Oracle bone script: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:22, 14 March 2024

Revision as of 01:39, 15 March 2024

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Out of an estimated 150,000 inscriptions that have been uncovered, the vast majority were unearthed at [[Yinxu]], the site of the final Shang capital (modern-day [[Anyang, Henan]]). The most recent major discovery was the Huayuanzhuang cache found near the site in 1993. Of the 1,608 Huayuanzhang pieces, 579 bear inscriptions.{{sfn|Shen|2002|p=86}} Each of the last nine Shang kings are named in the inscriptions{{efn|A few such shells and bones do not record divinations, but bear other records such as those of hunting trips, records of sacrifices, wars or other events , calendars, or practice inscriptions;{{harvnb|Xu|2002|pp=31, 34}} these are termed shell and bone inscriptions, rather than oracle bones, because no oracle (divination) was involved. However, they are still written in oracle bone script.}} beginning with [[Wu Ding]], whose accession is variously dated between 1250 and 1200{{sbc}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2002 |title=The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project: Methodology and Results |journal=Journal of East Asian Archaeology |volume=4 |pages=321–333 |doi=10.1163/156852302322454585 |surname=Li |given=Xueqin}}</ref>{{sfn|Keightley|1978|p=228}} Oracle bone inscriptions corresponding to Wu Ding's reign have been radiocarbon dated to 1254–1197{{sbc}} (±10 years).<ref name="radiocarbon">{{Cite journal |last=Liu |first=Kexin |last2=Wu |first2=Xiaohong |last3=Guo |first3=Zhiyu |last4=Yuan |first4=Sixun |last5=Ding |first5=Xingfang |last6=Fu |first6=Dongpo |last7=Pan |first7=Yan |year=2020 |title=Radiocarbon Dating of Oracle Bones of the Late Shang Period in Ancient China |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/radiocarbon/article/radiocarbon-dating-of-oracle-bones-of-late-shang-period-in-ancient-china/38A7B64D6D538A3A7B96F912BBEE9592 |journal=[[Radiocarbon (journal)|Radiocarbon]] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=155–175 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314195458/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/radiocarbon/article/radiocarbon-dating-of-oracle-bones-of-late-shang-period-in-ancient-china/38A7B64D6D538A3A7B96F912BBEE9592 |archive-date=2022-03-14}}</ref> Following the overthrow of the Shang by the [[Zhou dynasty]] in {{Circa|1046 BC}}, divination using [[Achillea millefolium|milfoil]] became more common; far fewer oracle bone inscriptions are dated to the Western Zhou.<ref>Nylan, Michael (2001). The five "Confucian" classics, p. 217</ref> No Zhou-era sites with a comparable cache of inscriptions to Yinxu have been found; however, examples from this period appear to be more widespread, having been found near most major population centers. New sites have continued to be discovered since 2000.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Flad |first=Rowan K. |year=2008 |title=Divination and Power: A Multiregional View of the Development of Oracle Bone Divination in Early China |journal=Current Anthropology |language=en |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=403–437 |doi=10.1086/588495 |issn=0011-3204 |s2cid=62795316}}</ref>

The oracle bone inscriptions—along with several roughly contemporaneous bronzeware inscriptions using a different style—constitute the earliest corpus of Chinese writing, and are the direct ancestor of the [[Chinese family of scripts]] developed over the next three millennia.{{sfn|Boltz|1994|p=31}} Their study is essential for the research of Chinese [[etymologies]]. It is also the direct ancestor of over a dozen East Asian writing systems. The length of inscriptions ranges from 10 to over 100 characters, but a few dozen is typical. The subjects of concern in inscriptions are broad, and include war, ritual sacrifice, and agriculture, as well as births, illnesses, and deaths in the royal family. As such, they provide invaluable insights into the character of late Shang society. [[Oraculology]] is the study of [[oracle bone]]s and oracle bone script.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Yuxin |last2=Wei |first2=Jianzhen |publisher=[[Chinese Academy of Social Sciences]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-7-500-48878-1 |___location=Beijing |script-title=zh:甲骨学导论 |trans-title=History of China historiography |oclc=690131145 |author-mask=Wang Yuxin (王宇信) |author-mask2=Wei Jianzhen (魏建震) |langlanguage=zh}}</ref>

