The origin of Oracle Bone Inscriptions

Words are like elves. As long as you make good use of them, they will have unexpected effects. Therefore, whether speaking or writing, we should make good use of words. As long as you can use it accurately and flexibly, it will make your language glow with vitality and brilliance. Below, I will share the history of Oracle Bone Inscriptions with you, hoping to help you!

The origin of Oracle Bone Inscriptions 1 Oracle Bone Inscriptions is the cultural product of Shang Dynasty (about BC17th century-BC1century), about 3600 years ago. Shang rulers are superstitious about ghosts and gods. Before they act, they often use tortoise shells and animal bones to predict good luck or bad luck. Later, they carved their possessions and later realized Oracle bones or related notes on the Oracle bones. Their writing is called Oracle Bone Inscriptions. It has been 65,438+000 years since Oracle Bone Inscriptions was discovered in Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan in the late Qing Dynasty. At present, the number of Oracle bones unearthed exceeds 150000, most of which are relics of Pan Geng royal family who moved to Yin and died. In order to go out to Yin Ruins, they are also called Yin Ruins. Because the inscriptions are mostly Oracle Bone Inscriptions, it is also called Zhenbu. At present, there are 4,500 * * characters unearthed in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and more than 2,000 characters have been identified, with orthography 1000 characters. It recorded the social, political, economic and cultural information of China more than 3,000 years ago. This is the earliest and most precious historical relic in existence.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions is one of the Chinese characters, and it is also the oldest mature character in China. Oracle Bone Inscriptions is also called Wen Qi, tortoise shell or tortoise shell animal bone. After divination with tortoise shell and animal bones, Shang people used knives to engrave the divination time, the names of the diviners and the things they divined, and some even engraved the good and bad luck that came true a few days later. However, the specific situation varies with the stage of Oracle bones. Generally speaking, the inscriptions in Wuding period are the most complete and the most abundant in existence. Scholars call this kind of record Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and this kind of writing is Oracle Bone Inscriptions. A large number of Oracle bones with Oracle Bone Inscriptions were unearthed in Yin Ruins, all of which have the basic structure of Chinese characters. A large number of Oracle Bone Inscriptions and inscriptions not only recorded the political, economic, military, meteorological and divination situation at that time, but also marked the maturity of the writing.

introduce

Oracle Bone Inscriptions is mainly found in Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province. Up to now, there are about 654.38+054,000 written Oracle bones unearthed. Among them, Chinese mainland has more than 97,600 pieces, Taiwan Province Province has more than 30,200 pieces, and Hong Kong has 89 pieces. Due to war and commercial factors, more than 26,700 pieces have been scattered overseas to Japan, the United States, Britain, Canada, France, the former Soviet Union, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden 12 countries. Among them, when the Japanese invaded China, they systematically excavated in Yin Ruins, so they collected the most, with more than 12000 pieces. At present, more than 500 scholars in the world specialize in Oracle Bone Inscriptions and have published more than 2,000 monographs.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions has about 4,500 words, about one third of which have been interpreted. According to research, pictographic characters, demonstrative characters, knowing characters and pictophonetic characters are used in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. In the application of word meaning, we can clearly see the method of metonymy. Pictophonetic characters account for about 25%. Today, pictophonetic characters account for about 90%.

Harmony in Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a symbol of the maturity of Chinese characters. Like cuneiform and hieroglyphics, it belongs to ideograph, and it is also the predecessor of the only ideograph used in the world at present. Its writing materials are generally tortoise bones, shoulder blades of cattle, and can also be engraved on walls, wood products, stone tools and so on. , with a knife, Zhu Shu, Mo Shu. China existed for a long time in ancient times. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, Chinese characters were separated from Oracle Bone Inscriptions and gradually lost their recognition, but they were generally sold to drug dealers as "keels" for medicinal purposes. It was not until 1899 (twenty-five years of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty) that it was accidentally discovered by epigraphist Wang and verified as a relic of Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions, mainly referring to Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin Ruins, is a script carved (or written) by the royal family on tortoise shells and animal bones for divination in the late Shang Dynasty (14 ~1century). It is the earliest and most complete ancient Chinese character discovered by China.

