Oracle Bone Script

About

Oracle Bone Script, known as 甲骨文 in Chinese, is the oldest attested form of written Chinese, dating back to the late 2nd millennium BC, specifically around 1250 to 1050 BCE. It was used primarily during the Shang Dynasty for divination purposes, inscribing questions and interpretations on oxen shoulder bones or turtle shells. These inscriptions provide valuable insights into Shang society, including their religious practices, political structure, and daily life. The script itself is a mature writing system capable of recording the Old Chinese language, comprising various character types such as pictographs, associative compounds, and phono-semantic compounds. The discovery of Oracle Bone Script has been instrumental in understanding the evolution of Chinese writing. Over 100,000 bones have been found, containing more than 1.6 million characters, with over 4,600 distinct characters identified. This script is a precursor to later Chinese writing systems, including Seal Script and other forms. Oracle bones were used in a process called scapulimancy or plastromancy, where diviners would interpret cracks formed by heating the bones to predict future events or answer questions about agriculture, war, and royal family matters. The script's study is crucial for understanding Chinese etymology and the development of East Asian writing systems.