[Lecture] Studying and Decoding Oracle Bone Inscriptions using Big Data

Studying and Decoding Oracle Bone Inscriptions using Big Data

Date: Saturday, 17 December 2022
Time: 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Venue: 1/F Fung Ping Shan Building, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong (Please enter the museum via the Fung Ping Shan Building)
Language: Cantonese

Speaker: Dr XIE Chunling

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Abstract
The discovery of oracle bone inscriptions in 1899 at the Yinxu site, the capital of the late Shang dynasty (c.1250–1046 BCE), has ushered in a new era in the history of Chinese academic research. For more than 120 years, oraculology has attracted worldwide attention through groundbreaking research and seminal findings. After an overview of several research methodologies commonly used in the study of oracle bone inscriptions, this lecture introduces the newly launched ‘Yinxu Oracle Bone Inscription Digital Database’ and its application in deciphering ancient Chinese script.

Speaker
Dr Xie Chunling received her PhD from the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include the syntax of oracle bone inscriptions and the development and evolution of Chinese scripts. She has published two monographs titled A Study of the Empty Categories in Oracle Bone Inscriptions from Shang Dynasty Ruins and Dictionary of Chinese Characters: Origins and Evolutions.