Lanzhou, August 20, Xinhua (reporter Zhang Zeyuan, Cao Zhiheng) just like there must be a paper mill in the age of using paper, archaeological experts speculate that in the age of using bamboo slips in China, there are also a large number of organizations manufacturing bamboo slips, similar to the current paper mill.
In 1992, archaeologists excavated more than 35000 Han bamboo slips at the Xuanquanzhi ancient site, 62 kilometers south of Dunhuang, Gansu Province. Recently, the reporter learned that the relevant archaeological report is about to be completed. The president of the international bamboo slips society, who presided over the archaeological work.
He Shuangquan said that among all the bamboo slips unearthed, there are only more than 23000 bamboo slips with characters, and there are more than 11000 other "blank manuscripts" similar to those without characters.
"A large number of Chinese bamboo slips with and without Chinese characters have been unearthed, which shows that in the era when bamboo slips were widely used, there should also be organizations specialized in producing blank bamboo slips, which is similar to the paper mill in the paper age." He Shuangquan said.
The bamboo slips unearthed in Xuanquan are made of wood, some of which are made of sand trees such as Populus euphratica and Salix Hongliu. It is obvious that these Han bamboo slips are produced locally. In addition, there are many bamboo slips made of pine and bamboo. "It is obvious that pine and bamboo slips are not local. They should be imported from other places. This shows that there are workshops specialized in processing wooden slips in the mainland. " He Shuangquan said that in the era of bamboo slips, the length and width of wooden slips should be 30-57 cm and 1 cm for regular four books and five classics, and 1-1.2 cm for general administrative documents.