Oracle Bones

Future is uncertain. It is sort of like a mystery that is waiting

for you to find out. Have you ever wondered what would happen
to you in the future? In this modern era, when we want to know
about our future, we can go to the fortune tellers and let them
foretell future events. The fortune teller might look at palm line or
let you pick the gypsy card in order predict your fortune.
However, it is different back in the ancient time. The curiosity of
people to know their fortune has been a persistence and began
ages ago. So in order to fulfill this desire, many forms of
fortunetelling were invented. In Ancient Chinese civilization dates
back to the middle of Shang Dynasty, oracle bones were used as a
method of divination. Moreover, they were marked as one of the
great achievements of Ancient China due to the fact that they
induced the development of the first form of writing in China.
Oracle bones or also known as Dragons Bones are the
shoulder blade of oxen or the flat underside of the turtles shell
which were used in Shang Dynasty of China around 1600-1046
BCE for prophecy. Worshipping of Shang Di and ancestors was an
important tradition during Shang Dynasty, so as part of the
worship the used of oracle bones was brought to get advice from
the ancestors. A fortune-teller which was trained priests would
carve symbols on the bones of the ox or the turtle shell. Then a
hot piece of metal or fire was applied to the bone or shell until the
cracks appeared. The direction of the crack was interpreted to
predict the future. People from the farmer to the king, during that
time literally relied on the cracks on oracle bones in making
decisions. They believed that the priests were able to contact with
the spirit world of their ancestors through oracle bones. The person
would ask question that they would like to know the answer to it.
Then the priest would carve the symbol representing the question
on the bone and the hot metal will be applied. If the crack went in
one direction, it meant the positive thing, but if the crack went in
many directions, it meant negatively.
The discovery of these oracle bones is thought to be
excavated by farmers around the area without realizing what the
bones were and buried them back into the ground. During the 19th
century, local villagers dug in the terrain and discovered numerous
bones and later those bones were used as "dragon bones", the
ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. The turtle shell
fragments were prescribed for malaria. However, Wang Jung; a
Chinese philosopher is the first one to recognize their significance.
Wang Jung was sick because of Malaria. He received the medicine
from an apothecary which was best-known for dragon's bones
medication. He noticed some carvings that resembled some sort of
writing on the dragon bones which is the ingredient in medicine
that he was given to cure his illness. After the death of Wang, the
bones were sold by his son to Liu E, who published the first book
of rubbings of the oracle bone inscriptions. News of the discovery
of the oracle bones spread quickly throughout China and among
philosophers. In 1908, scholar Luo Zhenyu discovered the origin
of the bones near Anyang and realized that it was the site of the
last Shang dynasty capital.
The significance of oracle bones was not only for
divination or religious worship but also contribute towards the rise
of the first Chinese writing system. These bones are also the
crucial primitive sources that evidence the history of the Shang
Dynasty as well as the history of the Bronze Age period in China.
The oracle bones have resolved the doubt of historians and prove
to the world that Shang Dynasty really existed. The oracle bones
are the earliest written records of Chinese civilization. The writings
and symbols on the bones provide us important information about
the events occurred during Shang era and other things that are
relevant to Shang Dynasty. The information about peoples
wellbeing as well as the activities done by the king were recorded
on the bones.
In conclusion, the oracle bones had a major role during
Shang dynasty, they served as the method of prophecy and also
lead to the development of the first writing system of China.
Furthermore, they are the important evidence which ensure us that
Shang Dynasty did really exist. Without these oracle bones Shang
Dynasty might be recognized only as myth or legend. Without
them, there wont be the modern Chinese characters that are used
today.

References :

Mark, E. (2016, February 26). Oracle Bones. Retrieved from

http://www.ancient.eu/Oracle_Bones/

Richard, R. (2016, n.d.). Oracle Bones. Retrieved from

http://www.ibiblio.org/chinesehistory/contents/02cul/c03s03.html

By: Mai Parewa Pichayamarin 5961225 10/01