Bone-deep roots reach out

During the late Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC), on the banks of the Huanhe River in what is now Henan province, a scribe lowered his bronze knife onto a polished tortoise shell. Firelight flickered across his face as the blade traced characters into the bone. He was performing divination on behalf of the king, inscribing questions onto bone or shell before applying heat to create cracks that were interpreted as answers from the spirit world. The brief, urgent inscriptions he left behind became the earliest known written records of Chinese civilization.

More than three millennia later, that moment has been reimagined by digital artists as part of the Jiagu Xungen (Roots of Oracle Bone Civilization) IP. The scene — titled Yongxu (Eternity) — belongs to the Wen (Writing) thread of the project, one of four narrative pillars that together tell the story of Shang civilization.

For centuries, these inscribed bones lay buried beneath the soil of Yinxu, the last capital of the Shang Dynasty, in Anyang of Henan. They remained forgotten until the late 19th century, when they began to surface as "dragon bones" sold in traditional medicine shops. Scholars soon recognized them as fragments of a lost writing system that predated any previously known Chinese script by nearly a millennium.

Today, oracle bone script is recognized as China's earliest fully developed writing system, and the only ancient script in the world that remains "alive". Unlike Egyptian hieroglyphs or Mesopotamian cuneiform, which became extinct writing systems, oracle bone script is the direct ancestor of the Chinese characters still read and written by more than one billion people.

On July 13, 2006, Yinxu was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its "outstanding universal value". Exactly 20 years later, on the same date this year, China Daily, the country's leading English-language newspaper, joined forces with the Anyang government to launch the Jiagu Xungen IP — a visual storytelling project that translates these ancient inscriptions into contemporary design.

The release is a fitting tribute to a heritage that "fills every descendant of Chinese civilization with pride", said Zhu Baoxia, deputy publisher of China Daily, at the launch ceremony in Anyang.

As China's national English-language newspaper, Zhu says, China Daily has a responsibility to share Chinese culture with the world. She announces that the IP will be distributed through China Daily's cultural knowledge database, which reaches audiences in more than 50 countries. The newspaper will also partner with the Yinxu Museum on a series of follow-up initiatives.

"The goal is to let oracle bone script step out of the classics, live in the present and reach audiences around the world — transforming Shang civilization from an artifact display into a living cultural legacy," she says.

Ning Hongliang, head of Anyang's publicity department, echoes: "The transmission of civilization requires both the archaeologist's trowel and the communicator's pen." He says the collaboration with China Daily is a concrete step toward advancing the city's cultural mission and strengthening China's international cultural communication, allowing more people overseas to appreciate the depth of Chinese civilization.

The project is part of a broader effort to make oracle bone script not only understandable but emotionally resonant in an age of emojis and short videos.

Reviving ancient words

When Zhao Qingrong, deputy director of the Yinxu Museum, began working at the site in 1998, oracle bone script was widely seen as an esoteric field understood only by a small circle of specialists. "People regarded it as a 'heavenly script' that ordinary people could never read," she says.

That perception has changed dramatically. Since the museum's new building opened in 2024, nearly 5 million people have visited. Clad in bronze-colored panels, the structure takes the shape of a ritual ding cauldron, while its central atrium evokes the Shang legend of the dark bird that gave birth to the dynasty.

"Oracle bone script is no longer a niche academic pursuit," Zhao says."It has become something the public actively wants to engage with."

Over the past two decades, she has witnessed a remarkable transformation. The script has gone from "unreadable words" to a "visible civilization", as visitors now arrive with basic knowledge picked up from social media, documentaries and oracle bone-themed calisthenics exercises practiced in schools, she says.

The experience has moved from "remote" to "tangible". Oracle bone-shaped noodles let visitors "swallow 3,000-odd years in one bite", and coffee topped with ancient-script foam art has become an unlikely bestseller, she says.

Museum visits have also shifted from "one-way transmission" to "two-way dialogue". "Visitors no longer simply listen to guides. They ask questions, challenge interpretations, and make connections to their own lives," she says.

Zhao sees the oracle bone roots IP as the next step in this evolution. "I expect the IP to bring greater depth, a more systematic framework, and richer consumer scenarios."

In her view, the project represents an upgrade in the way oracle bone heritage is presented. She says that where the museum once developed products in a piecemeal way — a character here, a motif there — the new framework delivers a coherent narrative that can support entire product lines. "You could develop multiple products across multiple categories, all telling one story."

The four threads

Ma Yang, who led the oracle bone IP project, faced a creative challenge of condensing an entire civilization into a visual language that could resonate with both Chinese and international audiences. Her team settled on four narrative threads: Jin (Bronze), Shi (Jade), Yi (City), and Wen (Writing), representing the material culture, ritual system, urban life, and written legacy of Shang civilization.

