Volume one The following texts were published in volume one: *
Yin zhi 尹至, *''Yin's arrival;
*Yin gao
尹誥, *Yin's Announcement;
Cheng wu
程寤; *Baoxun
保訓, *The Protective Instructions; *Qi ye
耆夜; *Jin teng
金縢;*Huangmen
皇門, *August gate
; and Zhai Gong zhi gu ming 祭公之顧命 The Duke of Zhai's Retrospective Command;
and Chu ju'' 楚居. • *
Yin zhi 尹至, *''Yin's arrival
and *Yin gao
尹誥, *Yin's Announcement'' were written by the same scribe, and were considered two texts in the "writings" style. • *
Baoxun 保訓,
*The Protective Instructions. The text purports to be a record of a deathbed admonition by the Zhou king
Wen Wang to his son and heir, Wu Wang. Although the team working on the text refers to it as "The Admonition of Protection" (or "Protector's Admonition", 保训), their transcription of the text refers to a "Precious Admonition" (Bao Xun) and that may be the more appropriate editorial title.'''' The content of the king's speech revolves around a concept of The Middle (
zhong 中) which seems to refer to an avoidance of extremes and an ability to consider multiple points of view. The king narrates a story of the sage-king
Shun acquiring The Middle by living a modest, thoughtful life, and a more puzzling second tale which describes the
Shang ancestor Wei () "borrowing The Middle from the River." A complete translation and study has been published as part of the series
The Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts: Studies and Translations《清華大學藏戰國竹簡》研究与英译.
Volume two It includes one text only, the '''', probably composed . This text relates key events of Zhou history. It comprises 138 strips in a relatively well preserved condition. Among the contents they transmit is an account of the origin of Qin by supporters of the Shang dynasty, who were opposed to the Zhou conquest.
Volume three It includes the
Fu Yue zhi ming 傅說之命,
Command to Fu Yue; the *
Liang chen 良臣, the
Zhu ci 祝辭, among others.
Volume seven It includes "Zi Fan Zi Yu" 子犯子餘, "Jin Wen Gong ru yu Jin" 晉文公入於晉, "Zhao jianzi" 趙簡子, "Yue Gong qi shi" 越公其事. • "Zi fan Zi Yu" 子犯子餘 records a dialogue between Zi Fan and
Duke Mu of Qin. This takes place while
Chong'er is in exile, traveling from state to state.
Volume eight It includes eight texts: *
She ming 攝命, *
Bang jia zhi zheng 邦家之政, *
Bang jia chu wei" 邦家處位; *
Xin shi wei zhong 心是謂中; *
Tianxia zhi dao 天下之道;
Ba qi wu wei wu si wu xing zhi shu 八氣五味五祀五行之屬, and
Yu Xia Yin Shang zhi zhi 虞夏殷商之治. • *
She ming 攝命, *
Command to She. Titled by the editors. 32 strips. It purports to be a royal command to a certain She. It is written in
shu 書 style. • "Xin shi wei zhong" 心是謂中. *
The heart is what is at the center, a short (8 strips) text of philosophical nature discussing the heart-mind (
xin 心) as the central organ in charge of the body, but also the concept of "luck" and mandate (
ming 命). It includes the statement that humans are in charge of their destiny, so far otherwise unattested.
Volume nine Volume nine, published in 2019, presents five manuscripts: •
*Zhi zheng zhi dao 治政之道. This manuscript is of 43 strips, around 44 cm long by 0.6. Based on the incision cuts on the verso of the strips and the similarities in the writing, the editors realized that this manuscript was originally bound together with *
Bang jia zhi zheng 邦家之政 from volume eight, and the two should be read together. Given that the manuscripts still present codicological differences, Jia Lianxian 賈連翔 identified them as an example of
tong pian yi zhi 同篇異制, "one bundle with different configurations." •
Cheng ren 成人 •
*Nai ming (one and two) 迺命一二 (*
Then he commanded). These are two manuscripts written by the same person, as noted by the editors. The first is of 12 strips; the strips are numbered from 1 to 11, with the last one being left blank after the conclusion of the text (signaled by a hook-shape mark). Similarly, the second manuscripts is of 16 strips, numbered from one to 15.
Volume thirteen The volume contains 5 manuscripts: •
Daifu Shi Li 大夫食禮. •
Daifu Shi Li Ji 大夫食禮記. •
Wu yin tu 五音圖. One of the most striking features of this (and the following manuscript) is the size: the 35 extant strips (from 37, originally) of
Wu Yin tu average around 19.3 cm, a length that is half of most of the manuscripts in the Tsinghua collection. The writing develops around the 5 edges of a star, which figures at the center. It has attracted a great deal of attention for being one of the few writings related to music that predate imperial times. The manuscript is of 17 strips, measuring 44.4 cm by 0.6 cm. The title was assigned by the editors, based on the two initial principles introduced by the manuscript: "being in awe of Heaven" 畏天 and "using one's abilities" 用身. The text articulates behavioral principles (pay attention to surroundings; speaking properly) and how even and the self/person differ. Shi Xiaoli notes several echoes with ideas known in the
Xunzi 荀子. A first introduction to the manuscripts on music can be found in Jia Lianxian's 贾连翔 2023 article in
Zhongguo shi yanjiu dongtai 中國史研究動態.
Volume fourteenth Volume no. 14 presents three manuscripts: • Cheng Hou 成后, a manuscript of 9 strips, some mildly damaged, and numbered on the verso side. The text is otherwise unattested. The title was assigned by the editor, on the basis of the content. Cheng Hou is identified as
King Cheng of Zhou 周成王, who in the text reminiscences about the accomplishments of past kings, and goes on to describe his governing philosophies. • Zhao Hou 昭后, which was originally bound together with Cheng Hou. This is another short manuscript, of 7 strips, also numbered on the back. The writing style also matches that of the scribe of Cheng Hou. The title, assigned by the editor, is likewise based on its content:
King Zhao of Zhou 周昭王 is on the throne and, in a form of an address to an unnamed interlocutor, defines proper government. Both this and Cheng Hou are rhymed and are styled in four-character sentences. The language is reminiscent of styles used in bronze inscriptions and in some speeches collected in the
Shangshu 尚書. volume 15 contain the following manuscripts: • *
Judging Horses 《*胥马》65 strips about judging horses based on their physical appearances.While this text is otherwise unattested, the content has connections with other early Chinese writings on the subject. • *
On Horse Illnesses,《*凡马之疾》of 24 strips (one lost, 23 extant), about illnesses and their treatment. • *
On Training Horses,《*驯马》12 strips about on training horses to step, gallop, etc. • Two manuscripts concerning riding horses. One is titled *
Riding Horses《*驭术》, of 37 strips, but overall rather damaged. The text includes descriptions of horses' emotions, and the best methods to control them. == Decimal multiplication table ==