<p>i disagreed with the idea of nova / supernova.</p>

<p>first, there's <strong>no</strong> star (星) in 11503 反:</p>

<p><a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%98%9F" rel="nofollow noreferrer">星 </a>
in oracle script is</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/w1smx.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/w1smx.png" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/bUEzy.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/bUEzy.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>the key character in 11503 反 should be <a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%99%B6" rel="nofollow noreferrer"> 晶 </a>or <a href="http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E5%93%81" rel="nofollow noreferrer">品</a>:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/X4Qv5.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/X4Qv5.png" alt="enter image description here"></a>
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/BamYP.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/BamYP.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>secondly, chinese are read from top to bottom, right to left.</p>

<p>so, the text on 11503 反 should be read as:</p>

<p>不吉</p>

<p>求其㞢來㛸</p>

<p>㞢新大晶竝火</p>

<p>七日己巳夕</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/D2X5t.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/D2X5t.png" alt="enter image description here"></a>
how to interpret it, i'm not sure at this moment :(</p>

<p>actually, the text on this particular is controversial, here's a page of another explanation:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/W6Gqo.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/W6Gqo.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T13:27:24.867Z
「晶」是「星」的初文，其字絕不可釋「品」！https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/60304/does-the-etymology-of-%E6%98%9F-suggest-the-japanese-chinese-knew-the-sun-was-a-star/60306#60306
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T13:31:23.777Z
Also, the link you provided: 從三個圓圈(以◎表示)，象三顆星星之形，古代三可代表多數，故可理解為眾多星星，「晶」是「星」的初文。後世「晶」表示星光明亮、晶瑩或水晶，故以「星」字表示星星的本義。
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T14:06:39.410Z
the key character might be read as "品" is, well, an initial recognition, without semantic guess. relax :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T14:08:17.710Z
No lah, 口 looks like ㅂ before Qin Dynasty :) 品 looks like 3 ㅂ in oracle bone
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T14:22:53.500Z
well, i’ll visit the local library tomorrow; hope to find some useful info :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T13:24:36.727Z
2019-01-15T14:03:16.563Z
2019-01-15T14:03:16.563Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>Please forgive ahead of time.. I am not in any way expertized either in Chinese, or bone oracle script/pictograms. </p>

<p>I only have a couple of books that have been helpful towards what I have found so far, and another on the way. It seems some is at least somewhat similar to what has been posted above.</p>

<p>There are a few I have not figured out yet ( circled in yellow ), and maybe they were already covered, I just can not tell..</p>

<p>When I try to follow some of the links provided above, I get error pages..  </p>

<p>My interest in this particular bone oracle is that am planning on having an artist paint it for me, and am trying to gather as much information about the scripts so can have a calligrapher add some descriptive bone oracle script alongside the painting.</p>

<p>Hope I have the image code correct.. Click on image to enlarge.</p>

<p><a href="https://imgur.com/ZfzQJ5j.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://imgur.com/ZfzQJ5j.jpg" alt="Bone Oracle"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-15T21:17:30.713Z
This is not an answer, but makes a fairly good question. Why don’t you post a question instead, asking what the yellow characters are?
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-16T00:36:11.287Z
Sounds good drooze.. Not only would very much like to know what the characters circled in yellow are ( especially the very last one ), but would very much like to see possible interpretations in English for what the entire story line or event is about from start to finish.
Georgei
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-15T20:32:43.030Z
2019-08-16T00:48:08.137Z
2019-08-16T00:48:08.137Z
Georgei
<p>I won't claim expertise, but the following is my interpretation. Corrections welcome!</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Format:</strong></p>
  
  <p>Transcription given in 《甲骨文合集》</p>
  
  <p>How it should be read using more modern characters</p>
  
  <p>English translation</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p>《合集》11503 正</p>

<ol>
<li><p>ＡＢ〔卜〕<sup>(1)</sup>Ｃ貞〔旬亡〕</p>

<p>ＡＢ卜Ｃ貞旬無禍</p>

<p><strong>Divination</strong> (卜) <strong>on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_Stems" rel="nofollow noreferrer">heavenly stem</a> A</strong><sup>(2)</sup><strong>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthly_Branches" rel="nofollow noreferrer">earthly branch</a> B</strong><sup>(3)</sup><strong>: C</strong><sup>(4)</sup> <strong>asks</strong> (貞)<strong>: [Will we have] ten days</strong> (旬) <strong>without</strong> (亡<sup>(5)</sup>) <strong>calamity</strong> (<sup>(6)</sup>)<strong>?</strong></p></li>
<li><p>癸Ｂ〔卜〕Ｃ〔貞〕……丙……</p>

