Figure ①: "Che" in Shang Zhou and Qin characters. Picture ②: Shanfu Jifu Li, now in the Museum of Chinese Characters.

Yang Yi's new achievement of combining oracle bones published by Jilin Provincial Museum with previous materials (black and white rubbings). The above pictures are all data pictures

Oracle bone inscriptions are the earliest mature writing system discovered in China so far. They are the source of Chinese characters and the root of China's excellent traditional culture. They are worth cherishing and better inheriting and developing.

The study of oracle bone inscriptions has important cultural value and inheritance significance. The reporter went to the Fudan University Research Center for Unearthed Documents and Ancient Characters (hereinafter referred to as "Fudan Ancient Characters Center"), visited the contemporary bosom friends of Oracle, and understood the research and application status of this "cold and unique learning", as well as the historical thoughts and cultural details behind Oracle.

——Editor

At the moment of the birth of characters, they were like thunder and lightning breaking into the chaotic world, illuminating the dormant civilization. Since then, the wisdom of all primates has broken through time and space to speed up inheritance, which is an unprecedented spectacle.

In the late Shang Dynasty, China formed the earliest mature writing system. At that time, merchants were eager to ask, asking God and ancestors. The royal family carved inscriptions on tortoise shells and animal bones for divination and memory, called oracle bone inscriptions.

Will it be or not, can it be or not, good or bad... In the eyes of businessmen, the answer lies here. The content of divination is engraved beside divination, that is, oracle bone divination. After the Western Zhou Dynasty, this tradition gradually declined, and the characters on divination oracle bones were difficult to see.

Until 1899, the ancient code that had been sleeping for a long time only sent out a weak signal, which was keenly captured by Wang Yirong, a Qing Dynasty epigraphy expert - a piece of oracle bones shocked the world and opened the door of civilization that had been closed for more than 3000 years. Over the past hundred and twenty years, several generations of scholars, such as old officials, have tried to solve prison cases and detectives, seeking clues from the cracks in history, and have studied and interpreted more than 1000 words that are awkward and awkward.

Today, there are still more than 2000 unwritten oracle bone inscriptions left by predecessors. Fortunately, from the hearts of ancestors to the fingertips of future generations, oracle bone inscriptions met contemporary bosom friends, and a group of scholars who were dedicated to deciphering ancient characters continued to interpret new words, making "cold and unique learning" glow with new vitality.

The Embarrassment of "Complete Interpretation": the Discovery of Planets

Some scholars once said that "releasing a word is like discovering a new planet", which shows the difficulty of studying ancient characters.

Because of the difficulty, the Museum of Chinese Characters has issued "reward orders" for oracle bone inscriptions several times in recent years, with individual word rewards ranging from 100000 yuan. The Fudan Ancient Characters Center has three scholars who have won awards, making it the most "unveiled" scientific research institution at present.

The textual research is to find the past and present life of a word, as well as the unfinished love relationship with other words. Professor Chen Jian, the representative of the center team, likes this analogy. In recent years, he deciphered two oracle bone inscriptions that he had never known before, namely, the other two writing methods of the ancient "Che" character.

It is recorded in Shuowenjiezi · Huibu: Che, Tongye. One of the oracle bone inscriptions can read. The bent finger represents exertion, and the ritual vessel Li is removed, which means "Che (withdrawal)". The argument found that two changes had taken place in the evolution of this word: the hard hand was changed into "", and the side "speed" representing action was added at the same time. In the newly released glyph, on the left side, there is "Bei" or "Xue" on the "Shi", which is the ideographic character of "Che".

This is a common phenomenon in the evolution of ancient characters. This word originally meant "to thoroughly remove sacrificial utensils or offerings". It has been handed down from ancient books of the Pre Qin Dynasty that "to sacrifice, to order thoroughly" and so on. Finally, it becomes "Che", which simplifies the writing of Chinese characters.

