甲骨文：“刻骨銘心”的中華基因
甲骨文，是刻在龜甲和獸骨上的文字。作為我國迄今可見的最早成體系的文字，甲骨文不僅僅是一個文明的符號、文化的標誌，還印證了包括《史記》在內的一系列文獻的真實，把有文字記載的中華文明史向前推進了近五個世紀。
Oracle bone inscriptions are tortoise shells and animal bones incised with signs recognized as the earliest system of Chinese characters. Not only do they provide a rare glimpse into Chinese civilization, they also corroborated the account ofShijior Records of the Grand Historian, a monumental history of ancient China penned by a Han dynasty official.The oracle inscriptions also provide evidence that civilizations started maintaining written records five centuries earlier than previously believed.
1899年，甲骨文首見天日，而它的歷史可以追溯回3000年前的商朝。當時，甲骨文主要是作為占卜的記錄。中國古代甲骨占卜有著悠久的歷史，帝王和貴族幾乎每事必卜，內容包括祭祀、天象、年成、征伐等，甚至還有商王遊獵、疾病、做夢、生子——這些都被甲骨文記載了下來。
Oracle bones were discovered in 1899 and their earliest use can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty 3,000 years ago, when the main use of the oracles was to record divination and fortune-telling. At the time, the emperors and nobles used divination objects for predicting weather, harvest and deciding the timing of important events such as sacrificial ceremonies or when to launch an assault against the enemy. Oracle characters even carry stories of King of Shang Dynasty, including their hunting incidents, illnesses, dreams and childbirth.
在已知的世界四大古文字體系中，其他三種都沒有得以延續，唯有以殷墟甲骨文為代表的中國古文字體系，一脈相承，綿延發展，成為今天世界上五分之一人口仍在使用的文字，並對中國人的價值認同、思維方式、審美觀念産生了極其重要的影響。
Among the four known ancient font systemsin the world, only one continues — the Chinese font system represented by the oracle bone inscriptions of Yin Ruinsin the ancient Shangdynasty.Modern font system, originating from the ancient oracle bone inscriptions, is still used by one fifth of the world’s population today and is a testimony to aesthetic values and thought process of the Chinese people.
目前，學者編纂的甲骨文字典收字已達4300多個，其中2000多字有人進行過研究，但取得共識的破譯字僅1300個左右，也就是説，還有一大半甲骨文沒有被認出來。中國近年發佈公告，破譯一個甲骨文字，經專家委員會鑒定通過後，將獲得獎勵10萬元。
At present, there are more than 4,300 oracle dictionaries compiled by scholars, of which more than 2,000 words have been studied, but only about 1,300 words have been deciphered by consensus. More than half of the words still need to be deciphered. China has promised a reward of 100,000 yuan to anyone who can decipher an oracle bone script and pass the scrutiny of the expert committee.
曾經，甲骨文的研究者們只能在浩如煙海的資料中埋首。如今，甲骨文的研究工作則可以借助大數據、雲平臺等新技術，使得甲骨文研究進入更全面深入的新階段。甲骨學也不只局限在中國，而是一門世界性學科，2017年，甲骨文入選“世界記憶名錄”，這正是其價值得到世界公認的體現。
Earlier, oracle researchers had to bury their heads in vast amount of data. Today, new technologies such as big data and cloud platform can give a boost to oracle research, helping it enter a more comprehensive and in-depth stage. The study of oracle bone inscriptions is now not only an academic discipline in China but in the whole world.In 2017, oracle also made it to the Memory of the World Register which lists documentary heritage.
習近平曾説：“中國字是中國文化傳承的標誌。殷墟甲骨文距離現在3000多年，3000多年來，漢字結構沒有變，這種傳承是真正的中華基因。”今年是甲骨文發現120週年，關於甲骨文的研究工作還將繼續“有人做、有傳承”，讓文字和歷史都“活”起來。
ChinesePresident Xi Jinping once said: “The Chinese character is the symbol of Chinese cultural heritage. The oracle bone inscriptions of Yin Ruins are more than 3,000 years old. Over 3,000 years, the structure of Chinese characters has not changed. This inheritance is the real Chinese gene passed on from generation to generation.”This year marks the 120th anniversary of the discovery of oracle bone inscriptions. The research work on oracle bone inscriptions will continue so the words ingrained in them and their stories canlive on.
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