How much do you know about Oracle? Which dynasty do the oracle bone inscriptions come from? Let’s take a look below.
Which dynasty did the oracle bone inscriptions come from?
Oracle bone inscriptions are an ancient Chinese writing, also known as "deeds", "oracle bone inscriptions" and Yinxu writings. Or "tortoise shell animal bone inscriptions". It is an early form of Chinese characters and the oldest mature script existing in the Chinese dynasty. It was first unearthed in Yinxu, Anyang City, Henan Province. It belongs to ancient Chinese (old chinese), rather than an ancient or primitive language of other language families.
Oracle bone inscriptions were discovered in Yinxu, Anyang City, Henan Province, China. However, oracle bone inscriptions are not unique to the Shang Dynasty and existed long before the Shang Dynasty. Archaeological research has found that the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin and Shang Dynasties are most likely derived from the Jiahu inscriptions at the Peiligang Cultural Site in Henan 9,500 years ago.
Oracle has a symmetrical and stable pattern. Prepare the three elements of calligraphy, namely the use of pen, the knotting of characters, and the composition of the calligraphy. ?Judging from the number and structure of fonts, Oracle has developed into a more rigorous system of writing. The "six books" principle of Chinese characters is reflected in oracle bone inscriptions. However, the traces of the original picture text are still quite obvious.
On November 24, 2017, Oracle successfully passed the review of the International Advisory Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Project and was successfully selected into the "Memory of the World Register."
Development history
Oracle bone inscriptions are named after being engraved and written on tortoise shells and animal bones. They are handwriting circulated by the Yin and Shang Dynasties; the content records Pan Geng's move to Yin to King Zhou. The inscriptions dated 270 years ago are the earliest writings. The Yin and Shang Dynasties had three major characteristics, namely, trusting history, drinking alcohol, and worshiping ghosts and gods. Because of this, these tortoise shells, which determine many things such as fishing, expeditions, and agriculture, can be seen again in later generations and become important materials for the study of Chinese characters. In the Shang Dynasty, fine pen and ink were already available, and the calligraphy style was thin and sharp, with the flavor of a knife's edge. Affected by the rise and fall of writing styles, it can be divided into five periods, each of which is introduced below. In the late Shang Dynasty, it was about 273 years after Pan Geng moved to Yin to King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, and experienced 8 generations and 12 kings. The oracle bone inscriptions of this period should also be divided into early and late. There are many opinions on the periodization and dating of oracle bones in the Shang Dynasty. Nowadays, the main one used is Dong Zuobin’s five-period theory based on ten criteria such as lineage, title, and virginity, that is, the first period: Pan Geng, Xiao Xin, Xiao Yi , Wu Ding; the second period: Zu Geng, Zu Jia; the third period: Lin Xin, Kang Ding; the fourth period: Wu Yi, Wen Ding; the fifth period: Emperor Yi, Emperor Xin.
1. The Majestic Period
It lasted about a hundred years from Pan Geng to Wu Ding. Affected by the prosperous age of Wu Ding, the calligraphy style was grand and majestic, which was the pinnacle of oracle bone calligraphy. Generally speaking, the starting point of the pen is round and the ending point is sharp. The straight and straight strokes are staggered and full of variety. Regardless of whether they are fat or thin, they are all very powerful.
2. The Warning Period
From Zu Geng to Zu Jia, it lasted about forty years. Both of them can be regarded as virtuous kings. The calligraphy of this period generally inherited the style of the earlier period, abided by the conventions, and created very few new things, but they were no longer as vigorous and bold as the earlier period.
3. The decadent period
From Linxin to Kangding, about fourteen years. This period can be said to be the decline of the literary style of the Yin Dynasty. Although there are still many neat calligraphy styles, the paragraphs are scattered and uneven, and they are no longer so regular, but a bit childish and chaotic. In addition, there are many typos.
4. Jinqiao period
From Wuyi to Wenwuding, about seventeen years. Wen and Wu Ding were determined to restore ancient times and strive to restore the majesty of the Wu Ding era. The calligraphy style became vigorous and powerful, showing the atmosphere of the ZTE. In the thinner strokes, there is a very strong style.
5. The strict period
From Emperor Yi to Emperor Xin, it was about eighty-nine years. The calligraphy style has become more rigorous, slightly closer to that of the second issue; the length has been lengthened, but it is more rigorous, without decadence, and lacks majesty.
The thin handwriting on the oracle bones is also affected by the knife carving. When doing divination, "yes" or "no" is often engraved on both sides of the longitudinal line in the center of the tortoise shell, and written from this center line to the left and right, so the two sides are symmetrical and harmonious, and have the beauty of symmetry. After the deed is carved, the large and small characters are filled in ink and ink, or the front and back are filled in ink and ink, which is more artistic and can be called a miracle in the history of calligraphy.
