Considering that a single wooden slip can accommodate 38 characters on average, Shiji comprises a total of 526,500 characters and a staggering 13,855 slips would be required. Based on two complete bound volumes preserved by the IHP, namely “Yongyuan qiwu bu” (Monthly and Seasonal Records of Military Supplies from the Guangdi South Platoon in the Yungyuan Era) with 77 slips, 243.63 g in weight and “Yongguang er nian yu houzhang Zheng She ning ce” (Report on Granting Officer Zheng She Leave of Absence Due to the Death of His Father, 42 B.C.) with 3 slips, 11.38 g in weight, one slip weighs approximately 3.475 g. A complete wooden slip edition of Shiji would thus be 48.1 kg.
Weight of Wooden Slips: Shiji as a Reference
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