Explanation of the Term cuo shu 蔖疋 on Strip No. 1 of the Yangtianhu 仰天湖 Bamboo Manuscript

Abstract

There have been different explanations of the text written on strip no. 1 of the Chu bamboo slips excavated from Yangtianhu 仰天湖, Changsha 長沙, Hunan. Based on a newly published Warring States private seal inscription containing a two-word first name as well as the ancient habit of using loan graphs, this article suggests that the expression cuo shu 疋in the bamboo manuscript should be read as cuo ju 蔖苴, meaning “shoe insoles made of straw.”