Lee-moi Pham

This project makes use of recently excavated manuscripts from the Warring State of Chu to analyze the Chinese writing system as witnessed during a particular time and place. Using the bamboo slips from Guodian, the Shanghai Museum, and Tsinghua University, this project provides a more solid foundation for paleographic research on excavated text, developing a theory and methodology accessible to non-specialists. First, the project clarifies the nature and characteristics of the Chinese writing system, drawing attention to the complex relation between language and writing. It then brings together the variants of a single text and considers the implications of these "groups" for reading habits, the phonological system, and other characteristics particular to the Chu region of the Warring States.