1. Chinese characters in the true sense of the word (i.e. the earliest oracle bone inscriptions) originated in the Yin and Shang Dynasties in the 14th century BC.
2. The origin of Chinese characters
As for the origin of Chinese characters, there are various theories in ancient Chinese literature, such as "knots", "gossip", "pictures" and "scripts" etc. Ancient books also generally record the legend of the creation of Chinese characters by Cangjie, the historian of the Yellow Emperor.
According to the opinions of Chinese paleontologists, oracle bone inscriptions are "the earliest and relatively complete writing that can be seen so far." It is already quite complex, with more than 3,000 words found. "Oracle bone script" is considered to be the first form of "Chinese characters", and to this day, various fonts have been born.
3. Introduction to oracle bone inscriptions
Oracle bone inscriptions are written or carved in the late Shang Dynasty. The text left on tortoise shells and animal bones is mostly "divine inscriptions". There are also a few that are "notes of events". Most of the oracle bone inscriptions conform to the principles of pictographic and knowing characters, with only 20 picophonetic characters. Some of the characters are carved with knives, some are filled with cinnabar, and some are written directly with vermilion and ink.
Because the characters are mostly evolved from pictorial characters, they are highly pictographic, have multiple characters in one character, and have variable strokes. This shows that Chinese characters were not yet unified during the Yin and Shang Dynasties.
Extended information
The discovery process of oracle bone inscriptions
In the twenty-fifth year of Guangxu (899), Wang Yirong, who was over fifty years old, was suffering from malaria. The traditional Chinese medicine doctor prescribed "dragon bones". His professional sensitivity made him feel that the very regular symbols on these "dragon bones" of different sizes looked very much like ancient characters.
In order to find out, he purchased a large number of "keels". Wang Yirong repeatedly scrutinized, compared and put together the "dragon bones". His profound knowledge of epigraphy allowed him to quickly understand that these "dragon bones" were tortoise shells and animal bones, and the symbols on them were carved with knives, and the cracks were caused by high-temperature burning. Caused by burning. Finally, Wang Yirong determined that the symbols engraved on the oracle bones were a kind of writing and were earlier than bronze inscriptions and seal scripts.
Wang Yirong further traced the origin and finally found that most of these oracle bones were produced in Zhangde, Henan. He visited Xiaoshang Village in Anyang County and discovered the "Yin Ruins".