RECENTLY EXCAVATED INSCRIPTIONS AND MANUSCRIPTS (2008–2018)

Between 2008 and 2018 a significant number of inscriptions and manuscripts from early China were discovered or published. These sources include hundreds of new oracle bone and bronze inscriptions; more than thirty scientifically excavated literary manuscripts; thousands of private and official scientifically excavated documents; and more than seventy literary texts acquired from the antiquities market. This review article, focusing mainly on artifacts with archaeological provenance, offers a global overview of these new materials that have already renewed, or will certainly soon renew, the field of early China studies.

Inscriptions on the Ancient Chinese Bronze Vessels “Bi Qi You” (Late Shang Period)

This is a commented translation into Russian of three inscriptions on the ancient Chinese bronze vessels from the late Shang-Yin period (end of the 2nd millennium BC). The inscriptions found on bronze vessels constitute a special kind of sources for the ancient history of China. These epigraphic documents provide important, otherwise unrecorded data on life in the archaic society. Contrary to the texts of classical works, the nature of the ancient Chinese bronze inscriptions is ritualistic. They were not intended to be “read” but served as a tool of sacred communication with the world of dead ancestors. In fact, their “readers” were otherworldly forces. The correct understanding of these bronze inscriptions requires a specialist commentary. The publisher includes the inscriptions on the late Shang-Yin ritual vessels into a wide historical and cultural context. It is hoped this context will facilitate the understanding of the inherent meaning of the inscriptions. The comments will outline the range of problems associated with the interpretation of this type of sources from the late Shang-Yin period.

On Displayed Writing. Bronze Inscriptions from Napoca

"Abstract: We present below two fragmentary texts carved in aere from Napoca, one known from the 19th century and the other novel, yielded by recent rescue excavations. The first inscription (Napoca-1) was carved on a bronze tablet discovered in Piaţa Muzeului no. 4. The document here might correspond to an imperial response (subscriptio), delivered by emperor Hadrian upon a request that might have been made for instance by the representatives of the town at Napoca. A second fragmentary inscription in bronze (Napoca-2) originating still from Napoca was discovered in the area of hill Feleac. The preserved words formis and ratio / procuratio are indicative of an administrative taxation type text. Keywords: bronze inscriptions, legal text, imperial rescript, Napoca Rezumat: Prezentăm aici două texte fragmentare incizate in aere din Napoca, unul cunoscut din secolul al XIX-lea şi altul nou, provenit din cercetări de salvare recente. Prima inscripţie (Napoca-1) a fost incizată pe o tablă de bronz descoperită în Piaţa Muzeului nr. 4. Aceste documente poate fi un răspuns imperial (subscriptio) dat de împăratul Hadrian unei cereri făcute de reprezentanţii oraşului Napoca. A doua inscripţie fragmentară din bronz (Napoca-2), provenită tot din Napoca, a fost descoperită în zona dealului Feleac. Cuvintele păstrate - formis şi ratio/procuratio – indică un text administrativ în legătură cu impozitele. Cuvinte cheie: inscripţii de bronz, texte legale, rescript imperial, Napoca "

A research on an intelligent recognition tool for bronze inscriptions of the Shang and Zhou dynasties

The intelligent recognition tool for bronze inscriptions of the Shang and Zhou dynasties—the “Shang Zhou Bronze Inscriptions Intelligent Mirror”—was successfully invented in Shanghai. This mirror, based on the computer technology of artificial intelligence (AI) image recognition and image retrieval, succeeds in automagical recognition of bronze inscriptions, both single letters and full texts. This research leads the trend of the AI recognition of Ancient Chinese characters and accumulates valuable experience for the development of inter-disciplinary research on Chinese character recognition. This essay emphasizes the importance of the bronze inscriptions of the Shang and Zhou dynasty database in the AI recognition of bronze inscriptions, introduces the functional components of this tool, and shares the whole research process in order to offer experience for the related research on AI recognition of other types of Ancient Chinese characters as well as ideographs in the world scope. “Shang Zhou Bronze Inscriptions Intelligent Mirror” as a tool for bronze inscription recognition also has room for improvement and support, and guidance from experts in similar areas is greatly welcomed.

western zhou Rites and Mortuary Practice (Inscriptions and Texts)

This chapter presents an evaluation of Zhou ritual from the standpoint of modern archaeological evidence and excavated texts. While there is some continuity with the definition of Zhou ritual in transmitted texts, the differences with and gaps in the transmitted records are striking. The chapter explores rites and mortuary practices in detail, and it presents several examples of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions related to ancient rituals and practices for conferring political power and for ancestor worship. The chapter analyzes several inscriptions providing examples of early ceremonies and also discusses the sixty-day ritual calendar that governed ritual life during this period. The use of ritual to preserve the past led to the rise of literature and history in ancient China.