The Liye excavation, commenced in 2002, yielded a significant document: the No. 8-461 ‘wooden tablet of nomenclature changes’ (gengming fang 更名方) from the Qin unification era. With 54 entries outlining the nomenclature changes, it complicates the traditional view of the First Emperor’s ‘unification of Chinese script.’ This paper examines this earliest direct evidence pertaining to the writing standardisation project, focusing on terminology analysis and deciphering previously puzzling entries. This study also evaluates the effectiveness of the language reform by analysing character frequency in contemporaneous documents. It also contextualizes this artefact’s significance within the broader historical context of the newly established ruling order in the Qin Empire.
Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. & Robin. D. S. Yates 2015. Law, State and Society in Early Imperial China: A Study with Critical Edition and Translation of the Legal Texts from Zhangjiashan Tomb no. 247. 2 vols. Leiden: Brill.
Chen Songchang 陳松長 et al. (eds.) 2010-2022. Yuelu Shuyuan cang Qinjian 嶽麓書院藏秦簡 [Qin Manuscripts Collected by the Yuelu Academy]. Vols. 1-7. Shanghai: Shanghai Cishu Chubanshe.
Chen Li 陳立 (ed.) 1994. Baihutong shuzheng 白虎通疏證 [Commentaries on Comprehensive Discussions in the White Tiger Hall]. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.
Chen Wei 陳偉 et al. (eds.) 2012, 2018. Liye Qin jiandu jiaoshi 里耶秦簡牘校釋 [Collation and Transcription of the Liye Qin Bamboo and Wood Tablets]. Vols. 1-2. Wuhan: Wuhan Daxue.
Chen Wei et al. (eds.) 2014. Qin Jiandu heji 秦简牍合集 [A Comprehensive Collection with Annotations of the Excavated Qin Bamboo and Wood Texts]. Wuhan: Wuhan Daxue.
Hulsewé, A. F. P. 1985. Remnants of Ch’in Law: An Annotated Translation of the Ch’in Legal and Administrative Rules of the 3rd century B.C. Discovered in Yün-meng Prefecture, Hu-pei Province, in 1975. Leiden: Brill.
Hunan sheng Wenwu Kaogu Yanjiusuo 湖南省文物考古研究所 (eds.) 2006. Liye fajue baogao 里耶發掘報 告 [Excavation Report of the Liye Site]. Changsha: Yuelu Shushe.
Hunan sheng Wenwu Kaogu Yanjiusuo (eds.) 2012, 2017. Liye Qinjian 里耶秦簡 [Qin Manuscripts from Liye]. Vols. 1–2. Beijing: Wenwu.
Lau, Ulrich & Thies Staack 2016. Legal Practice in the Formative Stages of the Chinese Empire: An Annotated Translation of the Exemplary Qin Criminal Cases from the Yuelu Academy Collection. Leiden: Brill.
Li Xueqin 李學勤 et al. (eds.) 2011. Tsinghua Daxue cang Zhanguo zhujian (er) 清華大學藏戰國竹簡(貳) [Warring States Bamboo Slip Texts Collected by Tsinghua University vol. 2]. Shanghai: Zhongxi Shuju.
Qiu Xigui 裘錫圭 et al. (eds.) 2014. Changsha Mawangdui Hanmu jianbo jicheng vol. 4 長沙馬王堆漢墓簡帛 集成(第四冊) [A Comprehensive Collection with Annotations of the Excavated Silk Scroll Manuscripts Excavated from a Han Dynasty Tomb in Changsha vol. 4]. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.
Ruan Yuan 阮元 (ed.) 1965. Liji zhushu 禮記注疏 [Annotations and Commentaries of the Book of Rites]. In: Chongkan Songben Shisan jing zhushu 重刊宋本十三經注疏 [Reproduction of the Song Edition of Commentaries and Subcommentaries on the Thirteen Classics]. Taipei: Yiwen yinshuguan. [Rpt. of 1815]
Shuihudi Qinmu zhujian zhengli xiaozu 睡虎地秦墓竹簡整理小組 (eds.) 1990. Shuihudi Qinmu zhujian 睡虎地秦墓竹簡 [The documents on bamboo slips from the Qin tomb no. 11 at Shuihudi]. Beijing: Wenwu.
