Oracle boneOracle bones are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron which were used in pyromancy – a form of divination – during the Late Shang period (c. 1250 – c. 1050 BCE) in ancient China. Scapulimancy is the specific term if ox scapulae were used for the divination, plastromancy if turtle plastrons were used.
Oracle bone scriptVietnamese nameVietnameseGiáp cốt văn chữ giáp cốtHán-Nôm甲骨文 𡨸甲骨?The oracle bone script is the oldest attested form of written Chinese, dating to the late 2nd millennium BC. Inscriptions were made by carving characters into oracle bones, usually either the shoulder bones of oxen or the plastrons of turtles. The writings themselves mainly record the results of official divinations carried out on behalf of the Late Shang royal family.
HenanAbbreviationChinese豫Henan is a province in Central China. Henan is China's third-most populous province and the most populous among inland provinces, with a population of over 99 million as of 2020. The area around Henan was historically known as the Central Plains (Zhongyuan) and is considered the core region of Chinese cultural history.Four of the historical capitals of China, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng and Zhengzhou, are in Henan.
Historical capitals of ChinaThere are traditionally five major historical capitals of China, often addressed using cardinal directions: Xi'an or the "western capital", known as Fenghao during the Western Zhou dynasty, as Chang'an during the Western Han, Western Jin and Tang dynasties, and as Daxing during the Sui dynasty;Luoyang or the "central capital", during the Eastern Zhou and Eastern Han dynasties;Nanjing or the "southern capital", as Jiankang during the Eastern Jin, the four Southern Dynasties and the late Republic of China, and as Yingtian during the early Ming dynasty;Kaifeng or the "eastern capital", during the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song dynasty;Beijing or the "northern capital", during the Ming and Qing dynasties (and the contemporaryPeople's Republic of China), and as Dadu during the Yuan dynasty.There are also many other cities that historically served as capitals of various rump states and minor states, although only the capitals of the uniformdynasties are typically mentioned.
Late ShangThe Late Shang, also known as the Anyang period, is the earliest known literate civilization in China, spanning the reigns of the last nine kings of the Shang dynasty, beginning with Wu Ding in the second half of the 13th century BC and ending with the conquest of the Shang by the Zhou in the mid-11th century BC. The state is known from artifacts recovered from its capital at a site near Anyang now known as Yinxu and other sites across the North China Plain.
AnyangAnyang (simplified Chinese: 安阳; traditional Chinese: 安陽; pinyin: Ānyáng; [án.jǎŋ]) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. The northernmost city in Henan, it borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively.
Chinese languageChinese (spoken: simplified Chinese: 汉语; traditional Chinese: 漢語; pinyin: Hànyǔ, written: 中文; Zhōngwén) is a collection of language varieties containing almost all Sinitic languages except Macro-Bai languages, natively spoken by the Han Chinese and some ethnic minorities in Greater China, as well as by communities of the overseas Chinese.
ShanxiProvince in North ChinaProvince in ChinaShanxi is a province in North China. Its capital and largest city is Taiyuan, and its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. The province's one-character abbreviation is 晋 (Jìn), after the state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period (c. 770 – c. 481 BC).
Shang dynastyAlternative Chinese nameChineseHanyu PinyinYīn
HebeiProvince in North ChinaProvince in ChinaAbbreviationChinese冀Zhili ProvinceTraditional Chinese直隸省Simplified Chinese直隶省Literal meaningDirectly ruledHebei is a province in North China. It is China's sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city.
Written ChineseHan writingSimplified ChineseTraditional ChineseHanyu PinyinHànwénLiteral meaningHan writingWritten Chinese is a writing system that transcribes the varieties of Chinese language using logograms — known as characters — and other symbols such as punctuations. Chinese characters do not directly represent pronunciation, unlike letters in an alphabet or syllabograms in a syllabary.
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It has 194 member states and 12 associate members, as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental and private sector.
World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity".
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