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ByAwen

Feb 7, 2023

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Oracle Bone Script 降

Oracle Bone Script (甲骨文) is an ancient form of Chinese writing system and its characters are often more descriptive than the modern ones.

Take character 降. In Oracle Bone Script form, it portraits two legs in the motion of walking downhill.

Quite a few Chinese characters can also have two different pronunciations. And 降 is one of them.

When it is pronounced jiàng, it means fall. For example: Interest rates fall 50 basis points.

When 降 is pronounced xiáng, it means surrender. E.g.: A chosen bank has no choice but to surrender in a financial warfare.

Ancient Shang Dynasty

As a merchant society, the people of Shang (商朝 1600 – 1046 BC) were basically governed by business contracts. Apart from that, they felt no obligation to help the community when needed or defend the territory when attacked. After all, they had little attachment to the land, either physically or emotionally.

Since the ethical foundation that bound individuals together into a society crumpled, the authority had to rely heavily on the laws to keep order, and the laws of Shang were numerous and the punishments were ruthless.

A morally corrupted litigation-riddled state that was based on a bubble economy and harsh punishment could gain no loyalty from its citizens; when a duke called for rebellion, the soldiers responded immediately, and the last merchant king burned himself in the palace… FULL