HUMA1020 Chinese Writing and Culture Nov 1, 2019

Midterm on Fri 18 Oct. 2019 期中考試

Average: 93.37/120; MEDIAN: 93.5; STDEV:13.18

If you want to check your midterm, you can come to my office,

Rm3353, during my office hours, i.e., 10:30am-11:50am on
Tuesday and Friday.

An assignment has been distributed in class today. For

some explanation, look at pages 36-37. You can also
download the assignment on CANVAS, i.e., “#03.
Assignment Due Fri 8 Nov Creating characters.pdf” 作業說
明在36-37頁。可在CANVAS上下載，文件名是“03.
Assignment Due Fri 8 Nov Creating characters.pdf”. 作業
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 Part 8. Oracle Bone Inscriptions 甲骨文
1. The two stages of Chinese script development
漢字發展的兩個階段
Chinese script underwent two development stages through history.
1) One stage is the ancient script stage 古文字階段: Shang
dynasty (16th century B.C. - 11th century B.C.) - Qin (221B.C.-
207 B.C.). This period lasted for more than 1,000 years.
2) The other one is the stage of clerical and standard scripts 隷、
楷階段 (隸書、楷書階段): Han (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.) – present.
This period lasted for around 2,000 years.
2. The discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions 甲骨文的發現
3. What is Oracle Bone Inscriptions 甲骨文是怎麽囘事?
4. The content of the Oracle Bone Inscriptions 甲骨文的内容

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4. The content of the Oracle Bone Inscriptions 甲骨文的内容

(1) preface 前辭 recording the date of divination and

name of the diviner 記載占卜的日期以及貞人的名字。

(2) Charging statement 命辭a "charge" asking a

question
記載想要卜問的事情。

(3) The prognostication 占辭 By examining the pattern

of these cracks, the diviners would then make a
judgment.
占卜的人在看了卜兆（龜甲牛骨上的裂紋）之後所作的判斷。

(4) the verification 驗辭, telling what actually happened.

占卜之後紀錄應驗的事實。
3
Now, look at
another bone
inscription, which
is exclusively
about Lady Hao
婦好.

By studying this,
we will
understand what
the content of the
bone inscriptions
is about and what
information a
bone inscription
conveys.甲骨文的
内容
4
Handout
Work on “B”, and try to find those characters in
order. 5
 jiǎ shēn bo ， kè zhēn: fù hǎo
miǎn jiā. wáng zhān yuē: qí wéi
dīng miǎn jiā. qí wéi gēng
miǎn ，yǐn jí. sān xún yǒu yī rì
，jiǎ yín miǎn ，bú jiā. wéi nǚ.
Below is a discussion on some characters appearing in this
paragraph. 6
 This is one understanding.
It is still controversial.
(甲 )

甲 jiǎ ‘armor 鎧甲’

申 shen describe the lightening 閃

電 神 deity. Draw picture of the
lightening, since people believed the
lightening means the god/deity is
angry. We can see the god/deity in the
sky. Here is a loan graph

How to classify it?

Pictorial graph 象物字 7
卜 bǔ, This graph describes the cracks. The meaning is ‘to divine;
to do crack-making’. The meaning of 卜 is not the “name” of the
cracks, and rather, this pictorial graph is used to refer to the
event in which the crack,卜, is typically found. 卜 is a quosi
pictorial graph 象物字式的象事字. 好比我們用 表示‘書寫
(動詞)’，那麼，這個字就不是象物字，而是象物字式的象事字。

鼎(貞) ‘vessel’;
Used as loangraph, meaning ‘ask; test’
貞，即“鼎”，象物字
這裡是假借字，“問、測試”的意思
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婦

婦 fù picture of a woman holding a broom

好 hǎo (female child) means ‘beautiful 美’, adjective

形容詞. This reflects a method to invent characters, 會意
combined meanings. 會意字 syssemantograph. 好 in 婦好
is the name of the lady, a proper noun 專有名詞.