In the 25th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1899), Oracle Bone Inscriptions was first known by epigraphist Wang and bought at a high price. In the following ten years, Wang Xiang, Meng, Liu E, Luo Zhenyu, and Farlian of the United States successively searched for Oracle bones, Shouling and the United Kingdom, Taifu Lin of Japan, and Canadian ones. , * * * got tens of thousands of pieces of Oracle bones. From 1928 to 1937, the archaeological team of the Institute of History and Linguistics of Academia Sinica conducted 15 planned excavations of Yin Ruins, and obtained about 25,000 pieces of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Since then, Oracle bones have been unearthed in Yin Ruins. 1973, the Institute of Archaeology of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences excavated more than 4,000 pieces of Oracle bones in Xiaotun South, Anyang, Henan. In addition to the Yin Ruins, two inscribed Oracle Bone Inscriptions pieces were also found in Zhengzhou 1953 and 1954 sites in the middle of Shang Dynasty. /kloc-since 0/954, about 300 inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells have been unearthed in Hongdong, Shaanxi, Changping, Zhouyuan Fenghao Site and Feng Chu, Qishan, Shaanxi.

Since Oracle bone inscriptions were first discovered, more than 50,000 pieces of Oracle bones/kloc-0 have been unearthed in Chinese mainland, Taiwan Province Province, Hong Kong and Macao, Japan, the United States, Britain, Canada, France, the Soviet Union, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and other countries, and South Korea also has collections.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a relatively mature script, and today's Chinese characters are still pictographs, so Oracle Bone Inscriptions has the basic form of Chinese character structure in later generations. Grammatically, there are nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and their sentence patterns and structural order are basically consistent with later grammars.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions usually carved vertical paintings first, then horizontal paintings, then signs, auspicious words and characters, and then divination, so he was also called Oracle Bone Inscriptions. A complete Oracle Bone Inscriptions should include narrative, fate, occupation and proof, while most Oracle bones often omit occupation or proof.

Who found Oracle Bone Inscriptions?

Some say it's Liu E, because he clearly concluded in the preface of the book "Iron Clouds Hiding Ghosts" recorded in 1903 that the recorded turtle cutting is "Yin people's sword and pencil".

Some people say that both Wang and Liu E think that Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a relic of Shang Dynasty. Sun Weng said this. He pointed out that Liu E was in Beijing when Wang discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions in 1899. After careful identification and research, they determined that the lettering "keel" was written in Shang Dynasty.

Some people say it's Wang Xiang and Meng. According to 1898, an antique dealer went to Tianjin to sell antiques and asked Wang and Meng about the knowledge of carving "keel". Meng guessed that this might be a simple strategy in ancient times and urged him to buy it. The following year, Gu Chongshang took the lettering "keel" for Wang and Meng to identify, and Wang and Meng were identified as ancient characters of Shang Dynasty.

Some scholars think it's Luo Zhenyu. Because Luo Zhenyu has written and recorded books about Oracle Bone Inscriptions, such as Book Deed of Yin Ruins, Book Deed of Luxury in Yin Ruins, etc., he is an outstanding expert in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, except Tieyun Hidden Turtles, Textual Research on divination in Yin Shang Dynasty, Textual Research on Book Deed of Yin Ruins, etc. It was he who discovered that "the place where Oracle bones were found was Xiaotun, five miles northwest of Anyang County", and further discovered that Anyang was the capital of the late Yin Dynasty, and Oracle bones were "the remains of Yin".

The Origin of Oracle Bone Inscriptions Chapter II Oracle Bone Inscriptions, also known as "Wen Qi" and "Oracle Bone Inscriptions", mainly refers to the characters carved on tortoise shells or animal bones by the royal family in the late Shang Dynasty in China, which is the earliest known carrier of systematic Shang Dynasty characters in China and East Asia.

Yesterday I answered the cuneiform created by the ancient Sumerians. Our Oracle Bone Inscriptions and cuneiform characters, including later ancient Egyptian characters and Mayan characters, belong to hieroglyphics. It should also be the derivative and continuation of cuneiform, and it is a sign that ancient people recorded major events.

