商代甲骨中英读本_[美]陈光宇等编著_9787208140868

　　从商代甲骨文算起，汉字已经被连续使用3500年之久，是人类历史上使用时间较长的文字。然而相对于其它的起源文字，鉴于汉字在人类历史上的特殊地位及在国际范围推广汉字认知教学的重要，甲骨文认读的这一块空白在国内外都有待填补。由于缺乏认读甲骨文字的合适英语课本，所以本书采用手写教材，借鉴读片子的教学方式。基于此编写而成。此书可作为以英语教授甲骨文字的课本，也适于自学甲骨文之用。附有凡例以及相关甲骨图片等，有助于更多国内外更多人藉由对甲骨文字的认知而对中国上古文明产生兴趣。

　　前言
　　殷墟甲骨文发现于 1899 年，至今已有一个多世纪。它的发现证实了商代的存在，使商代的历史变得更加真切和清晰。据目前所得考古资料，甲骨文是中国汉字的最早源头。甲骨文与两河流域的苏美尔楔形文字（Sumerian Cuneiform System），尼罗河流域的埃及圣书体文字（Egyptian Hieroglyphic System）及中美洲的奥梅克—玛雅文字（Olmec-Maya Hieroglyphic System）并列爲人类史上出现过的四个独立起源文字系统。这四种独立起源文字（或称自源文字），都是形、音、义并存的形符文字（或称表意文字）（logographic writing）。苏美尔与埃及文字是拼音文字之先河，汉字则是东亚文明的奠基石。除了汉字外，其他三种古文字早已成爲死文字。汉字是当今唯一存世的起源文字。
　　在人类历史上，汉字是使用者人数最多的文字，也是世界上唯一迈进 21 世纪电脑时代的形符文字。从商代甲骨文算起，汉字已经被连续使用 3500 年之久，是人类历史上使用时间最长的文字。然而相对於其他的起源文字，国内外一般读者对甲骨文了解不多，特别是西方世界的认知远不及对埃及文、苏美尔文或玛雅文字来得普及。笔者在欧美书店可见到许多介绍埃及、苏美尔、玛雅文字的书籍，但是有关甲骨文的英文或其他外文着作，特别是普及性的书籍寥寥无几；即使是专门研究的英语书籍也屈指可数，例如吉德炜（David N. Keightley）的 Sources of Shang History（1978，1985）、The Ancestral Landscape （2000）、Working for His Majesty（2012）及高嶋谦一（Ken-ichi Takashima）的 Studies of Fascicle Three of Inscriptions from the Yin Ruins（2010）。鉴於汉字在人类历史上的特殊地位及在国际范围推广汉字认知教学的重要，甲骨文认读的这一块空白在国内外都有待填补。
　　笔者在台湾大学时曾从金祥恒师习甲骨文，在耶鲁读研究所时，有幸得从张光直、饶宗颐两位先生请益切磋古史。最近数年承涂经诒教授相邀得以在新泽西州立罗格斯大学东亚系开课以英语教授甲骨文及汉字起源。除了识读甲骨文外，也涉及四种独立起源文字的比较。由於缺乏认读甲骨文字的合适英语课本，所以采用自己编的手写教材，教学方式采取当年金先生的方法：读片子。本书即基於这些教材编写而成。此书可作爲以英语教授甲骨文字的课本，也适於自学甲骨文之用。希望更多国内外人士藉由对甲骨文字的认知而对中国上古文明産生兴趣。
　　本书编写过程中，笔者的学生安马修（Matthew Anderson）将卜辞以甲骨文字体在电脑显示，并整理字汇表，及英文的转録、翻译。郅晓娜博士负责甲骨片的摹写。本书的编写，承吉林大学林澐教授屡次拨冗解疑。罗格斯大学詹富国（Dietrich Tschanz）教授閲读英文稿。中国社会科学院历史所先秦史研究室宋镇豪教授提供宝贵意见，刘源博士仔细审閲全部中文稿，并全程参与编纂工作。在此表示衷心谢意。书中错误，在所难免，希望读者不吝指教。最後要感谢内人刘贻章教授的支持与鼓励。
　　陈光宇