<p>(same)</p>

<p><strong>Divination on heavenly stem 癸, earthly branch B: C asks: ……</strong><sup>(7)</sup><strong>丙</strong><sup>(8)</sup><strong>……</strong><sup>(9)</sup></p></li>
<li><p>癸丑卜爭〔貞〕……〔㛸〕……</p>

<p>癸丑卜爭貞……艱……</p>

<p><strong>Divination on heavenly stem 癸, earthly branch 丑: 爭</strong><sup>(10)</sup> <strong>asks: ……difficulty/danger/hardship</strong> (㛸<sup>(11)</sup>)<strong>……</strong></p></li>
</ol>

<hr>

<p>《合集》11503 反</p>

<ol>
<li><p>……七日己巳夕……㞢新大晶竝火……</p>

<p>……七日己巳夕Ｄ<sup>(12)</sup>……有新大星竝火……</p>

<p><strong>……Day</strong> (日) <strong>seven</strong> (七)<strong>, the evening</strong> (夕) <strong>of the day of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagenary_cycle#Sexagenary_days" rel="nofollow noreferrer">己巳</a>……appeared</strong><sup>(13)</sup> (㞢<sup>(14)</sup>) <strong>[a] new</strong> (新) <strong>great</strong> (大) <strong>star</strong> (晶<sup>(15)</sup>) <strong>next to</strong> (竝) <strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antares" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Antares</a></strong><sup>(16)</sup> (火<sup>(17)</sup>)……</p></li>
<li><p>……〔㞢〕求其㞢來嬄……不吉</p>

<p>……有咎其有來艱……不吉</p>

<p>……<strong>has calamity</strong> (求<sup>(18)</sup>)<strong>, also</strong><sup>(19)</sup> (其) <strong>there comes</strong> (來) <strong>difficulty/danger/hardship……ominous</strong> (不吉)</p></li>
</ol>

<blockquote>
  <p>Notes:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>I think parentheses〔〕indicate a filled-in character that may not be immediately obvious on the bone fragment.</li>
  <li>「Ａ」is a placeholder for a hypothesised/unknown heavenly stem.</li>
  <li>「Ｂ」is a placeholder for a hypothesised/unknown earthly branch.</li>
  <li>「Ｃ」is a placeholder for a hypothesised/unknown name of the oracle doing the divination.
  
  <ul>
  <li>AB refers to the timekeeping system called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagenary_cycle" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sexagenary cycle</a>.</li>
  <li>The structure AB卜C貞… means <em>Divination on heavenly stem A, earthly branch B, oracle C asks…</em></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li>「亡」is used to mean <em>without</em> in oracle bone inscriptions, written as「無」now.「亡」(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Tibetan_languages" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Proto-Sino-Tibetan</a>: <strong>/*maŋ/</strong>, comprised of <strong>/*ma/</strong> + termative suffix <strong>/ŋ/</strong>) is cognate to「無」(<strong>/*ma/</strong>).</li>
  <li>「」has several interpretations, among them「憂」,「咎」, and「禍」; I don't know which one is correct, but I think「憂」means <em>worry</em>, and both「咎」and「禍」mean <em>disaster/calamity</em>, so the interpretation shouldn't vary too greatly.</li>
  <li>Unknown inscriptions, if any. Might be faded out from the bone.</li>
  <li>I don't know how to interpret this without more context.</li>
  <li>「」is the name of a hostile tribe neighbouring the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Shang Dynasty</a>.</li>
  <li>「爭」, in this context, is the name of an oracle.</li>
  <li>「㛸」is commonly interpreted in oracle bone scripts as「艱」.</li>
  <li>「」here has far too many conflicting interpretations. I'm not even sure of the correctness of this transcription, so I used the placeholder「Ｄ」.</li>
  <li>「有」literally means <em>there exists</em>, so depending on the context it can be seen as <em>there appeared</em>, or <em>has</em>, or just <em>there</em>.</li>
  <li>「㞢」is an oracle bone variant of「有」or「又」. Do not interpret this as「之」, which much later also became the shape of「㞢」.</li>
  <li><p>「晶」originally meant <em>star</em>, now written as「星」. The current meaning of「晶」is <em>sparkling/crystal/radiant</em>, which is a semantic extension of the original meaning. For reference, the glyph evolution of「星」:</p>
  
