In ancient times, why did wizards use "turtles" for divination?

As everyone knows

Oracle

It is an ancient Chinese script and the earliest mature Chinese character we have seen so far.

Its content is mainly carried out by Yin Shang wizards

divination

A record of the activity, ie

Bu Ci

There are also some notable inscriptions that have nothing to do with divination.

And the reason why the oracle is called the oracle is because it is engraved on the turtle carapace or animal bone-

Mainly carved on turtle shells

。

For example, among the oracle bones unearthed from the "Yin Ruins" in Anyang, Henan, the number of tortoiseshells is much higher than that of animal bones.

According to the famous oracle osteologist

Hu Houxuan

According to Mr. Yin's statistics, the ratio of tortoiseshell to animal bone used by Yin Shang is about 8:2.

Famous oracle osteologist

Dong Zuobin

He also believes that the Yin people actually use turtle divination, because the number of turtle shells is not enough, so they use the shoulder blades of cattle and other natural animal bones.

So, why did the wizards of the Yin Shang use tortoise shells for divination?

Turtle Bu

Obviously, in the concept of people at that time, the turtle should have some kind of magical function, use it to divinate, and predict good luck and bad luck.

According to the Chronicle of the Turtle Celie, the shaman would recite a mantra during the turtle, calling the turtle "The Master of the Jade Spirit" and calling it "ascending to the heavens, descending from the abyss, and counting the spirits, as ruxin".

In another incantation, it is said: "The five witches and five spirits are not as good as the spirits of the turtles, who know the death of people and know life."

This is all in praise of the magic of the turtle, it can "go up to the sky, down to the abyss", among all the means of divination, the number of turtles is the most spiritual, can "know people's death, know life".

The question that arises is, why did the ancients think that divination with turtles was the most effective?

On this issue, it is difficult for us to know what people's concepts were during the Shang Dynasty, because there is no evidence to examine.

However, in the historical documents since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States, there are many statements recorded in this regard, and the next interview is to give a few examples -

Spirit turtle

In the "Pipe and Water" the turtle and the dragon are mentioned together, it is said

"The turtle is born in water, and it is born of fire, so it is the first of all things, and it is a blessing for the sake of misfortune"

This means that the turtle grows in water, burns the shell of the turtle with fire and appears in the omen, is born in the water and originates in the fire, so it can precede all things and predict the misfortunes of the world.

The Official Classics of the Han Dynasty, the White Tiger Tong, also quotes the Book of Rites and Miscellaneous Sayings as saying:

"Turtle, the old man of yin also... Dragons are not water, turtles are not fire, and yang is moving yin."

This is to say that the turtle is the "old man of yin", and it is very useful to burn the turtle shell with fire to obtain the buzhao, which is "moving the yin with the yang", so it is very useful for divination.

This is explained from the perspective of "water and fire" or "yin and yang".

Turtle life extension

There is also a saying that because the turtle has a long lifespan, the ancients regarded it as a theosophical spiritual object, so it is very clever to use turtle shells for divination.

This statement is common in the literature of the ages.

For example, in the Eastern Han Dynasty Wang Chong's "On Heng And The Book of Bu Zheng", Zi Lu asked Confucius: Pigs, sheep, the bones of these animals can burn bu zhao, and the feathers of various grasses or birds can be used to calculate, why must we use turtles and yarrows to buy the basket?

（

In ancient times, the use of turtle shell divination was called Bu, and the use of yarrow divination was called 筮, collectively known as Bu Zheng.

）

Confucius replied: "蓍" is pronounced from "耆", "turtle" is pronounced from "old", and if there is something suspicious, of course, you must ask "old age", that is, ask the elderly for advice. This means that both the turtle and the yarrow are known for their longevity, so they can be used as tools for divination.

Turtles

In addition, there is also a more common statement in the literature that the spirit turtle symbolizes the universe, so it is very useful for divination.

For example, liu xiang of the Western Han Dynasty said in his "Saying Yuan, Discerning Objects": "The spirit turtle is five colors, like jade like gold, the back is yin and yang, the upper long is like the heavens, the lower ping fadi, the yan yan elephant mountain, the four-toed transport should be four hours, and the text is like twenty-eight residences." Snake head dragon wings, left essence (eye) elephant day, right essence (eye) elephant moon, Chitose transformation, lower qi upward communication, can know the change of the survival of the auspicious. ”

That's what it says

The turtle's back symbolizes the heavens, the turtle's belly symbolizes the four hours (spring, summer, autumn and winter), the lines on the back symbolize the twenty-eight houses, the left eye symbolizes the sun, the right eye symbolizes the moon, and so on, so the turtle "can know the change of survival"

Because of this, the ancients believed that the use of turtle shells in divination was the most magical!

-Ends-

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