Oracle Bone Inscriptions's discovery is a great event in China's modern academic history, and it is "a masterpiece in the academic history of the world" (in Li Xueqin). The discoverer of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, as a basic element in the beginning of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's development history, has become the focus of attention in many related academic fields. At present, the recognized discoverer of Oracle Bone Inscriptions is Wang.
The book "Development of Oracle Bone Inscriptions 120" written by Wang believes that "Wang was the first to identify and purchase Oracle Bone Inscriptions in 1899, which laid the foundation for the formation and development of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, so he was honored as the' father of Oracle Bone Inscriptions' by scholars at home and abroad".
There is a folk legend about the discovery of Wang He and Oracle Bone Inscriptions. In the 25th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1899), Wang seized several pairs of traditional Chinese medicines at Darentang drugstore in Caishikou, Beijing, because of malaria. When he searched for medicine, he found that some Chinese medicines called "keel" had artificially carved symbols, which were quite similar to seal script.
Wang is a epigraphist who is good at textual research, so it is judged that this is an ancient written material unknown to the world. So he sent someone to Darentang to check all the "keels" stored in the store. He had to have a number. "Only through textual research can we know Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, but its writing was indeed before seal cutting" (son of Wang).
Tracing back to its source, the above-mentioned legend began with Weng's short article entitled "Tortoise Shell", which was published in North China Pictorial No.89 of North China Daily published in Beijing on July 5, 193 1. In 2007, Li Xueqin published "The Story of Kikkoman and the Discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions" in Yindu Academic Journal, pointing out that "The Discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions" was bizarre and did not conform to the facts.
Teacher Li's article put an end to misinformation from an academic point of view. If Oracle Bone Inscriptions's discovery didn't start with Wang eating the "keel", how did Oracle Bone Inscriptions find it? Who was its discoverer? Chen's Summary of Yin Deficiency Syndrome in Oracle Bone Inscriptions (hereinafter referred to as the Summary) has a detailed account of this, as follows.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions is one of the earliest written records in China and a pearl in chinese heritage. Although Oracle Bone Inscriptions has a history of thousands of years.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions still has a wide and far-reaching influence on the world:
1. Cultural influence: Oracle Bone Inscriptions is one of the precious heritages of China's cultural tradition. It witnessed the origin and evolution of China characters, influenced the daily life, ideological beliefs and artistic creation of China people, and represented the profound heritage of China traditional culture.
2. The influence of philology: Oracle Bone Inscriptions's existence is very small and difficult to identify, which makes it an important research object in the field of philology. In modern linguistics, Oracle Bone Inscriptions's research plays an important role in understanding the historical evolution and development of Chinese.
3. The influence of historical documents: Oracle Bone Inscriptions is the earliest and most complete written document of Yin Dynasty found in the world so far, which contains a lot of important information about politics, religion, economy and culture of Shang Dynasty, which is of great value to understanding the ancient history of China.
4. Artistic influence: Oracle Bone Inscriptions is not only a kind of writing, but also an art form. Some of its description and composition techniques were developed at the birth of Chinese characters, and had a far-reaching impact on China's ancient artistic creation through painting, sculpture, pottery and other forms.
In a word, Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a bright pearl in China's cultural treasure house, which represents the brilliant achievements of China's culture, writing, history and art, and has a wide and far-reaching influence on the development of China and even the world's culture.