It can be imagined that in a sacrifice more than 3000 years ago, the meat was cooked in Li, and the steam was steaming. The merchants worshipped and offered it to their ancestors. Today, these instruments displayed in the museum seem to be ancient and remote. However, through the word "Che" related to Li, it seems to see the mission of each piece of equipment, and the dynasty atmosphere and living situation behind it reappear.

"Actually, this is not my most successful interpretation." Chen Jian humbly believes that the technical difficulty is not high this time. But behind it is the foundation accumulated for decades: not only should we be familiar with the stroke characteristics of the oracle bone characters, comprehensively sort out the use of characters, but also should we deeply grasp the evolution sequence and laws of the learned characters, look at them with a dynamic vision, and deduce the unknown from the known.

Mining copper in the mountains and peeling off the cocoons, Chen Jian is regarded as an intellectual enjoyment and a "game" that he often plays alone. There is always a little time for walking and queuing, and you can think about some words for half a day. "Give me a word, and I can think far away. The textual research is to weave words into a big net to see how many words can be recalled."

Of course, to achieve "complete textual criticism", in addition to the textual criticism of the characters, there is also a need for lexical explanation. Put the examination results into all oracle bone inscriptions and read them through. If the words are smooth and unimpeded, they will prove to be reliable. From collecting data to comparing various theories, it is difficult to argue step by step, and finally it is recognized, cited, and collected into dictionaries.

The textual research on oracle bone inscriptions is more like natural science, which requires conclusive evidence and takes a long time to publish. For example, Chen Jian wrote the "Supplement to the Use of Oracle Bone Inscriptions as" You "in 2019, and the first draft was written in 2010. Such articles are detailed, citing Hongfu, some of which have as many as 70000 words. Some controversial issues, after his research, often have a sense of indifference.

Outsiders seem to be boring, but he enjoys it. He often has a flash of inspiration in the middle of the night. In the early years, there was always a pencil at the head of the bed. When inspiration suddenly came, it was immediately written on the wall, and it would be carefully sorted out when dawn came. "Reading the articles I have written, I feel very happy." Chen Jian smiled at this. Long, it is a kind of romance.

Li Xueqin, a historian, believes that "the basic work of ancient philology should still focus on the interpretation of characters. Words cannot be interpreted, and it is difficult to talk about other studies." Over the past hundred and twenty years, Oracle bone inscriptions with mature interpretation conditions have been gradually released.

In 1903, Liu E easily recognized more than 40 words in the "Iron Cloud Hidden Turtle - Preface" published by himself, of which more than 30 words were correct; In 1904, Sun Yirang got the "Iron Cloud Hides the Turtle", and "spent two months trying to read it", wrote the "Example of Deeds", and released 185 words.

Later, with the continuous efforts of Luo Zhenyu, Wang Guowei, Guo Moruo, Yu Shengwu, Tang Lan, Li Xueqin, Qiu Xigui and other famous scholars, about 1/3 of the oracle bone inscriptions were interpreted. The rest are "hard bones". For example, the word "You" with a few oblique points appeared thousands of times, which has not yet been clearly explained.

After traveling through thousands of mountains and rivers, my eyes suddenly opened up. At present, there are about 50 scholars specializing in oracle bone inscriptions all over the world, and there are also a number of scholars in Jilin University, Capital Normal University, etc. It was they who, through the simple strokes abstracted from the merchants' clothing, food, housing and transportation, restored the pyrotechnic world carved on tortoise shells and animal bones, making the music of civilization spread far away.

Fragments to be broken and reunited

"Guihai Buzhen: ten days. March. Yichou Xiyu; Dingmao Mingyu; Wuxiao picks the sun rain, strong wind; it has already been enlightened."

This is a divination to the effect that there was no disaster in the last ten days of March. According to the test, it rained at night on the second day of the ten day period. On the fourth day, it rained at dawn in Dingmao. On the evening of the fifth day, it was rainy and windy. On the sixth day, when it was already dawn, the clouds dispersed and the sky opened.

