Academic Staff
PolyU Scholars Hub
Dr. MA Tsang Wing, Ben
Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Programme Leader
Early China , Excavated manuscripts
- A502
- +852 3400 8993
- tsang-wing.ma@polyu.edu.hk
ORCID ID
SCOPUS IDEducation and Academic Qualifications
- Ph.D., History, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2017
- M.Phil., History, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007
- B.A. (First Class Honor), History, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005
Academic and Professional Experience
- Assistant Professor, Department of Chinese History and Culture, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2023–present
- Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Macau, 2019–2023
- Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Freiburg, 2017–2018
- Research Assistant, Department of History, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007–2012
Other Appointments
- Young Researcher, The Research Institute for Oriental Cultures, Gakushuin University, July 2023
- Guest Researcher, Institute of Chinese Studies, Heidelberg University, 2017–2018
Research Interests
Research Output
- (In preparation) A Companion to Early Chinese Manuscripts from the Han Frontier (under contract with Routledge).
- (2023) East Asia beyond the Archives: Missing Sources & Marginal Voices. Leiden: Leiden University Press (Co-edited with Catherine S. Chan).
- (2019) Dong Han de falü, xingzheng yu shehui: Changsha wuyi guangchang Dong Han jiandu tansuo 東漢的法律、行政與社會：長沙五一廣場東漢簡牘探索 [Law, Administration, and Society in Eastern Han China: A Study of the Bamboo and Wooden Texts Excavated from May 1st Square, Changsha, Hunan Province]. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing (H.K.) Co., Ltd. (Co-edited with Ming-chiu Lai and Chun Fung Tong).
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(2024) “New Insights into Emperor Wen of Han’s 167 BCE Legal Reform: The Changes in the Grading System for Illicit Profit from Robberies.” Bamboo and Silk 7.2: 251-77.
- (2023) “Qin Han shidai de wenzi xiaohui yu feiqi” 秦漢時代的文字銷毀與廢棄 [The Destruction and Abandonment of Writing in the Qin and Han Dynasties]. Disquisitions on the Past & Present 古今論衡 41: 3-37.
- (2022) “Qin Han de daozang dengji ji qi duiying xingfa” 秦漢的盜贓等級及其對應刑罰 [The Grades and Punishments of Illicit Profits from Robberies in Qin-Han China]. Falü shi yiping 法律史譯評 [Legal History Studies] 10: 18–33.
- (2022) “Qin Xi Han shiqi de shi, zuo ji xingzheng wenshu de wuzhi xing: Shuihudi, Liye, he Zhangjiashan zhi chutu zhengju” 秦西漢時期的史、佐及行政文書的物質性：睡虎地、里耶和張家山之出土證據 [Scribes, Assistants, and the Materiality of Administrative Documents in Qin-Early Han China: Excavated Evidence from Liye, Shuihudi, and Zhangjiashan]. Trans. Wang Xiangyu 王翔宇. Chutu wenxian 出土文獻 [Excavated Documents] 2022.1: 135–52.
- (2021) “Categorizing Laborers: Glimpses of Qin’s Management of Human Resources from an Administrative Document from Liye, Hunan Province.” Early China 44: 351–91.
- (2021) “Changsha wuyi guangchang chutu Dong Han Linxiang xian waijun huozhu mingji jicheng yanjiu” 長沙五一廣場出土東漢臨湘縣外郡「貨主」名籍集成研究 [A Study of the Registers of “Owners of Goods” Excavated from Wuyi Square, Changsha]. Journal of East-West Humanities 동서인문 15: 175–205.
- (2020) “Du Shandong Qingdao Tushantun 147 hao mu chutu mudu zhaji: Kaogu mailuo, Tangyi hukoubo, yiju he qunju” 讀山東青島土山屯147號墓出土木牘札記──考古脈絡、「堂邑戶口薄(簿)」、「邑居」和「羣居」[Notes on the Wooden Manuscripts Excavated from Tomb no. 147 at Tushantun, Shandong Province: Archaeological Context, “Household Account-Book of Tangyi County,” “Yiju” and “Qunju”]. Jianbo 簡帛 [Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts] 21: 199–216.
