Oracle Bone Script

Oracle Bone Script

Oracle bone script, which emerged in the late Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.), is the earliest mature writing system in China. The source of Chinese characters and the foundation of China's excellent traditional culture, it was used for divination to inquire about good and bad luck. Currently, the Yin ruins in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province, is the largest excavation site for oracle bone script. The oracle bone inscriptions unearthed from the Yin ruins provide important evidence of the existence of the Shang Dynasty as recorded in ancient history. This archaeological discovery has significantly extended the recorded history of China, pushing it back by approximately a millennium.

On Nov. 24, 2017, after an evaluation by the International Advisory Committee of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, oracle bone script was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. Today, the study of oracle bone script has developed into a global discipline which is of great importance in promoting human civilization and progress.

甲骨文

甲骨文是商朝晚期出現的中國最早的成熟文字系統，是漢字的源頭和中華優秀傳統文化的根脈， 用以求神問卜，得知吉兇禍福。目前河南安陽小屯村的殷墟遺址是甲骨文最大的發掘地。殷墟出土的甲骨文，證實了古史記載中商王朝的存在，將中國有文字記載的歷史的上限提早了約一千年。

2017年11月24日，甲骨文順利通過聯合國教科文組織世界記憶工程國際咨詢委員會的評審，成功入選世界記憶名錄。如今，甲骨學已成為一門蔚為壯觀的世界性學科，其文字學研究對促進人類文明進步具有重要意義。