How did Oracle Bone Inscriptions find out?

Speaking of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's discovery, some people may think of such a widely circulated story without thinking: at the end of the Qing Dynasty, to be exact, 1899, an official named Wang fell ill in Beijing, so he received excessive treatment from doctors. Cure too much gave him a prescription, and the medicine inside was "keel". Wang immediately asked his family to go to Darentang food market outside Xuanwu Gate to buy medicine. After Wang took the medicine home, he took a look. When he happened to find a handwriting similar to seal script on the "keel", he couldn't help but be surprised. Because Wang is an accomplished epitaph, he realized that this kind of writing must be valuable. So, looking for the source, they sent someone to that drugstore and bought the "dragon bone" with words at a high price of 2 taels of silver per word. At this point, the world-famous Oracle Bone Inscriptions saw the light of day again in this purely accidental opportunity.

Is Wang really the first person to discover Oracle Bone Inscriptions? According to Scholars, some scholars think that Wang is the earliest discoverer of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Wang Shouxin clearly pointed out in the book "Research on Oracle Bone Inscriptions since the founding of the People's Republic of China" published by 198 1: "Wang not only discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions first, but also divided its era into Shang Dynasty". Wu Haokun and Pan You also hold this view in China History and Oracle Bone Inscriptions. They believe that although it is hearsay that Wang accidentally discovered Oracle bones while eating Chinese medicine, there is no doubt that "Wang first knew Oracle bones". As for how he recognized Oracle Bone Inscriptions, that is a secondary issue. In addition, some scholars believe that it was discovered by Wang and Liu E. Weng 193 1 wrote in Tortoise Shell and published it in North China Daily and North China Pictorial. Wang took the medicine and went home. His good friend Liu E (the author of Travel Notes of Lao Can, a famous epigraphist) found Oracle Bone Inscriptions in the medicine and told Wang. But according to what it is, Xi Weng did not give any explanation.

Some scholars have raised various questions about the statement that Wang happened to find Oracle Bone Inscriptions when he was ill and taking traditional Chinese medicine. One of the problems is that there was no Darentang Chinese medicine shop in Beijing Caishikou during Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty. The second question is, the "keel" of Chinese medicine shops has always been mashed before being sold, so how did the whole "keel" come from? The third question, the "keel" pharmacy with words didn't buy it at all, only bought the keel with scratched handwriting. Therefore, the so-called saying that Wang accidentally discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions while eating Chinese medicine cannot be established, but it is just hearsay.

Another part of scholars clearly pointed out that Oracle Bone Inscriptions with writing was first discovered by farmers near Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province (Anyang was the capital of the late Yin Dynasty), and its time was earlier than that of the Wang Dynasty. In 19 12, Luo Zhenyu recorded a record of his brother's visit to Xiaotun Village, saying, "Oracle bones have been found here for more than 30 years, not since today. It is said that in a certain year, a certain surname plowed the field and suddenly turned up a few bone fragments with the soil. In fact, it has a description on it, and some people paint it in dark color (that is, the person who paints Zhu). I don't know what it is. There are many buried objects in the soil in the north. Every time you practice or see something strange, you often get bronzes, Gu Quan, ancient mirrors and so on. Sell it at a good price ... and the ancient bones are ground to the end, and the more they are cut, the more they are bought in pharmacies, which is only a catty. Those with strong bones buy carvings. Villagers dig everywhere in their spare time and get little. Choose the big one to sell. The buyer does not take the engraving, but sells it with a shovel. " This record shows that. Farmers in Xiaotun Village discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions as early as 1899. Wang Xiang's "The Yin Room of the Clam Room" published in 1935 also concluded that Oracle bone inscriptions were discovered by farmers in Xiaotun village before the 24th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1898). Fan Yuzhou agrees with this statement in Oracle Bone Inscriptions written by 1986. It is pointed out that the farmers in Xiaotun village did not know its real value at first, but only regarded it as a "keel" with words. It was about 1898 that the "keel" caught the attention of antique dealers. At that time, an antique dealer named Fan noticed the "keel" dug by farmers in Xiaotun village during the acquisition process, so he told poor scholars Meng and Wang Xiang in Tianjin. Meng Hewang thought it was an ancient engraving, and Meng further speculated that it might be a simple strategy in ancient times. The following autumn, Fan brought the engraved "keel" back to Beijing and gave it to Wang. Wang initially concluded that this is a kind of "turtle edition" engraved with ancient Chinese characters, and paid a high price for it.

As we all know, Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a relic of Shang Dynasty, with a history of more than 3,000 years. However, scholars have different opinions on who made this judgment first. Some people say it's Wang. Wang Hanzhang pointed out in 1933 "Antiques" that Wang "was known as Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Shang Dynasty only after textual research, and his writing was indeed before seal cutting". Wang Shouxin also made it clear that Wang was "the first person to divide his (Oracle Bone Inscriptions) era into Shang Dynasty".

Some say it's Liu E, because he clearly concluded in the preface of the book "Tieyun Hidden Turtle" recorded in 1903 that the recorded chopping turtle 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".