Tomiya Itaru 冨谷至 et al. (eds.) 2006. Kōryō chokasan 247 go bo shutsudo Kan ritsuryō no kenkyū 江陵張 家山二四七號墓出土漢律令の研究 [Research on the Statutes and Ordinances Excavated from no. 247 Han Tomb in Jiangling]. Kyoto: Hōyū.
Watson, Burton (trans.) 1958. Records of the Grand Historian of China. Vol. 2. New York: Columbia University.
Xu Shen 2012. Shuowen jiezi 說文解字 [Explaining graphs and Analysing Characters (Annotated)]. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.
Yinqueshan Hanmu zhujian zhengli xiaozu 銀雀山漢墓竹簡整理小組 (eds.) 2010. Yinqueshan Hanmu zhujian (er) 銀雀山漢墓竹簡(貳) [The Bamboo Slips from the Han Tomb at Yinqueshan]. Beijing: Wenwu.
Zhangjiashan ersiqi hao Han mu zhujian zhengli xiaozu 張家山二四七號漢墓竹簡整理小組 (eds.) 2006. Zhangjiashan Han mu zhujian [Ersiqi hao mu]: shiwen xiudingben 張家山漢墓竹簡(二四七號墓): 釋文修訂本 [Bamboo Slips from the no. 247 Han Tomb at Zhangjiashan: A Revised Annotated Edition]. Beijing: Wenwu.
Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. 2022. The Many Lives of the First Emperor of China. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Barnard, Noel 1978. ‘The Nature of the Ch’in “Reform of the Script” (t’ung-su wen-tzu) as Reflected in Archaeological Documents Excavated under Conditions of Control.’ In: David T. Roy & Tsuen-hsiun Tsien (eds.) Ancient China: Studies in Early Civilization. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 181–213.
Beck, Burchard J. Mansvelt 1987. ‘The First Emperor’s Taboo Character and the Three Day Reign of King Xiaowen: Two Moot Points Raised by the Qin Chronicle Unearthed in Shuihudi in 1975.’ T’oung Pao 73 1/3: 68–85.
Bodde, Derk 1938/67. China’s First Unifier, A Study of the Ch’in Dynasty as Seen in the Life of Li Ssu. Leiden: Brill, 1938; rpt. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Boltz, William G. 1994. The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System. New Haven: American Oriental Society.
Chen Kanli 陳侃理 2014. ‘Liye Qin fang yu “shutong wenzi” 里耶秦方與‘書同文字’ [The Qin Wood Board from Liye and the ‘Unification of Writing’].’ Wenwu 文物 9: 76–81.
Chen Wei 2017. ‘Qindai jige zici de niandai kaocha 秦代幾個字詞的年代考察 [A Chronological Examination of Several Terms of the Qin Dynasty].’ In: Qin jiandu jiaodu ji suojian zhidu kaocha 秦簡牘校讀 及所見制度考察 [Collation of the Qin Bamboo and Wood Manuscripts and Examination of Related Institutional System]. Wuhan: Wuhan Daxue, 1–26.
Chen Zhaorong (= Chen Chao-jung) 陳昭容 2003. ‘Qin “shutong wenzi” xintan’ 秦“書同文字”新探 [A New Investigation of the Qin ‘Unification of Scripts in Writings’]. In: Qin xi wenzi yanjiu: cong hanzi shi de jiaodu kaocha 秦系文字研究:從漢字史的角度考察 [Study of the Qin Style Writings: from the Perspective of the History of Chinese Characters]. Taipei: Zhongyang Yanjiu Yuan Lishi Yuan Yanjiusuo [Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica], 69–105.
Chen Zhaorong 2013. ‘The Standardisation of Writing.’ In: Maria Khayutina and Bernisches Historisches Museum (eds.) Qin: The Eternal Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors. Zurich: Neue Zurcher Zeitung Publishing, 130–37.
Feng Yicheng 風儀誠 (= Oliver Venture) 2012. ‘Qindai huizi, guanfang ciyu yiji Qindai yongzi xiguan: cong Liye Qinjian shuoqi 秦代諱字、官方詞語以及秦代用字習慣——從里耶秦簡說起 [Taboo Characters, Official Vocabulary, and Writing Practices during the Qin Dynasty: An Inspection of the Qin Strips from Liye 里耶].’ Jianbo 簡帛 [Bamboo and Silk] 7: 147–157.
