An Analysis of the Scraping Practice on the Upper Part of the Tortoise Plastrons of the Shang Dynasty and Its Influence on the Spatial Arrangement in Oracle Bone Calligraphy
An Analysis of the Scraping Practice on the Upper Part of the Tortoise Plastrons of the Shang Dynasty and Its Influence on the Spatial Arrangement in Oracle Bone Calligraphy
Tortoise plastrons are one of the main carriers of oracle bone inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty(ca.1600-1046 BCE).The phenomenon of the scraping of the uppermost part of the plastrons has received little attention in the field of oracle bone studies.The regularity and universality of this scraping indicate that it was intentional.The present paper argues that this scraping practice can be traced back to the abrasion marks on tortoise shells and octagonal star patterns typical of the Neolithic period,and that it could be related,directly or indirectly,to the cosmology expressed by shamanic culture.The characteristics of the tortoise plastrons and the different configurations of the scraping on its upper part objectively influenced the textual layout and the expressive effect of the oracle bone inscriptions.
关键词
甲骨文/龜腹甲/錯磨
Key words
oracle bone inscriptions/tortoise plastron/scraping
维普
万方数据