Oracle Tortoise Shell

Oracle Tortoise Shell

This is a piece of tortoise shell (the tortoise's belly armor) engraved with oracle bones. Oracle bone inscriptions are the earliest ancient characters with a relatively complete system that have been discovered in China. They mainly refer to characters engraved on tortoise shells or animal bones. They prevailed in the late Shang Dynasty (about 14th century BC to 11th century BC). In ancient times, the royal family and nobles of the Shang Dynasty used tortoise shells and ox shoulder blades to make divination, predict good or bad luck or inquire about important matters (such as weather, war, harvest, sacrifice, etc.). During divination, the sorcerer would drill holes in the back of the tortoise's shell, then burn it with fire, judge the good or bad according to the cracks (called "omens") generated on the front, and engrave the divination content or result on the oracle bone.
Oracle bone, oracle bone script, and turtle shell

Oracle bone, oracle bone script, and turtle shell

This turtle shell with inscriptions was found to be two separate pieces and was reconstructed. The content of the inscription records the divination on the day of Xinyou, asking if they could defeat their opponents.
Cultural relic from the late Shang Dynasty, titled 'Turtle Belly Armor with Inscriptions on Zhu Bu'

Cultural relic from the late Shang Dynasty, titled 'Turtle Belly Armor with Inscriptions on Zhu Bu'

This oracle bone belongs to the first Wu Ding divination of the Late Shang Dynasty, which records the divination results of the virtuous man "Wei" on the day of "Bingzi". He used the direct question 'I will receive a good harvest (I will have a good harvest)' and the reverse question 'I will not receive a good harvest (I will not have a good harvest)' to predict whether the crops will have a good harvest this year. The divination inscriptions are usually engraved next to the divination signs, and they usually avoid the divination signs, which is called "avoiding signs"; This edition is inscribed with divination or engraved on divination signs, known as "criminal signs", and currently exists at the Central Institute of Historical Research.