WHAT (oracles bones)?
1. turtle plastrons or cattle scapulas
2. the ventral shells
3. Inscribed with strange characters that resembled written Chinese.
DISCOVERED?
1. Wang Yirong’s family bought turtle plastrons
2. Legend
USED?
1. Used the bones to verify whether or not the event would occur
2. carefully cleaned and treated (both materials provide a flat surface for writing)
3. And thinned by drilling notches into the back.
4. The diviners then applied a hot object until the surface cracked
5. The interpretation of the cracks, a task handled by the king himself,
6. was often carved into the object,
7. Along with the original divination statement.
SIGNIFICANCE?
1. The bones speak of war and harvest, disease and childbirth
2. They are heavy with descriptions of sacrifices, both human and animal.
3. Natural forces are feared and respected.
4. Objects like the oracle bones symbolized China’s survival.
MARKNG SCHEME
What are oracle bones:
1. Turtle shells or large cattle bones
2. Inscribed with ancient Chinese characters
3. Inscriptions are about events of national significance
4. Natural disasters
5. As well as insignificant happenings
How they were discovered:
6. Legend
7. Wang Yirong’s family bought the turtle shells
8. to make medicine
9. Wang Yirong, an archaeologist, was the first to build up a collection of oracle bones
10. Fact: oracle bones were found in Xiaotun
How they were used:
11. Shang fortune tellers foretold predictions about the future
12. Then used the oracle bones to check whether the event would occur
13. The bones were cleaned and thinned
14. Applied a hot object until the surface cracked
15. The cracked shell or bones were presented to the king
16. King’s interpretation of the cracks was engraved onto the shell together with the original prediction
Their significance:
17. First written texts
18. Recorded account of Shang
19. Reference to historical personalities to prove their existence
20. Dispelled some misconceptions of Shang
Labels: ENGLISH PACKAGE TWO SUMMARY: ORACLES BONES (Points only)