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Qingdun Elk Horn Carving is the most mysterious cultural relic unearthed at Qingdun site, which attracts the exploration of archaeologists and embodies the wisdom of Qingdun ancestors. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the site discovery and excavation, people failed to find the carved patterns in time and then read them carefully, resulting in the loss of many carved elk bones. However, even if some specimens engraved with elk bone horns were identified through sporadic collections, it was enough to excite archaeologists, ancient philologists and Yi-ology scholars, who devoted a lot of time and energy to in-depth analysis and research, and then achieved brilliant research results. ...
Oracle inscriptions in Yin Ruins predate Oracle Bone Inscriptions by more than 2,000 years.
1899 (25th year of Guangxu reign of Qing dynasty), the discovery of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin Ruins in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province shocked China and the world.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin Ruins was written on tortoise shell by the ancients in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, also known as "Wen Qi", "Oracle Bone Inscriptions" and "tortoise shell".
Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a traditional Chinese medicine. Oracle Bone Inscriptions in ancient times was often used as a medical guide. However, in 1899, a drug dealer found a carved symbol on the tortoise shell, so he explored the origin of the tortoise shell and learned that this piece of Oracle Bone Inscriptions came from Yin Ruins in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province, and was finally confirmed by experts and scholars as the oldest writing in China-Oracle Bone Inscriptions. 1904 Sun Yirang wrote "Examples of Wen Qi" for textual research and interpretation; 1928, the archaeological department excavated Yin Ruins again, and unearthed more than 65438+ 10,000 pieces of Oracle bones. After reading by experts, more than 4500 words (1700) were identified, and it was confirmed that tortoise shell bones were used to predict good or bad luck in Shang Dynasty, which was written as Oracle Bone Inscriptions's notes related to divination. The writing time is from Pan Geng to Yi. Some scholars say that Oracle Bone Inscriptions's writing structure has not only changed from single to combined, but also has a large number of pictophonetic characters, which is quite progressive writing; However, the strokes and parts of Oracle Bone Inscriptions's multi-character have not been finalized. At that time, many scholars believed that among the recognizable Chinese characters, Oracle Bone Inscriptions was the oldest writing system in China.
However, this understanding was broken after the excavation of Qingdun Site, especially after the archaeological magazine published 1983 "Archaeological Excavation Report of Qingdun Site in Hai 'an, Jiangsu Province". It is found that China has written earlier than Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin Ruins, more than two thousand years earlier!
Mr. Zhang, a professor at the Institute of History of China Academy of Social Sciences and an expert in China Yi Studies, was the first to confirm that the carved horn of Qingdun Elk was a number. In his article "A Trial Interpretation of the Yi Gua in Jinwen at the Beginning of Zhou Dynasty", he commented on the carved patterns on the elk horn unearthed in Qingdun, and thought that "the symbols on the unearthed objects in Qingdun are numbers". Then, Professor Ji Geng from the Institute of Technology of Hainan University and Sun Zhensheng, an expert in Yi Studies, also agreed that these "odd numbers are divination numbers" and "digital records of primitive divination". "Their age is about 4000 BC to 3500 BC. Judging from the divination figures used, it may belong to the early form in the history of divination development. Mr. Zheng Wangeng, Mr. Wei Chi Taiping, Mr. Luo Jianzhong, Mr. Lou Yulie, Mr. Qi and others also agree that such inscriptions are numbers. Since it is a number, it should be the earliest writing in China.
