Decoding history's bones

Exhibition details China's earliest-known writing system in display of precious archaeological artifacts, Wang Ru and Shi Baoyin report.

During an international academic seminar in 1989 commemorating the 90th anniversary of the discovery of jiaguwen (oracle bone inscriptions) from the Yinxu Ruins in Anyang, Henan province, a foreign scholar said it was a pity he couldn't view the bones in their original setting but hoped that one day, the bones scattered around the world would return.

The words struck a chord with Song Zhenhao, an expert on jiaguwen and academician committee member from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, when he attended the seminar. The dream finally came true recently as some of the earliest discovered oracle bones, which are now stored in Tianjin Museum, traveled to the Yinxu Museum in Anyang for a new exhibition.

The Show of King's Return: The Inscribed Oracle Bone Collections of Tianjin Museum Back to the Great Settlement Shang displays precious artifacts discovered in the Yinxu Ruins in the late 19th century. This is the first time this batch of oracle bones is returned to where they were unearthed.