Image: OracleWinter

Description: Oracle bone wrote about winter. According to the exhibit caption, the Chinese words or phrases for "Winter" can be found on this oracle bone fragment. The character can clearly been seen in the center of the third column of text from the left rather like two cherries linked by two stalks. This picture was taken in July 2004 from an exhibit at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California. The caption for the exhibit read: Oracle Bones Shang Dynasty (c. 16th - 11th century BCE) Over 3,000 years ago, the Chinese used animal bones to help make important decisions. To use an oracle bone, a diviner made two statements, one positive and one negative. Each oracle bone had two halves, a positive one and a negative one, with holes bored in each half. When the holes were heated with a burning stick, the bone cracked. The king would read the cracks to find the answers. No one knows exactly how the cracks were interpreted. Afterwards, information about the oracle was carved onto the bone.
Title: OracleWinter
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