再探簡牘編聯、書寫姿勢與習慣──以中研院史語所藏居延漢簡的簡側墨線為線索

Further Discussion of the Arrangement of Bamboo and Wooden Slips, and the Writing Posture and Personal Habits of Scribes: Lateral Ink Lines on the Juyan Han Slips at Academia Sinica’s IHP

本文指出中研院史語所藏居延漢簡簡側存在分欄墨線的現象，並說明其製作過程與意義。簡側墨線和「標尺簡」恰是古代兩種不同書寫姿勢──持簡懸肘、腕書寫與「伏几案而書」──的分欄參照，具有指示書手書寫起始處或限制欄位範圍的功用，使單簡編聯後的文字與段落整齊美觀，有助於提升統計與查找資訊的效率。此外，對今日的研究者而言，簡側墨線的位置有助於復原簡冊編聯，也提供考察古代簡牘書寫習慣的另一線索。

This paper discusses the making and significance of ink lines on the sides of Han dynasty bamboo and wooden slips in the IHP’s Juyan collection. These lateral ink lines, together with the “measuring staff slip” (“biaochi jian”) show reference to two kinds of writing postures in the past: respectively, with elbow and wrist suspended when writing, and leaning towards the table to write. They demarcate the start and end of writing, limit a column’s range, ensure the neat and aesthetic arrangement of slips, and improve the efficiency in counting, summarizing, and searching for information. Moreover, for researchers, the positions of these ink lines aid in restoring the correct order of the slips, as well as provide clues to the ancient personal writing habits of the scribes who produced these slips.