Question

Which of the following best describes how oracle bones were used during the Shang dynasty?

Answer 1

B. Oracle bones were used to make predictions about the future.

Answer 2

Answer:

B. Oracle bones were used to make predictions about the future.

Explanation:

Oracular bones are turtle shells and animal bones (mostly scapulae), in which inscriptions have been found that form the oldest significant corpus of archaic Chinese writing, which contain important historical information, such as the full real genealogy of the Shang Dynasty, also known as Yin Dynasty. This confirmed the existence of this dynasty, which some scholars questioned until its appearance.

The Shang dynasty was based on a theocratic government; the king was the intermediary between the world of the living and the spirits of the ancestors. In the bones the ancestors are not mentioned in general, but the concrete names of the spirits to which the king was directed are used. In this way we can distinguish several types of spirits: on the one hand, the spirits of the previous kings of the dynasty, together with former ministers or dignitaries and the relatives of the deceased royal house; on the other hand, the different spirits of Nature, with influence or power over the world of men; finally, above all, the founding spirit of the Shang dynasty, the Emperor on High, the Lord on High, Shangdi.