Divination is a common method of dealing with uncertainty, and is practiced in various ways. In ancient China, oracle bones were one way to seek answers relating to the near future. Oracle bones are ecofacts of turtle plastrons or bovine scapula that have been inscribed with ancient Chinese characters. Their creation involves a meticulous process. First, the bones are polished, then small holes or pits are drilled into the backside. They are then inscribed with a preface which includes the date and name of the diviner. Then, a “charge” is etched into the bone or shell. A “charge” is a query that involves topics such as warfare, religious rituals and sacrifices, hunting, journeys made by royalty, the royal family’s health, births and deaths, meanings of dreams, and predicting natural disasters. A hot, glowing brand is nested into the pits which heats up the shell or bone, creating cracks which are then interpreted by the diviner. A prognostication, or interpretation of the cracks is determined by the diviner and a course of action is inscribed afterwards. Rarely, a verified outcome may be recorded (Zhentao). The Yinxu Ruins of Anyang in the Henan Province of China is where oracle bones were first discovered during …show more content…
Discovery of oracle bones in Huayuanzhuang-East, south of the palace zone of Anyang points to what Adam Craig Schwartz calls an “ancestor cult”. They number around 2,500 and are mostly intact. The inscriptions are prayers meant to invoke the ancestors’ spirits in conjunction with an animal sacrifice (usually of cows or pigs) and other ritual activities including libation of aromatic wines. Prayers were able to be performed multiple times in a given temple-service day. Inscriptions often asked if certain ritual parameters were satisfactory, such as the “time, place, participants, methods, and ultimately, the proper selection and presentation of offerings”
The First Emperor’s Army: An Important Chinese Find. Archaeology. Volume 28, No. 4 (pp. 267-269)
Rituals are held as a very important part of any society, including ours. They go back to ancient times or can be as simple as maintaining one’s hygiene. Non-western societies have rituals that may seem very foreign to us, but they have been engrained in their communities and are essential to their social structure. This interpretation will focus on the Great Pilgrimage, a ritual performed by Quechuan communities. We will be looking specifically at a community in the area of Sonqo.
What culture they had was to be forgotten – a difficult and practically impossible feat. The Chinese-Americans faced a wall of cultural difference that could only be scaled with the support of their parents and local community. The book review of Bone by Nhi Le stated clearly how “ … the first generations’ struggle to survive and the second generations’ efforts to thrive … ” made the transition into American culture possible. Overcoming barriers such as language, education, work ethic, and sex roles was just a beginning to the problems that all Asian – Americans faced.
The ancient Chinese invented many things we use today, including paper, silk, matches, wheelbarrows, gunpowder, the waterwheel, lacquer, fireworks, paper money, compass, the seismograph, folding umbrella, ink, calligraphy, printing, abacus, wallpaper, the crossbow, ice cream and much more!
Li Si The "Historical Records," written by Sima Qian, is a historical account which showcases how the corrupted legalist system of the Qin Dynasty led to the loss of the Mandate of Heaven and the fall of the Empire. Qian, who lived during the Han Dynasty, used the example of Li Si, the Chief Minister of the Emperors of the Qin Dynasty, to emphasis the newly accepted Confucian values. It was the shortcomings of Li Si which led to the fall of the Qin Dynasty as well as his own death. However, Qian is careful to note that prior to his downfall, Li Si followed many Confucian values which allowed him to rise up from a commoner to his eventual position as Chief Minister.
Beginning as early as the Shang dynasty, we have found evidence of the Chinese honoring and paying respect to their ancestors. The process of divination used turtle carapace or ox scapula in order to find out if their ancestors wanted certain rituals or sacrifices done. Evidence of honoring the deceased has also been found in tombs during the Shang dynasty. Lady Fu Hao’s tomb is a prime example of this, since hundreds of artifacts were buried with her, obviously denoting respect for the dead or that t...