"Oracle bone script is the starting point, but it was never just about writing," Ma says. "It was embedded in a larger civilizational context — bronze ritual vessels, jade ceremonial objects, planned cities, and specialized crafts. We wanted to show that bigger story."

Bronze is rendered in patina greens and earthy browns — colors that speak to the weight and solemnity of ritual vessels, the cauldrons and wine containers through which Shang elites communicated with the spirit world. Jade appears in softer, aquatic tones, befitting the refinement of carvings that embodied status and spiritual aspiration. The City thread glows with warm hues depicting golden fields, bustling workshops, and chariots in motion — a thriving metropolis of artisans, farmers, and merchants. Writing, finally, uses warm reds and fiery oranges, capturing the flame of divination and the urgency of scribes preserving royal words for posterity.

At the heart of the project is the design philosophy of "characters as images, images as characters", Ma says.

Oracle bone script is inherently pictographic, and the designers "re-embedded" it in the IP design. A door-shaped character becomes a city gate and a horse-shaped glyph becomes a chariot, while a bird-shaped mark becomes a jade phoenix gliding over a river.

"We wanted the characters to grow into the picture, not just sit on top of it," Ma says. "A viewer first sees a vibrant scene of Shang life. Then, on closer inspection, they realize every building, vessel and figure is derived from an oracle bone character. The scene itself becomes the script made visible."

Each of the four threads carries a thematic title. Qiming (Enlightenment) stands for Bronze, speaking to the "awakening" of a complex civilization. Shangli (Revering Ritual) reflects the central role of ritual through the use of Jade. Shounian (Harvest Year), drawn from an oracle bone inscription, expands beyond agriculture to symbolize prosperity and social stability through the City. Yongxu (Eternity) represents Writing and the unbroken continuity of cultural memory.

"We could have just used decorative patterns," Ma says. "But that would have been superficial. Every visual choice had to be rooted in something authentic — a real character, a real ritual, a real slice of Shang life."

Zhao from the Yinxu Museum says it is a bold effort to bring cultural heritage to life. "It pursues accuracy of spirit rather than accuracy of form."

Throughout the creative process, she adds, the museum provided academic review to ensure that while artistic interpretation was encouraged, historical authenticity was never compromised.

Beyond museum glass

The Yinxu Museum already offers more than 1,200 cultural products, ranging from oracle bone-shaped noodles to jade-inspired headbands, using creative merchandise to deepen visitors' connection with Shang civilization. Among its unexpected bestsellers is a refrigerator magnet featuring a Shang child, affectionately nicknamed the "Young Prince" by museum staff members.

For Li Xiaoyang, director of the Anyang cultural heritage bureau, these individual products, however popular, are only the beginning."The problem is that each initiative stands alone," Li says.

He points to a series of experiments over the years, including oracle bone-themed calisthenics, emoji packs and design competitions.

"We've done many things, but they were mostly isolated efforts — a character here, a movement there — without a unifying framework."

Li sees the newly launched IP as part of a broader effort to "present the most authentic picture of the Shang Dynasty possible".

He highlights a historical fact that even many Chinese are unaware of:"Many people think ritual traditions began with the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-256 BC). In fact, Zhou rituals grew out of Shang rituals."

"This is precisely the kind of historical insight international audiences might find eye-opening," he says.

The oracle bone roots IP, in Li's view, represents a significant step forward. "China Daily has done something truly innovative with these four IP designs," he says. "They have captured the essence of Shang civilization through four distinct visual narratives. This is far more than a series of posters — it is a complete storytelling system."

He says the approach will resonate more strongly with international audiences and young people alike. Meanwhile, he stresses the importance of encouraging creativity and commercialization while guarding against what he calls "cultural distortion".

Anyang has seen other sites struggle with this balance — too much regulation stifles innovation, too little can lead to vulgarization. "The goal is to let the river flow, but to keep the banks strong," Li says.

His vision is a unified cultural experience: visitors arrive at Anyang to discover Shang civilization at Yinxu, then move through time to see how the script evolved at the National Museum of Chinese Writing, then onward to other sites that complete the city's "cultural profile".

Telling the world

The oracle bone IP project was conceived from the outset with global audiences in mind.

"Oracle bone script is inherently visual," Ma says. "Even if you can't read it, you can see it — the shape of a bird, the curve of a river, the form of a vessel. That visual language crosses cultural boundaries easily."

What is more difficult to convey, she admits, is the semantic depth — the ritual context, the divination logic, and the layered meanings of a single character.

Shounian, for instance, literally means "harvest year", but in the original divination text, it carried overtones of royal legitimacy, social stability, and ancestral blessing, far more than a simple agricultural forecast.

The IP addresses that challenge by using imagery to spark curiosity, and guides audiences through layered explanations in short captions, interactive content, and deeper readings for those who want to explore further.

Organizers of the project concur that it has made a serious start toward bringing ancient writing fully into the modern world, by turning characters into images, images into products, and products into points of connection between past and present.