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壬子卜子其告 (戎)既 (率)丁子曾告曰丁族 (宓) (孰(塾))宅子其乍(作) 丁予(序)于 (戎) 一
壬子卜子戠(待)弜(勿)告 (戎)既 (率)于[丁]若一
壬子卜子 (寢)于 (戎)弜(勿)告于丁 一
壬子卜子丙其乍(作)丁予(序)于 (戎) 一
甲寅卜子屰(逆)卜(外)母 (子)于帚(婦)好若 一二三
一二三 …123
乙卯卜子丙 (速)不用 一二
乙卯卜歲且(祖)乙牢子其自弜(勿) (速)用 一二
庚申卜貞執死 一二
Divined on Renzi: Our lord should report that Rong is already under control (to) His Highness. Lord Zeng reported (it), saying, “His Highness’ clan-based military unit446 is safe447 and residing (in) stations next to the main gate;448 Your son (or: Our lord) shall (< expects to) build His Highness’ school449 in Rong.” 1 446 K.C. Chang (1980:164-165), says, “The oracle bone character for zu 族has two elements, a flag above and an arrow below. Ding Shan’s interpretation, that it originally signified a military unit, is generally accepted. In ancient China the association of flags with military units is well known, and in oracle bone inscriptions zu are shown to be action units in military campaigns. …But mili- tary action was only one of the functions of the zu…, and composition was apparently based on kinship.” 447 For the reading of this graph as a loan for bi 毖, see Qiu Xigui 1992: 24-25. The graph bi on 290 is a phonetic loan for 毖, and this leads to me to read here as mi 宓, which the Shuowen jiezi defines as an 安 “safe; rest”, and the Guangyun defines as ning 寧 “calm”. 448 For the identification of shu 孰as writing the word shu 塾, see Qiu Xigui 1992: 190-195; the Erya defines it as 門側之堂謂之塾 “A hall next to the gate is called shu 塾”. Song Zhenhao (2010: 42) explains it as a guard station located to the side of the gate of a residence complex or to the main gate of a settlement. is composed of two interlocked squares or circles. (The squares depict the image of two enclosures.) Yu Xingwu (2009: 180-181) reads it as writing the word yong 雝 “marsh, pool”. However, HYZ script writes 雝as , with two circles (=enclosures) arranged one on top of the other, with a space in between them, and with water around it. This same word occurs in the Western Zhou bronze inscription Rongzhong fangding 榮仲方鼎 (Xinshou 1567) with a roof + walls classifier: 王作榮仲 “The king built Rongzhong’s X”. Li Xueqin (2016: 337-339, 341-344) identifies the element on the inside of as yu 予 and reads the graph as writing the word xu 序 “school”. “子其作丁序” in this HYZ divination and “王作榮仲序” in the bronze inscription have 286 | HYZ 294
Divined on Renzi: Our lord will wait; do not report that Rong is already un- der control to [His Highness], (for it) will be favorable. 1
Divined on Renzi: Our lord houses in Rong; do not report (it) to His High- ness. 1
Divined on Renzi: Our lord, on a Bing day, should build His Highness’ school in Rong. 1
Divined on Jiayin: Our lord will welcome (his) Aunt’s children450 at Lady Hao’s (location), (for it) will be favorable. 123
Divined on Yimao: Our lord, on a Bing day, will invite (others). Not used. 12 a near identical syntax. The difference between the two is that the divination has the modal adverb qi, which indicates future action, whereas the sentence in the bronze inscription is post- factum. There are a series of period V OBI (HJ 36540-36547; Yingcang 2529) dating to end of the Anyang period that mention two different kinds of schools located at a place called Yi . The schools are both referred to as being of or located in the Great Settlement Shang: one school is called the Great Settlement Shang School for Gong (Adults?) 天邑商公序, and the other school is called the Great Settlement Shang School for Meng (Eldest Sons?) 天邑商皿(孟)序. HJ 36542 writes “school” and HJ 36543 writes it (HYZ 21) writes the name of the protagonist’s relative, Zi Yu. 450 is composed of zi 子 “child” over zhi 止 “foot”. A territory called by this name is record- ed in Wu Ding’s divination records (HJ 456r, HJ 7244; see Jao Tsung-I 1959: 596). Although it is certainly possible to interpret this word as the name of the protagonist’s aunt, I understand it in association with the divinations before it about the construction of a school, and read it as a variant spelling of zi 子 “child, children”. In Shang script “child” + ce “document, book” writes the word zhi 智 “know, knowledge”. A variant adds the phonetic “foot” under “child”. I take 止 the same way here. HYZ 296 | 287
Divined on Yimao: In sacrificing (to) Ancestor Yi some pen-raised cattle, our lord should do it himself; (he) ought not invite (anyone else). Used. 12
Divined on Gengshen, tested: Shackled (prisoners) will die. 12