Oracle Bone inscription and Calligraphy

WHAT IS ORACLE BONE SCRIPT?

The oracle bone script is over 3000 years old and is an ancient writing found inscribed on oracle bones. Oracle bones are pieces of ox shoulder blade or turtle plastron used to record questions and answers, which were sought by divination at the court of the emperor in the Shang dynasty (1600 – 1046 BC) in ancient China. It was a way fora the ruling emperor to seek guidance from Heaven on how to govern the country and the people.

The discovery of the oracle bones in 1899 confirmed the veracity of historical accounts of the Shang dynasty, whose very existence had been doubted by scholars, and even validated the names and order of succession of the Shang dynasty emperors.

True writing is known to have independently developed in three regions of the world, namely ancient Sumer (Sumerian cuneiform script), Mesoamerica (Maya script) and ancient China (oracle bone script). While the Sumerian cuneiform and Maya script have both become extinct and are no longer related to the modern scripts used in their respective regions, oracle bone script is directly ancestral to modern Chinese script and many other East Asian writing systems.

The oracle bone script is pictorial in nature. Characters are made up of pictographs, ideographs and signs, and these may be combined to give complex and profound meaning to a word. The ancient people utilised much fewer words than we do today and our dictionary is expanding with each passing year, yet it seems we still cannot communicate effectively with one another and the world is becoming an increasingly hostile place to live in.

WHAT DO WE DO?

Have words lost their meaning? In trying to understand how the ancient people created words, we hope to be able to learn from their wisdom and core values, and to be able to take away life lessons that will benefit our daily lives.

Come join us in our free series of fortnightly workshops as we put a purposeful pause to our busy lives to contemplate and recharge together with some new friends!

At each workshop, we will spend the first hour sharing our thoughts and ideas on the meaning of a word in an interactive and relaxed setting. This will be followed by a half hour of oracle bone calligraphy. In oracle bone calligraphy, focus and contemplation are emphasised over aesthetic form to facilitate the development of wisdom and virtue in a meditative process. After the conclusion of the session, some simple snacks and tea will be provided as we chat and get to know one another.

WORKSHOP DETAILS:

Venue: Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre
3 Rocca Way, Wanneroo WA 6065
Dates: 27/11/2021
Time: 2:00pm – 3:30 pm
Cost: Free