Galambos, Imre 2004. ‘The Myth of the Qin Unification of Writing in Han Sources.’ Acta Orientalia Hung. 57/2: 181–203.
Giele, Enno 2006. Imperial Decision-Making in Early China: A Study of Cai Yong’s Duduan. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Hu Pingsheng 胡平生 2009. ‘Liye Qinjian 8-455 hao mufang xingzhi chuyi 里耶秦簡 8-455 號木方性質芻 議 [A further discussion of the nature of the Qin Liye 8-455 wooden tablet].’ In: Jianbo 簡帛 Vol. 4. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji, 17–25.
Kern, Martin 2000. The Stele Inscriptions of Ch’in Shih-Huang: Text and Ritual in Early Chinese Imperial Representation. New Haven: American Oriental Society.
Lai Guolong 來國龍 2007. ‘Bihui zi yu chutu Qin-Han jianbo de yanjiu 避諱字與出土秦漢簡帛的研究 [Taboo Characters and the Study of Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts of the Qin and Han Dynasties].’ Jianbo Yanjiu 簡帛研究(二〇〇六) [Research on Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts (2006)]: 126–132.
Li Jianping 李建平 2018. ‘“Tongsheng” “tongchan” bianzheng ‘同生’‘同產’辨正 [Distinguishing the two terms ‘tongsheng’ and ‘tongchan’].’ Zhongguo Yuwen 中國語文 6: 756–760.
Li Kin Sum (Sammy) 2017. ‘To Rule by Manufacture.’ T’oung Pao 103: 1–32.
Li Yaguang 李亞光 2019. ‘“Tongsheng” “tongchan” kaobian ‘同生’‘同產’考辨 [An Analysis of the two terms ‘tongsheng’ and ‘tongchan’].’ Dongyue Luncong 東嶽論叢 [Collected Essays of Dongyue] 40/3: 150–161.
Miyake Kiyoshi 宮宅潔 2013. ‘Handai guanliao zuzhi de zui xiaceng—“guan” yu “min” zhijian 漢代官僚組 織的最下層 ——“官”與“民”之間 [The Bottom of the Bureaucratic Hierarchy in the Han Dynasty: Between Public Servant and State Labourer].’ [Trans. by Gu Qisha 顧其莎.] In: Xu Shihong 徐世虹 (ed.) Zhongguo gudai falü wenxian yanjiu (7) 中國古代法律文獻研究 (第七輯) [Research on the Ancient Chinese Legal Texts, vol. 7]. Beijing: Shehui Kexue Wenxian, 127–161.
Nylan, Michael & Trenton Wilson 2022. ‘A Brief History of Daring.’ In: David Konstan (ed.) Emotions Across Cultures: Ancient China and Greece. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter, 75–142.
Pines, Yuri 2020. Zhou History Unearthed, The Bamboo Manuscript Xinian and Early Chinese Historiography. New York: Columbia University Press.
Qiu Xigui (trans.) 2000. Chinese Writing. [Trans. Gilbert L. Mattos and Jerry Norman.] Berkeley, CA: The Society for the Study of Early China and The Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley.
Richter, Matthias L. 2007. ‘The Fickle Brush: Chinese Orthography in the Age of Manuscripts: A Review of Imre Galambos’s “Orthography of Early Chinese Writing: Evidence from Newly Excavated Manuscripts.”’ Early China 31: 171–192.
Shi Yang 石洋 2020. ‘Liye Qinfang ’ “jia rugu geng jiaren” xinjie 里耶秦方“叚如故更假人”新解 [A New Interpretation of the phrase ‘jia rugu geng jiaren’ seen in the Liye Qin tablet].’’ Chutu wenxian yanjiu (18) 出土文獻研究 (第18輯) [Research on Excavated Texts]. Shanghai: Zhongxi Shuju, 114–128.
Staack, Thies 2023. ‘The pragmatics of standardization: document standards and their implementation in Qin administration (late third century BCE).’ Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 86: 147–173.
