This book presents a systematic re-examination of the Oracle Bone Inscription writing system by integrating up-dated archaeological discoveries and scholarly advances, with the aim of illuminating new aspects of the early evolution of Chinese characters.
Building on this foundation, the study identifies variant character groups and tackles fundamental questions concerning the total reservoir of characters, thereby establishing a quantitative framework for further analysis. It outlines key structural features, such as the prevalence of monomeric glyphs and planar composition, and brings to light systemic properties including shallow structural hierarchy, positional flexibility coupled with spatial symmetry and limited functional diversity resulting from low graphic efficiency. Additionally, the work highlights the highly skewed distribution of character frequency, underscoring the primitive stage of the writing system.
This book will serve as an essential reference for scholars in the fields of paleography, Chinese historical linguistics and grammatology.
| ISBN: | 9781041129356 |
| Publication date: | 27th July 2026 |
| Author: | Tingzhu Chen |
| Publisher: | Routledge an imprint of Taylor & Francis |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 272 pages |
| Series: | China Perspectives |
| Genres: |
Historical and comparative linguistics Asian history Archaeology |
This book presents a systematic re-examination of the Oracle Bone Inscription writing system by integrating up-dated archaeological discoveries and scholarly advances, with the aim of illuminating new aspects of the early evolution of Chinese characters.Building on this foundation, the study identifies variant character groups and tackles fundamental questions concerning the total reservoir of characters, thereby establishing a quantitative framework for further analysis. It outlines key structural features, such as the prevalence of monomeric glyphs and planar composition, and brings to light systemic properties including shallow structural hierarchy, positional flexibility coupled with spatial symmetry and limited functional diversity resulting from low graphic efficiency.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions features in the following genres: Historical and comparative linguistics, Asian history, Archaeology
Hardback. £154.79, down from the £171.99 cover price. Not Available.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions was written by Tingzhu Chen and published by Routledge an imprint of Taylor & Francis
Oracle Bone Inscriptions has 272 pages
Yes it is part of China Perspectives series
£154.79, reduced from £171.99. Not Available.