File:Shang_Inscribed_Ox_Scapula_(for_divination).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
oracle bone script
Sign in to saveAlso known as Oracle-Bone Inscriptions
precursor of Chinese characters
Key facts
- Script type
- Logographic
- Period
- c. 1250 – c. 1050 BC
- Direction
- Top-to-bottom vertically
- Languages
- Old Chinese
- Child systems
- Seal script
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Zhou-inscription.png
Show 4 more facts
- inception
- 1500-00-00
- native label
- 甲骨文
- end time
- 1050-00-00
- Commons category
- Oracle bone script
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~21 min read
Article
Vietnamese name VietnameseGiáp cốt văn chữ giáp cốt Hán-Nôm甲骨文 𡨸甲骨?
The oracle bone script is the oldest attested form of written Chinese, dating to the late 2nd millennium BC. Inscriptions were made by carving characters into oracle bones, usually either the shoulder bones of oxen or the plastrons of turtles. The writings themselves mainly record the results of official divinations carried out on behalf of the Late Shang royal family. These divinations took the form of scapulimancy where the oracle bones were exposed to flames, creating patterns of cracks that were then subjected to interpretation. Both the prompt and interpretation were inscribed on the same piece of bone that had been used for the divination itself.