Bamboo Annals facts for kids
| Original title | 竹書紀年 |
|---|---|
| Country | State of Wei, ancient China |
| Language | Classical Chinese |
| Subject | ancient Chinese history |
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Publication date
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before 296 BC |
| Bamboo Annals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 竹書紀年 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 竹书纪年 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "The Bamboo Writings Annals" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Bamboo Annals (pronounced Zhúshū Jìnián) is a super old history book from ancient China. It's also sometimes called the Ji Tomb Annals. This book tells the story of China from its very first legendary rulers, like the Yellow Emperor. It goes all the way up to the year 299 BC.
The later parts of the book focus on the history of the State of Wei. This was an important state during the Warring States period in China. The Bamboo Annals covers a similar time frame as another famous history book, Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Qian.
The original Bamboo Annals might have been lost a long time ago, around the Song dynasty. Today, we know about this text from two main versions. One is called the "current text," and people debate if it's truly authentic. The other is an incomplete "ancient text."
Contents
How We Know About the Bamboo Annals
A Hidden Treasure Discovered
The original Bamboo Annals was buried with King Xiang of Wei. He died in 296 BC. Almost 600 years later, in 281 AD, this amazing book was found! It was discovered during a special event called the Jizhong discovery. This happened in the Western Jin dynasty.
Because it was buried, the Bamboo Annals survived something terrible. It avoided the "burning of the books" ordered by Emperor Qin Shi Huang. He wanted to destroy many old books. Other valuable texts were also found in the same tomb. These included Guoyu and the I Ching.
Written on Bamboo Slips
The Annals were written on bamboo slips. These were thin pieces of bamboo, which was the common writing material during the Warring States period. That's why the book is called the Bamboo Annals!
When the slips were found, court scholars carefully put them in order. Then they copied the text. A scholar named Du Yu saw the original bamboo slips. He said the book started with the Xia dynasty. He also noted that it used different calendars over time. This showed that the book was likely the official history of the Wei state.
Different Versions of the Book
The original 13-scroll version of the Bamboo Annals was lost during the Song dynasty.
Today, we have a "current text" version. This one has two scrolls and was printed in the late 1500s. The first scroll talks about the very early rulers of China, like the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. It also covers the Xia and Shang dynasties. This part includes strange stories about omens or signs.
The second scroll gives more details about the history of the Western Zhou dynasty. It also covers the states of Jin and Wei. This part doesn't have the omen stories. Some scholars think this "current text" might not be fully accurate. They believe parts of it could be later additions.
However, other scholars believe that much of this "current text" is actually a good copy of the original.
The "Ancient Text"
There's also an "ancient text" version. This one is not complete. Scholars created it by carefully looking at old books written before the Song dynasty. These old books often quoted parts of the original Bamboo Annals. By gathering all these quotes, scholars could piece together parts of the lost original.
This "ancient text" helps us understand what the original Bamboo Annals might have looked like.
See Also
- Tsinghua Bamboo Slips