- (2020) “Between the State and Their Superiors: The Anxiety of Low-Ranked Scribes in the Qin and Han Bureaucracies.” Asia Major 3rd ser. 33.2: 25-59.
- (2020) “Qin dai jiandu wenshuxue de ge’an yanjiu: Liye Qin jian 9-2283, [16-5] he [16-6] sandu de wuzhi xingtai, wenshu goucheng he chuandi fangshi” 秦代簡牘文書學的個案研究──里耶秦簡9-2283、[16-5]和[16-6]三牘的物質形態、文書構成和傳遞方式 [A Case Study of the Qin Wooden Administrative Documents: The Materiality, Textual Composition, and Delivery Methods of Slips 9-2283, [16-5], and [16-6] from the Liye Archive]. Bulletin of Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica 中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊 91.3: 349–418.
- (2018) “Han dai difang xingzheng zhong de zhifu zhidu” 漢代地方行政中的直符制度 [The Zhifu System in the Han Local Administration]. Jianbo 簡帛 [Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts] 16: 253–77.
- (2017) “Scribes, Assistants, and the Materiality of Administrative Documents in Qin-Early Han China: Excavated Evidence from Liye, Shuihudi, and Zhangjiashan.” T’oung Pao 103.4–5: 297–333 (*Selected by the Editors-in-Chief for free access to celebrate 130 years of the journal).
- (2015) “Cong xunxi chuandi yu waiqi zhengzhi tantao Han Chengdi Yuanyan nianjian liangzong gongwei ming’an” 從訊息傳遞與外戚政治探討漢成帝元延年間兩宗宮闈命案 [Two Murders in the Harem of Han Emperor Cheng, Considered in the Contexts of Communication and Imperial Affinal Politics]. Chinese Culture Quarterly 九州學林 36: 193–218.
- (2013) “Dubi kun xiaokao: Cong fushi kan Han dai yongzuozhe de xingxiang” 「犢鼻褌」小考──從服飾看漢代傭作者的形象 [On the Term dubi kun: Reconstructing the Image of Han Hired Laborers by Investigating their Clothing]. Chinese Culture Quarterly 九州學林 33: 97-106.
- (2012) “Qin Han shiqi de guyong huodong yu renkou liudong” 秦漢時期的僱傭活動與人口流動 [Hired Activities and Movement of Population in Qin-Han Periods]. Journal of Chinese Studies 中國文化研究所學報 54: 1–28.
- (2011) “Han jian buji zaitan: Yi Zu yong zuo mingji wei li” 漢簡簿籍再探：以「卒傭作名籍」為例 [Buji on Han Wooden and Bamboo Strips Revisited: Zu yong zuo mingji as a Case Study]. Journal of Chinese Studies 中國文化研究所學報 53: 33–56 (Co-authored with Ming-chiu Lai).
- (2010) “Shilun Liye Qin du yu Qin dai wenshuxue de jige wenti” 試論里耶秦牘與秦代文書學的幾個問題 [Some Issues on the Liye Qin Wooden Documents and Qin Paleography]. Jianbo 簡帛 [Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts] 5: 55–76 (Co-authored with Ming-chiu Lai).
- (2009) “Shilun Han jian suojian de douli ji qi yu duyou de guanxi” 試論漢簡所見的都吏及其與督郵的關係 [An Essay on Duli and its Relation with Duyou in Han Bamboo and Wooden Slips]. Chūgoku shutsudo shiryō kenkyū 中國出土資料研究 [Studies on Chinese Excavated Materials] 13: 105–30 (Co-authored with Ming-chiu Lai).
- (2024) “To Write or to Seal? New Evidence on Literacy Practices in Early Imperial China.” In Keeping Record: The Materiality of Rulership and Administration in Early China & Medieval Europe. Edited by Abigail Armstrong, Matthias Kuhn, Jörg Peltzer and Chun Fung Tong. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter Press.
- (2022) “Jungguk jeondosegiui munja sogeo wa pyegi” 中國簡牘時代의 문자 소거와 폐기 [Destruction and Disposal of Bamboo and Wooden Manuscripts in Ancient China]. In Namueseo jong-iro godae dong-asiui girok munhwa 나무에서 종이로 고대 동아시아의 기록문화 [From Wood to Paper: Archival Culture of Ancient East Asia]. Edited by Yun Jae Seug 윤재석, 309–66. Seoul: Zininzin.
