What is Oracle Bone Inscriptions?

First, Oracle Bone Inscriptions's discovery.

1899, a "great earthquake" in archaeology and ancient philology, turned the eyes of global intellectuals to the Yin Ruins in China. Strange words are engraved on the shoulder blades of piles of tortoise shells and cattle in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province. No Words tells a historical story that has disappeared for too long. ...

Oracle Bone Inscriptions is written on tortoise bones, also known as Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Wen Qi or Yin Ruins. Most of the contents are divination records, which were written from14th century BC to1th century BC, that is, from the second half of Shang Dynasty, Pan Geng moved to Yin to the end, with a period of 273 years. It was dug up by farmers in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province in the late Qing Dynasty. In the 25th year of Guangxu, it was brought to Beijing by antique dealers, and was judged as a relic of Yin Shang by the king who served as a drink offering in imperial academy. And was approved as the earliest ancient Chinese characters. Oracle Bone Inscriptions has been discovered since 1899, and it has a history of more than one hundred years. It is recognized by the academic circles that the first person to know and collect it is Wang Fushan, Shandong. Lu, director of the King Memorial Hall in Yantai, Shandong Province, edited The Father of Oracle Bone Inscriptions? In the article Wang, a series of issues such as the excavation and discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin Ruins and the inheritance of Oracle Bone Inscriptions after Wang's martyrdom are elaborated in detail. In his book Re-discussion on the Discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Mr. Hu Houxuan, a famous Oracle bone oracle, quoted a large number of factual basis and detailed materials before his death, and made a conclusive summary of Wang's first discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions: "Today, with the development of Oracle Bone Inscriptions for nearly a hundred years, we can still say that Oracle Bone Inscriptions-Yin Ruins were first confirmed in 1899, that is, in the twenty-fifth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty. At the same time as Wang, there are Meng and Wang Xiang from Tianjin.

19 10, Luo Zhenyu said in the preface to the textual research on Zhen Bu of Yin Shang Dynasty: "Guangxu has gone to sea (in the 25th year of Guangxu, 1899), and the bones of ancient tortoise shells and beasts were found in Tangyang, Henan Province, with inscriptions on them, which were obtained by Wang in Fushan. I can't wait to meet them.

19 17 years, Wang Guowei said in the preface to "The Characters of Yin Ruins in Yanshoutang" written by him instead of Ji Fo: "Guangxu is full of love, and Song is full of water. The natives have tortoise shells and ox bones with ancient Chinese characters on them. It is estimated that tourists will take them to the capital.

1923 there is an article published by Rong Geng (No.4, Volume I, National Peking University Sinology Quarterly), which says: "Oracle bone inscriptions originated in a small village in the northwest of Anyang County, Henan Province, surrounded by water on three sides, which is almost the Historical Records? The so-called "Huanshui Nanyin Site" in Yu Shu and the so-called "Hejia Jiacheng" in Zhang De Zheng Shi also appeared in front of the world in the twenty-fifth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (thirteen years before the Republic of China).

Its words are engraved on the bones of tortoise shells, which are brought to Beijing by appraisers and sold in the king. "All in all; Wang is recognized as the first person who discovered Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

The king of history? In Todos, I read that "only the ancestors of the Yin Dynasty recorded it in books", but at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, when Confucius talked about the ancient etiquette system, he lamented that "Yin etiquette was insufficient" and the literature was insufficient. So what was the canon of the Yin Dynasty like? Where have they all gone? With such questions, Wang studied the collected Oracle bones. It was soon determined that the inscriptions on Oracle bones were really words, Oracle bones used for divination in Shang Dynasty, archives of Shang Dynasty and classic books of Yin Shang people. Most of the Oracle bone inscriptions behind the king were in the hands of Liu E, Liu E (1857- 1909), a Dantu in Jiangsu. He was once famous for The Travels of Lao Can. Liu E studied actuarial science, water conservancy and medical skills, and once practiced medicine in Shanghai. Later, he abandoned medicine and went into business, but he tried his best to go to the epitaph Wu Dacheng. In the 14th year of Guangxu (1888), the Yellow River in Zhengzhou burst. Liu E has made great contributions to river management and gained a high reputation. When Wang's Oracle bones were discovered, he was waiting for the magistrate in Beijing. As a student of Wu Daxiao, he dabbled in epigraphy, so he had a very close relationship with Wang and became close friends. Before Wang could compile the collected information about Oracle Bone Inscriptions into a book, he died for his country when Eight-Nation Alliance went to Beijing. At that time, the Wangs transferred most of Wang Oracle Bone Inscriptions to Liu E.

Liu E himself has a large collection of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. First, a businessman spent a year or so traveling in the former "hometown of Zhao Wei in Qilu" and collected about 3,000 pieces. In addition, his son went to Henan to buy Oracle Bone Inscriptions, which was only 5,000 yuan. Oracle Bone Inscriptions's confirmation shocked the academic circles at home and abroad. It not only brings a new field to the study of China's history and ancient philology, but also has great significance in the study of archaeology, ancient science and technology, epigraphy and calligraphy. Wang is not only the first person confirmed by Oracle Bone Inscriptions, but also the pioneer in the history of Oracle Bone Inscriptions studies in China. The name Wang will never be forgotten! It was his insight that brought Oracle Bone Inscriptions to the light of day. Wang didn't leave any theoretical words about Oracle Bone Inscriptions he discovered and obtained. But history is a loyal judge and will record the footprints of this hero.

The discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions established the historical position of the father of King Oracle Bone Inscriptions.

