c. 1250 – 1050 BCE · Late Shang Dynasty, Anyang, China
Chinese Oracle Bone Script
The first cracks of Chinese writing
Jiǎgǔwén (甲骨文) — characters carved into ox scapulae and turtle plastrons, then heated until they cracked. The cracks were read as divine answers from the ancestors.
Table of Contents
Begin reading →- 01Oracle Bone Script — Asking the Ancestors3mKeeper's
- 02The Hundred Most Common Signs — A Reading Reference4mKeeper's
- 03From Bone to Brush — How Chinese Writing Evolved5mKeeper's
Primary — authentic public-domain translation · Keeper's — interpretive synthesis authored for this app
The Cracking Ritual
A diviner would bore pits into bone or shell, apply heat, and read the resulting cracks (卜 bǔ — onomatopoeic for the cracking sound). The question and answer were then carved beside the cracks.
Anyang Discovery
Rediscovered in 1899 when scholars noticed pharmacy 'dragon bones' bore script. Excavations at Anyang (the Shang capital Yin) yielded over 200,000 fragments.
Ancestor Worship
Most divinations queried the royal ancestors — about harvests, hunts, military campaigns, dreams, illness, and the favor of Shàngdì (上帝), the High God.
Alphabet · Glyphs
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