If there were no words in the world

You know

What word is this?

(The answer will be revealed at the end)

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This illegible text

Oracle

About 4,500 words have been discovered so far

Nearly 2/3 of the text remains undeciphered

therefore

Chinese Character Museum

Up to 100,000 yuan per word

A large reward is offered for decryption

Every word counts

(Since the award was announced in 2016, only one person has received the highest prize of 100,000 yuan. The figure below shows the research results of the prize winner Jiang Yubin from Fudan University. Map by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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Maybe you can also try

Decipher the following unrecognized words

As long as you are lucky enough

You can also win awards

(The undeciphered oracle bone inscriptions are listed here. Deciphering oracle bone inscriptions requires hard work and study. Currently, two rounds of oracle bone inscription interpretation collection and selection activities have been carried out. For details, please visit the official website of the Chinese Character Museum. Map by @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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Behind this huge award

Have you ever thought about

Why is Oracle so important?

Maybe that history is too long ago.

Perhaps we are accustomed to the current Chinese characters

It's hard to imagine

If there is no text

What will our history be like?

(Inscriptions on bones, photographer @柳叶氘, map @刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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When we take a good look

You will find

The emergence of oracle bone inscriptions

Brought us a "new world"

A new world where ancient and modern times can talk and poetry can flow freely

01

Wordless Era

Before the birth of writing

Experience communicated through language

History recorded by word of mouth

The brain is the only recording machine

But this machine has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the person.

Frequent omissions or deviations

(Red pottery human head pot, the picture is for illustration only, the picture is from @Xi'an Banpo Museum, the map is @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

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How can one have

Eliminate forgetfulness and bias

What about the “machine” that accurately records and conveys information?

The ancients began to try

More than 8,000 years ago

In Jiahu Village, Wuyang, Henan Province

I don't know which ancient person it was.

After a religious event

Working hard on the hard tortoise shell

Carve an eye-shaped pattern

To convey or record certain information

(The tortoise shell with inscriptions at the Jiahu site is the plastron of the tortoise. The symbol on it looks like an eye, but its specific meaning is unknown. Photographer: Bao Haolin, map by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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Until another 5000 years later

A word that looks very similar

Appears on tortoise shell

It was identified by experts

That is the current word "目"

(Oracle bone script for the character “目”, drawn by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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But the few writings of the ancestors of Jiahu Village

Could it be the earliest writing?

We are not sure

It can only be used as a symbol with caution

Rather than text

(List of Jiahu carving symbols, which are not identifiable because of the lack of pattern. Map by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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More than 6,000 years ago

Hemudu, Yuyao, Zhejiang

A group of ancient people who worshipped the sun

I think the sun rises and sets because it is carried by birds.

then

They designed a pattern with a bird and sun theme

And carved it on precious ivory products

(The ivory carving of "Two Birds Facing the Sun" reflects the ancient people's understanding of the relationship between the sun and birds. Image source: Zhejiang Provincial Museum, map by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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Another of these ancestors

In addition to worshiping the sun

I also want to show something closer to me.

Perhaps after capturing a wild boar

Not satisfied with verbal pleasure and showing off

Want to publicize your "achievements" for a longer period of time

So the image of the pig was "painted" on the pottery.

(Hemudu culture pig-patterned pottery bowl, photographer @柳叶氘, map @刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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These patterns appearing on the objects

Beyond language, across time and space

Survival to this day

Let us, more than 6,000 years later

A glimpse into the world of the ancients

(Pottery plate with fish and algae patterns from the Hemudu culture, the pattern may be birds and algae, image source @Zhejiang Provincial Museum, map @Long Yanling & Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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Images not only enhance the decoration

Can also record and transmit information

For a time

A pattern trend swept across China

People from all over the world

Painting on pottery

(Painted pottery basin with fish pattern, photographer @Bao Haolin, map @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

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Birds, fish, toads, lizards, flowers and other plants and animals

Geometric shapes such as triangles, rhombuses, arcs, etc.

Conveying their aesthetics, beliefs, and emotions

Even the story

(List of some painted pottery patterns, drawn by @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

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in

A native of Yancun, Ruzhou, Henan

Draw on the pottery jar

Bird, fish and axe as three elements

It probably represents a tribe with a bird as its emblem.

