Oracle bone inscriptions are tortoise shells and animal bones incised with signs recognized as the earliest system of Chinese characters. Not only do they provide a rare glimpse into Chinese civilization, they also corroborated the account ofShijior Records of the Grand Historian, a monumental history of ancient China penned by a Han dynasty official.The oracle inscriptions also provide evidence that civilizations started maintaining written records five centuries earlier than previously believed.
Oracle bones were discovered in 1899 and their earliest use can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty 3,000 years ago, when the main use of the oracles was to record divination and fortune-telling. At the time, the emperors and nobles used divination objects for predicting weather, harvest and deciding the timing of important events such as sacrificial ceremonies or when to launch an assault against the enemy. Oracle characters even carry stories of King of Shang Dynasty, including their hunting incidents, illnesses, dreams and childbirth.
Among the four known ancient font systemsin the world, only one continues — the Chinese font system represented by the oracle bone inscriptions of Yin Ruinsin the ancient Shangdynasty.Modern font system, originating from the ancient oracle bone inscriptions, is still used by one fifth of the world’s population today and is a testimony to aesthetic values and thought process of the Chinese people.
At present, there are more than 4,300 oracle dictionaries compiled by scholars, of which more than 2,000 words have been studied, but only about 1,300 words have been deciphered by consensus. More than half of the words still need to be deciphered. China has promised a reward of 100,000 yuan to anyone who can decipher an oracle bone script and pass the scrutiny of the expert committee.
Earlier, oracle researchers had to bury their heads in vast amount of data. Today, new technologies such as big data and cloud platform can give a boost to oracle research, helping it enter a more comprehensive and in-depth stage. The study of oracle bone inscriptions is now not only an academic discipline in China but in the whole world.In 2017, oracle also made it to the Memory of the World Register which lists documentary heritage.
ChinesePresident Xi Jinping once said: “The Chinese character is the symbol of Chinese cultural heritage. The oracle bone inscriptions of Yin Ruins are more than 3,000 years old. Over 3,000 years, the structure of Chinese characters has not changed. This inheritance is the real Chinese gene passed on from generation to generation.”This year marks the 120th anniversary of the discovery of oracle bone inscriptions. The research work on oracle bone inscriptions will continue so the words ingrained in them and their stories canlive on.
