Punctuation Marks and Copyists: Rereading the Yili (The Book of Etiquette and Ceremony) of the Wuwei Han Bamboo and Wooden Slips

Abstract The nine-chapter Book of Etiquette and Ceremony ( Yili 儀禮 ) manuscripts found in the Han-dynasty Tomb 6 of the Mozuizi 磨咀子 Cemetery, Wuwei 武威 County contain three kinds of punctuations marks – dividers (fen’ge fu 分隔符 ) , hooks ( goushi fu 勾識符 ), and the signaling markers placed at the upper edges of the slips (jiantou tishi fu 簡頭提示符 ) . These punctuation marks reveal that the text has undergone a complicated copying and transmission process. Copyists used dividers and hooks to separate the text into different layers to demonstrate their interpretations, thus making punctuation marks a medium that embodied their understanding. In addition, various ways of placing punctuation marks make it possible for classical interpretations to have great fluidity.