Second, Oracle Bone Inscriptions's calligraphy.

Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin Ruins was written with a knife and a brush. Judging from the unearthed Oracle bones, there were already writing brushes and Zhu Mo, as well as stone mortar and inkstone plate to reconcile Zhu Mo. The word "sacrifice" in the ink book can be found in a pottery, and there is also a bamboo stone tablet in the tomb of Houjiazhuang 100 1. The writing of Zhushu is also common on the back of Oracle bones, and some Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Oracle bone inscriptions are not engraved on Zhushu or only half of them are engraved on the back of the book. Explain the existing Yin Dynasty hairbrushes and pigments. In particular, some tortoise shells are filled with ink in big characters and ink in small characters, which set each other off in Zhu Mo and are bright and dazzling. This sign is no accident, and we can get a glimpse of the simple aesthetic seal cutting skills of Yin calligraphers. There are single knife, double knife, multiple knives, knives and chisels in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Some are scraped off after carving, and some are scratched off and re-carved. Some are painted in red or ink on an Oracle bone. Some memorabilia are inlaid with turquoise, for example, The Butch Bone in the Palace Museum and The Tiger Bone Inscription in the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada were originally inlaid with turquoise, but now most of them have been removed. However, the fragment of "White Harvest at Noon" recorded in Huang Xun's old collection "Yinqi Village" can be clearly seen in the turquoise inlaid on it. These words are gorgeous and beautiful, and they are really very beautiful artistic structures.

Studying Oracle Bone Inscriptions and calligraphy, three important discoveries and three important places in Oracle Bone Inscriptions deserve our attention and attention.

17096 pieces of Oracle bones (accounting for more than one tenth of150,000 pieces discovered in the last century) hidden in the pit YH 127 excavated in the Yin Ruins in 1936 were unearthed in Anyang and transported to the Institute of History and Language of Nanjing Academia Sinica, and two thirds of them were stripped and unearthed indoors in Nanjing. This discovery is not only amazing in number, but also has 300 versions of inscriptions. One of them is a big turtle from Malay Peninsula, which is 44 long and 35 cm wide. It is by far the biggest tortoise. Mr. Dong Zuobin and Mr. Hu Houxuan led the technicians to peel, arrange and record carefully.

1973 There are 5,335 archaeological excavations in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, including 5,260 Oracle bones and 75 Jiabu bones. This is the most discovered by Oracle Bone Inscriptions since the founding of New China. Most of this excavation came from pits and cultural layers in the Yin Dynasty, and pottery was preserved, which is of great significance to the study of dating in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Most of the Oracle bones are unearthed from Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and Jia Bu only accounts for 1.4% of the total number of Oracle bones. Among the Oracle bones, there are hundreds of huge and basically complete shoulder blades of cattle, which is unprecedented. It provides a lot of novel materials for studying the history of Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Shang Dynasty and the characteristics of oracle calligraphy in Wuding period.

199 1 year, a total of 583 pieces of Oracle bones/kloc-0 were unearthed in H3 Oracle bone pit on the east side of Anyang Garden Village. Most of the Oracle bones in this pit are large Oracle bones, including 755 complete Oracle bones, especially more than 300 complete Oracle bones with inscriptions, accounting for more than 50% of all Oracle bones. This is the third major discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin Ruins after 1936 and 1973 Xiaotun South Oracle Bone Inscriptions. The H3 Oracle Bone Inscriptions in East China is of great academic value: the five-stage method and ten criteria listed in Dong Zuobin's "A Case Study of Dating in Oracle Bone Inscriptions" are all adopted in the academic circles. When some scholars determine the age of an Oracle bone, they often divide it into stages according to the fonts, and compare the characters on the Oracle bone with the fonts in Oracle Bone Inscriptions's Five Stages of Evolution of Branches and Branches, which was formulated by Dong Zuobin. Due to the continuous emergence of new materials unearthed from Oracle bones, some standards in Dong Zuobin's A Case of Dating in Oracle Bone Inscriptions can no longer meet the needs of dating newly unearthed Oracle bones. Scholars believe that the age of Oracle Bone Inscriptions must be considered from many aspects. It is particularly important to distinguish the different groups of Oracle Bone Inscriptions on the strata, pits and pottery unearthed in Oracle Bone Inscriptions for studying those earlier Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Pay attention to Oracle Bone Inscriptions's content (title, chastity, category, font. Examples, etc. ), comprehensive analysis, with the epoch-making research result of Mr. Dong Zuobin's "Oracle Bone Inscriptions Dating Research Case", make a scientific judgment on the basis of new problems and new data. We believe that with the passage of time, in the near future, there will still be updated unearthed materials in front of people.

Oracle bones were unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province, discovered by Shandong Renwang in Beijing, and studied in Nanjing (especially 1936 YH 127 and 17096 pieces of Oracle bones), which became an important holy place for Oracle Bone Inscriptions's research. Oracle calligraphy was founded in Luo Zhenyu and Dong Zuobin. It was the establishment of Luo Zhenyu and the practice of Dong Zuobin that made this excellent cultural tradition be passed down and carried forward. In a practical sense, the history of modern oracle calligraphy was initiated by two masters, which led to today's calligraphy creation pattern.

The history of modern oracle calligraphy from 65438 to 003 is short in the long river of China's calligraphy, but its significance is a link between the preceding and the following. The earliest writing system in China was formed by Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and the latest epoch-making calligraphy treasure is Oracle Bone Inscriptions. This undoubtedly adds drama to the history of China's calligraphy.