Many of the institutions of higher learning like the Department of Chinese Studies of the Peking Government University, the Historical Museum, and the Tsing Hua Research Institute began to take up these new problems, and became interested in archaeological excavations in the last decade. Although it has not been possible to carry out all the plans, sporadic work has been done from time to time, and some of it has been done meritoriously. However, it remains for the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, to be the first sponsor of serious archaeological excavations. The recent work undertaken by the Institute in Anyang deserves special mention for a variety of reasons; it is thoroughly modern in its planning; it is one of the key sites of North China; it has yielded abundant results; and above all, it has been of interest to both the early antiquarians and the modern archaeologists. So it may be taken as a typical example of recent work done in this field.

This site first became known to the antiquarians in 1899, when some curio dealers brought some inscribed bones from this site to Peking, attracting the attention of Wang I-yung, a great scholar and statesman who immediately recognized their importance and began to collect them. He died in the Boxer’s time the year following. His collection passed into the hands of Liu Tieh-yün, who was the first to make rubbings on these inscribed bones, and publish them in book form. Then it was followed by some periodical bone-rushes among the curio dealers, a great deal of serious work, and some very interesting episodes when these new materials were struggling for recognition. During this period serious studies were made chiefly by Lo Chên-Yü, and Wang Kuo-wei, who deciphered about half of these newly discovered characters, thus laying the foundation of this new branch of palaeography. In the early period the work were carried on with a great deal of opposition from other quarters. Chang Ping-lin for instance, one of the greatest living Chinese scholars at the time, who is in certain sense radical in his political thought, but conservative in his literary ideas, considered these materials as forgeries. Nevertheless, studies were carried on and new inscribed bones were added to the market every day. The actual site was eventually ascertained. Lo Chên-Yü had the originality of visiting it himself but at that time he considered the site, so far as the inscribed bones were concerned, as already exhausted. All the while it never occurred to anybody that excavations might be fruitful.

The Institute of History and Philology was organized in 1928. In the very beginning, archaeological excavation has been taken as one of its regular enterprises. Anyang was chosen as the first site for work. In less than two years time three seasons’ diggings have been done. Because of their importance the results achieved have received attention all the world over. It may be truly said that since this work started, modern archaeology has made a beginning in China.

Previous to the excavations of the Institute, our knowledge of the Anyang site was confined to the inscribed bones. It was also known that it was the capital city of the Shang Dynasty, and that many other things were found together with these bones. But the knowledge of the latter was so imperfect that scientifically speaking it was almost worthless. Meanwhile, the site was badly destroyed by the reckless plundering of curio dealers for almost thirty years. When the Institute first began to work, many thought it already too late. But through careful planning, methodical procedure, and detailed observations, the field work has been carried out with extraordinary success.

Among the many discoveries that have been made, some are of such fundamental importance that they deserve more detailed treatment. Through stratigraphical studies it has been possible to determine definitely the general character of the various associated finds. The nature of the deposit, the conditions that led to the final abandonment of the city, and the changes that have taken place after the abandonment have all become observed knowledge. It can now be categorically laid down that Hsiao-t’un Ts’un, where the diggings were carried out for three seasons, was once part of the capital city of the Shang Dynasty, sometime between 1400 and 1200 B.C., but it was deserted during the final collapse of the Dynasty. The place has never again been occupied as a city site.

The most important group of artifacts that have been taken out from the buried city are inscribed plastrons and scapulars that were used for the purpose of divination. On them are inscribed the queries made and answers given in consultation, in archaic characters, which are more primitive than the oldest inscriptions on bronzes previously known. They represent undoubtedly one of the early stages in the development of Chinese writing, from which the later ones have gradually been evolved. It has been possible after many years of patient work to trace, gradually, such development. More than eight hundred of these characters, about half of the total that have been discovered, can be definitely deciphered. The contents of these inscriptions are therefore quite readable and prove to be very rich.

The royal house of the Shang Dynasty were faithful observants of oracles. Judging by the great abundance of these bones and the contents of the inscriptions, it is quite definite that oracles regulated even the minute details of the conduct of the king. Whether it was an act of performing a sacrifice, or taking a trip, going out hunting or fishing, inquiring about the weather, or sending out an expedition, the cracks of the bones must be consulted; answers were found in the signs of these cracks, which the king evidently had to obey. It is for this reason that the inscribed bones have been found in such great abundance and with content so rich that from them a great deal of the lost history of that period, political, social, economic, and religious, can be reconstructed.