips significant in Chinese history?
They served as the dominant recording medium for roughly a millennium, carrying everything from government edicts to literary works, and thus form the critical bridge between earlier oracle-bone inscriptions and the paper-based documentary tradition that followed.
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