Su Junlin 蘇俊林 2017. ‘Kan Shin ki ni okeru shigo no mibun oyobi sono henka: shutsudo kandoku shiryō o chūshin toshite 漢晋期における士伍の身分およびその変化: 出土簡牘資料を中心として [The Identity of ‘Shiwu’ and its Change During the Han and Jin Period: A Research Focus on the Excavated Bamboo and Wooden Documents].’ In: Fujita Katsuhisa 藤田勝久 & Sekio Shiro關尾史郎 (eds.) Kandoku ga kaku Chūgoku kodai no seiji to shakai 簡牘が描く中国古代の政治と社会 [State and Society of Ancient China Depicted by the Bamboo and Wooden Documents]. Tokyo: Kyūko shoin, 235–260.
Tian Wei 田煒 2016. ‘Lun chutu Qin he Xihan zaoqi wenxian zhongde “sheng” he “chan”’ 論出土秦和西 漢早期文獻中的“生”和“產” [The Two Characters Sheng and Chan in Unearthed Texts of the Qin and early Western Han Dynasties]. Zhongguo yuwen 中國語文 371: 202–210.
Tian Wei 田煒 2018. ‘Lun Qin shihuang “shutong wenzi” zhengce de neihan ji yingxiang 論秦始皇“書同文 字”政策的內涵及影響——兼論判斷出土秦文獻文本年代的重要標尺 [On the Nature and Impact of the Qin Unification of Writing: with an Analysis of the Criteria for Periodization of Excavated Qin Texts].’ Zhongyang Yan jiuyuan Lishi Yuyan Yanjiusuo Jikan 中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊 [Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica] 89/3: 403–450.
Twitchett, Denis & John Fairbank (eds.) 1986. The Cambridge History of China, vol. 1: The Ch’in and Han Empires, 221 B.C.–A.D. 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Venture, Oliver 2009. ‘Looking for Chu People’s Writing Habits.’ Asiatische Studien/Études Asiatiques 63/4: 943–957.
Wang Guiyuan 王貴元 2021. ‘Cong chutu wenxian kan Qin tongyi houde yongzi guifan 從出土文獻看秦 統一後的用字規範 [Observing the Qin Orthography in the Post-unification era through Excavated Texts].’ Yuwen yanjiu 語文研究 3: 1–8.
Wang Guiyuan 王貴元 & Li Jieqiong 李潔瓊 2021. ‘Qin “shu tongwen” gaoling banbu juti shijian kao 秦‘書 同文’告令頒布具體時間考 [Study on the specific time of the promulgation of the Qin “Standardization of Chinese Characters].’ Xueshu Yanjiu 學術研究 1: 165–172.
Wei Tzu-Te 魏慈德 2022. ‘Cong Liye jian gengming fang de wenzi guifan kan Qin wenzi de shiyong xianxiang 從里耶簡更名方的文字規範看秦文字的使用現象 [Seeing the Use of Qin Characters from Gengming fang’s Character Specifications in the Liye Slip].’ Guoli Taibei Jiaoyu Daxue Yuwen Jikan 國立台北 教育大學語文集刊 41: 1–38.
Wilkinson, Endymion 2013. Chinese History: A New Manual (second revision). Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Asia Center.
Xi Chunnian 奚椿年 1990. ‘”Shu tong wen zi” zhengce de shishi jiqi shibai—cong chutu wenwu kan Qin shihuang tongyi quanguo wenzi de gongzuo “書同文字” 政策的實施極其失敗──從出土文物看秦 始皇統一全國文字的工作 [On the Failure of the Implementation of the Qin ‘Unification of Writing’ Policy: Observing the First Emperor’s Unification Project from Unearthed Artefacts].’ Jianghai Xuekan 江海學刊 4: 117–121.
Xiao Yunxiao 肖芸曉 2023. ‘Qinghua jian suojian Zhanguo shidai “shu tongwen” de changshi 清華簡所見 戰國時代“書同文”的嘗試 [The Attempt of ‘Unifying Writing’ in the Warring States Period Seen from the Manuscripts Collected by the Tsinghua University].’ (Conference paper presented at Tsinghua University, Beijing, October 21, 2023, 926–949.)
Xiong Beisheng 熊北生, Chen Wei & Cai Dan 蔡丹 2018. ‘Hubei Yunmeng Shuihudi 77 hao Xihan mu chutu jiandu gaishu 湖北雲夢睡虎地77號西漢墓出土簡牘概述 [A Brief Introduction to the Bamboo Slips and Wooden Tablets Unearthed from the no. 77 Western Han Tomb at Shuihudi, Yunmeng County, Hubei].’ Wenwu 文物 3: 43–53.