The story of conquering the tribe with a fish as its emblem

(Painted pottery jar with stork, fish and stone axe, photographer @柳叶氘, map @刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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Majiayao People in Gansu and Qinghai

When a major event is painted on a pottery basin

The scene of people dancing and singing

(Dance pattern painted pottery basin, photographer @龙世杰, map @刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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But perhaps the "realistic" painting style

Time-consuming and laborious

People then simplified it again and again

Even abstract to the point of being difficult to identify

(Schematic diagram of the evolution of bird patterns, from realism to abstraction, drawn by @Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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Get rid of the concrete image of things

Condensed into a "simple drawing" form

Begin to appear in large numbers

(Many carved symbols have been found on pottery at the Banpo site in Xi'an, Shaanxi, and the Shuangdun site in Bengbu, Anhui. These "stick drawings" basically exist in isolation and lack context, which makes our interpretation of them different, so we can only conservatively call them carved symbols. Image source: @National Museum of China, map by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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About 5000 years ago

Liangzhu ancestors had entered the civilized stage

Perhaps in order to convey information more effectively

Combining multiple depicted symbols into a "sentence"

(A pottery jar with inscriptions. Some scholars believe that the inscriptions on it are words, which can be interpreted as someone capturing a tiger in a certain place. Photographer @明天会更好, map @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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4100 years ago

The ancestors of Dinggong Village in Zouping, Shandong

This "sentence making game" also started

(Ding Gong carved symbols, which some scholars believe are ancient Yi characters, map by Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

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But as society becomes more complex

These records and expressions

It is increasingly unable to meet people’s needs

Next Steps

Based on images and symbols

A text storm is about to begin

A character creation movement that changed history and had far-reaching influence

Quietly

02

Word Storm

At least 3,300 years ago

The ancients had already begun to mass produce text

(Red-lettered flat pot, two characters written with a brush were discovered at the Taosi site in Shanxi Province about 4,000 years ago. The interpretation is still controversial. There are different opinions such as "Wen Yao", "Yi Wen", and "Wen Yi". It is believed that it is a system with oracle bone script, indicating that the birth of writing began very early. Photographer @Wang Ning, map @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

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There is a text type

They seem to speak for themselves.

No matter ancient or modern, no matter old or young

Understand at a glance

Deer

Just write it like a deer

(The oracle bone script for the character "鹿" is only for reference. The image is from @Visual China, and the graphics are by @Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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Bird

Write it like a bird

(The oracle character for "bird", the picture is for illustration only, photographer @关翔宇, map @刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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This method of creating characters by “drawing the object”

Pictographic

Pictograms can make everything that the ancients saw

All of them became the source of material for creating characters.

Everything in the world is involved in this storm of word creation

Mountains and rivers

Sun, Moon and Stars

(The oracle character for "moon", the picture is for illustration only, photographer @山风, map @刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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Plants and Creatures

(The oracle character "禾", the picture is for illustration only, the picture is from @图虫创意, the map is @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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Living utensils, etc.

All of them were vividly "copied"

(The oracle bone script for the character “鼎”, the picture is for illustration only, photographer @杨敏芝, map @刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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However, only through pictographic characters

Not enough for people to use

For example, more abstract concepts

Home

How to express it?

then

The ancients based on pictographic characters

Combine different words

Created more words

In the eyes of the ancients

Home is where you live

So we need

house

(The shape of the house is for reference only, the picture is from @Huitu.com, and the map is by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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There are also some animals kept near the house.

One of the most important wealth of people at that time

pig

(Oracle-bone script for the Chinese character “豕”, image source: @图虫创意, graphic by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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There are houses and pigs

A happy, safe home that our ancestors longed for.

It was born

Ordinary, real and warm

(The oracle character "家" has other interpretations. The picture is for reference only. The picture is from @汇图网&图虫创意, and the map is by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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This highly expressive

A method of creating characters with profound meaning

It is for understanding

It allowed the ancients to create

More wise words

for example

Men get married and start a family

There is a daughter at home for peace

(The oracle character "安" means a woman is safe at home, and there is another explanation that a woman is in danger in the wild and is safe at home. Image source: @汇图网, map by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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Houses burned down

(The oracle character "disaster" has other explanations, picture source @Huitu.com, map @Long Yanling & Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

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besides

When the ancients created characters

We will also add annotations

to express its meaning

for example

When creating words with the concept of direction

First there is a long horizontal

Add a short dash on top

For the top

(Oracle character “上”, illustration by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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Add a short dash below

For the next

This method of creating characters is to indicate things.