== Name ==

The common Chinese term for oracle bone script is {{lang|zh|甲骨文}} ({{transltransliteration|zh|jiǎgǔwén}} 'shell and bone script'), which is an abbreviation of {{lang|zh|龜甲獸骨文字}} ({{transltransliteration|zh|guījiǎ shòugǔ wénzì}} 'turtle-shell and animal-bone script'). This term is a translation of the English phrase "inscriptions upon bone and tortoise shell", which had been coined by the American missionary Frank H. Chalfant (1862–1914) in his 1906 book ''Early Chinese Writing'', which first appeared in Chinese books during the 1930s.{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2015|p=681}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chalfant |first=Frank H. |url=https://archive.org/details/earlychinesewrit00chalrich |title=Early Chinese Writing |publisher=Carnegie Institute |year=1906 |___location=Pittsburgh |page=[https://archive.org/details/earlychinesewrit00chalrich/page/30 30]}}</ref>

In earlier decades, Chinese authors used a variety of names for the inscriptions based on the name of [[Yinxu]], their purpose ({{lang|zh|卜}} {{transltransliteration|zh|bǔ}} 'to divine'), or the method of inscription ({{lang|zh|契}} {{transltransliteration|zh|qì}} 'to engrave'). One previously common term was {{lang|zh|殷墟卜辭}} ({{transltransliteration|zh|Yīnxū bǔcí}} 'Yinxu divinatory texts'). {{sfnp|Wilkinson|2015|p=681}}

== Origins ==

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[[File:Shang_Bronze_and_Oracle_Script.svg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|Comparison of characters in the Shang bronzeware script (first and fourth rows), oracle bone script (second and fifth rows), and [[regular script]] (third and sixth rows)]]

It is known that the Shang people also wrote with brush and ink, as brush-written graphs have been found on a small number of pottery, shell and bone, and jade and other stone items,{{sfn|Qiu|2000|p=63}} and there is evidence that they also wrote on bamboo (or wooden) books{{efn|There are no such bamboo books extant before the late Zhou, however, as the materials were not permanent enough to survive.}} just like those found from the late Zhou to [[Han dynasty|Han]] periods, because the graphs for a writing brush ({{zhi|c=聿}} {{transltransliteration|zh|yù}}, depicting a hand holding a writing brush{{efn|The modern word {{zhi|c=筆}} {{transltransliteration|zh|bĭ}} is derived from a [[Qin (state)|Qin]] dialectal variant of this word {{harvnb|Baxter|Sagart|2014|pp=42–43}}.}}) and bamboo book ({{zhi|c=冊}} {{transltransliteration|zh|cè}}, a book of thin [[bamboo and wooden slips]] bound with horizontal strings, like a [[Venetian blind]] turned 90 degrees), are present in oracle bone inscriptions.{{sfnm|Qiu|2000|1p=63|Xu|2002|2p=12}}{{efn|As {{harvnb|Qiu|2000|pp=62–63}} notes, the ''Shangshu''{{'s}} "Duoshi" chapter also refers to use of such books by the Shang.}}

[[File:Heji 37986 Ganzhi table (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.66|Table of the Chinese sexagenary cycle inscribed on an ox scapula, dating to the reigns of the last two kings of the Shang dynasty during the first half of the 11th century{{sbc}}]]

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Although it was a fully functional writing system, the oracle bone script was not fully standardized. By the early [[Western Zhou]] period, these traits had vanished, but in both periods, the script was not highly regular or standardized; variant forms of graphs abound, and the size and orientation of graphs is also irregular. A graph when inverted horizontally generally refers to the same word, and additional components are sometimes present without changing the meaning. These irregularities persisted until the standardization of the [[seal script]] in the [[Qin dynasty]].

