Stories Written on Newly Discovered Warring States' Period Bamboo-slips: A Historical Study

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12524
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 03030:History of Asia and Africa-related
• Research Institution: Gakushuin University (2021-2022); The University of Tokyo (2018-2020)
• Principal Investigator: EBINE RYOSUKE 学習院大学, 文学部, 准教授 (30736020)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 上博楚簡 / 楚 / 説話 / 出土史料

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study discussed the stories of Chu and other states in the Spring and Autumn period written on the Chu Bamboo-Slip from Shanghai Museum using a historical method. Some of the content of these stories are hard to consider as historical facts, such as the speech of the characters. The plots are constructed based on the historical events. In this study, I have shown that it is possible to conduct historical research using these stories on the condition that we conduct appropriate evaluation of the historicity. Additionally, some stories seen in Zuo-zhuan closely resemble these newly discovered stories. In previous studies, the similarities between these stories and Zuo-zhuan have attracted considerable attention, but we should pay much more attention to the differences between them. By focusing on those differences, this study tried to describe the process of how the editor of Zuo-zhuan adopted many earlier stories and compiled them into Zuo-zhuan as it is today.

Free Research Field

中国古代史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

上博楚簡は思想関連の文献が多くを占めることで知られており、主に思想史の分野での研究の進展が著しい。それに比べると上博楚簡の説話の研究は低調で、特に歴史学の研究対象とされることは少ない。本研究ではこうした従来あまり注目されてこなかった史料を取り上げ、春秋時代の歴史を研究する手がかりとした。これは、もともと依拠できる文献が限られている春秋時代研究の史料の欠を補うことにもつながる。また、その成書の経緯や史料的性格をめぐって異説の多い『春秋左氏伝』について、こうした説話を手がかりにして考察を進めることができることを示し、成書年代や地域について仮説を提示して従来の議論に一石を投じた。