  <p><H1><kbd><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><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/exdMY.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/exdMY.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><br><a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference" rel="nofollow noreferrer">後</a>2.9.1<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=11503&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">合集11503</a></kbd><kbd>商<br>甲<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/LnuXl.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/LnuXl.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><br><a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference" rel="nofollow noreferrer">前</a>7.26.3<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=11501&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">合集11501</a></kbd><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou" rel="nofollow noreferrer">西周</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions" rel="nofollow noreferrer">金</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ItbCD.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ItbCD.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><br>麓伯星父簋<br>　</kbd><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">秦</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips" rel="nofollow noreferrer">簡</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Gn40j.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Gn40j.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">睡</a>・<a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/QinwenziReference" rel="nofollow noreferrer">日乙</a>41<br>　</kbd><kbd>今<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">楷</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/MmoKo.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MmoKo.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><br><br>　</kbd></H1></p>
  
  <p>The second form above changes the number of stars「日」and adds phonetic「生」. The third form shifts all the stars to the top. The fourth form simplifies all the stars down to one star, and forms the basis of the modern shape「星」.</p></li>
  <li><p>The <em>nova</em> interpretation hinges on「火」being interpreted as <em>Antares</em> or its other astronomical meaning <em>Mars</em>, rather than its basic meaning <em>fire</em>.  There is no explicit inscription of「心宿二」, which is the full name of <em>Antares</em>. The good news is that <em>there appeared a new great star next to the fire</em> doesn't really make sense, but we're lacking the rest of the text (if any) to confirm anything.</p></li>
  <li><p>「火」(<a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/jiaguwen?kaiOrder=148" rel="nofollow noreferrer">oracle bone sample view</a>) is frequently confused with「山」(<em>mountain</em>; <a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/jiaguwen?kaiOrder=52" rel="nofollow noreferrer">oracle bone sample view</a>) in oracle bone texts. YMMV on this interpretation.</p></li>
  <li><p>「求」is used as a phonetic loan for「咎」in oracle bone script. It is a picture of a multi-legged insect, and was the original character for「蛷」.</p></li>
  <li><p>Many possible interpretations for「其」.</p></li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>

