This magnificent, 1,200-page, two-volume work is an essential reference for anyone interested in the Guodian texts. The Bamboo Texts of Guodian makes these extremely important but challenging excavated texts accessible to a much wider audience by expertly summarizing key information and debates for each text and providing English translations based on the most recent research into the identification of the archaic graphs in which they are written. Scott Cook has been comprehensive and inclusive, distilling scholarship from close to 1,000 secondary sources in his copiously annotated transcriptions of the texts and in his discussion of the debates they have inspired.
The Guodian texts, written using brush and ink on 731 bamboo slips, were excavated from a tomb in Hubei Province, China, in 1993. Annotated transcriptions of the texts were published in 1998. The tomb is dated to roughly 300 BCE and is located in an elite cemetery close to the capital of what was the state of Chu at that time. Judging by the nature of the grave and its furnishings, the tomb occupant was a low- to mid-ranking Chu noble. The excavated slips were arranged and divided by the editors into eighteen separate texts, all of which are of a philosophical nature. They include the earliest known versions of passages now in the Laozi and a previously unknown cosmogony. The remaining texts and collections of short sayings can, Cook argues, for the most part be categorized as Confucian. Apart from the Laozi materials, only one other text (the “Ziyi”) was previously known from the received tradition. This find, along with a number of others like it, allows a reevaluation of our understanding of the early development of Chinese philosophy and is thus of major significance. Any scholar or student working in this or related fields needs to take the Guodian texts into account, and Cook's work greatly facilitates this task.
The 185-page introduction begins with a detailed description of the find and the initial processing of the bamboo slips. This is followed by an informative discussion of the methods employed by the scholars who originally edited the materials and the challenges they met when arranging the bamboo slips, identifying individual texts, and producing the annotated transcriptions of the archaic script. Specialists in Chinese palaeography produced these transcriptions, which present the standard modern characters for the words that are denoted by the ancient graphs, thus putting the original text in a form that is recognizable and readable to the modern scholar. Since the degree of certainty about the identification of individual graphs can vary considerably, it is important that readers are aware of the challenges involved in this analysis.
Cook then discusses the Guodian texts in the context of Warring States intellectual history. The texts probably existed prior to the completion of the Mencius and therefore could have been read by Mencius (ca. 385–305 BCE). Cook agrees that the evidence for linking at least some of the Guodian texts with the philosophy of Zi Si (483–402 BCE) and works (some lost) associated with him is “tantalizing and substantial” (p. 121). This is of great significance when considering the early development of Confucian intellectual lineages, particularly the suggestion that Zi Si and Mencius share a common lineage. However, he warns of the danger of framing the texts solely in these terms, potentially missing insights not directly related to lineage affiliation. Cook considers valuable new evidence the texts provide related to the early status, formation, and content of the “Six Classics” (Odes, Documents, Ritual, Music, Changes, Spring and Autumn), in particular the frequent quotes from the Book of Documents and Book of Odes, the inclusion of the “Ziyi,” which is found in the received Book of Ritual (Li ji), and other passages with close parallels in the received ritual texts.
Cook then presents a more personal response to the texts, discussing topics he feels are significant. These include the idea that, on a personal level, Heaven's mandate obliges one to cultivate one's own nature in order to accord with Heaven's way, and that virtue must be sought from within oneself, while respecting external social norms. The sage is the ideal of one successful in self-cultivation, who may then guide and be a model to others. The sage-ruler will use ritual and music (with its power to influence the heart-mind) rather than law and punishment to guide the people. Combined with his charismatic and virtuous example, this “governance through moral suasion” (p. 165) will result in an ordered state. The texts also use music figuratively to portray the attainment of virtue (de) that harmonizes the basic morals, such as humanity and propriety, and to describe the influence a virtuous and charismatic leader will have on the people. Cook acknowledges that the discussion in this section is not comprehensive and that other important themes, such as fate and abdication, are not discussed. However, he deals with several such themes in detail in the introductions to the individual translations of the texts.
The remainder of the work consists of introductions to and annotated translations of the separate texts. For each text, Cook provides a detailed introduction with a critical survey of the major scholarship. He places each text in the context of related excavated and received works, and lists other English translations. The footnotes here are essential reading, filled with detailed discussion and further references. Cook also gives a critical summary of textual problems, in several cases suggesting original solutions, perhaps most significantly for the Zun deyi, where he argues convincingly that the top and bottom sections of several pairs of broken slips were incorrectly matched together in the original publication and should be switched, making for a far more coherent text.
The transcriptions follow, and Cook uses a standard format in which the archaic graphs are transcribed into a modern form and, where necessary, the denoted word given in parentheses. Used in combination with images of the original slips (not reproduced in the work), this format allows one to see the main stages of analysis from archaic graph to identified word. As is evident from the many bibliographic entries under his English and Chinese names, Cook has fully participated in both the English- and Chinese-language scholarly debates on the analysis and interpretation of the texts since they were first published. He brings this experience, along with a full survey of the Chinese-language palaeographic literature, to bear on the question of the best transcription for each archaic graph. As a result, the reader can be confident that the transcriptions are the result of years of careful and informed consideration. Where there are significant debates about the identification of a particular graph and/or the word it denotes, Cook discusses alternative analyses in a footnote. These certainly deserve close attention, as they can significantly alter the meaning of the text. The transcription is interspersed with Cook's accurate and highly readable English translations. The combination of an in-depth introduction, transcription, translation, and detailed footnotes giving alternative analyses makes for a comprehensive, consistent, and objective presentation of the current state of scholarly understanding of each text.
Cook's aim in this work was to “provide a manageable basis for further study” (p. 176) and, as he acknowledges, his translations naturally reflect his own informed understanding of the texts. Given the continuing debates over strip order and the identification of particular graphs, as well as differing views on the nature of certain texts, scholars of course have different interpretations of the materials. Future discoveries of palaeographic materials, along with advances in the field of historical phonology, will allow scholars to reassess the identification of certain graphs, also affecting our understanding of the texts. But Cook's objective presentation clearly acknowledges these facts, and the reader is provided with many of the alternative analyses and made aware that the work will best be used in conjunction with new findings that solve or clarify remaining problems.
Excavated texts have revolutionized the study of China's early formative period. Cook's work makes one of the most important sets of texts widely accessible to researchers and students, and this is truly a major contribution to the field. The Bamboo Texts of Guodian will become a standard reference and, one hopes, encourage (and set the standard for) similar translation projects for other groups of excavated early Chinese texts.