From this weather record, we can see that the Shang Dynasty had a special weather officer. Back then, it was still full of fantasy: the man in charge of divination recited words, and there was a repaired oracle bone beside him. The burning thorns were pulled out from the burning coals. After the open fire was blown out, the drill on the oracle bone was burned. With a sound of "Bu", different cracks appear on the surface of the oracle bone

As the earliest meteorological record in China, this divination is very precious, and was included in 776 of the Collection of Oracle Bone Conjugation. However, the original materials were so incomplete that they were reunited after splicing.

When the oracle bones were unearthed, the Chinese culture immediately connected with the Yin and Shang dynasties, which is a jigsaw puzzle for future generations to trace back to the millennium civilization. Unfortunately, it was in the late Qing Dynasty, and the national strength was weak. Collectors regarded it as private property, and many others were exiled abroad, leading to fragmented research.

Among the living oracle bones, more than 80000 pieces have been officially published, of which more than 90% are fragments. Oracle bone conjugation is to combine all kinds of information and splice the fragments together to make them become complete or relatively complete materials.

Fragments can be found everywhere, but Jiang Yubin, a researcher of Fudan Ancient Chinese Character Center, is a person looking for a needle in a haystack. This version of oracle bone recording the weather was conjoined by Jiang Yubin, and the word "strong" of "strong wind" was also interpreted by him.

In reality, researchers rarely hold fragments to figure out what to do with their own hands, and mostly rely on materials compiled from rubbings and physical photos. Buy books, read books, buy books again. Jiang Yubin's research room is full, and there is almost no place to start. The tortoise shell and cattle scapula specimens are necessary for the desk. He often observes and rubs, and knows relevant parts like the palm of his hand.

Over the years, he has turned over dozens of anatomy books, stewed many cattle scallops, observed the traces of blood vessels entering and leaving the bones, and their presentation on rubbings. "The discussion of the materiality of the oracle bone text and the relationship between the physical form and the oracle inscriptions have yielded a lot."

How to judge the successful conjugation? This not only requires that the shape fits perfectly, the front and back lines are the same, and the font, style and content must also match. Over the years, relevant scholars have successively completed more than 7000 groups of conjugations. These oracle bones and public materials have formed a database in their minds.

As a living knowledge, oracle bone research is always changing. Over the years, platforms and small programs such as "Yin Qiwen Yuan" of Anyang Normal University, "Fu Duoduo" of Henan University, and "School Treasure" of Capital Normal University have been launched. Through big data, artificial intelligence and other technologies to collect, research and judge, and put together, the idea of scholars has gradually become a reality.

With more than 6600 entries and 3 million visits, the information database of "Jade and Pearl" Oracle Bone Conjugation in Fudan Ancient Character Center was launched at the beginning of this year, collecting information about the situation and source of the conjugation. "Many scholars have taken pains to sort it out, but they have found the achievements of predecessors. We continue to update it in order to facilitate everyone and avoid such situations," said Yang Yi, one of the project sponsors and doctoral student.

For beginners, the first piece of conjugation is very important. Every other week, Jiang Yubin guides young disciples hand in hand, often for five or six hours. Not long ago, when discussing with students in class, he found that Jilin Provincial Museum had released a batch of color photos of fragments, which excited teachers and students. The new conjugation soon came out. "Once conjugation is found, most are easy to verify. The sense of achievement is overwhelming."

This mood may be difficult for ordinary people to understand. But conjugation research is like a bridge connecting space-time. Some of the old materials of the "Broken Morning Post" have multiplied in value once they are combined. The most famous one is Wang Guowei's conjugation.

Scholars at that time mostly believed and doubted the lineage of Shang King in Records of the Historian, Yin Benji. In 1917, Wang Guowei spliced the broken bones to form a relatively complete genealogical oracle. After comparison, it was confirmed that the "Records of the Historian" was generally credible, and individual fallacies were corrected.

