How Is It That We Can Learn So Much About Shang China From Their Oracle Bones?

Oracle Os, Shang Dynasty, Reign of Zu Geng, c. 1191-1181 B.C.Eastward. (Shanghai Museum, Prc)Due south peakers: Dr. Kristen Chiem and Dr. Beth Harris

The Shang dynasty (1600–1050 B.C.E.) saw advancements fabricated in mathematics, astronomy, and statuary casting engineering. It is considered the beginning historical dynasty of People's republic of china, meaning it left behind written records. These records are preserved as engravings cutting into the so-called oracle bones .

Inscribed tortoise carapace (

Inscribed tortoise carapace ("oracle bone"), Anyang period, late Shang dynasty, c. 1300–1050 B.C.E., tortoise beat, China, vi.v high x ten.8 x 2.3 cm (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Establishment, Washington, D.C.: The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Establishment, Washington, DC; a joint gift of the Arthur Chiliad. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler, S2012.9.445)

The term "oracle bone" refers to ox scapulae (or shoulder blade bones) and tortoiseshells used by Shang rulers for divination . Oracle bones were said to offering a conduit to the spirits of royal ancestors, legendary figures from the by, nature deities , and other powerful spirits. Shang kings asked well-nigh natural events, illnesses, dreams, and forecasts for hunting and military endeavors.

Nether the direction of the male monarch and his diviner, the bones of cattle and water buffalo and the shells of tortoises were scraped clean, polished, and perhaps soaked. When dry out, the bones or shells were chiseled to produce rows of grooves and pits. During the ritual , a diviner would insert a heated rod into the bottom of the grooves and pits to produce hairline cracks on the opposite side of the bone or beat out. The diviner requested data and guidance from the spirit of a majestic ancestor and so interpreted the management of the cracks to provide answers to the male monarch'southward question. To tape the king's question, a scribe would then cleave it onto the os or shell surface relative to the cracks.

Later, the scribe would carve the consequence onto the surface of the bones or shells. The tortoiseshell fragment from the collection of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, for instance, has 3 groups of finely engraved inscriptions. Two of them relate to the question of rain; the third reports on the result of a successful deer hunt. Most oracle bone inscriptions comprise four parts: an introduction, a accuse (the topic of the oracle-bone inscription), the prognostication (interpretation of cracks), and verification (the actual outcome of the oracle bone inscription topic). For example, ane oracle bone outside the museum collection reads:

Introduction: "Onrenzi (day 49), [the king] fabricated cracks and divined:
Charge: 'We will hunt at Wu; going and coming back at that place volition be no disasters.'"
Prognostication: The king read the cleft and said: " Auspicious ." This was inscribed.
Verification: "[We] defenseless 1 wild buffalo, one tiger, seven foxes."

Freer Sackler Smithsonian Logo

This resources was developed for Teaching China with the Smithsonian, made possible by the generous support of the Freeman Foundation

Boosted Resources:

Read most an oracle bone on the Teaching China resource from the National Museum of Asian art

The Art and Archæology of Ancient China. A Teacher'due south Guide. Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Fine art and Arthur 1000. Sackler Gallery, 2003, pp. 7–ix, 41, xc–93. http://archive.asia.si.edu/explore/teacherResources/chinapacket/chinacover.pdf

de Bary, West. T., and I. Flower.Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Primeval Time to 1600. Vol 1, p. 17. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Smithsonian Learning Lab—Emergence of Civilisation in China: Oracle Bones https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/emergence-of-civilisation-in-red china-oracle-bones/GK8HqcjPNomKgwJx

Eno, R. "Deities and Ancestors in Early Oracle Inscriptions." InReligions of People's republic of china in Practice, 41–51. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Academy Press, 1996. http://assets.press.princeton.edu/chapters/s5804.pdf

For the classroom

What can oracle basic teach united states about life in the Shang dynasty ?
What are some tools that we apply today to predict the future?
If you could ask an oracle reader a question, what would information technology exist?

Cite this folio as: Dr. Kristen Loring Brennan, Dr. Beth Harris and National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, "Oracle Bone, Shang Dynasty," in Smarthistory, October 8, 2016, accessed June 9, 2022, https://smarthistory.org/oracle-bone/.