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1. Sumerian Civilization (4500 B.C. to 1900 B.C.) · 2. Indus Valley Civilization (3300 B.C. to 1300 B.C.) · 3. Ancient Egypt (3100 B.C. to 30 B.C.).
wrote
In both tranquil and troubled times, Chinese culture flourished. In the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.), Chinese scribes <anchor>wrote</anchor> with characters that resemble those used today, and by around 400 B.C., the ideas of famous figures such as Confucius began blossoming into full-fledged belief systems stressing virtue and filial piety.
Chinese Writing - World History Encyclopedia
# Chinese Writing

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## Contents

## Definition

Emily Mark

published on 07 April 2016

Ancient Chinese Writing evolved from the practice of divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Some theories suggest that images and markings on pottery shards found at Ban Po Village are evidence of an early writing system but this claim has been challenged repeatedly.

Ban Po was occupied c. 4500-3750 BCE and was discovered by workmen digging a foundation for a factory in 1953 CE. Ceramic shards uncovered at the site have been classified into 27 distinct categories of image/sign which suggest to some scholars an early language. The opposing view is that these images are simply marks of ownership, comparable to making an X on a document to sign one's name, and cannot be considered an actual written language. The majority of recent scholarship agrees that writing evolved during the Shang Dynasty and developed from there. Scholar Patricia Buckley Ebrey expresses the consensus on this:

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Once writing was developed by the Chinese it had a significant impact on the culture. Ebrey writes, "In China, as elsewhere, writing once adopted has profound effects on social and cultural processes(26)." The bureaucracy of China came to rely on written records and, culturally, expression of personal thoughts and feelings was made possible through poetry and prose, creating some of the greatest literature in the world.

### Oracle Bones

Oracle bones were the shoulder blades of oxen or the plastrons of turtles, scraped and cleaned, which were inscribed with marks for divination. The ancient Chinese were very concerned with knowing the future and would go to diviners for guidance on making decisions. The diviner (someone who today would be called a 'psychic' or a 'medium') would carve the person's question into the bone and then heat it with a hot poker or place it near a fire. When the bone would crack, the lines formed would be interpreted to answer the person's question.

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An example of this might be whether the king should go hunting on a certain day. The diviner would carve the name of the king asking the question and the date it was asked. They would then carve the topic of the question (Hunting) and the specific question (Should king ___ go hunting tomorrow). The bone would then be heated, crack, and interpreted. Afterward, the prognostication would be inscribed (Yes, the king should go hunting tomorrow) and, later, the verification that the prediction was correct (King went hunting and was successful). Oracle bones were consulted by everyone in the Shang period from the lowest class to the highest.

Oracle bones continued in use through the Zhou Dynasty (1046-226 BCE) when they were replaced by another form of divination known as the I-Ching (The Book of Changes) which relied on a written text of hexagrams to interpret the meaning of a pattern made by the questioner throwing yarrow sticks onto a table. With both oracle bones and the I-Ching, the spirits of one's ancestors were thought to be influencing the divination and communicating directly with the diviner.

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### Evolution of Script

From these early beginnings, Chinese script evolved. These scripts were:

Jiaguwen- the earliest form of writing on Oracle bones used c. 1600-1000 BCE. This script was pictographic, meaning the inscription represented an object linked to a concept. Example: if one wanted to write "Should the king go hunting tomorrow?" one would carve an image of the king with his bow and sunrise.

Dazhuan - known as Greater Seal script, developed c. 1000-700 BCE. This was also a pictographic script but had many more characters and was more refined. The images were inscribed on bronze and probably wood.

Xiaozhuan, known as Lesser Seal script, developed c. 700 BCE & is still in use today.

Xiaozhuan - known as Lesser Seal script, developed c. 700 BCE and is still in use today. This script was less pictographic and more logographic, meaning the symbols represented concepts themselves, not objects. Example: if one now wanted to write "Should the king go hunting tomorrow?" one would inscribe the image for the king and the sign which represented 'hunting' and 'tomorrow'.

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Lishu - known as Clerky Script, was developed c. 500 BCE and used during the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BCE) and Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) extensively. Lishu grew out of the need for complete documentation of government affairs and, as the name indicates, was used by clerks in their work in governmental bureaucracy. Sentences were written on bamboo scrolls tied together with string. When one reads about emperor Shi Huangti (259-210 BCE) of the Qin Dynasty burning books, these are the kinds of books he destroyed. Paper was not invented until the Han Dynasty in 105 CE.

In addition to these scripts there also developed the cursive scripts used in poetry and calligraphy. These are: Kaishu (Standard Script) Xingshu (Running Script), and Caoshu(Grass Script). Caoshu developed during the Qin Dynasty while Kaishu and Xing during the Han period.

### Legacy

As one can see, Chinese writing developed from pictures of objects which represented concepts to signs representing the concepts themselves. This development changed Chinese society and culture dramatically and also affected the way it would develop in the future. Ebrey explains:

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On the positive side, this meant that as Chinese writing became more and more a part of Chinese trade, the culture spread to neighboring regions. As Ebrey notes:

The logographic script made a much more dramatic impression on readers than a phonetic script because people were not just reading words on a page but absorbing concepts directly as they read. On the negative side, the creation of a literate elite meant class divisions where those who could read and write were considered more valuable members of society than those who could not. This class distinction characterized Chinese society and history up until 1949 CE when Mao Tse Tung established the People's Republic of China largely in an effort to remedy social inequality.

Chinese script was adopted by Japan, Korea, Vietnam, became the basis for Khitan Script (Mongolia), Jurchen Script (of the Manchus), and the Yi Script of the indigenous people of Yunnan Province which differs from traditional Chinese script. It further influenced other nations of the region as seen in the Tangut Script of Tibet. Script enabled the Chinese, and then those of other nations, not only to communicate and keep records but also to create some of the most memorable works in world literature.

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Editorial Review
This article has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our editorial policy.

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## Bibliography

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## About the Author

Emily Mark studied history and philosophy at Tianjin University, China and English at SUNY New Paltz, NY. She has published historical essays and poetry. Her travel writing debuts in Timeless Travels Magazine. She graduated from SUNY Delhi in 2018.

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## Cite This Work

#### APA Style

Mark, E. (2016, April 07). Chinese Writing.
World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Chinese_Writing/

#### Chicago Style

Mark, Emily. " Chinese Writing."
World History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 07, 2016.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Chinese_Writing/.

#### MLA Style

Mark, Emily. " Chinese Writing."
World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 07 Apr 2016. Web. 13 Sep 2024.

## License & Copyright

Submitted by Emily Mark, published on 07 April 2016. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

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## Timeline

- c. 1000 BCE - 700 BCE

- c. 700 BCE

- c. 500 BCE

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