(Oracle character “下”, illustration by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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The methods of creating characters are pictographic, ideographic, and indicative.

The ancients created a large number of characters

A human figure standing sideways

For the character “人”

(Oracle bone script for the character “人”, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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Mark different parts of the human body with arcs

They are

Hip

(Oracle bone script for the character “臀”, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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Tame

(Oracle character “尾”, illustration by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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For the body

(Oracle-bone script for the character “身”, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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Carrying a child

For pregnancy

(Oracle bone script for the character “孕”, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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Women's childbirth

For Yu

(The oracle bone script "Yu" means fertility, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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After the baby is born

Holding like breastfeeding

For milk

(Oracle bone script for the character “乳”, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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People seem to be urinating

For urine

(Oracle bone script for the character “尿”, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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Like defecating

Shit

(Oracle-bone script for the character “shit”, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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But even so rich

Still can't satisfy people's needs

So the ancients had a wonderful idea

Put two existing text

One is the radical and the other is the phonetic radical

Thus forming a new word

Visible and audible

It is called phono-sound

for example

When creating abstract words related to women

Using "女" as the radical to indicate gender

Use "未" as the phonetic component to indicate pronunciation

It has the meaning of female generation.

sister

(The oracle bone script for "妹". The pronunciation of Chinese characters will change over time, but the pronunciation of most phono-semantic characters remains highly synchronized with the pronunciation of their phonetic components during this process. To facilitate understanding, the pronunciation in the figure is selected from modern Mandarin Chinese. Map by @龙雁羽&刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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However, the number of words cannot be increased indefinitely.

Too many

It will inevitably increase the difficulty for people to learn and master characters.

But society is constantly developing and new things are constantly emerging.

what to do?

The answer is

One word has two or even more uses

tripod

Originally refers to the eating utensil tripod

Because it is often used for sacrifices

In a certain context

Borrowed as the word "zhen" which has the meaning of divination

(Two meanings of the oracle bone script "Ding", drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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moon

The moon

Not only is it extended to mean the month

It is also used as the evening word with the meaning of evening.

(Two meanings of the oracle character "月", drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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Such a large number of created characters and unique use of words

It basically meets the needs of ancient people for recording and expression.

According to current archaeological discoveries

These "freshly baked" words

Mainly "written" on tortoise shells and animal bones

Therefore, it is called "Oracle bone script"

(Animal bones include cattle bones, tiger bones, deer bones, etc. Photographer @Song Peng, map @Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

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also

Writing was born not long ago

Its "writing" has not yet been finalized

The structure and text direction are very flexible

Can be written in both forward and reverse directions

(Schematic diagram of the front and back writing of oracle bone script, drawn by @Long Yanling & Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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That is why

The First Tripod of the Shang Dynasty

According to the inscription,

Is it the Simuwu Ding or the Houmuwu Ding?

Disputes continue to this day

(The Houmuwu Ding and its inscriptions. The following picture is named after the National Museum of China. Photographer: @柳叶氘, map: @龙雁羽&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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In conclusion

One word after another was born

And their impact on us

Just the beginning

03

The Secret of Words

In the Shang Dynasty

Words are high-tech products

Only owned and used by the royal family and nobles

When the King of Shang captured a ferocious tiger

The tiger's bones will be taken out

Carve the words to remember

One day

The Shang king was obviously very satisfied with his hunting results.

Spend a lot of money

Inlaid with precious gemstones

To record "achievements"

Demonstrate strength

(Tiger bone inscription, image source @Royal Ontario Museum, Canada, map @Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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Nobles and ministers also rely on writing

Go down in history

They prefer bronze

Cast with the family "logo"

Indicate ownership

(In the Shang Dynasty, clans would have specific clan emblems, but they were different from words and more graphic. There are currently 100 clan names on bronze artifacts unearthed from Yinxu. The following figure lists some clan emblems from the Shang Dynasty. Map by @龙雁羽&刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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Or record your own highlights

Comfort the ancestors

September of a certain year

Official guards his son

The King of Shang gave him 20 Pengbei (money) as a reward.