- (2020) “The Qin and Han Economies in Modern Chinese and Japanese Historiographies.” In Handbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies. Volume 1: Contexts. Edited by Sitta von Reden, 619–40. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter Press.
- (2020) “Qin and Han Evidence. Excavated Texts.” In Handbook of Ancient Afro-Eurasian Economies. Volume I: Contexts. Edited by Sitta von Reden, 529–56. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter Press.
- (2009) “Han jian suojian de duli ji qi zhize” 漢簡所見的都吏及其職責 [Duli and its Duties as Seen in Han Bamboo and Wooden Slips]. In Han dai wenming guoji xueshu yantaohui lunwenji 漢代文明國際學術研討會論文集 [Essays from the International Conference on Han Civilization]. Edited by Beijing Museum of Dabaotai Han tomb 北京大葆台西漢墓博物館, 485–96. Beijing: Beijing yanshan chubanshe (Co-authored with Ming-chiu Lai).
- (2021) “Shuihudi.” In The Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa. Edited by Daniel T. Potts, Ethan Harkness, Jason Neelis, and Roderick McIntosh. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
- (2021) “Zhangjiashan.” In The Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa. Edited by Daniel T. Potts, Ethan Harkness, Jason Neelis, and Roderick McIntosh. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
- (2019) Li Andun 李安敦 (Anthony J. Barbieri-Low) and Ye Shan 葉山 (Robin D. S. Yates). “Qin Han falü de gongneng he xiaoyong: Zhangjiashan falü wenxian zai chuantong falü fazhan zhong di diwei” 秦漢法律的功能和效用：張家山法律文獻在傳統法律發展中的地位 [The Function and Effectiveness of the Qin and Han Laws: The Place of the Zhangjiashan Legal Texts in the Development of Traditional Chinese Law]. Jianbo 簡帛 [Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts] 19: 177–200.
- (2019) Li Andun 李安敦 (Anthony J. Barbieri-Low) and Ye Shan 葉山 (Robin D. S. Yates). “Zouyan shu yu shizhi guanli” 《奏讞書》與史職官吏 [The Book of Submitted Doubtful Cases Text and Scribal Officials]. Jianbo 簡帛 [Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts] 18: 199–216.
- (2018) Li Andun 李安敦 (Anthony J. Barbieri-Low) and Ye Shan 葉山 (Robin D. S. Yates). “Ernian lüling de fuyuan yu yanjiu” 《二年律令》的復原與研究 [Reconstruction and Study of the Statutes and Ordinances of the Second Year Text]. Jianbo 簡帛 [Bamboo and Silk Manuscripts] 17: 165–80.
- (2023) “Qin Han de daozang dengji ji qi duiying xingfa (xiuding gao)” 秦漢的盜贓等級及其對應刑罰（修訂稿） [The Grades and Punishments of Illicit Profits from Robberies in Qin-Han China (A Revised Version)]. Jianbo website 簡帛網. http://www.bsm.org.cn/?hanjian/9067.html. Published on June 14, 2023.
- (2020) “Daizhu? Yi hou huozhu? Changsha wuyi guangchang Dong Han jiandu duji yize” 「貸主」？抑或「貨主」？──長沙五一廣場東漢簡牘讀記一則 [Lenders or Merchants? A Note on the Excavated Texts of the Later Han from the May 1st Square in Changsha]. Jianbo website 簡帛網. http://www.bsm.org.cn/?hanjian/8290.html. Published on August 7, 2020.
- (2018) “Liye Qin jian 9-2283, [16-5] he [16-6] sandu de fanyin wen he dieya guanxi” 里耶秦簡9-2283、[16-5]和[16-6]三牘的反印文和疊壓關係 [A Study of the Mirror-Inverted Imprints on Tablet nos. 9-2283, [16-5] and [16-6] from Liye, Hunan Province]. Jianbo website 簡帛網. http://www.bsm.org.cn/?qinjian/7941.html. Published on August 22, 2018.
