Practical Oracle Dictionary of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen

MA Tianlin (PhD)

Preface

Chinese Oracle (Jia-Gu-Wen) is one of the oldest word characters and the most perfect hieroglyphs saved in the world dating back 3,500 years of history. It has been long-term preserved, because our ancestors in SHANG dynasty carved the information of their social lives on the tortoise shells and animal bones with the Chinese earliest ideographic writing.

Since Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified Chinese word-characters, and later on, papers and pens together with the writing methods were invented and updated, the earliest oracle of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen has been steadily forgotten by society.

Until the twenty-fifth years (1899) of Guang-Xu, the emperor of Qing dynasty, Mr. Wang Yi-Rong occasionally discovered the Chinese oracles carved on the tortoise shells as the Chinese traditional medicine, which introduced a great period for Chinese and foreign archaeological researchers to study Chinese Oracle (Jia-Gu-Wen).

In 1928, Chinese archaeologists began to conduct a large-scale field archaeological excavation at the ruins of Shang Dynesty in An-Yang county of He-Nan Province. Since then, many significant achievements for the studying of Chinese Oracle have been made, and a series of great publications have been come out, such as «The Collection of Jia-Gu-Wen» written by Mr. Sun Hai-bo (孫海波《甲骨文编》), «The Continuous Collection of Jia-Gu-Wen» written by Mr. Jin Xiang-heng (金祥恒《续甲骨文编》), the «Translation of the Characters in Collection of Jia-Gu-Wen» written by Mr. Li Xiao-ding (李孝定《甲骨文字集译》), the «Greater Collection of Jia-Gu-Wen» by Mr. Guo Mo-ruo (郭沫若) and Mr. Hu Hou-xuan (胡厚宣《甲骨文合集》), the «Dictionary of Jia-Gu-Wen» compiled by Mr. Xu Zhong-shu (徐中舒《甲骨文字典》), the  «Newly Compiled Dictionary of Jia-Gu-Wen» compiled by Mr. Liu Xing-long (刘兴隆《新编甲骨文字典》), «The New Collection of Jia-Gu-Wen» written by Mr. Liu Zhao (刘钊《新甲骨文编》).

So far, the «Dictionary of Jia-Gu-Wen» edited by Mr. Xu Zhongshu contains various kinds of the previous results of the typical Oracle studying. It copies about 4,500 original characters of Jia-Gu-Wen, and identifies about 1450 characters of Jia-Gu-Wen for their interpretation, and thus builds a milestone for understanding Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen in past tens of decades, and provides a useful and valuable key for further profound studying towards Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen.

Obviously, it is really difficult to depend on such poor 1450 characters of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen to recognize and express the current rich Chinese text. This is the main reason why there are so few of the calligraphy and painting artists to engage in the artworks with Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen.

However, the characters of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen are right the root of the Chinese text. Logically, we can still find, more or less, some relevant information between modern Chinese and ancient Chinese oracle. Of course the real work is rather difficult indeed.

In an effort to promote Chinese culture and language which leads to the root symbol of the Chinese nation, we have gotten plenty of wisdom from God, and concentrated our minds to compile this newly edited book, «Practical Oracle Dictionary of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen» in past 10 more years.écouter

The edition methodology of compiling this «Practical Oracle Dictionary of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen» can be found in the following flow chart.

The editorial objectives of «Practical Oracle Dictionary of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen»:

1. To study and check the rationality and integrity of the results for all characters of Jia-Gu-Wen, which Mr. Xu Zhong-shu concluded in his «Dictionary of Jia-Gu-Wen». To inspect and explore the rest characters of found Oracles profoundly, which have no resolution. Try to find the clues and reasonable solution for those existing unknown characters of Jia-Gu-Wen.

2. To compile a practical dictionary that can explain oracle characters widely reasonably and regularly, and that can also guide artists to create oracle artworks. It is our essential aim to establish an initial Chinese Oracle database.

The characteristics of compiling «Practical Oracle Dictionary of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen»:

1. Using a computer-readable and acceptable Chinese word that is suitable and popular for young people to compile «Practical Oracle Dictionary”, and to improve the old writing that is out of date for reading by modern people actually in the «Dictionary of Jia-Gu-Wen» edited by Mr. Xu Zhong-shu. Oracle characters are edited in accordance rule of the English alphabet order.
2. All of the Oracle characters are copied in original extension, black background and white imagines, not only clearly but also visibly. We have collected various kinds of original Oracle characters for the same word, in order to promote and encourage the artists to learn and to create artworks as well as make great fun.

3. To explore a set of basic Oracle character-word roots, which are the basic structure parts of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen, and which reflect the significance of Oracle scientifically and regularly. Each word in this Oracle Dictionary has its origination source, which will be detailed further in additional publications.

So far, almost all Jia-Gu-Wen study and work concluded by famous archaeologists and Jia-Gu-Wen research experts are doubtlessly based on the speculation of unearthed Jia-Gu-Wen word evidence and comparing the association together with those to the later credible words. Although we can hardly get and determine the real origin ideas of our ancestors from their leaving writing three thousand years ago 100%, yet we believe people, now and then, should have very similar logic thinking towards living social environment. Based on the continuity of Chinese culture development, we can believe it should be the right way to study Jia-Gu-Wen by deducing previous culture from following culture. Because of this point of view, the accordance of this compiled oracle dictionary is logically dependent on various kinds of the previous oracle research results, Chinese folk legend, and the famous classic book «Word Explanation»  («说文解字»).écouter

Oracle word was evolved from earlier totem, so the ideograph of Jia-Gu-Wen has its remarkable feature. Therefore we compiled this dictionary, firstly focusing on the ideograph of Jia-Gu-Wen, then considering the configuration elements of the words, and then trying to seek the structure association between oracle word and later traditional Chinese characters, in order to interpret the understanding oracle words more reasonably.

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Dictionnaire

We have cited and interpreted totally about 2513 Oracle characters (including currently interpreted 1535 Oracle characters), and developing into about 4803 modern Chinese characters in this dictionary with plenty of reasons. This greatly improved the limit of understood oracles, about 1450 words, which previous oracle experts concluded. Doubtlessly, this strongly promotes the vitality of further Jia-Gu-Wen research work, and makes this research more popular gradually into common people to enhance its applicative value.

We earnestly hope Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen, the earliest left word ofChina, will be understood and applied by more and more people. Wish all the people originated from Chinese culture will live in a more friendly and peaceful life with common prosperity.

Throughout the whole compiling process, our supreme lovely God has kindly given us unparalleled wisdom and light. Without this special gift from God, we could hardly step forward even one inch of progress. So, just before we complete this exploring task for original Chinese root-culture, we have to praise the God automatically and enthusiastically from our deep hearts: All glory belong to God!

                                        Tianlin MA,   PhD

                                  Chief Editor of "Practical Oracle Dictionary of Chinese Jia-Gu-Wen"

                                                                                                                           August 8, 2017

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