(帚) zhǒu – loan graph for 婦 fù. In Old

Chinese, they are similar in pronunciation.
Thus is Phonogram 形聲字.
can also be understood as 一個
a pictorial syssemantograph 圖形式會意字
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 冥 ming2, dark, dim

10+6=16. Starting from the 16th of a lunar month,

the moon becomes darker and darker.

Here used as loangraph for 娩 mian3

‘give birth to a baby’. 此處用作“娩”
的假借字。 娩, ‘give birth to baby’
10
 (嘉jiā fine, good)   
Phonogram 形聲字 Abbreviated phonetic 省聲

Some scholars read this as 嘉 jiā ‘favoured, fine, excellent’,

referring to a happy event, here meaning give birth to a baby boy.
生男孩兒

王 ‘King’ (it depicts a battle axe

戰斧’
What category should this Found in the
graph be classified to? tomb of Lady
Hao
Quasi-pictorial graph 象物字式的象事字 11
This is a Pictorial Syssemantograph 圖形式會意字

The idea of creating this

character is ‘make prediction
on the basis of the pattern of
the cracks’。

占 = “卜” + “mouth” on the upper side of scapula

在牛肩胛骨正面加上“口”和“卜” . 12
 隹 （惟、維）a bird; loan graph for copular
(繫動詞，e.g.,是inMandarin /係 in Cantonese; is, am,
are, was, were).

Shijing 詩經：嚖 彼 小 星， 維 參Shēn 與 昴Mǎo。

hui4 bi3 xiao2 xing1 wei2 shen1 yu3 mao3
Those small stars are Constellation Shen and Constellation Mao.
那些閃亮的小星星，是參宿 (shēnxiù) 星星和昴宿 (mǎoxiù) 星星

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甲申卜，㱿貞：婦
好娩, 。王占曰：
其隹(惟) 丁娩， 。

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A full bone inscription is composed four parts:

(1) preface 前辭 recording the date of divination and name of

the diviner 記載占卜的日期以及貞人的名字。

(2) Charging statement 命辭a "charge" asking a question

記載想要卜問的事情。

(3) The prognostication 占辭 By examining the pattern of

these cracks, the diviners would then make a judgment.
占卜的人在看了卜兆（龜甲牛骨上的裂紋）之後所作的判斷。

(4) the verification 驗辭, telling what actually happened.

占卜之後紀錄應驗的事實。

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 ① 前辭 preface:

甲 申 卜， 㱿 貞：
Divining on the Jiashen day, Que asked/tested:
The preface usually recorded the ganzhi day on which the divination was
perpormed, the name of the diviner, and rarely, the place of divination.

② 命辭 charging statement
婦 好 娩,
Lady Hao will give birth to a child, and will it be a happy event?

The charging statement (命辭) refers to the topic of the divination

inscription, what they wanted to know, what would happen.
“命辭”： 占卜的主題，想知道什麼事，什麼事將要發生，—— 對這些的陳述
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③ 占辭 the prognostication:

王 占 曰： 其 隹(惟) 丁 娩， 。
The king, having prognosticated the omens, said, “On the
Ding day (she) will give birth to a child. It will be a happy
event.

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③ 占辭 the prognostication:

王 占 曰： 其 隹(惟) 丁 娩， 。
引(弓) yǐngōng draw a bow

引弓 
其 隹 ( 惟 )庚 娩，引 吉。 ‘become big’
引吉：大吉

The king, having prognosticated the omens, said, “On the

Ding day (she) will give birth to a child. It will be a happy
event. On the Geng day (she) will give birth to a child. It will
be hugely auspicious.”
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④ 驗辭 verification

三 旬 有 一 日，甲 寅 娩，不 。隹 女

After thirty-one days, (she) gave birth to a child on the

Jiayin day. It was not a happy event. It was a girl.

The verification refers to the part recording what

actually happened afterwards.

