Peking, Jan. 7.
In his pleasant, old-world offices in the former Silk Temple inside the North Lake, Park (Pei Hai) of the former Imperial (City, 'Dr. Li Chi, the director of the -archwoiogical section of the Academia Sinica, was good enough to grant me an inter-¥iew in which he told me all about, the oracle bones and other interest ing finds that he had made' during his diggings in Honan, This excavation work was first tarted in 1928 and has been caried on-during "seven. seasons Changtefu in Honan (Modern nai Anyanghsien.) It is on. the of the ancient capital of the Shang Dynasty, 1dth—12th century B.C. 'Up to the time of Dr. Li Chi's discoveries, the earliest' Chinese records of historical times did not go back beyond the Chou Dynasty, about 500 BIE, so that it will b: realised what an important cent bution these archwological discover to the knowledge of ancient Chinese history.
The most important finds on this have been the so-called "oracle- Cly Bones" which have been found in Jnrge numbers, especially that portion of them "which are inscribed with ancient Chinese script, These oracle-bones are.made mostly, from the shoulder-blades of oxen, though 8 certain number are also of tortoiseil, the inner shell, the so-called sum, being used for this pur-'The method in which these bones were used for divination poses is as follows: Small ca were dug out on one side of the Done (or shell), until only a thin layer was left on the other side. Heat was then applied to the cavity, ize, shape these crucks, which much resemble} those on an egg-shell, the nature of the answer to the enquiry was then deduced. This form of divination is known as scapulomanc} from scapula (shoulder-blade). Sim': Yar oracle-bones have been found in excavations on ancient sites in other parts of the world, and they have also been found in use in recent times amongst some of the nomad teles of Siberi But the most important part of these discoveries of oracle bones which were inscribed ancient Chinese script. For!
bones wore known in' China. ady in 1899, but it was not until the excavations at (Changtefa brought to light a large number of specimens that the writing was gradually deciphered. The script is a purely Chinese script, though jo than that found on the covered, and is, so to say, a direct ancestor of Chinese writing of the ant day. " OF about, 2,000 chai on these oracle-bones about tone half has now been deciphered. The writing on each bone refers to the subject about which an answer I from the oracle was demanded, such as wars, journeys, and above all hunting expeditions. That is to say. if the oracle was favourable, the result was then noted down, as instance in, the case of a hunting expedition, how many boar, deer of, other wild animals had been account ed: for. In some case the name of king is mentioned. 'These inseriptions on the bones were doubtless, made as a kind of historical record, in the nature of a kind of diary' of important events. And the bones thus. inst jete then: deposited the royal archives, with the result that they have been preserved ind: now discovered. It. fact that many' of the characters on these oracle-bones which represent the names of kings of the Shang Dynasty or of places it ven in the ing the geheval -accuracy "of historical" accounts. Tt can th fore be sajd that there now: exist dateable Chinese records going back as far as the 16th century B.C.
other valuable and important finds Anact from the oracle bone, ade on this site of the Such as. <potter¥, bronzes. Also cles that originally came from the sea, pointing to the fact that there must have been communication with the rest of the world and with other forms of civilizati The foundations of buildings have Jalso been laid bare which tend to show that at that period stone or brick was not yet in use, the walls being of stamped mud, of the same type as a large part of the build. ings in Chinese villages at the: present day. A curious point: about lings is that not only are they oriented north and south, but:|are exactly facing towards the mag: Inetic south pole of the present time. JAs, however, the magnetic must have changed since the date [when these buildings were construc Jed, this is probably merely a coin-another site, south of Anyang some tombs have been Unfortunately they fled of most, of their relies, but what has been found dicates that they belong to a much later period, probably the Chow sty (500 B.C.) But the int 1 point about these tombs is} close to them large numbers [showing that the cult of horse sacr'- fice was practiced there which found in other parts of As Dr, Li Chi pointed out, the excavations which he has so far re, so to say, merely the scratching of entirely virgin soil. They form only a kind of troduction to the enormous, weal! lof material that archaeological search work in China may one day hope to bring to light.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.