"In this book, Krijgsman has set forth a powerful and compelling vision for how early Chinese manuscript collections affected and transformed the early textual tradition across multiple genres, and in so doing, he has challenged many conventional assumptions. [...] Rens Krijgsman’s repeated and highly apt emphasis on the role of collections as “catalysts of discourse” requires us to consider new dimensions of how texts were transmitted and how discourse evolved, demanding that we take into account material and visual aspects of texts alongside content. The significance of the issues Krijgsman takes on in this book extends far beyond “early China” and “manuscripts”[...] It is to be hoped that this excellent study will itself serve as a catalyst for discourse concerning the formation of the early Chinese textual tradition." - Newell Ann van Auken, Asian Studies XII (XXVIII), 3 (2024). "He shows how collecting stories or anecdotes evolved into narrating the past and thus the beginnings of historiography, how collections of verse prepared the formation of literary genres, and how collecting what in Chinese terms was “technical knowledge” amounted to religious manuals with patterns for prayers and spells and also daybooks for personal divination needs. The manuscripts analyzed here provide stunningly direct access to the mindset of the elite before imperial ideological pressures took hold. How closely the religious expectations, fixed in writing, were connected to specific everyday demands comes to the fore. Considering the difficulty and importance of the volume’s source materials, it must be praised for being readable and thus allowing the non-specialist easy access to how Chinese culture, religious practices included, took form." - Barbara Hendrischke, Religious Studies Review, 49/3 (2023). “Focusing on the creation of “collections” out of originally independent texts and thoughtfully situating these within their wider material and literary-historical contexts, Early Chinese Manuscript Collections is an ambitious and ground-breaking work that will prove indispensable reading for anyone with serious interest in processes of textual formation in early China.”- Scott Cook, Yale-NUS College “In this fascinating study of collections of texts in early Chinese manuscripts, Rens Krijgsman addresses a highly relevant topic almost entirely absent from previous scholarship: multi-text manuscripts. The case studies he presents embrace a wide range of genres. Through a detailed examination of the materiality of the manuscripts bearing these texts, he explores the question of different social uses of written texts and thus offers an important contribution to early Chinese book history. This timely and important study is sure to inspire productive discussions and future scholarship on early Chinese textual culture and related topics.” - Matthias L. Richter, University of Colorado at Boulder “As opposed to most studies of recently unearthed manuscripts, which take a pointillist approach to individual texts, Rens Krijgsman uses a broad brush to paint his picture of Warring States literary history, addressing dozens of different manuscripts representing virtually all of the different kinds of texts from early China. One need not agree with all of his conclusions to be struck by the great erudition on display in his discussions.“ - Edward L. Shaughnessy, University of Chicago "[Early Chinese Manuscript Collections is a solid scientific contribution that offers a fresh perspective on ancient Chinese manuscripts. The book tends to be a smooth read but is not intended for a general audience. If specialist terms such as 'multipletext manuscripts' or transcriptions such as *prûʔ or *brəkh don't frighten you, you will be treated with a fascinating insight into the creative textual culture of a formative period in Chinese history." (translated from the original Dutch) - Paul van Els,Tijdschrift Voor Geschiedenis 138.1 (2025), 75-76. "As a survey and typology of collected manuscripts, [Early Chinese Manuscript Collections] is a great success. Its case studies are well-chosen, its translations readable and accurate, its analyses insightful. [...] [R]eservations aside, Krijgsman’s book is a terrifically useful resource that is highly recommended for all students and scholars of early Chinese texts." - Michael Hunter, T'oung Pao 111.1-2 (2025), 207-211. “[T]he intellectual reward for engaging with this volume is considerable, especially for readers attentive to how its arguments unfold across several examples and across chapters. For example, I only fully appreciated the analysis of Zhougong Zhi Qin Wu when I finished reading the analysis of its foil, Qi Ye. Thanks to its overarching survey of early Chinese manuscripts and its productive framework for reformulating pre-imperial textuality, reading Early Chinese Manuscript Collections has transformed my understanding of this corpus. For anyone engaged in the interpretation of early Chinese texts—whether as philosophical, historical, or literary sources—understanding them as collections should be an essential prerequisite.” - Du Heng, Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 24.4 (2025).