Professor Qian Jian of Nantong University made a detailed study of nearly 20 kinds of more than 80 carved works unearthed at Qingdun site in the article "Confirmation of the characters carved with antlers on Qingdun and Discussion on the site status", and pointed out: "Although the strokes carved with antlers on Qingdun are straight, there is no arc, and there is no complicated hieroglyphics of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in later generations, they belong to the same system. It's just that the engraved patterns on Qingdun are more primitive than those on Oracle Bone Inscriptions. " It is considered that "many engraved lines on the green pier can be found in the same font in Oracle Bone Inscriptions". At the same time, Professor Qian also pointed out in this article that "Qingdun characters are probably not only digital characters, but also other meaning". He compared and analyzed the pottery carvings unearthed in Erlitou, Henan, Longqiuzhuang, Gaoyou, Shandong and Dawenkou with the tortoise shells and pottery carvings unearthed in Wuyang, Henan and Bengbu, Anhui, and concluded: "All known symbols born before the carving of Qingdun are generally portrayed on pottery or other objects in isolation, not written together. Only the study of Dunhuang in the Qing Dynasty, which came out in 2000 before the Oracle bone inscriptions appeared, is not only the earliest known original in China, but also can be partially interpreted. "
Obviously, in Professor Qian's view, "the words carved on the antlers of Qingdun are earlier than any known Chinese characters". This analysis and judgment undoubtedly raised the literal value of carved antlers unearthed from Qingdun site to an unprecedented height. Combined with the legend of Cang Xie's writing style (Cangjie Tomb is located in Cang Xie Mountain in Yangzhou), it seems that people can discuss the origin of China's writing.
Mysterious engraving leading to the conjecture of easy-to-print initial symbols
In the history of China, I'm afraid no book can better describe the laws of movement and change of all things in the universe than Zhouyi, and even have a far-reaching impact on later generations.
Zhouyi is a practical work of China's classical philosophy more than 3000 years ago, which represents China's ancient philosophical thought and is the earliest source of China's dialectical materialism and historical materialism. The most striking feature of Zhouyi is its practicality. It expounds all aspects of the universe, natural phenomena and social life from a philosophical point of view, points out the laws of the movement and change of things, and is full of simple materialist dialectics. Therefore, in the feudal era of thousands of years, it was highly respected, regarded as an eternal classic and listed as the first of the Five Classics. However, many epigrams that inspire people to work hard and are full of philosophy still have strong vitality, such as: "Heaven is healthy, and gentlemen are constantly striving for self-improvement"; "Heaven is humble, and Gan Kun is determined"; "Those who falsely accuse the good will swim, and those who are caught off guard will bend their words", which is so concise and wise.
As for divination in Zhouyi, it is a way for the ancients to explain the general laws of things and guide real life. Divination is not the purpose of divination, but the guiding ideology to let people know the development law of things, solve things, and remind people what to do and what not to do from both positive and negative aspects ... So, in this sense, divination is a form created by the ancient people of China who combined specific things to analyze and judge the development and change law of things, and cannot be regarded as divination.
It should be pointed out that Wang Wen's interpretation of Zhouyi is based on Fuxi's creation of gossip. Fuxi's creation of gossip was formed by drawing lessons from the divination method of tribal alliance in ancient times. Fuxi wrote eight diagrams with a long horizontal "-"for Yang and two short horizontal "-"for Yin, and then changed alternately to get: What? , two against? , three far away? Four earthquakes? Five? , six columns? , seven creations? , eight Kun? . Strangely, these symbols of Fuxi Eight Diagrams actually appear in the original form in the carved patterns of elk horn unearthed from Qingdun site, which makes people feel extremely surprised. Fuxi's gossip and Fuxi recorded in ancient books have been confirmed one by one in the East. Of course, some symbols engraved with Yi Gua have been tested by archaeologists such as Guo Moruo and Tang Lan, as well as some Yi-ology experts on bronze inscriptions in Zhouyi and the early Zhou Dynasty. For example, the four numbers 6, 8, 9 and 7 in Zhouyi determine the balance of Yin and Yang, and there are 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 in bronze inscriptions. However, from the time point of view, the Oracle inscriptions on the Eight Yi in Qingdun Mujiao are more than 2,000 years earlier than the Oracle inscriptions on Zhouyi and bronzes in the early Zhou Dynasty, and the number of words used in the Oracle inscriptions is two, three and four more, which surprised Mr. Zhang from the Institute of History of China Academy of Social Sciences. He quickly added in the article "A Trial Interpretation of Yi Gua in the Early Zhou Dynasty": "1979 When the Qingdun site in Hai 'an County, Jiangsu Province was excavated, there were 35,364 (lower root, upper stem, upper escape) and 62,3531(lower cross, upper shock, upper return to sister) on the four branches of the bone horn. The numbers used in it are two, three and four, which are not found in the 32 archaeological materials mentioned above, indicating its originality. This is the Neolithic culture in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. No matter what its absolute age is, it should be formed in the early stage of the development history of Yi Gua, so as to discuss the origin and position of Yi Gua. "
In this discussion, Mr. Zhang clearly affirmed that the inscriptions on the bone horns of Qingdun Elk are Yi Gua inscriptions, and pointed out that the numerals of two, three and four are "primitive", and further thought that these Yi Gua inscriptions "should have been formed in the early history of Yi Gua development, so we can discuss the origin and position of Yi Gua".
