Amazing Oracle Bones Scripts ⑦ | A Meteor Shower 3,000 Years Ago

　　了不起的甲骨文 ⑦ | 去看3000年前的流星雨

　　Amazing Oracle Bones Scripts ⑦ | A Meteor Shower 3,000 Years Ago

每当流星雨划过夜空，人们便兴奋地许下愿望。流星雨对人们来说，代表着神秘、浪漫、美好。其实早在3000多年前，商人也曾邂逅一场流星雨。一组牛肩胛骨暗藏了最早流星雨观测记录的线索。

Whenever meteor showers streak across the night sky, people make wishes, symbolizing these celestial events with mystery, romance, and beauty. More than 3,000 years ago, people of the Shang Dynasty once encountered a meteor shower unexpectedly. A set of ox bladebone concealed the earliest recorded observation of such an event.

安阳师范学院甲骨文信息处理教育部重点实验室博士韩胜伟介绍，最初这组牛肩胛骨分裂为三片，被收藏在不同单位，经过研究者接力缀合最终得以复原。2009年，林宏明首先将其中两片缀合，但因文辞残缺严重，未能解读出其中记载的信息。2012年，刘影在林宏明缀合的基础上加缀了一片，认为这是有关气象的卜辞，记载了与“星”相关的异常天象，但是卜辞中的“星率西”究竟是什么意思还不太清楚。2013年，王子杨的论文《武丁时代的流星雨记录》对其进行了详细解读。根据王子杨的释读，可知这版甲骨的卜辞为“……异于东……有异，不吉。三日庚申夕向[辛酉允有]异于东，星率西。”

Han Shengwei, a doctor from the Key Laboratory of Oracle Bone Processing of the Ministry of Education at Anyang Normal University, Henan province, introduced that this set of ox bladebone was initially fragmented into three pieces held by different entities. Through a relay of efforts by researchers, these broken pieces were eventually restored. In 2009, Lin Hongming first joined two pieces, but the recorded information remained indecipherable due to severe damage to the inscriptions. In 2012, Liu Ying added another piece on the grounds of Lin's, interpreting the inscriptions as divination texts related to meteorological phenomena, noting an unusual celestial event connected to stars. However, the exact meaning of "星率西" in the divination texts was unclear. In 2013, Wang Ziyang offered a detailed interpretation in his paper "Records of Meteor Showers during the Reign of King Wu Ding." According to Wang, the oracle bone inscriptions read, "…unusual in the east sky… there was something unusual, which was ominous. On the third day, between the night of Gengshen and the day of Xinyou, something unusual appeared in the east sky, with stars moving westward."

韩胜伟说，这些卜辞中的“异”指的是异常的自然现象，在商王看来是不吉的象征。“庚申夕向辛酉”意思是庚申夜里即将结束、辛酉日即将到来的时候，也就是夜半。“星率西”意思是天上的星星全都向西运动。短时间内的众多星星朝西运动，符合流星雨的特征。并且据《竹书纪年》《左传》《汉书》《后汉书》《晋书》等传世文献中记载的流星雨情形，基本上都是发生在夜半，流星运行的方向多是西向。这和甲骨卜辞的记载十分相似。由此可确认，这版甲骨卜辞记载的就是关于流星雨的事情。

Han Shengwei noted that the character “异(unusual)” here refers to bizarre natural phenomena, which was considered ominous omens by the kings of the Shang Dynasty. “庚申夕向辛酉” indicates the time just before the end of the night of Gengshen and the beginning of the day of Xinyou, essentially midnight. "星率西" describes all the stars moving westward. The rapid westward movement of numerous stars aligns with the characteristics of a meteor shower. Furthermore, according to historical literature such asThe Bamboo Annals: Zuo's Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, Records of Han, Records of Later Han, andRecords of Jin, meteor showers typically occurred at midnight, with meteors moving westward, mirroring the divination records in the oracle bone inscriptions. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the inscriptions indeed record a meteor shower.

“这是世界上最早的流星雨观测记录，是商人亲自观测得到的真实记录。不仅说明我们的先人很早就已经关注天象，而且还注重异常天象是否会给生产生活带来影响。”韩胜伟说，除了流星雨之外，甲骨卜辞中还有商人对于“风”“雨”“雹”“虹”等各种天象的记载和吉凶的占卜，反映了在当时有限的生产条件之下，先人们对于自然界朴素的认识。

"This is the earliest record of a meteor shower, a genuine account observed by the people of the Shang Dynasty. It illustrates that our ancestors paid much attention to celestial phenomena early on and considered whether these phenomena would impact agriculture and daily life," says Han. Beyond meteor showers, the oracle bone divination texts also recorded various meteorological phenomena such as wind, rain, hail, and rainbows and divination by the people of the Shang Dynasty, reflecting their rudimentary understanding of nature under the limited production conditions at their time.

数千年来，生活在这片土地上的人们始终仰望星空，对宇宙的观察和追逐从未止步。东汉时期，南阳人张衡发明浑天仪与地动仪，探索天地奥秘；元代天文学家郭守敬在登封主持建造的观星台，是我国现存最古老的天文台。在如今中国的航天事业发展中，河南也作出卓越贡献，涌现出刘洋、陈冬、江新林等优秀航天员，多种航天器关键部件是“河南造”，发射“河南一号”“中原一号”等多颗卫星……星空浩瀚，征途漫漫，对自然的敬畏之心和对未知的不懈探索早已融于我们的基因之中。

Over thousands of years, people on this land have always admired the stars; their observation and pursuit of the cosmos have never ceased. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Heng, a scientist from Nanyang, invented the armillary sphere and the seismograph, delving into the mysteries of heaven and earth. During the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Shoujing, an astronomer, presided over the construction of an observatory in Dengfeng, marking the oldest existing astronomical observatory in China. With the development of China's current aerospace industry, Henan has made significant contributions, cultivating outstanding astronauts like Liu Yang, Chen Dong, and Jiang Xinlin. Key components of various spacecraft were made in Henan, and the launch of satellites such as Henan-1 and Zhongyuan-1… The starry cosmos is vast, and the journey ahead is long. The reverence for nature and the relentlessness for exploration are ingrained in our spirit. （中文来源/河南日报 记者/沈剑奇 编译/童林 肖翊琦 审校/焦丹）