<hr>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T16:03:41.347Z
My God ! Amazing answer ! I'll still wait to see what else pops up in comments or answers but wow, clearly you are an amazing intellect ! Thanks ! Footmark 16 is especially relevant for me. Needed to know that. Appreciated.
Johan88
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T16:12:53.447Z
@Johan88 thank you for the kind comments. This was my first ever attempt at translating an oracle bone, and I may have gotten quite a few things wrong. I also assume this supposed nova event is actually true, as in astrophysicists have back-calculated the formation of a star around that time; I didn't do the background checking on this supposed fact.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-16T13:51:30.640Z
@drooze, i look relevant books in the library. some ideas: reading sequence in oracle bone is same as traditional one, top to bottom, right to left. so the text ought to be read as "求其㞢來㛸 . . . 㞢新大晶竝火 . . . 七日己巳夕Ｄ(12)". last, i'm still seriously in doubt :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-16T14:00:21.730Z
@水巷孑蠻 The order of the lines in the answer was just the order《甲骨文合集》published them in. The author is the famous and infamous 郭沫若. Anyway, my translation was just a guess :) you should offer a translation too!
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-16T14:05:56.943Z
Actually, you should also look at 合集11504 and11505, I think that should decrease your doubts about the character being 晶. If you’re having doubts that 晶 is 星, then I can’t help - I will only say that 古文學家 support his idea, and linguists consider they are cognates.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-06T10:03:04.870Z
The "nova" interpretation has problems...Joseph Needham's claims (Science and Civilisation in China, Vol III, P424) hinges on (1) astronomical object 2C.1406 (RA-DEC 16 28 56 -26 29 30) being the "nova" (search [here](http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-coo?Coord=16+25+56+-26+29+30&CooFrame=FK4&CooEpoch=2000&CooEqui=2000&CooDefinedFrames=FK4-B1950&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+query&CoordList=)), when the surviving object looks to be a nebula (IC 4606) whose history is not clear; (2) his reading of 合集6063反 `辛未有毀新星`, "*...the new star **dwindled***" incorrectly interpreted 鑿 as 毀.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T15:37:37.553Z
2019-01-15T16:15:09.150Z
2019-01-15T16:15:09.150Z
dROOOze
<p>Relating to <a href="https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/50295/where-is-an-image-of-the-oracle-bone-that-describes-the-nova">my Oracle Bone Question on the History Stack</a>, and using <a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=11503&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this link droooze provided</a>, can someone please translate these for me (keeping the brackets and the &quot;...&quot;):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>11503.正</p>
<p>癸 囗 [ 卜 囗 貞 ] 。。。丙 。 。 。  。 。 。</p>
<p>癸 丑 卜 爭 [ 貞 ] 。 。 。 [ 嬄 ] 。 。 。</p>
<p>11503.反</p>
<p>。 。 。 七 日 己 巳 夕  。 。 。 㞢 新 大 晶 竝 火 。 。 。</p>
<p>。 。 。 [ 㞢 ] 求 其 㞢 來 嬄 。 。 。 不 吉</p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>Am I correct in thinking 正 means the top of the bone and 反 means the underside?</em></p>
<p>Can it be speculated what the missing characters that would fill the &quot;...&quot; should be <strong>or could be</strong>?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Images added for those who - like me - cannot see all the  characters on their phone:</p>
</blockquote>
<p>正 :</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/tbkcv.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/tbkcv.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>反 :</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ckPPN.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ckPPN.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.chinasage.info/oraclebones.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This website</a> writes: &quot;The inscriptions include the oldest observation of a nova (1300BCE) ‘A great new star appeared in company with 心宿二 xīn xiù èr (Antares, in Scorpio)’ is recorded on the bones.&quot;</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Also, out of interest, does anyone know</em> <strong>which</strong> <em>bone it is from the Ox's skeleton? Sacrum? Scapula?</em></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T09:02:20.307Z
Thank you to that kind person who corrected my question, but those characters are not showing up on my phone. My phone is Xiaomi, which is bilingual having both Chinese and English, so I don't know why there are characters I don't have on a phone? I can't find a solution on the web. Does someone know how to get **all** Chinese characters on my phone? Should I *(and can I)* ask that as a separate question **on the Chinese Language Stack Exchange** for reference in case anyone else has the same problem (for example, if they're trying to read this Oracle Bone question)?
Johan88
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T09:04:12.713Z
You're always going to have issues on a phone. My phone has trouble displaying Simplified Chinese half the time, which appears as boxes. Some of these characters are in the Unicode-Ext block, which your phone won't display. To avoid issues, you could replace the text with an image from the link.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-15T09:15:33.303Z
@droooze Great idea. Thanks. I'll add the images for this question but if anyone has a solution please answer because it might be that many people need it, especially on the CL Stack.
Johan88
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-16T02:41:27.897Z
I think the original publication detailing the oracle bone is 《殷虛書契後編》, but unfortunately I don't have access to that document. That might tell you what type of bone it is.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-16T06:53:38.653Z
@droooze Thanks. Hopefully someone  has access. :)
Johan88
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-16T15:08:52.540Z
I've never heard of ox sacra to be used by the Shang diviners; it _looks_ like bovine scapula to me
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-19T05:21:13.267Z
@Michaelyus Really? The Wikipedia article continually says Ox Scapulae. Eg. "The oracle bones are mostly tortoiseplastrons (ventral or belly shells, probably female) and ox scapulae (shoulder blades), although some are the carapace (dorsal or back shells) of tortoises, and a few are ox rib bones, scapulae of sheep, boars, horses and deer, and some other animal bones. The skulls of deer, oxen and humans have also been found with inscriptions on them." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone
Johan88
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-01-21T10:25:20.177Z
@Johan88 Yes that is correct. Sacrum = pelvic bone.
Michaelyus
<translation>
Translation of oracle bone《甲骨文合集》11503
# Translation of oracle bone《甲骨文合集》11503

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-15)

Relating to [my Oracle Bone Question on the History Stack](https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/50295/where-is-an-image-of-the-oracle-bone-that-describes-the-nova), and using [this link username_1 provided](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&bh=11503&jgwfl=), can someone please translate these for me (keeping the brackets and the "..."):

