​Slipping into history: Two wooden slips that paint a panorama of the Silk Road 2,000 years ago

Since the 20th century, as bamboo and wooden slips have continued to be excavated and studied in Gansu and across China, the study of slips has gradually developed into a systematic discipline. Vast numbers of original documents provide irreplaceable first-hand sources for research into the political institutions, social governance, military affairs, diplomacy, ethnic interactions, and Silk Road trade of the Han period. These pieces of bamboo and wood, in many different shapes and forms, record the operation of postal relay systems, everyday life on the frontier, and the footsteps of travelers. They also reveal vivid details of life in ancient times.

This video series will bring you closer to these bamboo and wooden slips that have survived across millennia, and uncover the stories behind them.