Record content
There are four main items:
(1) The processed and scraped tortoise shells and animal bones are kept by the specially responsible fortune teller. The diviners would inscribe on their edges a narrative text describing the origin and storage conditions of these oracle bones, which is called "chronic inscriptions"; The column cauterizes and drills the nest grooves, causing cracks in the shape of "divination" to appear on the front of the bone. These cracks are called "divination omens" and are the basis for inferring good or bad things in divination. Under the earlier oracle bone inscriptions, the numbers in the order in which the divination will proceed are engraved. This number is also called the "Omen Sequence";
(3) The main part of the oracle bone inscriptions is the inscription, which means the end of the divination activity. Then record the progress and results of the divination activities. Most of them are engraved on the front of the oracle bones, and some are engraved on the back;
(4) Based on the heavenly stems (A, B, Bing, Ding, Wu, Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui) and the earthly branches ( The stem and branch table with sixty names of stems and branches consisting of Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai) can be said to be the earliest calendar in our country.
In addition, there are also some oracle bone inscriptions that were practiced by people who were learning to carve oracles at that time, which are called "Xi Ke" or "Xi Qi".
Most of the contents of the oracle bone inscriptions are records of divination by the Yin and Shang royal families. Most people in the Shang Dynasty were superstitious about ghosts and gods, and they had to ask for fortune-telling on big and small things. Some of the divination contents were about the weather, some were about farm harvests, and some were about illness and early birth of a child. Major events such as hunting, war, and sacrifices also required divination. Got it! Therefore, the contents of oracle bone inscriptions can provide a vague understanding of the living conditions of the people of the Shang Dynasty, and can also learn about the historical development of the Shang Dynasty.
At the same time, the shapes of oracle bone inscriptions are very close to those of ancient buildings. It can be said that architectural records are also a major origin of oracle bone inscriptions. From the many glyphs related to architecture in oracle bone inscriptions, we can understand the structural form and development of ancient Chinese architecture.
The character "高" in oracle bone inscriptions. From its glyph shape, it can be inferred that there was already a building built on an earthen platform in the Shang Dynasty. The lower part should be regarded as a cellar dug into the earth platform. This is a construction method after the rise of private ownership and the emergence of families. The upper part can be seen as a building with both roof and walls. The appearance of the wall was a remarkable creation in ancient China. The indoor space enclosed by walls is much taller than that of the roof alone, which is in line with the meaning of "the tallest, the most respected".
The word "palace" in oracle bone inscriptions. It can be seen as a house with two (or more) indoor spaces under one large roof. This is a very elegant and tall building used exclusively by the ruling class.
Characteristics of writing
Oracle bone inscriptions are words engraved or written on tortoise shells and animal bones. It was unearthed in the Xiaotun area of ??Anyang, Henan Province. Because it was the capital of Shang Wang Pangeng to Emperor Xin in the late Shang Dynasty, it was called "Yin" in history. After the Shang Dynasty destroyed the country, it became a ruin, and later generations named it "Yin Ruins". Therefore, oracle bone inscriptions are also called "Yinxu inscriptions". Most of its contents are royal divination words, so it is also called "divination words" or "zhen divination words". This kind of writing is basically made of deeds, and is also called "Qi Wen" or "Yin Qi".
Oracle bone inscriptions date back more than 3,000 years. It is not only the earliest and systematic data for studying the origin of Chinese characters, but also an important asset for studying oracle bone calligraphy. From the perspective of calligraphy, oracle bone inscriptions already have the three basic elements of calligraphy: pen use, word knotting, and composition.
Judging from the words on the oracle bones, they already possess the three elements of Chinese calligraphy: brush use, word knotting, and composition. The lines he used were strict and thin, with both straight and thick strokes, and his strokes were folded in many directions, which had an impact on the pen and knife used for seal cutting in later generations. Judging from the knots, the characters have changed. Although they are different in size, they are relatively balanced and symmetrical, showing a stable pattern. Judging from the composition, although it is affected by the size and shape of the bone fragments, it still shows the carving skills and the artistic characteristics of writing. "Oracle bone calligraphy" is now popular among some calligraphers and calligraphy enthusiasts, which proves its charm.
From the point of view of the pen, oracle bone inscriptions are carved on hard tortoise shells or animal bones with knives and carvings. Therefore, straight lines are mostly used when engraving, and curves are also made by short straight lines.
The thickness of the strokes is mostly uniform; since the starting and closing of the knife are straight, most of the lines are slightly thicker in the middle and slightly thinner at the ends, making them appear thin, solid, straight and sharp, and full of three-dimensionality.
As far as knot characters are concerned, the shape of oracle bone inscriptions is mostly rectangular with a few squares, which has the beauty of symmetry or the beauty of the variety of one character and multiple shapes. In addition, the oracle bone inscriptions also have a structural form of combining square and circle, opening and closing, and some characters have more or less traces of pictographic pictures, showing the naivety and vividness of the initial development stage of characters.
From the perspective of composition, the entire inscription is clear and the text size is well-proportioned. Although there are changes in the density of each line up and down, left and right, the whole article can maintain a lively situation of flowing energy, large and small dependent on each other, corresponding left and right, and echoing from front to back. Moreover, those with a large number of words have a compact arrangement throughout, giving people a dense feeling, while those with a small number of words appear sparse and ethereal. In short, they all present a simple yet romantic interest.