The Mystery of Xia Dynasty Writing Archaeology has revealed that the Xia Dynasty may have had a "mature script" heritage
Archaeological evidence suggests that the Xia Dynasty may have had a mature written language, but for historical reasons, it is no longer possible to trace it accurately today.
The Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty in Chinese history, and the period of its existence (c. 2070 BC to c. 1600 BC) left many mysteries, the biggest of which is whether the Xia Dynasty was recorded in writing.
The fog of the history of the Xia Dynasty.
The Xia Dynasty is one of the oldest dynasties in Chinese history, and its historical status is very special. Due to the lack of historical materials of the Xia Dynasty, many records about the Xia Dynasty come from later documents such as "Historical Records" and "Zuo Chuan". As a result, the history of the Xia Dynasty is full of mysteries and unsolved mysteries. Documents about the Xia Dynasty mention some of the Xia Dynasty's classics, sacred texts, and even divination culture. Among them, "Lianshan Yi", one of the three parts of the Book of Changes, is said to be a classic of the Xia Dynasty, which has triggered a debate about whether there was writing in the Xia Dynasty.
Bones of Judgment: The Oldest Script?
The oracle bone script is one of the oldest Chinese scripts, dating back to the Shang Dynasty. Oracle bone inscriptions are mostly engraved on tortoise shells and animal bones, and are used to record divination and sacrificial activities. However, whether the oracle bone script is the oldest script in China and whether its development is related to the Xia Dynasty is a matter of great concern.
According to the logic of the development of writing, there must have been one before the oracle"Preliminary mature text"。Therefore, the Xia Dynasty either had"Early mature writing", or there are like the Shang Dynasty"Mature text"。However, no Xia Dynasty script has been directly found in Xia Dynasty archaeological sites.
Archaeological discoveries of written traces of the Xia Dynasty.
Although no large number of characters have been directly found in the archaeological sites of the Xia Dynasty, the discovery of some individual text symbols or signs, as well as some circumstantial evidence, further complicates the debate over whether there were writing in the Xia Dynasty. Script-like symbols or hieroglyphs have been found on some pottery excavated in Shixian and Taosi areas of Shaanxi Province, and these discoveries have led to in-depth thinking about the existence of writing in the Xia Dynasty.
In the Erlitou cultural site of the Xia Dynasty, some pottery with different symbols was also found, such as sheng, heart, box, box, make and give, etc. The appearance of these symbols is considered to be the prototype of writing. In addition, in 1960, an inscription was found in an ash hole in the late Xia culture of Erlitou"Father"Black pottery spinning wheel with word symbols. This word is the same as in the oracle bone inscription"Father"word or"Strong"The characters are similar, which proves that the people of the Xia Dynasty had begun to use certain patterns and symbols for writing.
The process of word formation.
The question of whether there was writing in the Xia Dynasty is related to the process of the development of writing. The development of writing in ancient societies was usually a gradual process. Ideograms are the earliest forms of writing that use simple symbols to represent things or concepts. With the development of society, people gradually developed morphological writing, which represented different words by combining different symbols. Over time, it developed into a full-fledged writing system.
The cultural characteristics of the Xia Dynasty indicate the high level of civilization at that time. For example, judging from the scale and design of the Erlitou site and the exquisiteness of the excavated cultural relics, the society at that time already had the conditions to use written records for records. The preservation of oracle bone inscriptions mainly uses tortoiseshell and animal bones, and other tools such as bamboo leaves and wooden slabs are easy to deteriorate under the influence of time and are difficult to preserve, and may have been used in the Xia Dynasty. On the other hand, due to historical reasons, there are no definitive discoveries today. So, why didn't the Xia Dynasty leave inscriptions on the bronzes?This may be due to the fact that the technology of Xia Dynasty bronzes was not developed enough at that time, or it may be related to the lack of awareness of people at that time.
Characteristics of Xia Dynasty writing.
If this script had been used in the Xia Dynasty, then it may have developed into one"Mature text", instead of early ideograms. The classics and sacred texts of the Xia Dynasty and the divination culture of the Xia Dynasty required the support of a relatively mature writing system. The Xia dynasty writing, if it exists, may have been relatively well-established in form and structure.
Generally speaking, the question of whether the Xia Dynasty had written languages involves a variety of fields such as history, literature, and archaeology, and it is difficult to reach a conclusion. However, through the corroboration of literary records and archaeological finds, clues can be found that the Xia Dynasty may have used writing. Although no direct Xia Dynasty writing has been found, some sporadic inscriptions or scripts that have been found, as well as ornamentation on pottery, provide some clues as to whether writing was present in the Xia Dynasty.