This volume covers the philosophical, historical, religious, and interpretative aspects of the ancient Guodian bamboo manuscripts () which were disentombed in the Guodian Village in Hubei Province, China, in 1993. Considered to be the Chinese equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls, these manuscripts are archaeological finds whose importance cannot be underestimated. Many of the texts are without counterparts in the transmitted tradition, and they provide unique insights into the developments of Chinese philosophy in the period between the death of Confucius (551-479 BCE) and the writings of Mencius (c.372-289 BCE), and beyond. 

Divided into two parts, the book first provides inter-textual contexts and backgrounds of the Guodian manuscripts. The second part covers the main concepts and arguments in the Guodian texts, including cosmology and metaphysics, political philosophy, moral psychology, and theory of human nature. The thematic essays serve as an introduction to the philosophical significance and the key philosophical concepts/thought of each text contained in the Guodian corpus. Each chapter has a section on the implications of the texts for the received tradition, or for the purpose of comparing some of the text(s) with the received tradition in terms of the key philosophical concepts as well as the reading and interpretation of the texts. The volume covers most of the texts inscribed on the 800-odd slips of the Guodian corpus dated to the fourth century BCE.

Shirley Chan is Associate Professor and Head of Chinese Studies of Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. She specializes in researches on ancient Chinese culture covering philosophy, textual studies, intellectual history, and excavated bamboo manuscripts, on which she has published extensively in both English and Chinese. She has been invited to appear in programs produced by the BBC, ABC and SBS on traditional Chinese thought and culture. Professor Chan has served as President of Chinese Studies Association of Australia and member of Editorial Board of several international journals including theBamboo and Silk (Brill) and the Journal of Oriental Society of Australia.

Chapter 1. Introduction: The Excavated Guodian Bamboo Manuscripts (Shirley Chan).- Part 1. A Philological Reading of the Guodian Manuscripts: The Texts and Textual Formation.- Chapter 2. The GuodianLaozi Materials (Franklin Perkins).- Chapter 3. On Citation Practices in the Guodian Manuscripts (HE Ruyue and Michael Nylan).- Chapter 4.Shu (Documents) Repertoire in Argument-Based Texts from Guodian: The Case ofCheng zhi (Things Brought to Completion) (Dirk Meyer).- Chapter 5. How to Achieve Good GovernanceArguments in theTang Yu zhi dao (The Ways of Yao and Shun) and theZhong xin zhi dao (The Ways of Uprightness and Reliability) (Michael Schimmelpfennig).- Chapter 6. Which Comes First?Dao orDe : Evidence from Guodian Manuscripts (Constance A. Cook).- Chapter 7. Readingheng cheng in the Guodian Bamboo TextLu Mu Gong wen Zisi (Duke Mu of Lu Asked Zisi) (LIAO Mingchun).- Part 2. Philosophical Concepts and Arguments in the Guodian Manuscripts.- Chapter 8. TheTaiyi shengshui Cosmogony and Its Role in Early Chinese Thought (Erica Brindley).- Chapter 9. Daoist Philosophy as Viewed from the Guodian Manuscripts (Barbara Hendrischke).- Chapter 10. Sagacity and the HeavenHuman Relationship in theWuxing (Erica Brindley).- Chapter 11. TheQiong da yi shi (Poverty or Success Is a Matter of Timing) and the Concept of Heaven and Humans in Early Confucianism (LIANG Tao).- Chapter 12.Xing andQing : Human Nature and Moral Cultivation in the Guodian TextXing zi ming chu (Nature Derives from Endowment) (Shirley Chan).- Chapter 13. Body and Mind in the Guodian Manuscripts (Lisa Raphals).- Chapter 14. Daoist Nature or Confucian Nurture: Moral Development in theYucong (Thicket of Sayings) (Shirley Chan).- Chapter 15. The Debate over Coercive Rulership and the Human Way in Light of Recently Excavated Warring States Texts (Updated) (Scott Cook).- Chapter 16. The Guodian Confucian Texts and theXunzi (TANG Siufu).- Chapter 17. From theLiu wei (Six Positions) Discussed in theLiu de (Six Virtues) to theSan gang (Three Principles of Social Order) (LI Rui).- Chapter 18. Guodian: A New Window for Understanding the Introduction of Buddhism into China (Kenneth W. Holloway).