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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chu Silk Manuscript | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_Silk_Manuscript | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:44:08.345210+00:00 | kb-cron |
If [...] and the length of the lunar months becomes too long or too short, then they will not fit the proper degree and spring, summer, autumn, and winter will [not] be [...] regular; the sun, moon, and planets will erratically overstep their paths. When (the months) are too long, too short, contrary, or chaotic, (the growth of) the grasses and trees have no regularity. This is [called] yao, "demonic" (influences or omens). When heaven and earth create calamities, the Heaven's Cudgel (Tianpou) star creates (sweeping) destruction, sending (the destruction) down through all four regions (of the earth). Mountains collapse, springs gush forth geysers. This is called "contravention." If you contravene the years (and) the months, then upon entering the seventh or eighth day of the month there will be fog, frost, and clouds of dust, and you will not be able to function according (to heaven's plan). "Seasons (Inner Short Text)" also has three subsections; describing how the gods separated heaven and earth and determined the four seasons, Yandi and Zhu Rong supported the heavens with five pillars of different colors, and Gong Gong divided time into periods, days, months, and years.
Long, long ago, Bao Xi of [...] came from [...] and lived in [...]. His [...] was [...] and [...] woman. It was confusing and dark, without [...], [...] water [...] wind and rain were thus obstructed. He then married Zuwei [...]'s granddaughter, named Nü Tian. She gave birth to four [... (children)] who then helped put things in motion making the transformations arrive according (to Heaven's plan). Relinquishing (this) duty, they then rested and acted (in turn) controlling the sidewalls (of the calendrical plan); they helped calculate time by steps. The separated (heaven) above and (earth) below. Since the mountains were out of order, they then named the mountains, rivers, and Four Seas. They arranged (themselves) by [...] hot and cold qi. In order to cross mountains, rivers and streams (of various types) when there was as yet no sun or moon (for a guide), when the people traveled across mountains and rivers, the four gods stepped in succession to indicate the year; these are the four seasons. This "stepped" refers to ritual Yubu (禹步; "Steps of Yu", later known as 步罡; bugang; "walking the guideline"). Yu was the legendary founder of the Xia dynasty who controlled the Great Flood's waters and regulated the four seasons. "Months (Surrounding Text)" in the margins has twelve subsections that picture the monthly gods and list their calendrical rules.
[The first month is called] Qu. (During this month) Yi will come. Do not [...] kill (living beings). Renzi and bingzi are inauspicious (days). If you make [...] and attack to the north, the general will come to evil, [...]. [The month's complete title is] Quyuxia, "Pick from Below". [The second month is called] Ru. (During this month) you can send out an army and build a city, but you cannot marry off a daughter or take in slaves. Don't regret if you cannot accomplish both. [The month's complete title is] Ruciwu, "Such is Military." [The third month is called Bing.] (During this month) [...] marry, raise domestic animals, [...]. [The month's complete title is] Bingsichun, "Bing Controls Spring."
In this context, Yi (夷) refers to Dongyi "eastern barbarians", while renzi (壬子) and bingzi (丙子) are names in the sexagenary cycle based on ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches (see the Chinese calendar correspondence table).
== Textual genre == Several Chinese classics are comparable with the Chu Silk Manuscript. For instance, Major says it "anticipates later ritual and astrological calendars, such as the "Yueling" [月令 "Monthly Commands"] of the Lüshi chunqiu, in emphasizing the importance of performing certain actions and refraining from others in each month of the year in order to ensure safety and good fortune for the community as a whole." In addition, Jao compares the manuscript with both the Tianguan shu (天官書; "Essay on Astronomy") in the Records of the Grand Historian and the bamboo Rishu (日書; "Almanacs") from the Chu burials at Yunmeng and the Qin burials at Tianshui. Within traditional terms for Chinese schools of thought, Li Ling classifies the manuscript as the oldest example of shushu (數術; "numerals and skills"). "Shushu not only includes astronomy and the calendrical and mathematical sciences, but also the various related areas in divination (based on deduction) and physiognomy (based on observation)." Shushu contrasted with fangji (方技; "prescriptions and techniques"), which included traditional Chinese medicine, neidan, daoyin, etc., and both specialties were associated with fangshi "diviners; magicians". "Shushu is primarily related to the universal order (hence, the cosmos), while fangji is primarily related to the human order (hence, the human body)." Li concludes the Chu Silk Manuscript's cosmic model was based on liuren (六壬) or Da Liu Ren (大六壬) calendrical astrology.
== See also == Guodian Chu Slips Mawangdui Silk Texts Rishu Shuanggudui
== References ==
=== Citations ===