Oracle bones were used primarily for divination. During a ritual, a diviner would pose a question—such as “Will we have a good harvest this year?” or “Will we succeed in tomorrow’s battle?”—and then apply a heated metal rod to the bone, causing it to crack. The resulting crack patterns were interpreted as answers from the spiritual realm. The question, the divination outcome, and sometimes the eventual result were then carved into the bone, forming inscriptions ranging from fewer than ten to over one hundred characters.

Through the systematic study of oracle bone inscriptions and associated archaeological finds, scholars have reconstructed many aspects of Shang political, religious, economic, and social life. The inscriptions identify the state as Shangyi (商邑), the State of Shang, with its capital at Yin. The names of Shang kings recorded on the bones closely correspond to those listed in the Records of the Grand Historian (史记), compiled in the 1^st century BCE, confirming the historical reliability of this classical text. The oracle bones reveal a centralized monarchy with a structured bureaucracy, a society deeply rooted in ancestral worship and divination, and belief in Shangdi (上帝), the supreme deity. Shang society was hierarchically organized, comprising ruling elites, artisans, farmers, and slaves, and the kings were frequently engaged in warfare with neighboring groups. The inscriptions also record the use of a lunar calendar and weapons such as chariots, bows, and spears.

Despite its pictographic appearance, oracle bone script was already a fully functional writing system capable of recording complex ideas, events, and administrative matters. This sophistication implies a period of development lasting several centuries, even though no earlier physical evidence of writing has yet been discovered. By the late Shang Dynasty, the script had evolved beyond simple pictographs to include multiple principles of character formation, including compound characters combining semantic and phonetic elements.

Archaeologists also believe that the Shang people wrote with brush and ink on bamboo or wooden strips. This inference is supported by oracle bone characters such as yu (聿), depicting a hand holding a writing brush, and ce (册), representing a bound set of bamboo or wooden strips—clear references to writing materials that rarely survive archaeologically.

Over the course of millennia, oracle bone script evolved into the modern Chinese writing system. This development can be traced through several major stages. During the late Shang and Western Zhou periods (11^th–8^th centuries BCE), oracle bone script gave rise to bronze script (jinwen, 金文), cast or engraved on ritual vessels such as bells and cauldrons. Compared with oracle bone inscriptions, bronze script is more standardized and stylized, with smoother lines and richer detail. By the Qin Dynasty (秦朝, 221—206 BCE), bronze script evolved into seal script (篆书), which was later followed by clerical script (隶书), regular script (楷书), and ultimately today’s simplified characters (简体字).

The Shang Dynasty was one of several contemporary cultures in ancient China. However, because it was the earliest to leave behind written records, it is the first historically verified Chinese dynasty. The oracle bone inscriptions not only form the foundation of Chinese writing but also serve as an unparalleled archive of early Chinese civilization. Alongside writing, the Shang Dynasty contributed advanced bronze casting, jade carving, religious practices centered on ancestor worship and divination, urban planning and architecture, hierarchical political structures, agricultural techniques, horse-drawn chariots, and bronze weaponry. Many of these cultural traditions became enduring pillars of Chinese civilization, shaping the course of Chinese history for millennia.

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