(旬) xun2, ‘ten days’

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Four parts 四個部分： preface前辭、charging statement 命辭、
the prognostication占辭、verification驗辭.
Divining on the Jiashen day,
Que asked/tested: Lady Hao will
give birth to a child, and will it be a
happy event? The king, having
prognosticated the omens, said, “On
the Ding day (she) will give birth to a
child. It will be a happy event. On
the Geng day (she) will give birth to
a child. It will be hugely auspicious.”
After thirty-one days, (she) gave birth to a child on the Jiayin
day. It was not a happy event. It was a girl.
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婦好卜辭

甲申這天占卜，㱿咨詢道：“婦好將要分

娩，那是稱心如意的事情嗎? ” 國王在審視預測

了兆紋之後說道：“丁日分娩，將是美事；庚日

分娩，那將是一樁非常稱心如意的美事。 ” 過了
三十一日，在甲寅這一天，婦好生下孩子。不是
一樁美事。是個女孩兒。
The prediction is correct or wrong?
We will discuss this a bit later. Look at another one first.
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A case in which the King successfully predicted
what happened in the future 商王正確預測例

[戊]子卜，㱿貞：王令 河沈三牛劉五牛。王
占曰：丁其雨。九日，丁酉允雨。
Divining on the (Wu)zi day, Que asked: The king should
order the you-cutting sacrifice to the River God Hé and submerge
three oxen and cut open five oxen. The king, having prognosticated
the omens, said, “On the ding day it will perhaps rain.” After nine
days, on the dingyou day, it indeed rained. [戊]子這天占卜，㱿咨
詢道：“王應該命令以you祭方式祭祀河神，沉三頭牛剖開五頭牛
。”國王在審視預測了兆紋之後說道：“丁日下雨。 ” 九天後，
在丁酉這一天，真的下雨了。

劉五牛， ‘kill five cows’ Xu Shen 許慎 did not include 劉 in his

dictionary Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字 22
 5) Heavenly Stems and the Earthly Branches 天干
地支 and Chinese Sexagenary六十干支表
The Chinese sexagenary cycle (Chinese: 六十花甲;
pinyin: liùshí huājiǎ), also known as Stems-and-Branches
(Chinese: 干支; pinyin: gānzhī), is a cyclic numeral system of
60 combinations of the two basic cycles, the ten Heavenly
Stems (天干; tiāngān) and the twelve Earthly Branches (地支;
dìzhī)

This traditional Chinese calendar system is used as a

means of numbering days and years, not only in China but
also in other East Asian nations like Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam. The Sexagenary system is also important in
Chinese astrology and Chinese fortune telling

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十天干 Ten Heavenly Stems：
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
甲 乙 丙 丁 戊 己 庚 辛 壬 癸
Jia3 Yi3 Bing3 Ding1 Wu4 ji3 Geng1 Xin1 Ren2 Gui3

十二地支 Twelve Earthly Branches：

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
子 丑 寅 卯 辰 巳 午 未 申 酉
Zi3 Chou3 Yin2 Mao3 Chen2 Si4 Wu3 Wei4 Shen1 You3

11 12
戌xu1 亥hai4
Chinese Sexagenary 干支表 gan1 zhi1 biao3 60

In ancient times, people used this Ganzhi

system to designate days and years. 古時候，人們用
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干支系統紀日、紀年。
 Nowadays we used the system to designate
years only現在我們只用它紀年。

https://www.66.hk/calendar/

You need to remember this cycle. 需要記住干支表

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 Nowadays we use the system to designate
years only 現在我們只用它紀年。

You need to remember this cycle. 需要記住干支表

27
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 …
甲 乙 丙 丁 戊 己 庚 辛 壬 癸 甲 乙 丙 丁 ……
子 丑 寅 卯 辰 巳 午 未 申 酉 戌 亥 子 丑 ……

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To know this cycle, we need to have the two lists combined:

Put the following ganzhi names in order

乙未 辛卯 丁酉 庚寅 癸巳 丙申 壬辰 甲午
Yiwei xinwei dingyou gengyin guisi bingshen renchen
jiawu
甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸
子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥
Answer：
庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳 甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉
Do an exercise 做練習

Answer:

