On May 16, China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) took possession of two volumes of the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts—Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan—dating to the Warring States Period (475–221 BCE), from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. The handover took place at the Chinese Embassy in the United States in Washington, D.C.

Unearthed in 1942 from a Warring States Period tomb of the Chu state at the Zidanku site in Changsha, central China’s Hunan Province, these silk manuscripts are the only known examples from that era and remain the earliest silk texts ever discovered. More significantly, they constitute the first unearthed texts that can be classified as classical books in the full sense of the term. Their academic value is irreplaceable for research on ancient Chinese script, classical literature, intellectual history, and the history of Chinese scholarship.

Immense value

Why are the Zidanku manuscripts regarded as China’s earliest silk texts and its first classical book? According to Bu Xianqun, a Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and research fellow from the Institute of Ancient History at CASS, the earliest silk and bamboo objects unearthed in China all date to the Warring States Period and originate from the Chu state. What distinguishes the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts is that they contain lengthy philosophical and scholarly texts, rather than administrative documents. This qualifies them as books in the traditional sense.

Prior to 1949, no Chu bamboo manuscripts had been discovered in China. The Chu slips unearthed in the 1950s were merely inventories of burial items, not books. It wasn’t until 1957 that classical texts written on bamboo slips were excavated from a Chu tomb in Changtaiguan, Xinyang, Henan Province. “Therefore, the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts from Changsha represent the earliest known example of a classical Chinese book,” Bu stated.

Regarding the value of the silk manuscripts, Bu noted that from the perspective of philology, the Zidanku manuscripts lay the foundation for the study of Chu scripts. Textual studies of the Warring States Period is a branch of paleography in China, and prior to the Zidanku discovery, academics lacked sufficient source material. These manuscripts—the first long-form texts found in China written in the Chu script—are of irreplaceable significance for the study of this period. In terms of academic history, Bu continued, the systematic interpretation of the Chu script still needs to be traced back to the Zidanku Silk Manuscripts, as many interpretations remain based on silk manuscripts. They also offer valuable insights into the physical characteristics of ancient books, revealing their form, folding method, writing style, and how texts and illustrations were integrated.

According to Bu, silk manuscripts have only been found at two sites: Zidanku and the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) tombs at Mawangdui, both in Changsha. The Zidanku texts remain the only known Warring States Period silk manuscripts to date—and the earliest silk manuscripts found of the era—making them uniquely valuable for investigating the form of ancient silk manuscripts.

In terms of intellectual and cultural history, the content of the Zidanku manuscripts is rich and wide-ranging. According to Bu, they offer critical material for studying ancient Chinese mythology, astronomical and calendrical systems, day-selection rituals, theories of Heaven–human resonance, and the Five Elements thought.

A model for cultural repatriation

The return of Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan marks a successful case of China recovering significant lost cultural artifacts. It also serves as a model for the application of the core spirit of dialogue and cooperation outlined in the Qingdao Recommendations, showcasing how research into provenance and transfer history can support the successful repatriation of Chinese cultural artifacts lost overseas.

The NCHA has announced ongoing efforts to secure the return of Sishi Ling, the remaining volume of the three-part Zidanku collection. According to Bu, Sishi Ling survives as a complete manuscript, whereas Wuxing Ling and Gongshou Zhan are fragmentary and require reconstruction.

CSST has learned from the NCHA that the returned manuscripts will be publicly displayed for the first time in July 2025 at the National Museum of China as part of an exhibition on repatriated cultural relics.