Fantastic Oracle! A Girl Creating a Popular Science Book on Oracle Bones

Recently, Sun Mengyuan, a junior majoring in visual communication at the Academy of Fine Arts of Anyang Normal University, has become a well-known "Internet celebrity". The 22-year-old girl created her own "Oracle Popular Science Book"-Fantastic Oracle, interpreting and promoting Oracle in a simple and easy-to-understand way, making more and more people around her have passion on oracle and traditional culture. Many netizens exclaimed, "Oracle bone inscriptions are fantastic!"

近日，安阳师范学院美术学院视觉传达专业的大三学生孙梦圆成了远近闻名的“网红”。22岁的她自创“甲骨文科普书”——《原来甲骨文这么有趣》，用浅显易懂的方式解读推介甲骨文，使身边越来越多的人爱上了甲骨文，爱上了传统文化。不少网友感慨：“原来甲骨文这么好玩！”

After entering Anyang Normal University, Sun Mengyuan gradually fell in love with Anyang, an ancient city imbued with historical atmosphere. From the seemingly boring and obscure ancient characters, Sun excavated and felt the mysteries of oracle bone inscriptions and opened the window of history. The book Fantastic Oracle written by Sun is originally an assignment from her teacher of the book design course. It takes her two weeks from conception to creation, which is demanded to suit the primary and secondary school students above six years old. Mentioning the original intention of creation, Sun said: "these seemingly simple character symbols contain rich stories and the ingenuity of the ancients, but many people know nothing about oracle bone inscriptions, or have merely a simple understanding. I want more people to fall in love with it, especially children."

孙梦圆踏入安阳师范学院的校门后，逐渐喜欢上了安阳这座充满历史气息的古城，从看似枯燥晦涩的古文字中，挖掘和感受甲骨文的奥秘，叩开了历史厚重的大门。《原来甲骨文这么有趣》是书籍设计老师布置的一个作业，从构思到创作花费了两周时间，适合人群为六岁以上的中小学生。谈及创作的初衷，孙梦圆说：“这些看似简单的文字符号，蕴含着丰富的故事和古人的聪明才智，但是很多人对甲骨文一无所知，或只有浅显的认知，我想让更多的人喜欢上甲骨文，尤其是孩子们。”

At present, a group of young people who love traditional culture and make use of their professional expertise are making these ancient characters travel beyond time and space, pushing the wonderful chemical reaction between ancient Chinese characters and trendy technology to a climax. They inherit the extensive and profound Chinese civilization and also tell the time-honored history behind the characters.

当下，一批爱好传统文化、利用自己专业特长的年轻人，正在让这些古老的文字穿越时空，将古老汉字与新潮科技碰撞的奇妙化学反应推向了高潮。他们传承着博大精深的中华文明，也述说着藏在文字背后的悠悠历史。

"This is a book of Oracle bone inscriptions that embodies the culture of the ancients, and a book that carries on the precious heritage of the nation. By reading this book, people will better understand and value oracle bone culture and cultivate their cultural self-confidence and national pride." Sun believes that oracle bone inscriptions should never become a cultural symbol to be laid aside and neglected, and their fun should be enjoyed by more and more people. She presents the ancient characters in an attracting way, and demonstrates their importance in real life through the four parts of "reading related ancient poems" "storytelling and character interpretation" "font evolution" and "fun exercises", through which children can consolidate knowledge and get increasingly interested in them in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

“这是一本甲骨文启蒙书，这是一本凝聚着古人文化的书，这是一本承载着民族宝贵遗产的书。通过阅读这本书，人们将更好地认识和珍视甲骨文化，培养他们的文化自信和民族自豪感。”孙梦圆认为，甲骨文不应成为被束之高阁的文化符号，它的趣味应该被更多的人感受到。她将古老的文字趣味性呈现，通过“相关古诗”“说文解字”“字形演变”“趣味练习”四个部分来展示甲骨文在现实生活中的重要性，让孩子在轻松愉快的氛围下巩固所学知识，增强对甲骨文的兴趣。

At the beginning of the design, Sun thought: "First of all, we should choose the common and representative oracle bone inscriptions, and secondly, we should attract the children’s attention. And the basic characteristics of oracle bone inscriptions need to be reflected." Finally, she decided to use the twelve zodiac animals as the main design theme, perfectly integrating poetry culture, zodiac culture, and Chinese character culture. "Written in different forms, the oracle bone inscriptions of the twelve zodiac animals can better demonstrate the charm of oracle bone inscriptions. These characters vividly show the original appearance of Chinese characters and thus play an important role in Chinese traditional culture." said Sun.

在设计《原来甲骨文这么有趣》初期，孙梦圆进行了深思熟虑：“首先要选择比较常见且具有代表性的甲骨文，其次要让孩子感兴趣，能够体现甲骨文基本特点。”最后，她敲定用十二生肖作为设计主线，将诗词文化、生肖文化与汉字文化完美融合。“十二生肖的甲骨文书写形式各异，可以更好地展现甲骨文的魅力，这些文字在中国传统文化中有着重要的地位，生动形象地展现着汉字起源最初的模样。”孙梦圆说。

During her creation, Sun not only had to gain a deep understanding of oracle bone inscriptions, but also consider how to present the knowledge in a simple and interesting way. Although it took her a lot of time and energy, Sun never got tired of it. She excitedly told the reporter: "Yin Ruins is the main unearthed place of oracle bone inscriptions, which provides us with abundant information for studying them. These ancient characters are both mysterious and attractive to me, and I have fallen in love with oracle bone inscriptions."

创作《原来甲骨文这么有趣》期间，孙梦圆不仅要深入了解甲骨文，同时还要考虑如何把这些知识用简单有趣的方式呈现出来。虽然花费了大量的时间和精力，孙梦圆却乐此不疲。她兴奋地告诉记者：“殷墟是甲骨文的主要出土地，为我们研究甲骨文提供了大量的资料。这种古老的文字对我来说既神秘又充满吸引力，我已经爱上了甲骨文。”

Sun believes that creating this book is not only a course assignment for her, but also an opportunity to learn and to disseminate the oracle bone inscriptions. "I think the most interesting thing about oracle bone inscriptions is that their font structure is very lively, and ancient people could vividly display the characteristics of people, animals, and various things through simple drawings." As for the oracle, it is not just a simple symbol, but a text code with profound meanings. How fantastic will it be if children can learn Chinese characters based on oracle bone inscriptions."

孙梦圆认为，创作这本书对她来说不仅是完成一次作业，而且是一次学习的机会，一次把甲骨文传播出去的机会。“我觉得甲骨文最有趣的地方就是它的字形结构非常生动，古人通过简单的图画，就能够形象地展示出人物、动物、以及各种事物的特征。从甲骨文的角度来看并非只是一个简单的符号，而是蕴含着丰富意味的文字密码。如果孩子们可以根据甲骨文来识记汉字，那会是多么好玩。”

In recent years, Anyang Municiple Education Bureau, taking advantage of local oracle bone culture resources, has actively promoted "oracle bone inscriptions entering campuses and classrooms" themed with "inheriting and developing oracle bone culture". Oracle bone inscriptions can be seen everywhere on campus, edifying our children little by little. After the book went viral on the Internet, many parents tried to contact Sun and asked about the electronic pictures in it, hoping to make their children like oracle bone inscriptions through reading it.

近年来，安阳市教育局立足安阳市甲骨文化资源优势，围绕“传承发展甲骨文化”主题，积极推进“甲骨文进校园进课堂”，校园内处处可见甲骨文，徐徐浸润童心。《原来甲骨文这么有趣》在网络上热传后，有很多家长主动联系到孙梦圆，询问书籍的电子图片，希望通过这本书，让自己的孩子也爱上甲骨文。

In the daily creation, Sun often combines the elements of oracle bone inscriptions with those of Yin and Shang culture. For example, she would incorporate local culture into character design, and use the skills to design pictures, popular science books, etc., in order to further popularize the age-old history and culture of Oracle bone inscriptions and Yinand Shang dynasties. This will not only help the spread of culture, but also help more people understand the hidden historical story.

在日常的创作过程中，孙梦圆经常会把甲骨文元素和殷商文化元素结合起来。例如在文字设计中融入当地特色文化，利用自己所学的设计技巧制作图画、科普书等，进一步普及甲骨文和殷商悠久的历史文化。这样不仅有助于文化的传播，还可以帮助更多人了解其背后的历史故事。

Oracle bone inscriptions gained their charm from its discovery as the earliest mature writing system discovered in China, the root of Chinese characters, and its splendid traditional culture. The inheritance and development of culture should not only stagnate in its specialization and academicization. Only by going out of the laboratory and museum, and constantly moving towards the public and popularization, can we radiate new vitality and energy. Based on this understanding, Sun plans to continue to study and promote Oracle bone inscriptions in the future, integrate them into future designs, and create more popular works with rich cultural implications. By doing so, more people can understand Yin and Shang culture and therefore make a contribution to the inheritance of Chinese excellent traditional culture.

甲骨文的魅力，源自它是中国发现年代最早的成熟文字系统，是汉字的源头和中华优秀传统文化的根脉。文化的传承与发展，不应只停留在专业化、学术化，只有走出实验室、走出博物馆，不断走向大众、走向普及，才能焕发出新的生命力和活力。基于这种认识和感受，孙梦圆计划在未来继续深入研究和推广甲骨文文化，将甲骨文元素融入到今后的设计中，创作出更多大众喜闻乐见和富有文化内涵的作品，让更多人了解殷商文化，为传承中化优秀传统文化作出贡献。（中文来源/大河美术报 编辑/秦鑫歌 编译/童林 崔文琦 审校/焦丹）