Oracle Bone Inscriptions shocked the world.

The notch on the ancient Oracle bones is recognized as the writing of Shang Dynasty, which is one of the three major archaeological discoveries in China at the end of last century and the beginning of this century (the remains of the Dunhuang Grottoes and Zhoukoudian Apes). However, its discovery process is very accidental and full of drama.

In the autumn of the 25th year of Guangxu reign in the late Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1899), he served as the king of imperial academy's wine supply in the Qing court in Beijing (1845- 1900) and got malaria. He sent someone to buy a dose of Chinese medicine at Darentang Chinese Medicine Shop at the food market outside Xuanwu Gate. A medicine that Wang happened to see was called keel. Keels are the bones of ancient vertebrates. How can there be carved symbols hundreds of thousands of years ago on this bone? This aroused his curiosity. Wang, who is famous for studying ancient stone carvings, carefully studied it and found that it is not an ordinary notch, but resembles ancient Chinese characters, but its shape is neither a brush (big seal) nor a seal (small seal). In order to find more keels for in-depth study, he sent someone to Darentang to buy all the carved keels in the drugstore at a high price of two taels of silver each. Later, it was searched by antique dealer Fan and others, and accumulated more than 500 pieces of/kloc-0.

After careful study and analysis of these keels, he thinks that they are not the bones of "dragons", but tortoise shells and animal bones thousands of years ago. He gradually recognized the words "rain", "sun", "moon", "mountain" and "water" from the scratches on Oracle bones, and then found out the names of several kings in Shang Dynasty. This proves that this is an ancient writing carved on animal bones. Since then, these Oracle Bone Inscriptions engraved with ancient Chinese characters have caused a sensation in all walks of life, and scholars and antique dealers are vying for it.

Some people once questioned Wang's theory of finding the keel with characters in Chinese medicine, and thought that Wang had no record of this in relevant writings. The keel eaten by Wang had been processed into fine particles in the pharmacy, and there was no trace of words engraved. Moreover, there was no Darentang drugstore around Caishikou at that time. In this regard, Zhou Shaoliang, a scholar who later studied Oracle bone inscriptions, said that at that time, the keel was sold piece by piece in Chinese medicine shops, and it was still like this until he went to Chinese medicine shops to buy it in the 1930s. As for Darentang pharmacy, it was not in the food market at that time, but there was a famous Xihe Niantang Chinese medicine shop in the food market. At that time, people were superstitious about Xihe Niantang and wanted to go to Xihe Niantang drugstore to buy Chinese medicine, which may also be the result of misinformation at that time.

As for writing a book, before the first confirmed Oracle Bone Inscriptions's Wang could study the book deeply, Eight-Nation Alliance was near Beijing and appointed him as a minister.

1900 In July, the invading army Enemy at the Gates and Empress Dowager Cixi led the royal family to flee hastily, and Wang was completely disappointed. He said to his family, "I can't live any longer!" " Then he wrote desperate words, resolutely took poison and fell into the well at the age of 56. Later, people called the king who first discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions "the father of Oracle Bone Inscriptions". 1989 In the autumn, the 90th anniversary of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's discovery, a memorial hall was built in his hometown, Fushan District, Yantai City, Shandong Province, to commemorate Wang's achievements.

After Wang's martyrdom, most of his Oracle bones were transferred to his good friend Liu E (that is, Liu Tieyun, the author of Lao Can's Travels). Liu also collected more than 5000 pieces of Oracle bones. 1903, he printed the book "A turtle hidden in an iron cloud" and published the information of Oracle Bone Inscriptions for the first time. 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".

Oracle Bone Inscriptions's discovery caused a sensation in academic circles. In order to monopolize the financial resources, antique dealers kept the source of Oracle bones secret, and later lied that they came from Tangyin, Weihui and other places in Henan. Until 1908, Luo Zhenyu, a scholar, visited Xiaotun Village in Anyang County, Henan Province for the first time, so he sent relatives to buy it in Anyang and personally visited Anyang. Nearly 20,000 pieces of Oracle bones were collected successively, and more than 2,000 pieces were selected and compiled in 19 13, which were published in Shu Qi in Yin Ruins (pre-edited) and later compiled in Shu Qi Jinghua in Yin Ruins (continued), laying a foundation for the study of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. 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.

Before Oracle bone inscriptions were confirmed, farmers in Xiaotun Village, Anyang City, Henan Province kept digging and dug up ancient Oracle bones in their fields. It is said that the first person who sold Oracle bones in Chinese medicine shops was a barber named Li Cheng. Once he got an abscess and had no money to seek medical treatment and buy medicine, so he ground these Oracle Bone Inscriptions into powder and applied it to the abscess. Unexpectedly, the pus was sucked dry by bone powder, and it was found that bone powder also had the effect of hemostasis. From then on, he collected them, described them as dragon bones and sold them to Chinese medicine shops.

After many scholars and experts' research, the so-called keel is actually a tool for divination in Shang Dynasty. Before divination, people saw the tortoise shell and the shoulder blades of cattle neatly, and then drilled round deep nests and shallow grooves on the back of the Oracle bone. When divining, they first pray to ghosts and gods, and then burn the sides of deep nests or grooves to a certain extent with burning branches, and cracks appear in the corresponding parts of Oracle bones. Therefore, fortune tellers judge the success or failure of things according to the length, thickness, straightness and concealment of cracks. After divination, the contents and results of divination are engraved near the divination with a knife, which is Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Oracle bones engraved with Oracle Bone Inscriptions were properly collected in the cellar as files and handed down to future generations. The story discovered by Oracle Bone Inscriptions, later called "a Oracle Bone Inscriptions that shocked the world", has written a legendary chapter in the archaeological history of China and the world.