A stone stirs up a thousand waves. Professor Zhang's textual research has aroused great repercussions in the field of Yi studies in China, and was quickly recognized by many Yi scholars. Therefore, the original symbol of Yi Gua was first found in the carved antlers unearthed at Qingdun site, which formed a * * * knowledge in China Yi School. This is the most important academic achievement in the study of the Book of Changes in China in recent decades.
A notch showing the large-scale production activities of ancestors in eastern Jianghuai
The textual research on the carved patterns on the horns of Qingdun Elk has attracted the attention of many archaeologists, Yi-ology scholars and ancient philologists. After studying more than 80 kinds of carving patterns in different degrees (many of which are still lost), they confirmed the original symbols of Yi Gua, and confirmed that many carving patterns are the oldest Chinese characters-numbers. Through these Yi Bu prints and figures, as well as other cultural relics unearthed from the Qingdun site, people have reason to believe that there were large-scale production and living activities of ancient humans in the eastern part of the ancient Jianghuai area.
First of all, printmaking is the product of ancient people's notes and memories. The ancients encountered many things to remember in their production and life activities. Such as fishing, hunting, collecting and pottery making. At first, they may "tie a knot to record", but the knot is monotonous, limited in meaning and difficult to read. Moreover, the climate in the east of Jianghuai is humid, and the rope will rot after a long time. So they found a way to carve with leftover animal bones and horns, and invented the symbol * * * in the process of carving, carved notes, and then read and remember. This way is convenient for collection and circulation. However, the formation and development of these initial civilizations can only be realized through the activities of big tribes and the existence of a preliminary division of labor between production and life.
Secondly, engraving is the product of ancient counting and distribution. A large number of production and living activities, especially the statistical distribution of the labor results of tribal members, and trade activities with other tribes (it has been studied that the ancients in Qingdun used pig ivory as currency) must be counted, and to calculate the quantity, they must have chips. It is a great progress for the ancients to count from the fingers to the lettering. Many carvings carved on the horns and hairpins of elk left by the ancients in Qingdun reflect this wisdom. Some scholars clearly pointed out when studying and analyzing the cone-point pattern on the bone angle of Qingdun elk: "In order to record the results of hunting and shooting, the best way is to make a cone-point pattern first, and then make statistical distribution. Due to the limitation of the ancient people's counting ability at that time, it was more clear to use the number of cone points to represent the number of prey, and then make a fair and reasonable distribution. ④"
Moreover, lettering is the product of ancient divination and sacrifice. Faced with the myriad changes in nature, sudden disasters and life experiences, the ancients had many incomprehensible things, so they made divination sacrifices to predict the laws of development and change of things. At first, they climbed a straw stick to calculate divination, calling it "grass". Later, they developed to drill holes in animal bones and tortoise shells for divination, and then carved a few lines to form a certain divination. Mr. Xu Dongchang thinks that the carvings on the two carved elk horns in Nantong Museum are divination paintings of the ancestors of Qingdun. Some people think that this "digital divination method" is similar to the "Lei Fu Zi" divination method that the Yi people in Liangshan, Sichuan are still divining. However, he believes that "the concept of' Lei Fuzi' divination is only odd and even, and it seems that divination painting has not yet been formed, while the carved antlers unearthed in Qingdun have already formed divination painting". At this point, we can see that as early as five or six thousand years ago, the ancients in Qingdun formed divination and sacrifice to predict the future and good or bad luck through engraving, which is very remarkable.
