Most of the Tsinghua Bamboo Slips (TBS) texts date from the Warring States period and they are either works of the (so-called)Classics(jing, 經) orHistoricalbooks (shi, 史). One of the TBS texts, which features prominently in the collection as a particularly well-preserved piece, is a historical work in 23 chapters and 132 bamboo slips, which has been provisionally titledXinian繫年 (‘Chronicles’). The historical events recorded therein range from the period when King Wu (Wuwang, 武王), the founder of the Zhou Dynasty, conquered Zhòu (紂) of Shang, to the early Warring States Period. The edited text of theXinianhas been published in the second volume of the‘Bamboo Manuscripts of the Warring States Period in the Tsinghua University Collection’ (Qinghua Daxue cang Zhanguo zhujian清華大學藏戰國竹簡).1Li I was preparing the manuscript for publication, I noticed that theXiniancan supplement or modify many of the accounts of the canonical historical tradition and, in some cases, even fill in some blanks of the transmitted records.

One example is the version of the origin of the Qin (秦) people in theXinian. It is generally agreed that after the collapse of the Western Zhou state, the Zhou court fled eastwards, being progressively replaced by the Qin people who originated from the west. First, the Qin conquered the Western Rong, theXirong(西戎), and then gradually expanded to the east until they eventually annexed all of the other six states and established the Qin Dynasty as the hegemonic power of a unified China. Although the supremacy of the Qin rulers was short-lived, the historical impact of the dynasty was far-reaching, especially as their successful military expansion was accompanied by the imposition of political and cultural reforms throughout the country. In fact, many of the cardinal aspects of the Chinese traditional culture originated with the Qin people. However, in spite of the scholarly work already done on the Qin, fundamental questions, such as the origin of the Qin people and the historical background of the Qin culture, still remain as matters of intense academic debate.

The Qin people have been commonly believed to have come from the west. Sima Qian (司馬遷) provides a detailed record of the ancestors of the Qin in two chapters of the of theShiji,史記 (‘Records of the Grand Historian’): the‘Basic Annals of Qin’ (Qin benji, 秦本紀) and ‘The Hereditary House of Zhao’(Zhao shijia, 趙世家). According to them, in the late Shang Dynasty, Rong Xuxuan (戎胥軒) married the daughter of the ruler of Lishan (酈山) and gave birth to Zhongjue (中潏), who ‘lived in (the land of the) Western Rong and guarded the western border’ (在西戎, 保西垂).1Sima 1959: 174.It appears that the Qin people were already in the west and already had a close relationship with Rong (戎) people at that time. In fact, Meng Wentong (蒙文通) argues in hisZhou Qin shaoshu minzu yanjiu, 周秦少數民族研究 (‘Research on the Ethnic Groups of Zhou and Qin’) that the Qin were a branch of the Rong 1958: 22-26.

However, other scholars, such as Qian Mu (錢穆), suggested in hisGuoshi dagang, 國史大綱 (‘Outline of National History’) that ‘the ancestors of [the] Qin lived in the east, were appointed as federal lords by the Yin (殷) and first moved west at the time of Zhongjue’.3Qian was based upon the record in the ‘Basic Annals of Qin’ (Qin benji, 秦本紀):

The cognomen (xing 姓) of the Qin ancestors was Ying (嬴). Their descendents were enfeoffed with separate lands and they took their clan names from their states, such as Xushi (徐氏), Tanshi (郯氏), Jushi (莒氏), Zhonglishi (終黎氏), Yunyanshi (運奄氏), Tuqiushi (菟裘氏), Jiangliangshi (將梁氏), Huangshi (黃氏), Jiangshi (江氏), Xiuyushi (脩魚氏), Baimingshi (白冥氏), Feilianshi (蜚廉氏)and Qinshi (秦氏).4Sima 1959: 221.

All the aforementioned states and tribes are located in the east. Furthermore, one of the advocates of the theory for the eastern origins of the Qin in recent years, Lin Jianming (林劍鳴), argues in hisQin shigao, 秦史稿 (‘Draft history of the Qin’), that Zhongjue is merely said to have ‘led a group of Qin people to protect the western border on behalf of the slave lords of Yin-Shang’, and that this does not solely prove that the Qin people were themselves of Rong 1981: 23.

The son of Zhongjue was Feilian (飛蜚廉), who was succeeded by Elai (惡來). The three are all well-known figures from the end of the Shang Dynasty. The‘Basic Annals of Qin’ (Qin benji, 秦本紀) comments that: ‘Elai had strength and Feilian was good at running. Both father and son used their talents to serve Zhòuof Yin’.1Sima 1959: 174.The canonical histories also confirm that they actively participated in the crimes of Zhòu. However, what influence did they have on the destinies of the Qin people?

The third section of theXinianin the TBS specifically addresses this question, stating that after the death of King Wu, King Cheng (Chengwang, 成王) learned that the so-called ‘Three Supervisors’ (sanjian, 三監) had risen in rebellion and then, he attacked the city of Shang and defeated them: