Current location:business >>
Social media star revives interest in ancient Chinese writing
business44People have gathered around
Introduction(People's Daily Online) 14:06, December 21, 2023A young social media star has revived interest in or ...
A young social media star has revived interest in oracle bone inscriptions, or Jiaguwen, an ancient Chinese language named for their inscriptions on tortoise shells and animal bones during the Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C.-1046 B.C.).
Born in 1996 in Tonglu county, Hangzhou, in east China's Zhejiang Province, Li Ying, known as Li Youxi on social media, is a postgraduate who specialized in oracle bone inscriptions at Zhejiang Normal University.
Photo shows Li Ying, known as Li Youxi on social media. (yangtse.com/Photo courtesy of the interviewee)
Li gained internet attention after humorously noting her major's lack of popularity.
"You can't possibly imagine how obscure this profession is," she said in one of her most popular videos, posted in February this year on her Douyin account, the Chinese version of TikTok.
Driven by her keen interest in the evolution of Chinese characters, Li chose to study oracle bone inscriptions, a primitive form of Chinese characters and the oldest fully-developed characters in China, during her postgraduate studies.
There was only one teacher specializing in oracle bone inscriptions at the university, and Li was the sole student in her class that year. Li noted that the teacher would retire this year.
After earning her master's degree in 2021, Li worked at an internet company for six months. She later landed a job as a short video director at a new media company, gaining valuable new media experience. However, after six months, she left to pursue her passions, allotting herself three months to focus on what she truly wanted to do.
Li then launched her career in Hangzhou city. "I wanted to do something I truly love and let more people discover the charm of oracle bone inscriptions," she said.
Li Ying, who goes by Li Youxi on social media, uses a book of oracle bone inscriptions to find topics for her short videos. (yangtse.com/Photo courtesy of the interviewee)
The sudden popularity of a video she posted in February on her Douyin account refocused her attention on oracle bone inscriptions, allowing her to publicize these ancient words and explain the stories behind them.
In less than 10 months, the number of followers on her account has risen to more than 550,000.
Li said that fewer than 2,000 characters carved on oracle bones have been decoded, many of which are rarely used today. "I can recognize around 800 oracle bone characters," she added.
"The oracle bone writings are mainly records of divination made by people in the Shang Dynasty, and we can find stories of the dynasty behind the oracle bone inscriptions," Li said, noting that her videos aim to tell stories from more than 3,000 years ago by explaining oracle bone characters.
Li Ying, known as Li Youxi on social media, records a video. (yangtse.com/Photo courtesy of the interviewee)
"There is no record of Lady Fu Hao, a queen, shaman, and military leader in the Shang Dynasty, in historical texts. But we learned the story of Fu Hao from oracle bone inscriptions excavated over 100 years ago and the discovery of her tomb," Li said.
"There are over 200 pieces of oracle bone inscriptions related to Fu Hao, through which we discovered her remarkable life," she added.
Li writes scripts for her videos to promote oracle bone characters. "First, I need to find a suitable subject, then search through information and read literature before writing scripts. I have to revise the scripts repeatedly," she said.
In addition to continuing to produce videos on oracle bone inscriptions, Li plans to write books about the Shang Dynasty, drawing on stories from oracle bone inscriptions.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Global Gazetteer news portal”。http://samoa.carpetcleaningepping.com/html-95d599872.html
Related articles
A warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest was requested. But no decision was made about whether to issue it
businessCLAIM: The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ...
【business】
Read moreMarcus Sasser leads Pistons past Mavericks 107
businessDALLAS (AP) — Rookie Marcus Sasser scored 24 points in his hometown return, including 13 straight De ...
【business】
Read moreCoyotes players informed the team is expected to move to Salt Lake City, AP source says
businessArizona Coyotes players have been informed the NHL club is expected to relocate to Salt Lake City, a ...
【business】
Read more
Popular articles
- Amir Khan's £11.5m luxury wedding venue finally hosts its first marriage: Bride arrives on horse
- Judge in Trump’s classified files case agrees to protect witness identities
- Ohtani hits 175th home run in Major League Baseball, tying Matsui for most by a Japan
- Supreme Court to hear arguments over mifepristone Tuesday
- Baby Reindeer's real
- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses Congress amid skepticism about US role abroad
Latest articles
Strictly star Giovanni Pernice's former partner Rose Ayling
The Titans trade a seventh
Election 2024: Latino voters are a target for misinformation
Republicans debate ahead of runoff for Alabama congressional seat
What a blast to work at NASA. Space agency is sky
Court says judge had no authority to halt Medicare Advantage plan for Delaware government retirees
LINKS
- United Airlines reports $124 million loss in a quarter marred by grounding of some Boeing planes
- Justin Trudeau's government raises taxes on wealthiest Canadians in federal budget
- Jonathan Bailey linked to lead role in Jurassic World film directed by Gareth Edwards
- Panthers beat Maple Leafs 5
- Senate opposition leaves South Carolina energy bill with listless future
- Connecticut's top public defender denies misconduct claims as commission debates firing her
- Boeing in the spotlight as Congress calls a whistleblower to testify about defects in planes
- Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, 69, reveals that he 'intends to retire at some point'
- New leader of Jesse Jackson's civil rights organization steps down just months on the job
- Emma Roberts makes a splash in sexy blue swimsuit and cowboy boots