When did Oracle become a popular language in China?

Oracle Bone Inscriptions was a popular writing system in Shang Dynasty. In the early Shang Dynasty, all cities were built in Shangqiu. Later, during the Pan Geng period, the capital was moved to Anyang, and the capital was established in Anyang (Yin) for 273 years, so the Shang Dynasty was called Yin or Yin Shang by later generations.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions, named after being engraved on tortoise shell bones, is a book trace circulated in Shang Dynasty. The content is an Oracle Bone Inscriptions, which records the 270-year migration from Pan Geng to Zhou Wang, and is the earliest book trace. At present, all the discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions belong to King 12, who lived for 8 generations in 273 years.

Fine print on Oracle Bone Inscriptions is also influenced by knife carving. In divination, "yes" or "no" is often engraved on both sides of the central longitudinal line of tortoise shell, written from the central line to the left and right, so the two sides are symmetrical and harmonious, with symmetrical beauty. Moreover, after engraving, all the big and small characters are filled with ink and ink, or both sides are Zhu Mo, which is more artistic and can be called a miracle in the history of books.

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During the Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, there was a man named Wang, who was the head of imperial academy, the highest institution of learning at that time. Once, he saw a Chinese medicine called keel, which was very strange, so he looked through the dregs. I didn't expect there to be a seemingly literal pattern on it. So he bought all the keels and found that each keel had a similar pattern. He is convinced that this is a kind of writing, and it is relatively perfect, which should be from the Yin and Shang Dynasties.

Later, people discovered the place where the keel was unearthed-Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province, where a large number of keels were unearthed. Because these keels are mainly Oracle Bone Inscriptions of turtles and mammals, people named them "Oracle Bone Inscriptions", and the subject of studying them is called "Oracle bones".

Most Oracle Bone Inscriptions were found in Yin Ruins in Anyang City, Henan Province, China. Yin Ruins are famous sites of Yin Shang Dynasty, including Xiaotun Village, Huayuanzhuang and Houjiazhuang in the northwest of Anyang City, Henan Province. It was once the capital of the central dynasty in the late Yin Shang Dynasty, so it was called Yin Ruins. These Oracle Bone Inscriptions are basically the divination records of Shang rulers.

Archaeologists have conducted many investigations and excavations, and roughly found out the scope and layout of Yin Ruins. Yin Ruins is located in the northwest suburb of Anyang City, Henan Province, with Xiaotun Village as the center. It is about 6 kilometers long from east to west and 5 kilometers long from north to south, with a total area of about 30 square kilometers. Xiaotun Village on the south bank of Huan River is the palace area where Wang Yin lives. Dozens of palaces have been excavated, the largest of which covers an area of 5000 square meters.

North of Huan River is the mausoleum area of Yin King. More than a dozen large tombs, more than a thousand small tombs and a large number of sacrificial pits have been excavated. Near the palace, two Oracle Bone Inscriptions archives and handicraft workshop sites such as copper casting, jade making, bone making and pottery burning were discovered. The excavation of Yin Ruins has a long duration, large scale and abundant harvest, which is really rare in the archaeological history of China.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Oracle Bone Inscriptions (China Ancient Chinese Characters)