> 11503.正
>
> 癸 囗 [ 卜 囗 貞 ] 。。。丙 。 。 。 。 。 。
>
> 癸 丑 卜 爭 [ 貞 ] 。 。 。 [ 嬄 ] 。 。 。
>
> 11503.反
>
> 。 。 。 七 日 己 巳 夕 。 。 。 㞢 新 大 晶 竝 火 。 。 。
>
> 。 。 。 [ 㞢 ] 求 其 㞢 來 嬄 。 。 。 不 吉

*Am I correct in thinking 正 means the top of the bone and 反 means the underside?*

Can it be speculated what the missing characters that would fill the "..." should be **or could be**?

> Images added for those who - like me - cannot see all the characters on their phone:

正 :

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/tbkcv.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/tbkcv.jpg)

反 :

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/ckPPN.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/ckPPN.jpg)

[This website](http://www.chinasage.info/oraclebones.htm) writes: "The inscriptions include the oldest observation of a nova (1300BCE) ‘A great new star appeared in company with 心宿二 xīn xiù èr (Antares, in Scorpio)’ is recorded on the bones."

> *Also, out of interest, does anyone know* **which** *bone it is from the Ox's skeleton? Sacrum? Scapula?*

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you to that kind person who corrected my question, but those characters are not showing up on my phone. My phone is Xiaomi, which is bilingual having both Chinese and English, so I don't know why there are characters I don't have on a phone? I can't find a solution on the web. Does someone know how to get **all** Chinese characters on my phone? Should I *(and can I)* ask that as a separate question **on the Chinese Language Stack Exchange** for reference in case anyone else has the same problem (for example, if they're trying to read this Oracle Bone question)?  
> **username_1**: You're always going to have issues on a phone. My phone has trouble displaying Simplified Chinese half the time, which appears as boxes. Some of these characters are in the Unicode-Ext block, which your phone won't display. To avoid issues, you could replace the text with an image from the link.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Great idea. Thanks. I'll add the images for this question but if anyone has a solution please answer because it might be that many people need it, especially on the CL Stack.  
> **username_1**: I think the original publication detailing the oracle bone is 《殷虛書契後編》, but unfortunately I don't have access to that document. That might tell you what type of bone it is.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Thanks. Hopefully someone  has access. :)  
> **username_2**: I've never heard of ox sacra to be used by the Shang diviners; it _looks_ like bovine scapula to me  
> **username_0**: @username_2 Really? The Wikipedia article continually says Ox Scapulae. Eg. "The oracle bones are mostly tortoiseplastrons (ventral or belly shells, probably female) and ox scapulae (shoulder blades), although some are the carapace (dorsal or back shells) of tortoises, and a few are ox rib bones, scapulae of sheep, boars, horses and deer, and some other animal bones. The skulls of deer, oxen and humans have also been found with inscriptions on them." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone  
> **username_2**: @username_0 Yes that is correct. Sacrum = pelvic bone.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-01-15. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

I won't claim expertise, but the following is my interpretation. Corrections welcome!

> **Format:**
>
> Transcription given in 《甲骨文合集》
>
> How it should be read using more modern characters
>
> English translation

---

《合集》11503 正

1. ＡＢ〔卜〕(1)Ｃ貞〔旬亡〕

   ＡＢ卜Ｃ貞旬無禍

   **Divination** (卜) **on [heavenly stem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_Stems) A**(2)**, [earthly branch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthly_Branches) B**(3)**: C**(4) **asks** (貞)**: [Will we have] ten days** (旬) **without** (亡(5)) **calamity** ((6))**?**
2. 癸Ｂ〔卜〕Ｃ〔貞〕……丙……

   (same)

   **Divination on heavenly stem 癸, earthly branch B: C asks: ……**(7)**丙**(8)**……**(9)
3. 癸丑卜爭〔貞〕……〔㛸〕……

   癸丑卜爭貞……艱……

   **Divination on heavenly stem 癸, earthly branch 丑: 爭**(10) **asks: ……difficulty/danger/hardship** (㛸(11))**……**

---

《合集》11503 反

1. ……七日己巳夕……㞢新大晶竝火……

   ……七日己巳夕Ｄ(12)……有新大星竝火……

   **……Day** (日) **seven** (七)**, the evening** (夕) **of the day of [己巳](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagenary_cycle#Sexagenary_days)……appeared**(13) (㞢(14)) **[a] new** (新) **great** (大) **star** (晶(15)) **next to** (竝) **[Antares](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antares)**(16) (火(17))……
2. ……〔㞢〕求其㞢來嬄……不吉