- (2017) “Qin Han shiqi de guyong huodong yu renkou liudong (xiuding gao)” 秦漢時期的僱傭活動與人口流動（修訂稿） [Hired Activities and Movement of Population in Qin-Han Periods (A Revised Version)]. Jianbo website 簡帛網. http://www.bsm.org.cn/?qinjian/7684.html. Published on December 14, 2017.
- (2010) “‘Han diguo de zhidu yu shehui zhixu’ guoji xueshu huiyi zongshu” 「漢帝國的制度與社會秩序」國際學術會議綜述 [A Summary of the International Conference on “Institutions and Social Order in the Han Empire”]. Zhongguo shi yanjiu dongtai 中國史研究動態 [Trends of Recent Research on the History of China] 11: 22–25 (Co-authored with Man Tak Kwok and King Kwan Li).
- (2024) “Xin chutu jiandu suojian de Dong Han difang shehui” 新出土簡牘所見的東漢地方社會 [Eastern Han Society in Light of Newly-Excavated Bamboo and Wooden Manuscripts]. Seminars on Chinese History and Culture for Postgraduate Students in Hong Kong, Macau, and the Pearl River Delta (Spring), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. May 11.
- (2024) “Beyond Compassion and Virtuousness: Emperor Wen of Han and His Legal Reforms.” FH New Direction Lecture Series, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. April 9.
- (2024) “Han Wendi yu Tiying: Yige falü shi de guandian” 漢文帝與緹縈：一個法律史的觀點 [Emperor Wen of Han and Tiying: A Perspective from Legal History]. Chengming Humanities lecture series, New Asia Institute of Advanced Chinese Studies. February 24.
- (2023) “Han dai de shuxie yu yongyin: Lüe lun Zhongguo gudai shuxie de tibu jizhi” 漢代的書寫與用印：略論中國古代書寫的替補機制 [Writing and Sealing in the Han Dynasty: Exploring Alternative and Complementary Forms of Written Communication in Ancient China]. RIH Interdisciplinary Reading Group, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. November 29.
- (2023) “Cong Qin zhi dao Han zhi: Qin Han de daozang dengji ji qi duiying xingfa” 從秦制到漢制：秦漢的盜贓等級及其對應刑罰 [From the Qin to Han systems: The Grades of Illicit Profits from Robberies and Their Matching Punishments in Qin-Han China]. Department of History, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. October 31.
- (2023) “Xin chutu ziliao suojian Qin Han de zangdeng, zangzhi ji qi duiying xingfa” 新出土資料所見秦漢的贓等、贓值及其對應刑罰 [The Grades, Values, and Punishment of Illicit Profits from Robberies in Qin-Han China as Seen in Newly-Excavated Texts]. Yangzi River Valley Culture Research Institute, Waseda University. July 13.
- (2023) “Qin Han shidai de wenzi xiaohui yu feiqi” 秦漢時代的文字銷毀與廢棄 [Destruction and Disposal of Writing in Qin-Han China]. The Research Institute for Oriental Cultures, Gakushuin University. July 12.
- (2023) “Zhongguo gudai shuxie de tibu jizhi: Yi Han dai yongyin wei zhongxin” 中國古代書寫的替補機制──以漢代用印為中心 [Alternatives to Writing in Early China: A Study of the Use of Han Seals]. National Chung Hsing University, June 9.
- (2023) “Zhongguo gudai shuxie de tibu jizhi: Yi Han dai yongyin wei zhongxin” 中國古代書寫的替補機制──以漢代用印為中心 [Alternatives to Writing in Early China: A Study of the Use of Han Seals]. Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, June 8.
- (2023) “Qin Han shidai shehui diceng de richang gushi” 秦漢時代社會底層的日常故事 [Everyday Life in the Lower-Strata of the Qin-Han Society]. Macaology 澳門16號, February 25.
- (2022) “Shoushu yi huo yongyin? Wuyi Guangchang jiandu suojian de Dong Han pingxin zhidu” 手書抑或用印？五一廣場簡牘所見的東漢憑信制度 [To Write or to Seal? The Verification System as Seen in the Wooden Documents from Wuyi Guangchang]. Wuhan University, China, June 24.
