Public Interest Institution
KOUKOTSUBUN 甲骨文 the style of the oracle bones
The oldest writing style of Chinese origin dates back to the 14th century BC and is characterized by its simplicity and primitive appearance. This style is called Koukotsubun 甲骨文, literally meaning “texts on shells and bones” and was generally carved on animal bones and turtle shells (although there are exceptional cases of writing with rudimentary brushes). Despite its antiquity, this style was rescued as such by a Chinese official by chance in 1899 and therefore work is still ongoing on reconstructing a historical and cultural theory that contextualizes it. The people responsible for these written texts were the so-called Zhen Ren, diviners and historians of ancient China, in charge of recording important events such as religious ceremonies. Perhaps this is the reason why this style is known as the Oracle style on bone. This style is not considered a very advanced and consolidated writing system, since at that time there were few written characters, mainly pictograms, and their shapes are irregular and their meanings somewhat contradictory, according to what has been researched so far. This makes it considered part of the style called Tensho 篆書 or seal style, specifically within the Great Seal style called Daiten 大篆, which we can still find today in the stone seals or In 印 that we use to finish calligraphy and paintings, to cite an example.
Despite its austerity in the stroke, it is not easy to execute and for this reason in many schools its study is started after having had enough experience with other calligraphic styles. To achieve the rounded shapes at the beginning of the strokes, characteristic of a stroke that was originally carved, it is necessary to perform a brush movement technique called Enpitsu 円筆, which consists of twisting the tip, making it rotate on itself, and then launching the stroke while keeping the tip of the brush in the centre of the stroke line. It should also be taken into account that the writing order is not as strict as in later styles, since, at that time, it had not been established as a solid writing system.
Text written by Elena Hikari
