Gu Jiegang said in the book "Contemporary History of China": "In the study of the history of Qin and Han Dynasties, Mr. Lao Gan made the greatest achievement, and his published papers were ... extremely detailed and had never been published before."
Because Lao Gan's Textual Research on Han Bamboo Slips in Juyan was published in the most difficult period in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and the conditions were harsh, you can imagine from the draft paper and lithograph methods used in the book, only 300 copies were printed, which did not spread widely. In addition, the collected bamboo slips are incomplete and have no plates, which is not conducive to the in-depth study. Therefore, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Lao Gan rearranged, reviewed and revised the interpretation of the old version according to the photos, and added the abbreviated index, which was published in Shanghai 1949.
All the plates of Juyan Han bamboo slips were published in Taiwan Province Province later than 1957, that is, Lao Gan's "Plate System of Juyan Han bamboo slips", which is the first time that more than 10,000 pieces of Juyan Han bamboo slips have been published. Therefore, the photos and explanations of Juyan Han bamboo slips have a more accurate book, which also reflects his latest research experience. Lao Gan's research method of Juyan bamboo slips basically inherits Wang Guowei's study of bamboo slips in Han and Jin Dynasties. In the preface, he said: "Since Stein obtained the Han bamboo slips of the Great Wall site, Wang Guowei's book The Slip of Quicksand is very important and profound." Among them, his method of sorting bamboo slips by content is a little modification of Wang Guowei's method of sorting bamboo slips.
In the textual research of 1944, Lao Gan divided bamboo slips into five categories according to their nature and use: (1) document seal, check seal, voucher symbol and criminal lawsuit; (2) Books, garrisons, sickness and death, money, names, achievements, utensils, chariots and horses, wine and food, accounting books and miscellaneous account books; (3) Letters (4) Classics, genealogy, primary schools, philosophers of the Six Classics, laws, medical prescriptions and skills; (5) Miscellaneous products without year number or with year number. In the revision of 1960, Lao Gan subdivided the bamboo slips into seven categories and 66 items, among which the new ones were: (1) the system of making and sealing bamboo slips, the inspector, the stamp, the edition book, the token, the deed and the compilation; (2) Official document form and general system: imperial edict, imperial seal, official seal, official seal, official seal, official seal, salary, arrest, secretariat, official position, Sima, general officer, local official, civil servant, military attache, regular meeting, official position, chariots and horses, travel itinerary; (3) Examples of relevant historical documents include the imperial edict of Hanwu, the imperial edict of Wuzhuqian, the imperial edict of Wanglutang, the imperial edict of Wangmang's regular script, the imperial edict of the Western Regions and the Qiang people; (4) About four counties: establish four counties: Lufu County, Wuwei County, Juyan City and Juyan Wang Di; (5) Border fortress system, border county system, beacon towers, pavilions, docks, palaces, weapons, reclamation, generals, farmers, criminals who moved to the border, members of the inner county and garrison, families of border officers and soldiers, employment and "guests"; (6) Live grain, grain, ox plough, royal clothes, wine price, stuffed clothes, silks, toads, clubs, ancient punctuality and five nights in border counties; (7) Letters, official scripts, complicated writing of the word "seven" and nine compilations, * * * including 10 156 notes and 605 plates. Study on the Setting Time of Four Counties in Hexi and the Taxation of Reclaiming Farmland: Not only the records in Historical Records are different from those in Hanshu, but also the records in the same Hanshu and Shiji are different. Since then, there have been different opinions about Historical Records, either from the Ji of Emperor Wu or from the Geography. The master of Ye Ganjia School in Qing Dynasty also made a detailed textual research on this issue, but it was still limited to the level of proving history with history and did not break away from traditional historiography. Therefore, the age of the four counties in Hexi has become an eternal mystery.
Lao Gan made a new textual research on this issue according to the new materials provided by Han bamboo slips. Lao Gan said, "Judging from its tone, it seems to refer to Dunhuang County, and it seems to be circumstantial evidence for the initial establishment of Dunhuang County." The age of Dunhuang's county establishment should be similar at first, but it will not be later than the Yuan Dynasty. Compared with previous studies, Lao Gan's discussion on the setting age of four counties in Hexi by using the information of bamboo slips in Juyan is undoubtedly a step forward.
Lao Gan believes that Juyan cultivated land began in the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and because it is located in the lower reaches of weak water (now Ejina River), it is an oasis along the river and one of the gateways to the northwest frontier. On the beacon line from Zhangye to Juyan, there are Dawan, Diwan, Hongchengzi and Paochengzi, all of which are fertile plains. Irrigation with canal water from Ejina River is most suitable for reclamation. In the Han Dynasty, there were Tian Guan in northwest China, who were in charge of farming, and there were two Tian Guan districts in Juyan. Regarding the management system of land reclamation, Lao Gan said: "The organization of land reclamation in Han Dynasty is unknown, but according to bamboo slips, there are agricultural orders and officials. Officers should call the person who maintains agricultural order or the guardian of agricultural order another name. There is a waiting official under a surname, and the agricultural order or the big official should also belong to a surname, if it is the ratio of waiting officials. " Accordingly, the reclamation management system is a surname-agricultural order (sir). The research on the ancient bonfire system in China originated very early, starting in the Western Zhou Dynasty and continuing until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which is consistent with the feudal society in China. In the past, due to the lack of documentary records, various views were different. Since the unearthed bamboo slips in Juyan, Dunhuang, many scholars have made textual research on the bonfire system in Han Dynasty.
1974, the discovery of the fire in the bunker by Kuyanpo Chengzi and the Han bamboo slips in Maquanwan, Dunhuang, provided new and important materials for further discussing the bonfire system in Han Dynasty. Lao Gan inherited Wang Guowei and inspired Chen people. He made use of the Han bamboo slips unearthed in Juyan and Dunhuang, such as "Bonfire Moon", and combined with the literature records, which played a connecting role in the study of the bonfire system.
Lao Gan summed up the bonfire system like this: "Say a watch, or make a tent, just take a piece of cloth as it, and the color is red and white." Second, smoking. Three words: borage fire. Four days' accumulated salary. When mentioned, wages are used during the day, tables and cigarettes are used during the day, and borage fire is used at night.
Lao Gan said: "When it comes to putting cigarettes in the stove, most people just say that they are not as good as cigarettes. Actually, it's a lighthouse, and smoke is the smoke from pavilions and tunnels. They are different, so they are not mixed. ..... As can be seen from the beacon tower system in the Han Dynasty, all existing beacon towers often have a stove mouth, that is, the stove is at the top of the tower and smoke is applied on it. In the end, the stove is still black, and the grass is burning inside, so you can still smoke alone. " He insisted that Peng Shan meant Peng Biao, and the smoke came from the stove in the beacon tower. Since then, many scholars have learned from him, thinking that in archaeological investigation and excavation, they have seen the real objects of smoke stoves. However, according to the survey data of the beacon towers in Dunhuang and Juyan areas in Han Dynasty, Wu Jian did not find the fact that there was a stove on the top of the beacon tower, and pointed out that the stove still under the beacon tower in archaeological excavation could not be proved to be a stove emitting smoke, and it should be used for cooking and heating according to its location.
When Wang Guowei made textual research on quicksand bamboo slips, because the number of bamboo slips was only 1000, "it was not enough for analysis and comparison, and it was extremely difficult to search for clues." "As a result, there have been some mistakes in textual research, and Tian Tian is the most typical example. Lao Gan made a clear textual research on the origin and function of Tian Tian based on a great deal of information of Han bamboo slips in Juyan, and clarified previous misunderstandings.