<div class="s-table-container">
<table class="s-table">
<thead>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center;">時期<br>字體</th>
<th style="text-align: center;">字形</th>
<th style="text-align: center;">參考資料</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"> </td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><strong>Series A</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">商</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">甲</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/BqQAs.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/BqQAs.png" alt="" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference" rel="nofollow noreferrer">乙</a>7795<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.net/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=6834&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">合集6834</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><br><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E9%9A%B8%E5%AE%9A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">隸定</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/tTevX.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/tTevX.png" alt="" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"> </td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><strong>Series B</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">商<br>甲</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/OA4PI.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/OA4PI.png" alt="占" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference" rel="nofollow noreferrer">乙</a>791<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.net/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=21959&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">合集21959</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period" rel="nofollow noreferrer">戰國</a>・<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">楚</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips" rel="nofollow noreferrer">簡</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/MftrE.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MftrE.png" alt="占" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">198<br>包山竹簡</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">秦</a><br>簡</td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/9MYdz.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/9MYdz.png" alt="占" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">秦律雜抄32<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">睡虎地秦簡</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty#Eastern_Han" rel="nofollow noreferrer">東漢</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">隸</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/dEXiC.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/dEXiC.png" alt="占" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching" rel="nofollow noreferrer">易經</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiping_Stone_Classics" rel="nofollow noreferrer">熹平石經</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">楷</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ZRqes.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ZRqes.png" alt="占" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p>「占」 was originally a combination of <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=39" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>mouth</em> 「口」</a>, representing <em>words/diction</em>, and either <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=19" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>pyromantic divination cracking</em> 「卜」</a> (<strong>Series B</strong>) or a <em>bone with pyromantic divination cracks</em> 「・⿴囗卜」 (<strong>Series A</strong>). The whole character represents <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone#Shang_divination" rel="nofollow noreferrer">pyromantic divination</a> of prophetic words</em>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The word for <em>divination cracks</em> was originally written as <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/jiaguwen?kaiOrder=25013&amp;ZiOrder=457" rel="nofollow noreferrer">「・⿴囗卜」</a></p>
<p><kbd>商<br>甲<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/racNY.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/racNY.png" alt="" /></a><br><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference" rel="nofollow noreferrer">鐵</a>260.3<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.net/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=16795&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">合集16795</a></kbd></p>
<p>made up of <em>divination cracking</em> 「卜」 in a <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=1056" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>shoulder bone</em> or <em>scapula</em> 「肩」</a> . The entire character is a simplified depiction of an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone" rel="nofollow noreferrer">oracle bone</a>; see <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/41050/whys-flesh-the-semantic-component-for-%E8%82%A9-%E8%84%96/41066#41066">Why's flesh (⺼ ) the semantic component for 肩, 脖?</a> for more details.</p>
