The oracle bone script we refer to today primarily refers to the Yinxu oracle bones, specifically the characters carved on turtle shells and animal bones by the royal court during the Shang Dynasty for divination and record-keeping. Among all the writing systems discovered in China, oracle bone script is the earliest and possesses a relatively complete system. When discussing oracle bone script, one must mention Wang Yirong, who, as the discoverer of China's oracle bone script, is renowned as the "Father of Chinese Oracle Bone Script."
Wang Yirong was a renowned epigrapher and patriotic figure in modern Chinese history. Born during the late Qing Dynasty, a time of social upheaval, his life was marked by hardship and displacement. In 1900, when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing and Empress Dowager Cixi fled in haste with Emperor Guangxu, Wang Yirong, in utter despair, threw himself into a well and died for his country at the age of fifty-five.
Wang Yirong was born into an official family, and his father was highly esteemed at court. Gifted with natural intelligence and a diligent love for learning, it was said that he could memorize texts after just one reading, and by a young age, he had already thoroughly studied classical literature. At the age of thirty-five, Wang Yirong passed the imperial examination to become a jinshi, and subsequently served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a reader-in-waiting, an instructor at the Hanlin Academy's School for Selected Scholars, and finally as the chancellor of the Imperial Academy. It was during his tenure as chancellor of the Imperial Academy that he discovered oracle bone script.
Wang Yirong's pioneering discovery of oracle bone script was no accident, but rather deeply rooted in his early scholarly accumulation. From a young age, he developed a strong interest in epigraphy, traveling extensively through Shandong, Hebei, Shaanxi, Henan, and Sichuan, collecting various cultural relics along the way. He authored epigraphic works such as "Catalogue of Surviving Han Stone Inscriptions" and "Fushan Epigraphic Records," making significant contributions to the development of Chinese epigraphy. It was precisely this early research in epigraphy that cultivated Wang Yirong's extraordinary sensitivity in artifact authentication.
In 1899, the fifty-four-year-old Wang Yirong fell seriously ill. A physician prescribed him a medicinal formula that included an ingredient called "dragon bones." Curious about what this mysterious substance actually was, his family brought him some of these so-called dragon bones to examine. To his astonishment, Wang Yirong discovered a pattern resembling ancient writing on the bones. Years of experience in studying artifacts led him to sense that this discovery might conceal an enormous secret. Determined to uncover it, he purchased all the dragon bones from the pharmacy. Furthermore, he enlisted the help of his fellow townsman Fan Weiqing to acquire more. In a very short time, Wang Yirong amassed a large collection of dragon bones. He then traced all the strange patterns inscribed on them and began an in-depth investigation.
After some time, Wang Yirong was essentially able to confirm that these patterns were a form of unknown writing, and he even recognized pictographic characters such as rain, sun, moon, and mountain among them. To further prove his theory, he consulted a large number of historical records and ultimately determined that this was a script used during the Yin-Shang period, which is what we now know as oracle bone script.
Before Wang Yirong discovered oracle bone script, farmers in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan, had already unearthed large quantities of oracle bones from their fields. However, since no one understood the true value of these bones, many farmers sold them as a medicinal ingredient to various pharmacies, which then marketed them as "dragon bones." It is said that the name "dragon bones" originated from a farmer named Li Cheng. One time, Li Cheng was covered in sores. Too poor to afford medical treatment, he ground the oracle bones he had dug up into powder and applied it to his sores. Unexpectedly, the bone powder proved remarkably effective in stopping bleeding and healing sores. Overjoyed, Li Cheng named these bones "dragon bones," and this catchy name quickly spread among the people.
After the discovery of oracle bone script carved on dragon bones, Wang Yirong began spending substantial sums to acquire oracle bones. Within less than a year, he had collected approximately 1,500 pieces, which provided him with abundant raw materials for his research into oracle bone script.
In the summer of 1900, after Wang Yirong committed suicide by jumping into a well, most of the oracle bones he had collected were inherited by his friend Liu E. Liu E then gathered thousands more oracle bones and conducted in-depth research on them. In 1903, Liu E published the first catalog of oracle bone inscriptions in history, titled "Tieyun Canggui" (Tortoise Shells Collected by Tieyun). In 1913, the renowned scholar Luo Zhenyu compiled "Yinxu Shuqi" (Writings from the Yin Ruins) based on over two thousand fine oracle bone pieces he had collected, thereby laying a solid foundation for future research on oracle bone inscriptions. In the history of Chinese oracle bone studies, four researchers achieved the highest accomplishments and are collectively known as the "Four Halls of Oracle Bones": Dong Zuobin, Luo Zhenyu, Wang Guowei, and Guo Moruo.
To date, China has discovered approximately 150,000 oracle bones, containing over 4,500 distinct characters. The inscriptions on these oracle bones cover a wide range of topics from the Shang Dynasty, including astronomy, calendars, meteorology, geography, clans, figures, official positions, punishments, warfare, agriculture, animal husbandry, transportation, religion, sacrificial rites, childbirth, diseases, and disasters, providing detailed materials for studying Shang Dynasty history.