An-Introduction-to-the-Oracle-Bones-甲骨文介绍-英语

AnIntroductiontotheOracleBones前言PrefacetoTheWrittenWordinAncientChinaWhentheRoyalOntarioMuseumacquired获得theMenzies人名Collection收藏in1960,afund基金wasestablishedtoenablestudy研究学习andpublication发表ofitsmostsignificantpart,theapproximately4,700inscribedoraclebonescollectedbythelateJamesM.MenzieswhilehewasworkinginChinabeforetheSecondWorldWar.Dr.MenzieistodayacknowledgedinChinaastheonlywesternerwhomadeafundamentalcontributiontotheunderstandingoforaclebonescript,theearliestbodyofChinesewritingtohavesurvived,datingfromthelaterShangdynasy(ca.14th-11thcenturyBC).TheMuseum’soriginalplanwastobringDr.Ch’uWan-li,arenownedscholaroftheChineseclassics,fromAcademicaSinicainTaiwantoundertakethepublicationproject.Unfortunately,Dr.Ch’uexperiencedaperiodofillhealththatmadeoverseastravelimpossible,andaftertakinglocaladvice,herecommendedoneofhisstudents,HsuChin-hsiung,fortheproject.James,ashebecameknowntotheFarEasternDepartment,arrivedinTorontoinDecember,1968tobeginthiswork.OverthenextfewyearshecompletedthepreparationandpublicationoftheMenziesoraclebones.Whenthefirstvolumeappearedin1972,itrevealedamajorcontributiontooracleboneperiodizationthathehaddeveloped,basedonanalysisnotonlyofthescriptbutofthechiselledhollowsthatwerepartofthebones’preparationfordivination.WeintheRoyalOntarioMuseumliketothinkthatitwasatleastpartiallyasaresultofhisworkinginamuseumenvironment,wherehelearnedfromtheobjectsthemselves,thathecametoregardtheimportanceoftheentirebone,notjustitsinscription,asasubjectforstudy....AfterJamesHsureceivedhisPh.D.fromtheUniversityofTorontoin1974,hewascross-appointedtotheDepartmentofEastAsianStudiesattheuniversity,wherehegraduallyassumedmoreteachingresponsibilities.In1979hebeganteaching“TheWrittenWordinAncientChina,”anundergraduatecoursethatbecameextremelypopularandwhichhestillgives.[Heretiredabout1997.]Source:TheinformationherecomesfromthebookwrittenbyamanwhoresearchedtheOracleBonesatUofT/ROMforabout30years.Hsu,JamesC.H.[許進雄](withtheassistanceofJeannieThomasParker),TheWrittenWordinAncientChina,Vol.I&II,HongKong:VincentPrinting,1996.[about$40.00forthesetof2books–usuallyavailableintheROMBookstore]PaleothithicTimes/Period[OldStoneAge,c.100,000to10,000BC]Modernhumanbeings(Homosapiens)appearedinEastAsiaaround100,000yearsago,probablyspreadingfromsomewhereinAfrica.Duringthisperiodofpredatoryhuntersandgatherersthatfollowed,humansbegantospeak.c.600,000BC–LantianinShaanxiProvinceinwesternChinac.500,000BC-PekingMan–foundinlimestonecavesatZhoukoudian,HebeiProvince,nearBeijing__________________________________________________________NeolithicTimes/Period[c.10,000–2,000BC]Around5,000BCinChina,theNeolithicPeriodfellinto2maincultures:theYangshaoandtheLungshan.5,000–3,000BC–Yangshaoculture–redpottery(Henan,Shaaxi,Gansu)Formerlyhunter-gatherertribeswhosettledintovillagesdividedintoareasfordwelling,makingpotterybyfiringclaypiecesinkilns,andburyingthedead.Livedinsemi-subterraneanpoundedearthhouses;domesticatedpigs,dogs,Banpo–5,000–4,000–nearXi’an,ShaanxiProvince4,300–2,000BC–Dawenkouculture-Taian,ShandongProvince-blackpottery3,300–2,250BC–Liangzhuculture–jadecong(tubeswithcylindricalboresandsquaredsides)andbi(discs)foundatSidun,JiangsuProvince2,500–2,000BC–Longshanculture–blackorgreypotterywhichwasformedonapotter’swheel.Thegoodsfoundintheirgravesindicatedadifferentiationamongsocialclasses.(ShandongProvince)inEasternChina.WorkedwithjadelikeLiangzhuculture.Atthistimetherewasapossibleshiftfrommatriarchaltopatriarchalformofsocialorganization.XiaDynasty–21stcentury–16thcenturyBCShangDynasty–1750–1040BCOriginally,theShangpeoplewereanomadictribe.TheShangdynastywasfoundedbyTang(TheVictorious)whooverthrewtheXiakingJie(Chieh,theTyrant).Shang’s1stcapitalcitywasXiboontheLuoRiver,closetotheYellowRiver;2ndcapitalatZhengzhou,southoftheYellowRiverinHenan;lastShangdynastycapitalatAnyang,HenanProvince.Developmentofwritingsystem,anaccuratecalendar,theorganizationoftribesintoasystemofcentralizedruleunderaking;theorganizedworshipofancestors,areligioussystemwithapantheonofgods;elaborateburialsintombsfilledwithgoods,horse-drawnchariotsforwarfare;andcraftssuchasjadecarvingandsilkweaving.OracleBones:Jiaguwen[甲骨文]–“shellandbonewriting”AnimalbonesandtortoiseshellswereusedfordiviningthefutureduringtheShangdynasty[1750-1040BC].Thefarmerscalledthe“dragonbones”.XiaandShangrulerssaughtinformationaboutthefuturefromtheirgodsandancestorsbymeansoforaclebones.Priest-scribesweretrainedtoanalyzethecracksinthebonesandshells.TheChinesewordfordivination,卜bu(orpu),waswrittenbyshowingtwohairlinecracksjoiningtoformanangle.Morethan175,000oracleboneshavebeenexcavatednearAnyang,HenanProvince.Bytheearly1980s,1,300distinctmarkshadbeendiscerned,whichcanbecomparedwithmodernChinesecharacters.Thereare6classificationofChinesecharactersingeneral:thepictograph,theideograph,theassociativecompound,thepicto-phoneticcharacter,themutuallyexplanatorycharacter,andthephoneticloan.Ingeneral,theShangcharacterswillfallinto3categories:pictograph,theideograph,andthephoneticcompound.TheBronzeScript[Jinwen金文]–11thc