　　Foreword
　　The discovery of inscribed oracle bones and shells in 1899 and subsequent identification of Yīnxū, the ruins of the last Shāng Capital located near ānyáng, Hénán, proved to be a watershed for Early China studies, as these inscriptions represent the most archaic form of Chinese writing （more precisely hànzì 汉字）and the earliest documentary source in China. Almost all of these documents belong to the royal house of late Shāng Dynasty（~1300 to 1100 bce）
　　These documents survived for so long because they were engraved on animal bones（mostly bovine scapula）and turtle shells（plastron or carapace）, hence the name ‘oracle bone inscriptions’（OBI）or, in Chinese, jiǎgǔwén（甲骨文）, literally ‘shell bone writing’. The inscriptions engraved on undreds of thousands of bones and shells provide the most precious source for studying early Chinese history. It was based on OBI that Wáng Guówéi（王国维）, one of the most eminent Chinese scholars of the early 20th century, was able to identify names of Shāng kings and ascertain the historicity of the figures previously thought to be legendary. By doing so, Wáng confirmed the authenticity of the Shāng history as written by Sīmǎ Qiān（145—86 bce）in the Shǐjì（《史记》 , The Records of Grand Historian）.
　　Oracle bone inscription（OBI）, the earliest from of Chinese, together with Egyptian, Mayan, and Sumerian constitute the four writing systems independently invented in human history. All four primary writings are logographic in nature. Among them, only Chinese writing system survives and remains logographic. The study of OBI not only plays a pivotal role in connecting the archeological data to the transmitted textual tradition in China, it is also of great import to the comparative study of origin of writing systems and civilizations. Despite this, OBI has not garnered the attention and popularity in the western world that Egyptian hieroglyphs, Sumerian cuneiform, and Mayan glyph have long enjoyed. In fact, there are only a very few scholarly books in English that focus on OBI（e.g. Sources of Shāng History, 1978, 1985; The Ancestral Landscape, 2000; Working for His Majesty, 2012; written by David Keightley, University of California, Berkeley, and Studies of Fascicle Three of Inscriptions from the Yin Ruins, 2010, by Ken-ichi Takashima, University of British Columbia）and there are virtually no books for the general public in the West to learn about OBI. This can be contrasted with the tens or even hundreds of books on Mayan and Egyptian hieroglyphs and civilizations found on online book selling sites such as Amazon.com.
　　The author has had the fortune to learn OBI in college and in graduate school from several leading Shāng scholars, including the late Professors Jīn Xiánghéng（金祥恒 , National Taiwan University）, Chang Kwang-chi（张光直 , Zhāng Guāngzhí, Yale University）and Professor JaoTsung-I（饶宗颐 , Ráo Zōngyí, Yale University）. The author has offered a course on OBI （Chinese 165:424, Origin and Development of Chinese Writing）in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at Rutgers University, New Jersey for many years. The course material forms the basis of this book. The main body of this book is a collection of 120 pieces of rubbings （tàběn 拓本）, mainly from the corpus of Jiǎgǔwén Héjí（《甲骨文合集》）, that contain inscriptions covering a wide array of topics including weather, astronomy, kingship, sacrificial ceremonies, rituals, agriculture, hunting, military campaigns and politics. Each rubbing is accompanied by a clear tracing（móběn 摹本）, which will be helpful in case the graphs on rubbing are not clearly legible. The direct graph-to-graph transcription, both in digital OBI font and in archaic Chinese script（or lìdìng 隶定） , will help the reader to become familiar with the sequence and direction of reading OBI on the rubbings. Transliteration from OBI graph to English is also provided; so that, by comparing this transliteration with the English translation the reader can appreciate the grammar and sentence structure of archaic Chinese. Finally, translation and annotations are provided in Chinese and in English.
　　The book is intended to benefit both scholars and lay public who are interested in East Asian civilizations in general and Early China in particular. Readers can use this book to get acquainted with the writing of OBI graphs, just like students learn Mayan or Egyptian hieroglyphs from reading original scripts. In light of the lack of books in English for the study of OBI, it is hoped that this book will fill the need for an accessible introduction to the subject.
　　During the preparation of this book, I have greatly benefited by discussions with Professors Lín Yún, Jílín University, and Sòng Zhènháo, Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. I am grateful to Dr. Liú Yuán, who has read the Chinese portion of the manuscript, and to Professor Dietrich Tschanz, Rutgers University, who has read and commented on the English part of the manuscript. Both Sòng Zhènháo and Liú Yuán have participated the project from its inception. Dr. Matthew Anderson, a student in my 2006 OBI class, helped with the transcription （OBI font, Chinese and English）and did most of the English translation of the inscriptions. Dr. Zhì Xiǎonà, a student of Professor Sòng, did the tracing work. Without their help, the book could not have been accomplished. It goes without saying that I am solely responsible for any remaining mistakes, big or small. Finally I wish to thank my wife, Alice Liu, for her continuous support and understanding.
　　Kuang Yu Chen

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