Before Oracle Bone Inscriptions, our Xia Dynasty should also have its own symbols and characters, but these inferences need a series of evidence to prove before the rigorous scientific attitude of archaeology.

1. Why is Oracle Bone Inscriptions the most beautiful writing?

Oracle Bone Inscriptions, as its name implies, is the characters carved on tortoise shells and ox bones, and it is a symbol of ancient China, also known as "Wen Qi", "Oracle Bone Inscriptions", "Yin Ruins" or "tortoise shells and animal bones".

Oracle Bone Inscriptions's Writing Method of Zodiac

Oracle Bone Inscriptions is an integral part of the 8,000-year history of civilization in China, and it is also one of the orthodox characters in China (rock wall figures, Wen Tao, pottery runes, pottery inscriptions, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, inscriptions, inscriptions, wooden slips, wooden slips, wooden slips, wooden slips and small seals, stone carvings, and Han Dynasty official scripts).

Oracle Bone Inscriptions's writing has the characteristics of symmetry and stability. It is the earliest mature Chinese character that can be seen in Chinese culture in the Central Plains. As far as word formation is concerned, Oracle Bone Inscriptions's appearance is mostly rectangular or several squares, which has the beauty of symmetry or variation of a word. Moreover, Oracle Bone Inscriptions also has the structural form of combining Fiona Fang and Kai Zi Ji, and some characters have more or less pictographic traces, which are naive and vivid in the initial development stage of characters.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions has a history of over 3000 years. It is not only the earliest and most systematic data for studying the origin of Chinese characters, but also an important wealth for studying oracle calligraphy. It conforms to the "six-character" principle of Chinese characters and has three basic elements of calligraphy, namely, pen, word formation and composition. The writing characteristics of Chinese characters are all embodied in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Judging from the pen, Oracle Bone Inscriptions used a knife to carve on the hard tortoise shell or animal bone, so he used a straight line when carving, and the curve was also carved with a short straight line. The stroke thickness is also uniform; Because the knife is straight up and down, most lines are slightly thick in the middle and slightly thin at both ends, thin and strong, straight and smooth, and full of three-dimensional sense.

Why is Oracle Bone Inscriptions one of the traditional Chinese characters? Because in terms of the number and structure of fonts, Oracle Bone Inscriptions has developed into a more rigorous and systematic writing, which is quite different from its earlier counterparts. Oracle bone inscriptions have systematically recorded major events and the process of divination, which can not be completed by symbols, but the traces of the original pictures and characters in Oracle bone inscriptions are still relatively naive, and the pictographic meaning is also obvious, with an ignorant and naive writing line. Because of this, Oracle Bone Inscriptions has another aesthetic feeling of returning to nature. The popularity of "oracle calligraphy" among some calligraphers and calligraphy lovers proves its charm.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions writes symmetry.

Second, Oracle Bone Inscriptions's discovery.

Speaking of which, there is really a legendary story.

Wang, born on the eighth day of June in the 25th year of Qing Daoguang, loved epigraphy. Grandfather Wang was edited by Jing Kui, Jill Jinshi and Hanlin Academy, and was once the governor of Shaanxi. His father, Wang Zuyuan, is a famous engraver and collector. He has served as the director of the Ministry of War, the magistrate of Chengdu, Sichuan, and Yuan Wailang, the provincial judge of Sichuan. When Oracle Bone Inscriptions was discovered, Wang was 55 years old. Before Wang discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions, he had written more than 30 kinds of epigraphy works, such as Han Shi Cun Mu, Village Mu of Southern and Northern Dynasties, Fushan epigraphy, Gu Quan Jing Ji Ben, Shi Qu Wa Zhai and so on. He also discussed more than 500 letters about epigraphy with Weng Tonghe, Yu Sheng, Zhang Zhidong, Sun Yuwen and Liu E. At this time, Wang has served as imperial academy for three times, calling him "Imperial College".

