Exploratory Period: Collection, Deciphering, and Paleographic Studies of the Inscribed Oracle Bones

Abstract

I have, in the introductory chapter, summarized in a general way the circumstances in which the inscribed oracle bones first caught the attention of learned circles, especially among those who had attained a profound knowledge of paleography. The three scholars whose contributions were fundamental in building up this new branch of learning were, first, Wang I-yung, almost unanimously acknowledged as the man who initially recognized the importance of these newly discovered inscriptions; second, Liu T’ieh-yün, who not only continued the collection work of Wang, but, equally important, was the first man within the narrow pioneering circle who had the courage to lithograph and publish the ink-squeezes of those inscriptions, which spread the knowledge of these ancient and unknown inscriptions to a large group of scholars; and third, the eminent scholar Sun I-jang, whose Ch’i-wen chü-li represents the pioneering effort to make a scholarly inquiry into the structure and meanings of these inscriptions.