Oracle Bone Inscriptions not only recorded the divination results, but also revealed the life of Shang people.

As we all know, up to now, the earliest writing found in China is Oracle Bone Inscriptions unearthed in Yin Ruins. The number of tortoise shell bones with ancient Chinese characters is amazing, which is said to be no less than100000. It can be said that Oracle Bone Inscriptions is the archives of studying business society. So what kind of Shang Dynasty did modern people see from Oracle Bone Inscriptions? Today, let's look at some typical Oracle Bone Inscriptions records.

First, record the divination results.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions discovered so far is mostly used for divination. The folk customs of Shang Dynasty believed in ghosts and gods and worshipped witchcraft. The whole country goes from the monarch to the common people. Before making important decisions, or when they encounter difficulties in life, they will seek the advice of heaven and ghosts and gods through divination: take out a tortoise shell or ox bone, drill it on one side, but don't penetrate it, and then burn it with fire at the drilled position, so that the tortoise shell or ox bone will crack. What is the name of the resulting crack? Mega？ Then the fortune teller will judge the result of the problem according to the shape and depth of the crack. After a period of time, if the judgment is fulfilled, the result will be engraved in? Mega？ Next to them, these words describing the results are divination words.

The person who carries out divination can be a full-time wizard or fortune teller, or a Shang king who was in power at that time. Even sometimes, fortune tellers and Shang kings are right at the same time? Mega？ Guess and discuss the conclusion. A considerable part of divination is about sacrifice, such as asking God about the auspicious day of sacrifice and the types and quantities of sacrifices used; There are also a lot of weather forecasts, as well as various problems about war, harvest, going out, disease treatment and fetal production. In short, as long as there are troubles and problems that may occur in life, you can take out turtle shells and cow bones and ask God for guidance.

Second, the memorandum.

There are also quite a few Oracle Bone Inscriptions used to record events. Although there are not many words, a few words can fully reflect the social situation at that time. For example, some Oracle bones record the situation of borrowing money to withdraw money. When will someone be there? How many shells should I bring? This enables modern people to understand that at that time, shells were still used as money for financial circulation.

In Oracle Bone Inscriptions, often appear? Bu shunian? 、? What is this? In that case, what else? Hey? It is the most common crop name in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, from which it can be inferred that the merchant's farming is mainly to plant millet. There is even a record of people drinking at that time, and wine is also made by? Hey? Brewing, visible at that time? Hey? Not only can you fill your stomach, but you can also make wine with surplus grain to meet people's higher material needs. See? Hey? It was the most popular and important crop at that time, and there was no one. But apart from the most frequent? Hey? Millet, rice and wheat also appeared in Oracle bone inscriptions, indicating that these crops were not planted in the Shang Dynasty? Hey? It is very common, but it has already appeared in the fields of the Central Plains.

Third, reflect the living conditions at that time.

Whether used for divination or recording events in life, the contents recorded by Oracle Bone Inscriptions can well reflect the social state of Shang Dynasty. For example: Often seen in Oracle Bone Inscriptions? Hey? In other words, this shows that the silk industry was quite developed at that time, at least in the aristocratic and wealthy slave owners' class, it was quite common to use silk as daily clothing.

According to Oracle Bone Inscriptions's records, the aquaculture industry in Shang Dynasty also developed to a certain scale. Common livestock include cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs, and poultry mainly raises chickens. At that time, people raised livestock and poultry not only for their own consumption, but also as sacrifices in sacrifices. Moreover, the number of sacrifices used for each sacrifice needs three or four hundred cattle and sheep, which is really not a small number. Without the strong aquaculture industry as the backing, the monarch of the Shang Dynasty would not dare to be so extravagant even if he feared the ghosts and gods of his ancestors.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions also recorded some interesting stories about the royal family of Shang Dynasty, such as Hunting of Shang King, which is really intriguing. According to records, the Shang kings hunted not far from the capital, and the emperors were very good at hunting. They once captured 184 deer, 1 13 wild boar, and 4 1 wolf (estimated to be the whole wolf). Judging from these data, the ecological environment around Shangdu was quite good at that time, and the forest coverage area should be quite high. Otherwise, how could there be such abundant wildlife resources for the emperor to hunt? From another point of view, the Shang kings of all dynasties were not sickly, perhaps they were all martial arts masters who had been strictly trained since childhood, otherwise it would be impossible to capture so many prey at once.

In addition, the records in Oracle Bone Inscriptions really prove that there were a large number of elephants living in the Central Plains of ancient China, because the records not only clearly recorded the capture of elephants in hunting activities, but also businessmen trained elephants to fight and made outstanding achievements in the battlefield. Without digging, sorting out and studying Oracle Bone Inscriptions, we really didn't know that our ancestors had created such a colorful world as early as 3,000 years ago.