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Abstract
In the “Statutes on Water Control” seen in Selected Western Han Bamboo Slips from Jingzhou Hujia Caochang: the phrase er jue kui
Abstract
The Hujia caochang Western Han slip-and-tablet manuscripts include statutes on the manyi
Abstract
In the early Western Han, the “Manyi (zhu)lü”
Abstract
Recognized as a pivotal moment in early Chinese legal history, Emperor Wen of Han’s 167 BCE legal reform raises significant unresolved questions due to limited available evidence. This paper aims to investigate the reform’s impact on the grading system for illicit profit resulting from robberies. By analyzing recently published legal manuscripts discovered in Tomb No. 12 at Hujia caochang, Hubei, this study reveals that the reform introduced a more structured and coherent grading system for illicit profit, aligning it with the newly-established hierarchy of fixed-term hard labor punishments. By placing this reform in the context of the early Han dynasty, this research offers an alternative perspective that challenges the prevailing assumption that “Han continued the institutions of the Qin.”
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This paper studies two Cao Mie zhi zhen manuscripts in the Shanghai Museum and Anhui University Warring States bamboo strip collections, examining their modes of production, scribal hands, errors, and punctuation. I show that both manuscripts’ production was based on written models and involved multiple scribes, one of whom was responsible for writing the main text, whereas others made corrections and inscribed personal remarks on the manuscripts.
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The political importance of the Southern Man peoples (Nan Man
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As the early Chinese empires conquered the Yangzi Valley, they came to govern people who relied on engineered water-control systems to irrigate their fields and prevent the flooding of their settlements. Recently excavated documents reflect the growth of legislation on water management at the dawn of the imperial era, leading up to the composition of the first statute specially devoted to hydraulic administration during the reign of Emperor Wen. These texts reveal the scope of official involvement in water management. This paper argues that the Qin and Han states relied on local communities for much of the decision-making and labor organization needed for infrastructural maintenance. At the same time, the early Chinese empires pioneered transregional hydraulic projects that made water a vital tool of imperial politics. As a hydraulic actor, the early Chinese empires transformed the lives of their subjects not by making them dependent on state-managed irrigation, but by facilitating migration, providing producers and consumers access to larger markets, encouraging economic intensification, and enhancing the circulation of information, ideas, and lifestyles.
Abstract
This article proposes a set of function-based criteria for identifying paratextual elements in manuscript texts. With *Tang zai Chimen and *Tang chu yu Tangqiu as examples, I show how their narrative frames perform functions akin to titles, authors’ names, and prefaces. This approach offers a new explanation for the prevalence of the anecdote genre as well as a renewed understanding of the functions of the paratext.