Abstract
This review considers the book of the American sinologist A. Schwartz “The Oracle Bone Inscriptions from Huayuanzhuang East. Translated with an Introduction and Commentary” was published in 2019. The book is a commented translation and study of inscriptions on divination bones (turtle shields and bull shoulder blades) from the eastern sector of Huayuanzhuang in Yinxu (Anyang, Henan). This epigraphic monument dates back to the turn of the 13th–12th centuries BC and currently represents the most complete and interesting corpus of divinatory inscriptions. Despite the fact that the inscriptions under consideration cover a relatively short period of time, they contain many details, which, as if piece by piece, form the general picture of Shan reality. It is noteworthy that the customer of these divinations was not the Shang ruler, but a figure from his inner circle — Zi, who was presumably the son of the wang. After a thorough analysis of the inscriptions, A. Schwartz offers a reconstruction of various aspects of the daily activities, rituals, and life of the elite of the Shan society — the wang, his reigning wife, the prince, and the persons who are in their subordination. The basis of A. Schwartz’s research is a complete translation of divinatory inscriptions into English, so this review focuses on the problems of interpreting the most important terms found in divinatory inscriptions from the Eastern Huayuanzhuang Sector.
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