Beida

In 2009, Peking University received as a donation a collection of bamboo slips purchased on the Hong Kong antiquities market; among the texts is a nearly complete Laozi (224 slips). The dating — mid-Western Han (no earlier than Emperor Wu's reign, no later than Emperor Xuan's) — was established by the university's researchers from script analysis and a slip bearing the note "first year of Xiaojing" (孝景元年); no radiocarbon dating has been published. Like all market-acquired collections, the Beida slips have seen authenticity debates (e.g., a critique in Guangming Daily, 2016). The Beida Laozi is the closest of all early versions to the received (Wang Bi) form: its chapter inventory almost coincides, yet its "upper classic" (上经) is the De jing and the "lower" the Dao jing, as at Mawangdui. It shows that both orderings coexisted within one tradition long before final canonization. The text is published in 《北京大学藏西汉竹书（贰）》 (2012).