Old Chinese, or Archaic Chinese, is the oldest known variation of the Chinese language. It’s the language that was used on oracle bones (pictured above), pieces of ox scapula or turtle shell that were exposed to heat and interpreted based on the cracks that formed. The ancestors were asked a series of yes or no questions, and the cracks were taken as their answers. This form of divination dates back to the Mid to Late Shang period, possibly as early as 1400 BC/BCE, and by around 1250 BC/BCE, diviners started inscribing the questions and/or the answers directly onto the bones. These bones are among the earliest samples of Chinese writing ever found.

I have long been fascinated by oracle bones, Old Chinese, and the words of wisdom from the likes of Confucius and Lao Tzu that are their direct legacy, and throughout the month of March I intend to spend time learning as much about them as I can. As always, I don’t expect by any means to learn to read, write, or speak Old Chinese within a month, and when I read and study the I Ching and Tao Te Ching it will be their English translations that I pick up, but quite often even the smallest pieces of knowledge about a language can help to clarify the meaning of its literature.

I should also note that the I Ching was written in Old or Archaic Chinese while the Tao Te Ching was written in Middle or Ancient Chinese, and these are probably about as different as Old English and Middle English. As with most languages, Chinese has evolved over the centuries and has gone through many stages in its pronunciation, writing system, and vocabulary, but I thought I would condense “not Modern Chinese” into one month and explore the key texts of the major pre-Modern phases.

This YouTube video from the channel I Love Languages! offers a brief but interesting look at how Chinese numbers changed between Old, Middle, and Modern Mandarin Chinese. Check it out!

I hope you will join me on my journey with Old and Middle Chinese and their most influential literature. Happy reading!