Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The question of the reasons for and uses of such peculiar documents
or artifacts takes us directly into recorded Chinese history. The first
Chinese dynasty noted in Chinese records is the Xia, but its existence
has yet to be conclusively corroborated by archaeological evidence.
The Shang is the first dynasty for which there is a massive amount of
corroborating archaeological evidence.
How and why Shang archaeological artifacts first came to light is a
fascinating story. In the late 1800s a Chinese farmer near Anyang (in
northern China) quite accidentally discovered some tightly sealed
earthenware jars buried in his field. Inside these jars were several
carefully preserved bones with recognizably Chinese characters
inscribed on them. Subsequent investigation revealed that these bones
were, in fact, verification of the Shang dynasty. Thousands of them
were eventually unearthed and stored for scholarly investigation.
Further digs in the area uncovered cemeteries and the foundations of
ancient buildings. An entire ancient civilization had been discovered
in northern China, and it was an exciting time.
Scholars who poured over the bones soon discovered that they
could read many of the inscriptions, which seem to have been phrased
in question form and answerable with a simple “yes” or “no.” The
questions often concerned weather prognostications, the reasons for
natural disasters, and queries about the outcomes of upcoming battles.
As scholars began to read these questions they found that they
frequently mentioned supernatural beings. Nature gods, deceased
ancestors, and a sort of head or chief god named “Di” (pronounced
“dee”) often figured into them. In fact, the questions seem to have been
directed to one or more of them. The bones also very often were bored
with small holes that had cracks emanating from them. Just to make
matters more mysterious and compelling, digs in Shang cemeteries
often turned up exquisitely crafted bronze vessels, evidence of a
highly militaristic society, and mass burials of people who suffered
violent and untimely ends.
What did all this mean? Scholars gradually pieced together the
pieces of this mystery until they concluded that the inscribed bones,
sometimes called “oracle bones,” were used in divination, or in posing
questions to supernatural entities and receiving answers to them. The
questions were the inscriptions on the bones, and the answers came
in the form of cracks on the bones. The cracks were created by apply-
ing a red-hot awl or poker in a hole bored into the bone, and the shape
and orientation of the cracks indicated the supernatural order's
answers. Questions were most frequently directed to the ancestors of
the Shang royal clan. The assumption was probably that they were