The crossbow was invented in Ancient China during the Zhou dynasty, around the year 700 BC. A Chinese text, from about 200 BC, gives credit to a Mr. Ch'in of Ch'u for inventing the crossbow. It consisted of a horizontally mounted bow, with a stock and trigger mechanism added. The crossbow is derived from the horizontally mounted bow-trap used by other civilizations around the same time. They had a range of up to 650 feet. The crossbow had a firing mechanism, which was so complicated that it would have been nearly impossible for an enemy to understand how it worked, thus reducing the chance that the crossbow could be copied by hostile civilizations.
To start off with, an Oracle is a Temple or a shrine where a priest or priestess would sit and are said to have contact with the Gods of Greece. They would sit in Oracles as people came to ask for answers to questions and advice. To explain the meaning of the priest or priestesses' words, there would be someone else beside them. When people came, they would have to pay an entry fee, sacrifice a goat and look for omens in its entrails. An omen is basically good or evil. For example, I can sense a good omen coming from that girl over there. And entrails are like the insides of something.
Anthropology is the study of humans. This area of study is subdivided into three sections; cultural anthropology, archeology, and biological anthropology. Biological anthropologists study the anatomy, and evolution of the human body. Biological anthropologists are the ones who assess skeletal remains and determine where, when, and who, the person was. Human skeletal remains are the main component in Forensic Anthropology. Bones can reveal ancestral lineage, gender, height and age of a person.
A farmer in the late 19th century, upon plowing his land near Carthage, Alabama, discovered an object buried in the earth. From the soil, he removed a large stone disk, polished and flawlessly round. The disk was about 12 inches in diameter with small-notched edges. One side displayed incised globular lines and the flip side was “a strange engraving showing an open hand with what looked like an eye peering from it. Encircling the hand-and-eye image were two entwined rattlesnakes with horns and long tongues.” The farmer had previously found tools pieces of pottery, but he had never seen an object such as this (Blitz 2008:1).
...helped me understand how god, the universe and our spirit revolves around almost every aspect of our lives, now and in the past. Two out of the three artifacts that I picked were from the Asian area, because it was one of the area’s I enjoyed exploring while at the museum. The museum stated that the emperors’ were sons of heaven, which caught my attention so I did a little further research and found an article that supports my opinion on how spiritual ancient china was. The article states the following, “it established that a ruler must be wise and just, follow the Dao- the way of Heaven- and be attuned to destiny.” (Chan & Li, 2012, P. xx-xx) This supports my analysis about the universe, god, and spirit are in everything we do, and especially found in these there artifacts which help to understand how they represent the individual associated with the relics.
Stepping into a museum, large or small, locating in east or west countries, as long as it exhibits ancient Asian artworks, one can hardly not find bronzes placed in the most prominent spot, shone by a beam of cold white light. Bronze Age is not as lackluster or icy-cold as this dark metallic alloy shown to us ostensibly; instead, it was full of creativity and innovation. It is amazing but not surprising that ancient Chinese are considered one of the most intelligent group of human-being, produced such remarkable amount of artifacts to either use in their daily life as necessities or decorations, or sacrifice their ancestors, or record important events. This paper will provide a specific description of two bronze vessels respectively from Shang and Zhou dynasties, giving interpretations of their production process and their roles in ritual performance.
...nfluence on the daily life of the Chinese people. The recollection of the ancestors, the fear of offending them or soiling their reputations, coupled with the desire to please them, are sources of inspiration, which guide the actions of the descendants. Even for a hardened sinner, to lack respect for the ancestors is the worst offense imaginable. Here is how the intimate thought of the master should be interpreted. Respectful of tradition and of rituals, he did not wish to explain himself fully on this subject. But such should be his thought. The cult of the dead is, in his eyes, the cult of memory, based upon filial piety and the thought of the continuity of the family and of the race. It is in this spirit that still being practiced by the majority of the Oriental world, for whom it is the main religion and takes the place of all preaching revealed or supernatural.
The first recorded history of China is from the Shang Dynasty. In the late 1920s and early 1930s a plethora of artifacts itself have been found...
The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much.