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Document 4.1
An Inscribed Oracle Bone and Chinese Characters
About the Document
The inscriptions on the oracle bones have become very important historical evidence in the study of early
Chinese civilization. The oracle bones, known in Chinese as jia gu wen, are either tortoise shells (jia) or
ox shoulder blades (gu) with scripted texts (wen). The first oracle bone was discovered in 1889 in An
Yang County, the capital of the Shang Dynasty (1,600-1,100 B.C.E.), and so far nearly 100,000 pieces
have been unearthed.
It is believed that the original function of the oracle bone scripts was for fortune telling. The scripted bones
were thrown into fire, and the priests read the crack signs from the bones and told fortunes. The
inscriptions on the oracle bones represent the earliest form of the Chinese written language. Unlike most
of the languages in the world, the Chinese language has never evolved from its original pictographic and
ideographic structure into alphabetic or syllabic form. It maintained its ancient flavor into contemporary
times, due largely to China's long period of cultural isolation. The chart shows the evolution of early
Chinese writing from pictogram to ideogram and to phonogram.
The Document
This inscribed oracle bone dates from the
Dynasty. The markings reflect the earliest
form of Chinese written language.
Shang
known
Source: Reprinted by permission of Kenneth DeWoskin.
1. How can we learn history from the origins and development of human languages?
2. What is unique about the Chinese written language system compared with that of the West?
3. What, in your view, contributed to the continuation in style of the Chinese written language system into
contemporary times?
4. Compare cuneiform, the ancient Mesopotamian writing system, with China's oracle bone texts. What
are the differences and similarities?
5. How important is written language to the development of civilizations in general?