The Menzies Collection of Shang Dynasty Oracle Bones, Vol. I. A Catalogue. Compiled by Hsü Chin-hsiung. Toronto, Canada: The Royal Ontario Museum, 1972. 281 pp. Preface, Plates. $15.00 (Canada).

1973 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-313
Author(s):  
Stanley L. Mickel
Keyword(s):  
Shang Dynasty ◽  
Royal Ontario Museum ◽  
Oracle Bones

The myth of the Xia Dynasty

1984 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Allan
Keyword(s):  
Shang Dynasty ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
The West ◽  
Nineteen Thirties ◽  
Chinese Historiography ◽  
Oracle Bones

Was there a Xia Dynasty? By the mid-nineteen thirties, the works of Henri Maspero and other scholars in the West and of Gu Jiegangand his compatriots in China had clearly established the originally mythological character ofthe founder of the Xia Dynasty (traditionally ca. 2200–1760 B.C.) and of the rulers who preceded him in traditional Chinese historiography. The excavations near Anyang of late Shang palaces, tombs and inscribed oracle bones had also established the authenticity of the Shang Dynasty which followed the Xia, or at least of the latter part of it. In 1936, Chen Mengjiapublished an article in which he related the Xia king list to the Shang and argued that the two periods were the same. For the next forty years, the question of the authenticity of the Xia was left largely in abeyance although most scholars did continue to assume that the Xia Dynasty, which was hereditary like the Shang, would some day be authenticated by archaeological excavation.

scholarly journals RADIOCARBON DATING OF ORACLE BONES OF LATE SHANG PERIOD IN ANCIENT CHINA

Radiocarbon ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kexin Liu ◽  
Xiaohong Wu ◽  
Zhiyu Guo ◽  
Sixun Yuan ◽  
Xingfang Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Writing System ◽  
Shang Dynasty ◽  
Ancient China ◽  
Sequential Samples ◽  
Oracle Bones

ABSTRACT Oracle bone script developed into a sophisticated writing system in Shang Dynasty of China more than 3000 years ago. The systematic scientific dating of oracle bones had not been previously reported. Here we present radiocarbon (14C) dates measured from the sequential samples of oracle bones that pertain to the Shang kings. The results indicate that King Wu Ding (who is called Wu Ting in some literature) reigned during 1254 BC to 1197 BC, and the Shang Dynasty terminated around 1041 BC. It also points that the Li group in the sequence of oracle bones is most probably related to the time of King Wu Ding and Zu Geng.

scholarly journals Removal of Contaminants from Oracle Bones During Sample Pretreatment

Radiocarbon ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sixun Yuan ◽  
Xiaohong Wu ◽  
Kexin Liu ◽  
Zhiyu Guo ◽  
Xiaolin Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Solvents ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Sample Pretreatment ◽  
Shang Dynasty ◽  
Royal Family ◽  
Purification Method ◽  
Chemical Reagents ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Removal Of Contaminants ◽  
Oracle Bones

Animal bones and tortoise shells were used for divination by the Chinese royal family during the Shang Dynasty (∼16th–11th century BC), and the divination results were recorded as inscriptions on oracle bones and shells, which are very valuable cultural remains and record many important events in the Shang Dynasty period. Thus, radiocarbon dating of oracle bones was used to build a precise chronology of the late Shang Dynasty. Due to their original burial conditions and the fact that in subsequent decades the pieces were traded or archived in museums, oracle bones are expected to be contaminated with exogenous materials from the environment and the conservation process. During dating, we found that some samples were contaminated by conservation chemical reagents. The contaminated samples were purified by removing exogenous chemicals with a series of organic solvents, in a method modified from Bruhn et al. (2001). Both whole bone and gelatin samples were processed with this purification method, resulting in satisfactory improvements in dating results.

scholarly journals A Study on Chinese Shape Taking Methods Reflected on the Character Making Process: Focusing on Major Nature Gods

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Changjoon YOON
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Character ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Chinese Characters ◽  
Shang Dynasty ◽  
Way Of Thinking ◽  
Oracle Bones

'Letters record a language' means that letters, in specific forms, represent particular meaning and sounds differentiated from others. Because one language reflects its people's way of thinking, letters also include those thinking as a sign of that language. Especially from the very beginning, Chinese characters were devised to take the shapes that represent meaning of languages rather than the signals that indicate pronunciation, therefore the shapes of Chinese characters, especially that of the ancient pictographs, can be treated directly as very precious historical data, also can be said exactly reflect social aspects of the times.But in some cases, meaning of language did not have specific shapes that represent exact meaning, so people in Shang Dynasty have to develop the system of taking shapes that represent abstract meaning.To search for this, this research made consideration on the taking shapes system of Chinese character based on the findings through the analysis of oracle-bones letters and oracle-bone inscriptions regarding The God of Nature, especially The God of dragon, wind, rainbow, sun.

scholarly journals 14. The Yi-Kua in the Shang Dynasty and Various Problems Pertaining to Divination

Early China ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 9 (S1) ◽  
pp. 32-33
Author(s):  
Jao Tsung-Yi
Keyword(s):  
Shang Dynasty ◽  
Oracle Bones ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
The Way

ABSTRACTThe method of divining by yarrow stalk in accordance with the scheme of 64 hexagrams did exist in the Yin Dynasty. Numerical strings of three and six lines on oracle bones recently unearthed provide the new evidence for the above statement and many scholars have discussed it. My paper contributes the following new points:(1) Comparing the 64 hexagram names in the Ma-wang-tui manuscript with those appearing in the so called Kuei-tsang () recorded by later scholars, we find some similarity on both sides. This indicates that the Kuei-tsang is not a legendary matter.(2) Some Hsin-tien period wares found in Kansu also show the numerical marks such as . This also suggests that such trigram images had been used by still earlier people.(3) The graph for nine “” was found on one oracle bone from Ch'i-chia . It shows that the Western Chou people had advanced the way of divining and thus the emphasis on Yin of the Yin people had been developed into the emphasis on Yang .(4) I try to interpret, with reference to the sentences of Chou-yi, the divining hexagrams which appear on the bamboo strips found in T'ien-hsing-kuan , Chiang-ling . As the symbol of was still employed by the Ch'u people, it seems that they were following the way of the Yin people in the emphasis on Yin.

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