Xi stresses preserving, studying ancient bamboo slips

WUHAN, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) — Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has stressed sound protection of and in-depth research on ancient bamboo and wooden slips.
Xi made the remarks during his visit to an exhibition featuring slips dating back to the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.-207 B.C.) and the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) at a museum in Yunmeng County, central China’s Hubei Province, on Monday afternoon.
During his visit, Xi learned about the content of the bamboo and wooden slips, their historical and cultural value, and the local preservation and research efforts.
Noting that these ancient artifacts are extremely precious and are important, physical evidence that supports China’s reliable historical records, Xi urged sound protection of and in-depth research on them.
Xi also called for continuous archaeological excavation to provide more materials that could serve as irrefutable evidence of the nation’s history.
Ancient bamboo and wooden slips are slender, rectangular pieces on which ancient Chinese recorded information using brush and ink. Before the invention of paper, bamboo and wooden slips were the primary writing medium in China.
Unearthed in various parts of China, they offer a rare glimpse into the nation’s administrative, legal and social structures of the time. ■