This is a great honor for him.

then

Shu Si Zi used these rewards

Made a bronze tripod

And "write" words on it to tell his father about this honor

(Shusizi Ding and its inscription, the picture is taken from the Bronze Volume of the Central Plains Cultural Relics Dictionary, edited by Qin Wensheng et al., and the map is by Liu Zhipeng/Planetary Research Institute)

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In addition to carrying

The heroic deeds of the royal family

Also undertook a

Activities related to the secrets of heaven

Divination

Merchants over 3,000 years ago

Believe in the many gods and spirits between heaven and earth

Controlling everything in the world

At the same time, I think that the future of

Can be predicted by the gods

therefore

People frequently pray to the gods for blessings

(A divination inscription seeking the blessing of the gods, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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Wu Ding

The 22nd king of the Shang Dynasty

During his reign

There are many countries in China

There are hundreds of

The business is the most powerful being.

Therefore merchants sometimes call themselves

Dayi business, Tianyi business

(Oracle bone inscriptions of “Dayi Shang”, drawn by @Long Yanling & Liu Zhipeng/Planet Research Institute)

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Even powerful business

Nor can we avoid the intrusion of other countries.

one day

The enemy Pakistan attacked the border of Shang

After Wu Ding learned

Seek help from the gods immediately

He appointed wizards to use turtles to communicate with the gods

(According to scholars’ statistics, during the Wu Ding period, the Shang king received 12,334 turtles as tribute. In addition to using turtles to communicate with gods, he also received cow shoulder blades, etc. The picture below is a "Zuo Ce Ban" bronze turtle. Photographer: @包浩霖, map by @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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First, take the tortoise shell

After splitting, grinding and trimming processes

Obtain relatively smooth plastron and carapace

Then by drilling and chiseling

Make the corresponding groove

Facilitates the formation of mega-marks

(Schematic diagram of the treatment of tortoise shell. Drilling is convenient for showing horizontal lines, while chiseling is convenient for forming vertical lines. Map by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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After the preparation is completed

The fortune teller muttered to himself

Ask God

"Will we be blessed if we send Fuhao to attack Pakistan?"

Holding a lit hardwood charcoal stick

Burning in the groove

Until the tortoise shell made a "pop" sound

Cracks appear

That is, divination

The oracle bone script also comes from this.

(Turtle shell divination diagram, map by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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This texture

God's answer

There is no one in the world who can understand this language.

Only a few people, including Wang

(The secret of the omen patterns has not yet been cracked. Which ones represent bad omens and which ones represent good omens? The picture below shows the omen patterns on oracle bones. The photographer is @包浩霖, and the map is @刘志鹏/星球研究院)

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After the divination is over

People would offer sacrifices to the gods

Animals such as cattle, sheep, and pigs are used in sacrifices.

Sometimes they even cruelly use living people for sacrifice

Written records

The number of people sacrificed in a particular ceremony may be as high as a thousand.

(According to statistics, from the time Pan Geng moved the Shang Dynasty to the fall of Emperor Xin, the rulers used 13,052 human sacrifices. The picture below shows a bone rubbing of a thousand people sacrificed. Map by @龙雁羽/星球研究院)

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Finally, in order to record the content of this divination

For later verification

Related personnel used words on the tortoise shell

"Written down" the time, wizard, event and other information of the divination

Keep for archive

(Turtle shell engraving illustration, drawing by @龙雁羽/Planetary Research Institute)

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We can no longer know

Fu Hao was sent to war by the King of Shang

Is it blessed by the gods?

Win the war

But written records

Fu Hao led troops to conquer many times

A brave and skilled general.

(Tongyue, photographer @柳叶撺, map @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planet Research Institute)

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What surprised us was

Fu Hao was not just a general

Or the wife (queen) of King Wu Ding of Shang

She's such a unique character.

So much so that she frequently appears in the text

Medical care was limited at the time.

After Fuhao's pregnancy

The King of Shang was very concerned

Also through divination

Pray to the gods for protection

Repeatedly asking in words

Can Fuhao give birth smoothly?

(Fuhao's fertility divination, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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Even with the concern of the Shang King

Fuhao in childbirth

Still no blessing from the gods

Newborn baby girl dies

This made Wu Ding and Fu Hao very sad.

