Chinese archaeologists recently identified and analyzed over 7,000 oracle bones from the Western Zhou Dynasty unearthed at the Zhougong Temple site in Qishan County of Shaanxi Province. The characters found on these bones already number over 2,200, the greatest number among China's eight ruins where Zhou Dynasty oracle bone inscriptions have been discovered.

Last year, the Zhougong Temple archaeology team conducted an archaeological excavation in large lime soil ruins in front of the Zhougong Temple. They unearthed over 7,000 pieces of oracle bones, 688 of which were inscribed with characters.

The archaeology team organized technicians to conduct thorough cleaning, fitting and comparing, piecing together and photographing of the oracle bones, while also carrying out careful microscopic observation. They also invited well-known paleography experts to help identify the characters. Over 2,200 oracle bone inscriptions were eventually discovered and among them, recognizable characters account for over 1,600.

Reporters learned that from the 1,600 plus recognizable characters, experts presume to have discovered the name of the father of King Wen of Zhou for the first time.

By People's Daily Online