Yang Zhenhong 楊振紅 2015. Chutu jiandu yu Qin-Han shehui (xubian) 出土簡牘與秦漢社會(續編) [Excavated Documents and the Qin-Han Society]. Guilin: Guangxi Shifan Daxue.
Yates, Robin. D. S. 2012–2013. ‘The Qin Slips and Boards from Well No. 1, Liye, Hunan: A Brief Introduction to the Qin Qianling County Archives.’ Early China 35–36: 291–329.
You Yi-fei 游逸飛 2013. ‘Liye 8-461 hao “Qin gengming fang” xuanshi’ 里耶8-461號“秦更名方”選釋 [Selected Explanations of the Liye No. 8-461 “Qin gengming fang” wood board]. In: Wei Bin 魏斌 (ed.) Gudai Changjiang zhongyou shehui yanjiu 古代長江中游社會研究 [Studies of the Ancient Societies in the Middle Yangtze-River Region]. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji, 68–90.
Yu Zhenbo 于振波 2010. ‘Qinlü zhong de jiadun bijia ji xiangguan wenti 秦律中的甲盾比價及相關問題 [The monetary equivalency of suits of armour and shields in the Qin statutes].’ Shixue Jikan 史學集刊 5: 36–38.
Zhang Biao 張標 1986. ‘Shu tongwen zhengxing shuo zhiyi 書同文正形說質疑 [Critique of the Interpretation of the Qin ‘Unification of Writing’ as Merely Graphic Form Standardisation].’ Hebei shifan daxue xuebao 河北師範大學學報 [Journal of Hebei Normal University] 1: 39–43.
Zhang Chunlong 張春龍 & Long Jingsha 龍京沙 2009. ‘Xiangxi Liye Qinjian 8-455 hao 湘西里耶秦簡 8-455 號 [The No. 8-455 Qin wood tablet from West Hunan].’ In: Jianbo 簡帛 Vol. 4. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji, 11–15.
Zhang Shichao 張世超 2014. ‘Beijing Daxue cang Xihan zhushu de wenzixue qishi 北京大學藏西漢竹書 的文字學啟示 [The Inspirations of the Western Han Bamboo Slip Scripts in the Collection of Beijing University].’ Gudai Wenming 古代文明 4: 104–109.
Zhang Weijie 張惟捷 & Qin Yi 覃怡 2019. ‘Liye Qinjian “Gengming fang” kaoshi yu ziti xiangguan wenti qianxi: Jianlun Qin “shutong wenzi” zhengce 里耶秦簡“更名方”考釋與字體相關問題淺析——兼論 秦“書同文字”政策 [A Study of Liye Qinjian ‘Gengming fang’: An Analysis of the Qin Unification of Writing].’ Xiada Zhongwen Xuebao 廈大中文學報 6: 146–173.
Zheng Wei 鄭威 2017. Chutu wenxian yu Chu-Qin-Han lishi dili yanjiu 出土文獻與楚秦漢歷史地理研究 [Excavated Texts and the Study of Chu-Qin-Han Historical Geography]. Beijing: Kexue Chubanshe.
Zheng Yifan 鄭伊凡 2023. ‘Family or Servants? The Ambiguity of Status in Early Chinese Households.’ Journal of Asian History 57: 7–46.
Zhou Bo 周波 2012. Zhanguo shidai gexi wenzi jian de yongzi chayi xianxiang yanjiu 戰國時代各系文字間 的用字差異現象研究 [Study of Character Usage Differences Among Scripts of Different States in the Warring States Period]. Beijing: Xianzhuang Shuju.
Zhu Xiaoxue 朱曉雪 2013. Baoshan chujian zongshu 包山楚簡綜述 [Annotated Examination of the Chu Bamboo Slips from Baoshan Tomb]. Fuzhou: Fujian Renmin.
Zhu Dexi 朱德熙 & Qiu Xigui 1973. ‘Qin shihuang “shu tong wen zi” de lishi zuoyong 秦始皇“書同文字”的 歷史作用 [On the Historical Impact of the First Emperor’s “Unification of Chinese Writings”].’ Wenwu 文物 11: 2–7.