Wang Yirong identifies Shang writing on oracle bones from Yinxu

Background. Oracle bones, used for divination during the Late Shang period, were occasionally unearthed by farmers since the Sui and Tang dynasties. In 1899, an antiques dealer from Shandong acquired several bones from locals in the Anyang area. These were subsequently sold to Wang Yirong, a knowledgeable collector of Chinese bronzes and chancellor of the Imperial Academy in Beijing.

Identification. Wang Yirong is credited as the first person in modern times to recognize the oracle bones' markings as ancient Chinese writing. He compared the script to that found on Zhou dynasty bronzes. This identification was crucial for confirming the historicity of the Shang dynasty, which had previously been questioned due to the lack of written records prior to the Zhou period.

Historical Context. The site Yinxu, corresponding to the final capital of the Shang dynasty, was forgotten for millennia. Its rediscovery in 1899 resulted from an investigation into oracle bones being sold nearby. The name 'Yin' was not used in the oracle bones themselves, which referred to the state as Shang and the capital as Great Settlement Shang.