'Earliest Chinese Characters Inscribed on Oracle Bones' Episode 1

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed during his inspection tour of the Yinxu Ruins in Anyang city of Henan province that oracle-bone inscriptions unearthed at the Yinxu Ruins kept the evidence of Chinese written language of 3,000 years ago, helping to bring recorded Chinese history nearly 1,000 years earlier than previously believed. Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, pointed out that Chinese characters are extraordinary and serve as a tie in the forming and development of Chinese nation. Chinese characters are important carriers of Chinese civilization. The research on oracle-bone inscriptions is of great significance not only for the development of oracle-bone inscriptions themselves, but also for the protection of cultural foundations of the nation. To better disseminate the culture of oracle-bone inscriptions to the world, together with the web portal of the People's Government of Henan Province and the National Museum of Chinese Writing, we are launching a special column named "Earliest Chinese Characters Inscribed on Oracle Bones" featuring a series of bilingual posters about China's oldest fully-developed characters. Let's explore together.

习近平总书记在安阳考察调研时强调：“殷墟出土的甲骨文为我们保存3000年前的文字，把中国信史向上推进了约1000年。中国的汉文字非常了不起，中华民族的形成和发展离不开汉文字的维系。”文字是文明的载体，学习、研究甲骨文对推动甲骨文传承发展、守护文明根脉有着重要意义。2月15日起，大河网联合河南省政府门户网站英文版、中国文字博物馆推出“字里行间——甲骨上的文明密码”双语系列报道，与海内外网友一起识读甲骨文、探寻中国文字起源。