Manuscripts illuminate elaborate use of rituals

Another musical text, Yue Feng, also records notes' names — and more information that is yet to be interpreted — and therefore, has the potential to provide inspiration for the study of the pre-Qin music theory and history.

The strips for this text are only 9 centimeters long — the shortest in strip length seen in Warring States Period bamboo manuscripts — small in size and easy to carry, Jia says.

The last text, Weitian Yongshen (Fear of Heaven, Use of Body), discusses the relationship between heaven and humans and people's subjectivity, as the historical period valued a can-do spirit.

It stresses that people should give full play of their activeness to learn about the laws of nature and the dialectical relationship between things, and do their best with flexibility in mind, according to Shi Xiaoli, associate professor at the center.

He says, the piece of text points out the inevitable route to change one's life in a time of drastic changes and uncertainty in politics, economy and society.

Cheng Hao, associate professor at the center and assistant of Huang, says: "The bamboo manuscripts housed at Tsinghua prove that Chinese culture has been rich and diverse since its early stage, which partly explains its endurance."

He adds that the pre-Qin Chinese people had a great knowledge in culture, art and nature, and their philosophy has been a precious reference to today's governance and society.

According to him, there will be altogether 16 volumes of The Tsinghua University Warring States Bamboo Manuscripts. They will guarantee one volume being published annually.