Let us look at Lady Hao inscriptions 我們看看婦好卜辭 30

 Divining on the Jiashen day, Que asked/tested: Lady Hao will give
birth to a child, and will it be a happy event? The king, having
prognosticated the omens, said, “On the Ding day (she) will give birth to a
child. It will be a happy event. On the Geng day (she) will give birth to a
child. It will be hugely auspicious.” After 31 days, (she) gave birth to a
child on the Jiayin day. It was not a happy event. It was a girl.
甲申這天占卜，㱿咨詢道：“婦好將要分娩，那是稱心如意的事情嗎? ” 國王在審視
預測了兆紋之後說道：“丁日分娩，將是美事；庚日分娩，那將是一樁非常稱心如意
的美事。 ” 過了三十一日，在甲寅這一天，婦好生下孩子。不是一樁美事。是個女孩。

31
 This divination took place in Jianshen 甲申 day, 31 days earlier
than the date of birth. Based on the life experience, it was expected
that Lady Hao 婦好 would give birth to baby in about one month,
but exact date of birth was not know, and the gender (girl or boy)
was not sure either. After studying the pattern of cracks, the King
predicted it would be a boy if born on a Ding 丁 day or a Geng 庚
day. In fact Lady Hao gave birth to baby on Jiayin 甲寅 day (a Jia
day). Is the King’s prediction correct? We cannot simply say “yes”
or “no”.
大王說：如果婦好在“丁”這一天分娩，那麼將是男孩兒，
如果在“庚”這一天分娩，那麼一定是男孩兒。實際情況是婦好
在“甲”這一天生了個女孩兒。所以，不能簡單地說大王預測錯
了。
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Heavenly Stems and the Earthly Branches 天干地支
and Chinese Sexagenary 六十干支表

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 … 60
甲 乙 丙 丁 …… 癸
甲乙 丙 丁 戊 己 庚 辛 壬 癸
jiǎ yǐ bǐng dīng wù jǐ gēng xīn rén guǐ

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
子 丑 寅 卯 辰 巳 午 未 申 酉 戌 亥 子 丑 …… 亥
zǐ chǒu yín mǎo chén sì wǔ wèi shēn yǒu xū hài
Put ganzhi names in order

乙未 辛卯 丁酉 庚寅 癸巳 丙申 壬辰 甲午
yǐwèi xīnmǎo dīngyǒu gēngyín guǐsì bǐngshēn rénchén jiǎwǔ

乙未 辛卯 丁酉 庚寅 癸巳 丙申 壬辰 甲午
yǐwèi xīnmǎo dīngyǒu gēngyín guǐsì bǐngshēn rénchén jiǎwǔ

Step 1. 甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉
jiǎwǔ yǐwèi bǐngshēn dīngyǒu

Step 2. 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳
gēngyín xīnmǎo rénchén guǐsì
Put 1 and 2 in order.

Step 3. 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳 甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉
gēngyín xīnmǎo rénchén guǐsì jiǎwǔ yǐwèi bǐngshēn dīngyǒu
34
 Put 1 and 2 in order.

Step 3. 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳 甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉
gēngyín xīnmǎo rénchén guǐsì jiǎwǔ yǐwèi bǐngshēn dīngyǒu

Someone probably thinks it this way:

甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳
jiǎwǔ yǐwèi bǐngshēn dīngyǒu gēngyín xīnmǎo rénchén guǐsì

35
 Put 1 and 2 in order.

Step 3. 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳 甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉
gēngyín xīnmǎo rénchén guǐsì jiǎwǔ yǐwèi bǐngshēn dīngyǒu

Some people probably think it this way:

*
甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳
jiǎwǔ yǐwèi bǐngshēn dīngyǒu gēngyín xīnmǎo rénchén
guǐsì

36
 Put 1 and 2 in order.

Step 3. 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳 甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉
gēngyín xīnmǎo rénchén guǐsì jiǎwǔ yǐwèi
bǐngshēn dīngyǒu
Some people probably think it this way:

*
甲午 乙未 丙申 丁酉 庚寅 辛卯 壬辰 癸巳
jiǎwǔ yǐwèi bǐngshēn dīngyǒu gēngyín xīnmǎo rénchén guǐsì

A big gap here

This is not good. 37