In the 25th year of Guangxu (1899), the Chinese medicine recovered by his family from the pharmacy had a "keel" engraved with symbols and characters, which aroused Wang's interest. With the background of epigraphy and as an imperial scholar, he immediately linked this animal bone with the early civilization of Han culture, thinking that it was an ancient writing symbol, and classified this "keel" into two categories. Wang collected about 1500 pieces of animal bones with characters, and repeatedly scrutinized, sorted and assembled "keels". His profound knowledge of epigraphy made him quickly understand that these "keels" were tortoise shells and animal bones, and the symbols on them were carved with a knife, while the cracks were caused by high temperature burning. "After careful textual research, I realized that it was Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, and his words were indeed before printing." Finally, Wang confirmed that the symbols carved on these Oracle bones are indeed a kind of characters, which were created by our ancestors in the early days, earlier than seal cutting, that is, the characters on bronzes in the pre-Qin period. This discovery surprised Wang and swept away the haze of illness in recent days. Tracing back to the source, it is proved that most of these Oracle bones came from Anyang, Henan Province, and were later named "Oracle Bone Inscriptions".

In the 26th year of Guangxu, Eight-Nation Alliance went to Beijing, and Wang was temporarily appointed as the ambassador to Beijing. At the time of crisis, he had to put down Oracle Bone Inscriptions, who was studying, and sighed, "Now I will die!"

In the afternoon, when the city was broken, he organized a group to "fight with the street and refuse to surrender", without the slightest fear, and finally lost. His wife Xie Yunhe and his daughter-in-law Zhang threw themselves into the well and died heroically.

Third, the inheritance of Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

Xiaotun Village in the northwest of Anyang City is the location of the "Yin Ruins" in the late Shang Dynasty.

After Wang was martyred, his Oracle bones were scattered all over the country.

In order to pay off the old debts, his son sold the antiques hidden at home, and most of the Oracle bones were transferred to his good friend Liu E (that is, Liu Tieyun, the author of Travel Notes of Lao Can) 1902. In addition, Liu E bought more than 3,000 pieces of Oracle bones from an antique dealer in Liulichang, and received more than 300 pieces from his friend Fang Ruo. He also sent his son to Henan to buy more than 1000 pieces, and his collection of Oracle bones increased to more than 5,000 pieces, making him the most famous Oracle bone collector at that time. With the advice and help of his good friend Luo Zhenyu, Liu E printed the book "Tieyun Hidden Turtle" in June 5438 +0903 65438+ 10, and published the information of Oracle Bone Inscriptions for the first time. Today, I also sent this set of six volumes of "Tieyun Hidden Tortoise" to Xiling Publishing House for auction. They suggested that I didn't have a reserve price, indicating that the current market indifference has arrived.

The author's own collection of "Tieyun Tibetan Turtle" was sold at Xiling Netscape in May without reserve price.

This book uses 1058 pieces of Oracle bones collected by Liu E, which was selected and expanded by Luo Zhenyu himself. Among them, 5 were forged, 3 were dead weight, and 2 were inverted/kloc-0. There are 40 pieces with words on the back of Oracle bones and 4 pieces with words on mortar, but there are still defects. Soon, Sun Yirang, a scholar, wrote Oracle Bone Inscriptions's first monograph, The Case of Wen Qi, based on the information of "A turtle hidden in an iron cloud".

After Luo Zhenyu, many famous scholars, such as Wang Guowei, Guo Moruo, Dong Zuobin, Chen, Yu, Hu Houxuan, etc. , fruitful textual research and research, and formed a special knowledge-Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Luo Zhenyu (No. Tang Xue), Wang Guowei (no Guantang), Dong Zuobin (no.Tang Yan) and Guo Moruo (no.Tang Ding) are also called the "four halls of Oracle bones", among which Luo Zhenyu is the oldest and the earliest contact with Oracle bones, ranking first in the "four halls".

It was first discovered in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in 1899. According to the statistics of scholar Hu Houxuan, * * unearthed more than 54,600 pieces of Oracle bones/kloc-0, including more than 97,600 pieces in Chinese mainland, more than 30,200 pieces in Taiwan Province, 89 pieces in Hongkong and more than 27,900 pieces in China * *. In addition, Japanese.

Fourthly, the future development of Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions is the earliest documentary record discovered by China. Now, Oracle Bone Inscriptions has become a remarkable world discipline, with more than 500 Chinese and foreign scholars engaged in research and published more than 3,000 monographs and papers. It is of great significance to history, philology and archaeology.