Since then, the view that "there is no history above the Eastern Zhou Dynasty" has been broken without attack, and the history of China has moved forward for hundreds of years. As Guo Moruo said, after seeing the oracle bone inscriptions, the true situation of ancient society is as clear as at present, and the various social institutions and consciousness in the "Poems", "Books" and "Changes" have found their source.

Piece by piece conjugation, generation by generation research, even if only two fragments are spliced, it may also activate the ancient genes behind. The ancient and mysterious dynasty is no longer a ghost in the ancient books. The symbols on the oracle bones appear vividly in front of people and become a symbol of Chinese civilization.

A word is a cultural history

In February, the new Yin Ruins Museum was opened to the public, and a striking oracle bone with turquoise inlaid characters and hunting patrol records was an existing rarity in Chinese museums. Not far from the new hall is the core area of the Yin Ruins site, which spans 3000 years. The audience seems to have heard from their ancestors. Looking back at the beginning of the Chinese character "genealogy" is really meaningful.

Chen Yinque once said, "Any explanation is a cultural history". If there were no words and inheritance, we would know nothing about the past. From these "Shang Dynasty Diaries", we can see that the ancients had feasts, performed music, traveled by car, the process and results of the war, the impact of weather on farming, and so on.

In addition to restoring the face of history, the reason why our writing is great is that we can see our culture. Oracle bone inscriptions are the most precious heritage left by the ancestors of the Shang Dynasty. With careful observation and amazing imagination, they transformed what they saw, did and felt in daily life into characters, which contains the main method of creating characters for future generations.

Liu Zhao, director of Fudan Ancient Characters Center, said that there are many hieroglyphs and ideographs in oracle bone inscriptions, many of which retain their early forms. This is the means of "taking things far away and taking bodies near", and the carrier of recording ideology and culture. From it, we can understand the meaning of the ancients when they created characters——

The word "de" is like holding a shell, indicating that the ancient "shell" is a treasure or used as currency. The word "Jian" refers to the image of water in human tools. The ancients had the habit of using water as a mirror. The word "Bao" is like an adult carrying a child. From the perspective of adults, it is protection, from the perspective of children, it is dependence, rich in meaning, and full of human feelings

Not only that, some inscriptions on oracle bones have a stable and tensile structure, which is similar to the inscriptions in brush and ink. The use of pen, words and rules is quite legal. The simple and unsophisticated nicks have evolved into seal script, clerical script and regular script, which are various elements of later calligraphy. Here you can find the source.

"We can read ancient characters and ancient books thousands of years ago, which is the only one in the world," said Ge Liang, an associate research librarian of Shanghai Museum. Oracle bone inscriptions are the only original characters in the world's ancient characters that have been handed down to the present. Others, such as the ancient Egyptian holy script and the ancient Babylonian cuneiform script, have finally become "dead characters" due to the drastic changes in the use of people and culture.

"Spread in different places, stay in different times", Chinese characters with oracle bone inscriptions as the source are the crystallization of Chinese civilization that has never been interrupted and complements each other. In 2017, Oracle was included in the "Memory of the World".

Obviously, as a collective memory, Oracle has met more contemporary bosom friends:

Some netizens made text expression packs and animated oracle bone inscriptions to represent their ancestors' beliefs. Some enthusiasts were urged by their fans to change their minds through short videos.

In Anyang, the hometown of inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells, people practice calligraphy in their study and studio to experience the calligraphy art of inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells. As soon as tourists leave the high-speed railway station, roads, business circles and cultural spaces are immersed in the world of oracle bones.

　　…………

If you are a teacher, please organize students to have a lively Chinese class to explain the origin of Chinese characters.

If you are going to travel, you might as well go to the museum to see the oracle bones of Yin Ruins and see the ancient characters that shocked the world.

Oracle bone inscriptions look at us like an old man who cannot be explained, as if he has a lot of words to say. She recovers the young face of the ancient civilization from the rubbings of history, and answers the two eternal questions where we come from and where we are going.

Format design: Shen Yiling

People's Daily (April 14, 2024, edition 07)

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