   ……有咎其有來艱……不吉

   ……**has calamity** (求(18))**, also**(19) (其) **there comes** (來) **difficulty/danger/hardship……ominous** (不吉)

> Notes:
>
> 1. I think parentheses〔〕indicate a filled-in character that may not be immediately obvious on the bone fragment.
> 2. 「Ａ」is a placeholder for a hypothesised/unknown heavenly stem.
> 3. 「Ｂ」is a placeholder for a hypothesised/unknown earthly branch.
> 4. 「Ｃ」is a placeholder for a hypothesised/unknown name of the oracle doing the divination.
>    * AB refers to the timekeeping system called the [Sexagenary cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagenary_cycle).
>    * The structure AB卜C貞… means *Divination on heavenly stem A, earthly branch B, oracle C asks…*
> 5. 「亡」is used to mean *without* in oracle bone inscriptions, written as「無」now.「亡」([Proto-Sino-Tibetan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Tibetan_languages): **/\*maŋ/**, comprised of **/\*ma/** + termative suffix **/ŋ/**) is cognate to「無」(**/\*ma/**).
> 6. 「」has several interpretations, among them「憂」,「咎」, and「禍」; I don't know which one is correct, but I think「憂」means *worry*, and both「咎」and「禍」mean *disaster/calamity*, so the interpretation shouldn't vary too greatly.
> 7. Unknown inscriptions, if any. Might be faded out from the bone.
> 8. I don't know how to interpret this without more context.
> 9. 「」is the name of a hostile tribe neighbouring the [Shang Dynasty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty).
> 10. 「爭」, in this context, is the name of an oracle.
> 11. 「㛸」is commonly interpreted in oracle bone scripts as「艱」.
> 12. 「」here has far too many conflicting interpretations. I'm not even sure of the correctness of this transcription, so I used the placeholder「Ｄ」.
> 13. 「有」literally means *there exists*, so depending on the context it can be seen as *there appeared*, or *has*, or just *there*.
> 14. 「㞢」is an oracle bone variant of「有」or「又」. Do not interpret this as「之」, which much later also became the shape of「㞢」.
> 15. 「晶」originally meant *star*, now written as「星」. The current meaning of「晶」is *sparkling/crystal/radiant*, which is a semantic extension of the original meaning. For reference, the glyph evolution of「星」:
>
>     # `商 甲 enter image description here 後2.9.1 合集11503``商 甲 enter image description here 前7.26.3 合集11501``西周 金 enter image description here 麓伯星父簋``秦 簡 enter image description here 睡・日乙41``今 楷 enter image description here`
>
>     The second form above changes the number of stars「日」and adds phonetic「生」. The third form shifts all the stars to the top. The fourth form simplifies all the stars down to one star, and forms the basis of the modern shape「星」.
> 16. The *nova* interpretation hinges on「火」being interpreted as *Antares* or its other astronomical meaning *Mars*, rather than its basic meaning *fire*. There is no explicit inscription of「心宿二」, which is the full name of *Antares*. The good news is that *there appeared a new great star next to the fire* doesn't really make sense, but we're lacking the rest of the text (if any) to confirm anything.
> 17. 「火」([oracle bone sample view](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/jiaguwen?kaiOrder=148)) is frequently confused with「山」(*mountain*; [oracle bone sample view](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/jiaguwen?kaiOrder=52)) in oracle bone texts. YMMV on this interpretation.
> 18. 「求」is used as a phonetic loan for「咎」in oracle bone script. It is a picture of a multi-legged insect, and was the original character for「蛷」.
> 19. Many possible interpretations for「其」.