(Fuhao's fertility divination, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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besides

The Shang king used divination for almost everything

Asking for help from the spirits

include

weather

(Weather divination, map by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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agriculture

(Agricultural oracle inscriptions, drawn by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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hunting

(Hunting oracle, map by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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disease

etc.

(Disease divination, illustration by @龙雁玲&刘志鹏/Planetary Research Institute)

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that's all

The merchants left behind nearly 150,000 pieces of oracle bones

Leaving behind countless words of "communication between heaven and man"

These words

Across time and space

Becoming a silent "phonograph" for businessmen

Showing us their world more than 3,000 years ago

If there is no Oracle

We can't

To that era

Such a vivid understanding

If there is no Oracle

We can't even be sure

Is the Shang Dynasty a legend or a fact?

(In modern times, for a long time, Xia and Shang were considered legends rather than historical facts, until the discovery of oracle bones proved the existence of the Shang Dynasty. Today, no Xia Dynasty characters have been found, so there is still debate about whether Xia existed.)

If there is no Oracle

Our Tang and Song poems, articles and historical records

I don't know if it will be so prosperous.

04

end

There is no text in the world

After a long period of exploration, the ancients

Created various oracle bone inscriptions

Opening up a world of words

After

More than 3,000 years

Oracle continues to evolve

Developed into today's tens of thousands of Chinese characters

(The evolution of the Chinese character “中”, drawn by @刘志鹏&袁佳欣/Planet Research Institute)

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Oracle

As the first ray of light of Chinese characters

Witness the ancients' wisdom in creating characters

Records the social status of businessmen

then

It's like opening the door to a new world

In this world

The ups and downs and grandeur of Chinese civilization

Compiled into the Twenty-Four Histories

Telling the story of the endless life of the Chinese people

Recording the world of this blue planet

(Oracle, photographer @袁欢欢)

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In this world

The saint's body dies

Ideas Live Forever

They were able to transcend time and space

Talk to us

When you feel like giving up due to frustration

Mencius will guide you

(From Mencius)

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God will give this person a great responsibility.

First, one must suffer in mind and work hard in body.

When you are self-doubting, anxious and confused

Li Bai will encourage you

(From "Song of the Wine")

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I was born to be useful

Even if I spend all my money, I will get it back

When you're going through a low point

Su Shi will tell you

(From Ding Feng Bo: Don’t Listen to the Sound of Leaves Blowing in the Forest)

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A bamboo stick and straw sandals are lighter than a horse, so who is afraid?

A raincoat and a straw rain hat to protect you from the wind and rain throughout your life.

That’s the power of words

This is what generation after generation of Chinese people do.

The world of words created

now

It is us

Writing a new chapter

————Decoding time————

Oracle bone script

The word "beautiful"

For you

Whether you are in adversity or prosperity

Sincerely wish you a bright future

This article was created by

Written by | Wang Changchun

Design | Long Yanling & Liu Zhipeng

Picture | Daytime sleep

Proofread by Jiang Shangfan & Huang Taiji

Header Image | Yuan Huanhuan

Audit Expert

Professor Gu Longhui from the School of History and Culture of Henan University

Zhang Lidong, professor of the School of History and Culture of Henan University

Note:

1. Regarding the method of creating characters, there are six theories (indicative, pictographic, phono-semantic, ideographic, transliteration, and loanword) and three theories, which have different views and are still controversial.

2. There are currently about 4,500 oracle bone inscriptions, a number that is still controversial. About 1/3 of them have been deciphered, about 1/3 are still being debated among scholars, and the remaining 1/3 have not yet been recognized.

【Main references】

[1] Gao Ming. On the Tao Fu and the Origin of Chinese Characters[J]. Journal of Peking University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 1984(06):49-62.

[2] Li Zongkun. Oracle-bone inscriptions[M]. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 2012.3.

[3]Qiu Xigui. An Outline of Philology[M]. Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2013.

[4] Wang Yunzhi. Research on Shang Dynasty Oracle Bones[M]. Beijing Science Press, 2010.

[1] Xia Dazhao. Research on the Use of Oracle Bone Inscriptions[D]. Anhui University, 2014.

[6] Zhu Xueke. Arrangement and association of oracle bone inscriptions of Fu Hao[D]. Henan University, 2019.