he Museum of World Languages at Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) held a four-month exhibition on oracle bones from March 7 to promote oracle research and inter-museum cooperation with the China National Museum of Writing (NMCW).

The exhibition has a section with 12 displaying panels about an introduction of oracle bones. Five replicas of oracle bones, which the World Languages Museum borrowed from NMCW, is placed in the center of the room.

SISU has prepared the exhibition for six months since it signed the agreement with NMCW on cooperation in September 2022. This exhibition is to spread the ancient Chinese traditional culture of oracle bone inscriptions.

Making replicas of oracle bone requires bone meal to be compressed at high temperatures. It takes at least three months to make a replica of oracle bone to be almost the same as the genuine and achieve antiseptic, moisture-proof and anti-bacterial protection. Kong Lingtao, deputy director of the World Languages Museum, said, “The genuine is too precious to be exhibited.”

Oracle bone inscriptions workshop were held on site to deepen students understanding of oracle bone characters, including making oracle bone bookmark, putting oracle bone fragments together, engraving printing and rubbing oracle bones.

“I think this activity is excellent, not only because of its fun and innovation, but also promotion of the knowledge of oracle bone literature,” Zhou Xinyu, an undergraduate student who participated in the exhibition, said.

“Chinese culture is acknowledged to be the only ancient civilization in the world that has never been interrupted. The history of the oracle bone script is so far away from us that even Chinese don't know much about the script,” Kong explained.

The Museum of World Languages of SISU has become an important platform for promoting the dissemination of language culture, by virtue of its multidisciplinary advantages in the cultivation of multiple languages.

“Our cooperation with NMCW will continue,” said Kong, “When conditions permit, we will hold an exhibition of oracle bones in Confucius Institute overseas to further spread Chinese culture.”

Other attendees of the opening ceremony included Yi Yonggang, Vice president of SISU; Zhang Weidong, second-level inspector of the Propaganda Department of Anyang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC); Wei Wencui, member of the CPC Committee and deputy director of NMCW; and Zhou Yuanyuan, deputy director of the World Languages Museum.

In addition to Chinese students, there were more than 30 students from 12 countries including Vietnam, Russia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, South Korea, Japan, and Morocco.

“Oracle bone script is our Chinese culture. It has a very important position in the world culture,” Sun Haoyu, a graduate student who visited the exhibition, said, “Putting the knowledge in the museum into practice can better spread Chinese traditional culture to overseas students.”