Li Ming and his Canadian friend Amy are chatting online.
(A=Amy L=Li Ming)
A: Hi, Li Ming! How was your school trip to China National Museum?
L: Great! I saw many old things and learned a lot. Among them, Jiaguwen me the most.
A: Oh, what is that?
L: "Jiagu" means oracle bones and "wen" means our ancient Chinese characters.
A: Oh, I see. But when and do your ancestors write on these bones?
L: In Shang Dynasty, over 3,000 years ago. At that time, the emperors especially believed in gods in the sky and always asked the gods to help the future. They believed the oracle bones can the answers provided by the gods.
A: Amazing! But I really want to know how. Could you please tell me more details?
L: First, the king would ask a question such as "Will the be sunny tomorrow?" The diviner (卜官) wrote the king's question on a bone. Then a heated stuck was held against the bone. After some time, many small cracks will in the bone.
A: And what?
L: Those cracks a "picture". Then a special oracle reader would "read" the picture which means analyze(分析) and the cracks.
A: Oh, my god! I really if this way really worked?
L: Of course not! But these questions told us a lot about the life during the Shang dynasty, such as if they had enough to eat, if they could win a war, and so on.
