What are the meanings of "A" and "Bone" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions?

"Armor" and "bone" refer to tortoise shells and animal bones used for divination in ancient China? .

Among them, tortoise shell, also known as Jabu, mostly uses tortoise's abdominal shell; Animal bones, also known as Oracle Bone Inscriptions, mostly use the shoulder blades of cattle, but also sheep, pigs, tiger bones and human bones. Jaber and Oracle Bone Inscriptions are collectively called Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

The earliest Oracle bones in China were found in Wuyang Oracle bones in the second and third cultural layers of Jiahu Site in Wuyang from 8600 to 7800 years ago. The earliest Oracle bone inscribed with the word "Oracle Bone Inscriptions" discovered by Wang, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, is the Oracle bone of Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province more than 3,000 years ago.

Characteristics of Oracle Bone Inscriptions Characters

Judging from the characters on Oracle bones, they already have the three elements of China's calligraphy, namely, writing, writing and composition. His brushwork lines are neat and thin, straight and thick, and his strokes are multi-folded, which has an influence on the pen and knife of seal cutting in later generations. From the perspective of structural fonts, the characters not only have changes, although they vary in size, they are relatively balanced and symmetrical, and also present a stable pattern.

Therefore, from the perspective of composition, although influenced by the size and shape of bone chips, it still shows the carving skills and artistic characteristics of words. The popularity of "oracle calligraphy" among some calligraphers and calligraphy lovers proves its charm.