Oracle Bones From Shang Dynasty

In the heart of ancient China, over 3,000 years ago, powerful kings consulted the stars and ancestral spirits through a remarkable medium: oracle bones. These artifacts, primarily dating from 1600 to 1046 BCE during the Shang Dynasty, were intricately engraved animal bones and turtle shells used for divination. The practice not only revealed the beliefs and concerns of the Shang rulers but also marked a pivotal development in early Chinese writing.

Excavations at the site of Anyang, the last capital of the Shang Dynasty, have uncovered thousands of these oracle bones. The largest specimen, a shoulder blade from an ox, measured roughly 20 centimeters in length. Each bone was painstakingly inscribed with characters that communicated questions about everything from harvests to military ventures, and desperate pleas for guidance from the divine. Historians estimate that nearly 150,000 individual characters were inscribed, providing an invaluable glimpse into the language and culture of the time.

The inscriptions reveal a society deeply invested in their interactions with the supernatural, including rituals for predicting weather patterns and outcomes of battles. One particularly compelling oracle bone revealed a query about the fate of a military campaign—”Will we conquer the enemy?” The answer, inscribed in response, reflects the uncertainty and superstition that governed royal decisions.

Today, these oracle bones serve as the earliest evidence of Chinese writing, showcasing a civilization rich in complexity and tradition. Their discovery has illuminated not just the practices of the Shang Dynasty but also laid the foundation for understanding the evolution of Chinese characters that continue to thrive in modern language.