There are over 30,000 distinct characters found from all the bone fragments so far, which may represent around 4,000 individual characters in their various forms. The majority of these still remain undeciphered, although scholars believe they can decipher between 1,500 and 2,000 of these characters.{{cncitation needed|date=March 2024}} One reason for the difficulty in decipherment is that components of certain oracle bone script characters may differ in later script forms. Such differences may be accounted for by character simplification and/or by later generations misunderstanding the original graph, which had evolved beyond recognition. For instance, the standard character for 'autumn' ({{zhi|c=秋}}) now appears with 'plant stalk' ({{zhi|c=禾}}) as one component and 'fire' ({{zhi|c=火}}) as another component, whereas the oracle bone script form of the character depicts an insect-like figure with [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]] – either a [[Cricket (insect)|cricket]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=秋 in Multi-function Chinese Character Database (漢語多功能字庫) |url=http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E7%A7%8B}}</ref> or a [[locust]] – with a variant depicting fire [[File:火-oracle.svg|13px]] below said figure. In this case, the modern character is a simplification of an archaic variant {{lang|zh|𪛁}} (or {{lang|zh|𥤚}})<ref>''[[Shuowen Jiezi]]'' entry for [http://www.shuowen.org/view/4430 秋 (秌)]: 从禾，省聲。𪛁，籒文不省。</ref> which is closer to the oracle bone script form – albeit with the insect figure being confused with the similar-looking character for 'turtle' ({{zhi|c=龜}}) and the addition of the {{zhi|c=禾}} component.

[[File:OracleSpring.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|Oracle bone script fragment featuring a character for 'spring' in the top-left which has no known modern descendant]]

Another reason is that some characters are attested {{em|only}} in the oracle bone script, dropping out of later usage and usually being replaced by newer characters. An example is a fragment bearing character for 'spring' that has no known modern counterpart. In such cases, available context may be used to determine the possible meaning of the character. In other cases, the character may be assumed to be a [[Chinese character classification|phono-semantic compound]], and a rough meaning can be inferred based on the semantic component. For instance, an oracle bone character was recently found which consists of {{zhi|c=礻}} on the left and {{zhi|c=升}} on the right ([{{zhi|c=礻升}}] when converted from oracle bone forms to their modern printed equivalents). This character may reasonably be guessed to a compound with {{zhi|c=示}} ('altar') as the semantic and {{zhi|c=升}} (modern reading ''sheng'') as the phonetic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Entian |date=2015-08-27 |title=王恩田：王獻唐先生征集甲骨文考釋 |url=http://www.gwz.fudan.edu.cn/Web/Show/2582 |website=Online Journal of the Fudan University Center for Unearthed Texts and Paleography (复旦大学出土文献与古文字研究中心 |language=zh)}}</ref> Though no modern character consists of these two components, it likely refers to a type of Shang dynasty ritual with a name similar to the pronunciation of {{zhi|c=升}} in Old Chinese.{{efn|This character was found on one of nine oracle bone fragments in the Shandong Provincial Museum's collection. The full inscription reads:

{{blockquote|{{lang|zh|丁未卜，王[礻升]叀父戊？}}}}

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== Computer encoding ==

A proposal to include the oracle bone script in [[Unicode]] is being prepared.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-10-21 |title=L2/15-280: Request for comment on encoding Oracle Bone Script |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15280-n4687-oracle-bone.pdf |access-date=2016-01-23 |publisher=Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 and UTC}}</ref>{{needs update inline|date=July 2022}} [[Codepoint]]s U+35400 through U+36BFF in Unicode [[Plane (Unicode)|Plane]] 3 (the Tertiary Ideographic Plane) have been tentatively allocated.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-21 |title=Roadmap to the TIP |url=http://unicode.org/roadmaps/tip/ |access-date=2016-01-23 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

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* {{Cite book |last=Keightley |first=David N. |author-link=David Keightley |title=Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China |publisher=University of California Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-520-02969-9 |___location=Berkeley |ref={{sfnref|Keightley|1978}} |orig-date=1978}}

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* {{Cite journal |last=Li |first=Xiaoding |author-mask=Li Xiaoding (李孝定) |year=1968 |script-title=zh:從六書的觀點看甲骨文字 |trans-title=Looking at Shell and Bone Inscriptions From the Point of View of the ''Liu Shu'' |journal=Nanyang daxue xuebao |language=zh |pages=84–106}}

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* {{Cite book |publisher=Yuwen chubanshe |year=1989 |isbn=978-7-800-06238-4 |editor-last=Liu |editor-first=Xiang |editor-mask=Liu Xiang (刘翔) |___location=Beijing |script-title=zh:商周古文字读本 |trans-title=Reader of Shang–Zhou Ancient Characters |ref={{sfnref|Liu|1989}} |editor-last2=Li |editor-first2=Xueqin |display-editors=etal |langlanguage=zh}}

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{{Refend}}