<p>This character no longer survives in the modern writing system, being replaced by the unrelated glyph 「兆」, which is used a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification#Rebus_(phonetic_loan)_characters" rel="nofollow noreferrer">phonetic loan</a> for the original word for <em>divination cracks</em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For an idea of how the divination process works, see e.g. <a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.net/jgwhj/?bhfl=18&amp;bh=8&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">《殷虛文字丙編》８、９</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>丙8 is an oracle bone made from turtle <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_shell#Plastron" rel="nofollow noreferrer">plastron</a>, and 丙9 is the reverse side of 丙8. The holes drilled in 丙9 lead to cracks appearing in 丙8 when heated; the small numbers 一、二、三、亖（四）、（五） show the number of &quot;divination rounds&quot; that were performed on this bone, and 二告 on the bottom-left hand corner of 丙8 (between 亖 and 五) was a re-attempt at a divination round which the oracles or diviners felt were failed attempts at communicating with the spirits.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/MbR66.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MbR66.png" alt="《殷虛文字丙編》８、９" /></a><p>
丙辰卜，㱿鼎（貞）：「我⿳爫舟又（受）黍秂（年）？」<br>
Divination on the day of <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%B8%99%E8%BE%B0" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>bǐngchén</em></a>, <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E8%B2%9E%E4%BA%BA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Oracle Què</a> asked: &quot;Will we receive millet harvests?&quot;</p>
<p>丙辰卜，㱿鼎：「我弗（其）⿳爫舟又黍秂？」<br>
Divination on the day of <em>bǐngchén</em>, Oracle Què asked: &quot;Will we <strong>not</strong> receive millet harvests?&quot;</p>
<p>王（占）曰：「吉。⿳爫舟又㞢（有）秂。」<br>
The King divined, prophesising: &quot;It is auspicious, and we will receive the harvests.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>The prophecy and its opposing result are given as dictions inscribed on to the oracle bone;</li>
<li>Cracks will start appearing after intense heat is applied to the bone, from the drilled holes towards the centre;</li>
<li>A diviner (in this case, the King) will interpret the crack patterns surrounding the inscribed prophecies, and determine whether the auspicious or inauspicious prophecy will come to fruition.</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>季旭昇《說文新證》</li>
<li><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">漢語多功能字庫</a></li>
<li>劉翔・陳抗・陳初生・董琨　編　李學勤　審訂《商周古文字讀本》</li>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw" rel="nofollow noreferrer">小學堂</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian" rel="nofollow noreferrer">字形演變</a></li>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/jiaguwen" rel="nofollow noreferrer">甲骨文</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">郭沫若《甲骨文合集》</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-25T23:27:49.587Z
Great example. Diviner has any specific date/time he will interpret?
user27485
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-26T01:44:09.627Z
@user27485 There is no date for the harvest period given in this particular oracle, but you can infer that, since crops needed to be harvested at certain times of the year, this divination was probably talking about the next harvest period coming up.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-25T17:40:38.127Z
2021-04-26T02:19:02.293Z
2021-04-26T02:19:02.293Z
dROOOze
<p>Divination through reading patterns from animal bones (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>scapulimancy</em></a>) was a widespread ancient human practice. A sub-type of this, <em>pyro-scapulimancy</em>, in which the bones are heated/burned to induce cracks (the patterns) was practiced in Bronze Age China, commonly with turtle shells.</p>
<p>After preparation, the shell would have a hole bored into it and a heated rod inserted in order to crack the shell through thermal expansion. The divination would be read from the pattern of cracks, and the prognostication engraved on the shell fragments.</p>
<hr />
<p>Source: <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Sources_of_Shang_History.html?id=8j3pPZqFQVkC" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Sources of Shang history: the oracle-bone inscriptions of Bronze Age China</em></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-23T08:55:35.247Z
It's no different from reading tea leaves, animal entrails, Tarot cards, etc.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-23T22:54:34.497Z
found all details about divination in the links. thanks
user27485
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-23T07:16:44.960Z
2021-04-23T07:35:26.687Z
2021-04-23T07:35:26.687Z
大胳膊雅各布
<p>I have the following etymology from <a href="https://www.outlier-linguistics.com/collections/chinese" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>占 depicts cracks (卜) in a turtle shell and a hole (口) drilled into the shell during the divination process. Its original meaning is “observing cracks in oracle bones for the purpose of divination.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But I could not understand what exactly they were referring to.</p>
<p>What is the relationship between divination and turtle shells? Why are holes drilled into turtle shells? Is this just to please the gods and get boons? Can you explain the cultural history at a high level?</p>
<p>What is the base meaning of it now?</p>