To be sure, in a regional scope, this product of high wisdom can only be formed when ancient humans had large-scale production and life activities and developed to a certain stage.
Vivid symbols reflecting the primitive aesthetic level of Dongyi people
The carved pattern (see picture) on the elk horn unearthed at Qingdun Site (T 15: 4 1) has been recognized as a divinatory picture by many Yi scholars and archaeologists. This six-awn painting is carved on the hard elk horn with sharp objects. As we all know, five or six thousand years ago, the ancients didn't have copper and iron knives, so it's always a mystery what this exquisite painting of six hexagrams was carved with.
Aside from carving tools, why do Taoist priests arrange their slender, regular and beautiful figures so neatly? Frankly speaking, the author has tried many times to draw the engraving on this elk horn branch with a ruler on white paper, but no matter how carefully he looks at it, the hexagrams drawn are not as symmetrical and exquisite as the patterns on the elk horn branch. Some people may say that you are clumsy and can't take pictures well. But I must tell you that I have some artistic skills. I have sketched, sketched, sketched, and published works, and I am not clumsy. Instead, the six paintings are finely carved, parallel and staggered, and even symmetrical in two oblique positions. It won't look good if it's a little off. Therefore, the author has reason to marvel that it is not easy for the ancients in Qingdun to carve oblique and symmetrical hexagrams on the elk horn-this is groundbreaking, not painted as it is, but carved. ...
Mr. Huang Jinglve, former deputy director of National Cultural Heritage Administration and a member of the the State Council expert group, once said at the forum "Origin of Jianghai Civilization-Qingdun Site": "Dongyi people are smart, brave and tenacious, and can fight. The battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou recorded in ancient books has been played many times, but it is impossible to win ... "
A clever, brave and tenacious tribe can create miracles.
Let's take a look at the rock paintings of Lianyungang General Cliff left by Dongyi people (see photo? )。 Experts and scholars have identified that this is a rock painting with ancient agricultural civilization carved on rocks by the ancients of Dongyi tribe more than 5,000 years ago. Its meaning is the same as that of the hexagrams in Qingdun site, so it is called "Tianshu" (Lianyungang municipal government offered a reward of one million to invite experts and scholars to decipher this "Tianshu"). These two "heavenly books" both describe the aesthetic concepts of ancient Dongyi people in the form of "paintings". Their unique ideas, exquisite brushstrokes and simple and exquisite patterns are really amazing.
Some scholars have pointed out that Lianyungang is adjacent to the eastern part of Jianghuai and has a long coastline. Also facing the temptation of the sea, every day to meet the rising sun, and the linear distance between the two places is only more than 200 kilometers. In ancient times, the ancients chased prey or migrated for only a few days. Could these two "gobbledygook" be written by the same tribe? Whether it is the same tribe or not, Fuxi is in the East and Shao Hao is in the East. The migration life of ancient Dongyi people was divided and combined. Many times, especially the Dongyi tribe is a "whole" when fighting the Yellow Emperor. They compete with the Central Plains Tribal Alliance for the same interests. In this sense, Qingdun Gua Painting and Lianyungang Jiangjun Cliff Rock Painting may be a big tribe.
Note: ① See Qingdun Culture, Jilin People's Publishing House, 2nd Edition, 143, February 2004.
④ See Qingdun Culture, Jilin People's Publishing House, 2nd Edition, 134- 135, June 2004. ?