---

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: My God ! Amazing answer ! I'll still wait to see what else pops up in comments or answers but wow, clearly you are an amazing intellect ! Thanks ! Footmark 16 is especially relevant for me. Needed to know that. Appreciated.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 thank you for the kind comments. This was my first ever attempt at translating an oracle bone, and I may have gotten quite a few things wrong. I also assume this supposed nova event is actually true, as in astrophysicists have back-calculated the formation of a star around that time; I didn't do the background checking on this supposed fact.  
> **username_3**: @drooze, i look relevant books in the library. some ideas: reading sequence in oracle bone is same as traditional one, top to bottom, right to left. so the text ought to be read as "求其㞢來㛸 . . . 㞢新大晶竝火 . . . 七日己巳夕Ｄ(12)". last, i'm still seriously in doubt :)  
> **username_1**: @username_3 The order of the lines in the answer was just the order《甲骨文合集》published them in. The author is the famous and infamous 郭沫若. Anyway, my translation was just a guess :) you should offer a translation too!  
> **username_1**: Actually, you should also look at 合集11504 and11505, I think that should decrease your doubts about the character being 晶. If you’re having doubts that 晶 is 星, then I can’t help - I will only say that 古文學家 support his idea, and linguists consider they are cognates.  
> **username_1**: The "nova" interpretation has problems...Joseph Needham's claims (Science and Civilisation in China, Vol III, P424) hinges on (1) astronomical object 2C.1406 (RA-DEC 16 28 56 -26 29 30) being the "nova" (search [here](http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-coo?Coord=16+25+56+-26+29+30&CooFrame=FK4&CooEpoch=2000&CooEqui=2000&CooDefinedFrames=FK4-B1950&Radius=2&Radius.unit=arcmin&submit=submit+query&CoordList=)), when the surviving object looks to be a nebula (IC 4606) whose history is not clear; (2) his reading of 合集6063反 `辛未有毀新星`, "*...the new star **dwindled***" incorrectly interpreted 鑿 as 毀.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-01-15. Score: 2

i disagreed with the idea of nova / supernova.

first, there's **no** star (星) in 11503 反:

[星](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%98%9F) 
in oracle script is

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/w1smx.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/w1smx.png)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/bUEzy.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/bUEzy.png)

the key character in 11503 反 should be  [晶](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E6%99%B6) or [品](http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=%E5%93%81):

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/X4Qv5.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/X4Qv5.png)
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/BamYP.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/BamYP.png)

secondly, chinese are read from top to bottom, right to left.

so, the text on 11503 反 should be read as:

不吉

求其㞢來㛸

㞢新大晶竝火

七日己巳夕

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/D2X5t.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/D2X5t.png)
how to interpret it, i'm not sure at this moment :(

actually, the text on this particular is controversial, here's a page of another explanation:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/W6Gqo.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/W6Gqo.png)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 「晶」是「星」的初文，其字絕不可釋「品」！https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/60304/does-the-etymology-of-%E6%98%9F-suggest-the-japanese-chinese-knew-the-sun-was-a-star/60306#60306  
> **username_1**: Also, the link you provided: 從三個圓圈(以◎表示)，象三顆星星之形，古代三可代表多數，故可理解為眾多星星，「晶」是「星」的初文。後世「晶」表示星光明亮、晶瑩或水晶，故以「星」字表示星星的本義。  
> **username_3**: the key character might be read as "品" is, well, an initial recognition, without semantic guess. relax :)  
> **username_1**: No lah, 口 looks like ㅂ before Qin Dynasty :) 品 looks like 3 ㅂ in oracle bone  
> **username_3**: well, i’ll visit the local library tomorrow; hope to find some useful info :)  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-08-15. Score: 1

Please forgive ahead of time.. I am not in any way expertized either in Chinese, or bone oracle script/pictograms.

I only have a couple of books that have been helpful towards what I have found so far, and another on the way. It seems some is at least somewhat similar to what has been posted above.

There are a few I have not figured out yet ( circled in yellow ), and maybe they were already covered, I just can not tell..

When I try to follow some of the links provided above, I get error pages..

My interest in this particular bone oracle is that am planning on having an artist paint it for me, and am trying to gather as much information about the scripts so can have a calligrapher add some descriptive bone oracle script alongside the painting.

Hope I have the image code correct.. Click on image to enlarge.

[![Bone Oracle](https://imgur.com/ZfzQJ5j.jpg)](https://imgur.com/ZfzQJ5j.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is not an answer, but makes a fairly good question. Why don’t you post a question instead, asking what the yellow characters are?  
> **username_4**: Sounds good drooze.. Not only would very much like to know what the characters circled in yellow are ( especially the very last one ), but would very much like to see possible interpretations in English for what the entire story line or event is about from start to finish.  

---

