The oracle bone script is an ideograph that represents an idea or concept rather than a word or speech sound in general. The ‘ten writings’ means the ten methods used to create characters, to show how ideographs to express a concrete subject and an abstract concept. Ten Writings includes (1) character’s form picturing (象形), (2) form marking (指事), (3) form-form resembling (比喻), (4) form narrating (敘事), (5) form-pattern transferring (字式), (6) form-form modifying (偏正), (7) form-form suggesting (轉注), (8) form borrowing (形借), (9) form-meaning borrowing (意借), (10) form-sound borrowing (音借). The traditional six-fold classification scheme (Six Writings) was originally popularised in the 2nd century CE, is not a guide for the reader on how to decipher an unknown bone script. Ten Writings (十書) system is not a theorization analysis, is an operation manual to deciphering the oracle bone scripts, illustrated through some specific instances below. A script called “Yi, 以” ( , later , turned 90 degrees to show properly, similarly hereinafter) shows “a worm ( ) which has a big head and a long tail and a woman ( )”, it is understood as the “woman looking after the worm”. Later, its simplified form is a “worm ( )” only, which is from （ ）and means “worm totem people”. It is common to find a shape with more than two functions in Chinese characters. Therefore, this script Yi of “using worm for silk and cloths” extends “use”, “by means of” and “with”, it sounds Yi. In other perspective, the “worm” also means “(cloths process) start” and “begin”. And “(the silk people) looks like each other” and “similar”, so the “worm” is also a symbol of “similar”. Because the costume worn by people in ancient times was a nation identification. The same word “worm” for “start” and “similar” sounds Si (silk). The Chinese word for silk also sounds Si. In a worm totem perspective, the script Si means “worm people”. Similarly, the script for “sheep people” is represented as a man wearing a headdress of sheep horns. In addition, the worm character may be pictured from silkworm, later the proper noun “silkworm” was used as the general term “worm”. Now the character “worm” includes worm, insect and snake, even some animals. The variant of Si ( , “worm”) is written as ( , , , “worm”), which are the same as ( , , ) being used for a tribe name. When a common script may be simplely written as ( , “worm”), if a same script for tribal name may be decoratively written as ( ), as the word of the name are written in capital letter. The tribal name Si 以 ( ) is the surname of the Xia dynasty royal family Si 姒 in the Classic of Shiji 史記, the bone text “Xia Si 下以” is the Xia Si 夏姒for the Xia dynasty in the classics. The Shang oracle bone script for the idea BORROW is shown as an ideogram (Jia 假, ) combining a pictogram SHOULDERING-HOE (荷, “farming”, “carrying”) and a pictogram SUN, it together suggests a third scene “under the sun a woman carries a hoe to irrigate the rice fields”, meaning “farming”, “peasant”; in other perspective “borrow sunlight to farm”. The Jia 假and Xia 夏 were one word, and the bone texts for the Jia 假 are about the Xia River 夏水where the Xia dynasty lived.

1. 引言
2. 甲骨文字的十種 造字 方法
    2.1 象形
    2.2 指事
    2.3 比喻
    2.4 敘事
    2.5 字式
    2.6 偏正
    2.7 轉注
    2.8 形借
    2.9 意借
    2.10 音借
3. 結語

• 大路大魏(多村歷史文孳研究齋) | Dalu Da WEIH