What is boshu？
3 min readThe ancient Chinese used brushes to write characters or copy books on silk fabrics.This is called boshu which means“an ancient book copied on silk fabrics.”
From the Spring and Autumn Period，silk had also been used as a writing material.In 1973，archeologists unearthed more than 20 books copied on silk fabrics from Tomb No.3 at Mawangdui in Changsha，Hunan Province.The total amount of characters is some 120，000.The books include Book of Changes ，Way and Virtue and Strategies of the Warring States .Most strikingly，these books differ greatly from the copies of these books used today.
Silk fabric is a better material for character writing，compared with bamboo or wooden slips.In addition，books copied on silk fabrics are soft，light，and portable.However，silk remained expensive at that time because the silk output wasquite low.So only imperial courts and rich families used it，and only to a limited extent.
What are Bai Jia Xing and San Zi Jing？
In ancient China，Chinese children first studied the Chinese characters with Bai Jia Xing（The Hundred Family Surnames）and San Zi Jing（TheThree Character Classic）.Then，they studied Si Shu Wu Jing（The Four Books and Five Classics）and other classic books.
San Zi Jing was a required text for all Chinese children in ancient China.They would recite it as a group，accompanied by the swaying of the body to give the proper rhythm.It was written in the 13th century，and it is thought that the text was written by Wang Yinglin（1223-1296），a renowned Confucian scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty.It is written in couplets of three characters（syllables）for easy memorization.The complete text is less than 1，200 characters，and it manages to express the main features of the Confucian tradition.The following is a part of the classic in translation：
At birth，everyone is naturally good.
Initially，they are similar in character；as time goes on，they become different.
If this lacks proper teaching，their nature becomes bad.
The right way to teach demands absolute concentration.
Bai Jia Xing has profound influence.It was written during the Song Dynasty in the 10th century，and it lists all of the known Chinese surnames in use at the time，which amount to 438.Who created Bai Jia Xing？When did the book first come into being，and where was it published？To this day，all those remain a mystery.
According to textual researches by academics，a master copy of Bai Jia Xing might exist even before the Song Dynasty.
In this text the surnames are given in a prescribed order and arranged in the form of a poem to facilitate memorization by school children.The surname leading the whole collection is zhao，the surname of the ruler of the Song Dynasty.The nex several surnames also appear to be related to other important personages of the era.
Since the book was produced，many other new surnames have been created.However，the surnames of The Hundred Family Surnames still account for 90%of all Chinese surnames in use.