<meaning><glyph-origin><culture>
Understanding the glyph origin of 占
# Understanding the glyph origin of 占

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-23)

I have the following etymology from [Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters](https://www.outlier-linguistics.com/collections/chinese):

> 占 depicts cracks (卜) in a turtle shell and a hole (口) drilled into the shell during the divination process. Its original meaning is “observing cracks in oracle bones for the purpose of divination.”

But I could not understand what exactly they were referring to.

What is the relationship between divination and turtle shells? Why are holes drilled into turtle shells? Is this just to please the gods and get boons? Can you explain the cultural history at a high level?

What is the base meaning of it now?

**Tags:** meaning, glyph-origin, culture


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-04-23. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

Divination through reading patterns from animal bones ([*scapulimancy*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone)) was a widespread ancient human practice. A sub-type of this, *pyro-scapulimancy*, in which the bones are heated/burned to induce cracks (the patterns) was practiced in Bronze Age China, commonly with turtle shells.

After preparation, the shell would have a hole bored into it and a heated rod inserted in order to crack the shell through thermal expansion. The divination would be read from the pattern of cracks, and the prognostication engraved on the shell fragments.

---

Source: [*Sources of Shang history: the oracle-bone inscriptions of Bronze Age China*](https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Sources_of_Shang_History.html?id=8j3pPZqFQVkC)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: It's no different from reading tea leaves, animal entrails, Tarot cards, etc.  
> **username_0**: found all details about divination in the links. thanks  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-04-25. Score: 4

| 時期 字體 | 字形 | 參考資料 |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  | **Series A** |  |
| [商](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty) [甲](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone_script) |  | [乙](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference)7795 [合集6834](http://www.guoxuedashi.net/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&bh=6834&jgwfl=) |
| [隸定](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E9%9A%B8%E5%AE%9A) |  |  |
|  | **Series B** |  |
| 商 甲 | [占](https://i.sstatic.net/OA4PI.png) | [乙](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference)791 [合集21959](http://www.guoxuedashi.net/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&bh=21959&jgwfl=) |
| [戰國](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period)・[楚](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)) [簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips) | [占](https://i.sstatic.net/MftrE.png) | 198 包山竹簡 |
| [秦](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty) 簡 | [占](https://i.sstatic.net/9MYdz.png) | 秦律雜抄32 [睡虎地秦簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts) |
| [東漢](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty#Eastern_Han) [隸](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerical_script) | [占](https://i.sstatic.net/dEXiC.png) | [易經](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching) [熹平石經](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiping_Stone_Classics) |
| [楷](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script) | [占](https://i.sstatic.net/ZRqes.png) |  |

「占」 was originally a combination of [*mouth* 「口」](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=39), representing *words/diction*, and either [*pyromantic divination cracking* 「卜」](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=19) (**Series B**) or a *bone with pyromantic divination cracks* 「・⿴囗卜」 (**Series A**). The whole character represents *[pyromantic divination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone#Shang_divination) of prophetic words*.

> The word for *divination cracks* was originally written as [「・⿴囗卜」](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/jiaguwen?kaiOrder=25013&ZiOrder=457)
>
> `商  
> 甲  
> ![](https://i.sstatic.net/racNY.png)  
> 鐵260.3  
> 合集16795`
>
> made up of *divination cracking* 「卜」 in a [*shoulder bone* or *scapula* 「肩」](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=1056) . The entire character is a simplified depiction of an [oracle bone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone); see [Why's flesh (⺼ ) the semantic component for 肩, 脖?](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/41050/whys-flesh-the-semantic-component-for-%E8%82%A9-%E8%84%96/41066#41066) for more details.
>
> This character no longer survives in the modern writing system, being replaced by the unrelated glyph 「兆」, which is used a [phonetic loan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification#Rebus_(phonetic_loan)_characters) for the original word for *divination cracks*.

For an idea of how the divination process works, see e.g. [《殷虛文字丙編》８、９](http://www.guoxuedashi.net/jgwhj/?bhfl=18&bh=8&jgwfl=):

> 丙8 is an oracle bone made from turtle [plastron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_shell#Plastron), and 丙9 is the reverse side of 丙8. The holes drilled in 丙9 lead to cracks appearing in 丙8 when heated; the small numbers 一、二、三、亖（四）、（五） show the number of "divination rounds" that were performed on this bone, and 二告 on the bottom-left hand corner of 丙8 (between 亖 and 五) was a re-attempt at a divination round which the oracles or diviners felt were failed attempts at communicating with the spirits.
>
> [![《殷虛文字丙編》８、９](https://i.sstatic.net/MbR66.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/MbR66.png)
>
> 丙辰卜，㱿鼎（貞）：「我⿳爫舟又（受）黍秂（年）？」  
> Divination on the day of [*bǐngchén*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%B8%99%E8%BE%B0), [Oracle Què](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E8%B2%9E%E4%BA%BA) asked: "Will we receive millet harvests?"
>
> 丙辰卜，㱿鼎：「我弗（其）⿳爫舟又黍秂？」  
> Divination on the day of *bǐngchén*, Oracle Què asked: "Will we **not** receive millet harvests?"
>
> 王（占）曰：「吉。⿳爫舟又㞢（有）秂。」  
> The King divined, prophesising: "It is auspicious, and we will receive the harvests."

* The prophecy and its opposing result are given as dictions inscribed on to the oracle bone;
* Cracks will start appearing after intense heat is applied to the bone, from the drilled holes towards the centre;
* A diviner (in this case, the King) will interpret the crack patterns surrounding the inscribed prophecies, and determine whether the auspicious or inauspicious prophecy will come to fruition.

---

**References:**

* 季旭昇《說文新證》
* [漢語多功能字庫](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/)
* 劉翔・陳抗・陳初生・董琨　編　李學勤　審訂《商周古文字讀本》
* [小學堂](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw)
  + [字形演變](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian)
  + [甲骨文](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/jiaguwen)
* [郭沫若《甲骨文合集》](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Great example. Diviner has any specific date/time he will interpret?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 There is no date for the harvest period given in this particular oracle, but you can infer that, since crops needed to be harvested at certain times of the year, this divination was probably talking about the next harvest period coming up.  

---

