Abstract
Cheng ce (爯冊), in the oracle bone scripts from Yinxu, has been discussed by numerous scholars. These scholars have presented many interpretations of cheng ce, such as “the conferment of a title,” “battlefield intelligence report,” and “the pledge before going to war.” Among these hypotheses, “the pledge before going to war” is most commonly accepted. Supporters of the pledge hypothesis claim that the meaning of cheng ce is very similar to that of “Mushi” (牧誓, The pledge of the battle of Muye), which appears in the Shangshu (尚書, The classic of history).
When we consider the phrase “Zhi jia cheng ce (沚 爯冊),” which appears in the oracle bone scripts with great frequency, we may find that each of the above hypotheses does indeed seem acceptable. However, if we consider all of the oracle bone scripts related to cheng ce together, each interpretation is limited and cannot be used universally to explain every occurrence. For instance, “Xing cheng ce hu gui (興爯冊呼歸)” can be translated as “the man named Xing called upon the army to return.” Clearly, Xing’s action had nothing to do with the pledge before going to war. Furthermore, none of the other readings of cheng ce make sense in this context either.
Through our research on the oracle bone scripts and ancient documents, we have concluded that cheng ce in the oracle bone scripts can be interpreted as “to proclaim the kings’ orders.” The contents of the Shang kings’ orders are diverse, and the pledge before going to war or the call to return can all be included within this explanation. Cheng ce is similar in nature to the gao (誥, announcement) from the Shangshu. The preface of “Duo shi”(多士, The numerous officers), according to the explanation from Wei Kongzhuan (偽孔傳, The pseudo-Kong commentary), the meaning of the sentence “Zhougong yi wang ming gao (周公以王命誥)” can be understood this way: “Zhougong, the Duke of Zhou, proclaimed the king’s edict.” It follows that cheng ce in the oracle bone scripts carries a similar meaning, the proclamation of the Shang king’s orders. This interpretation of cheng ce allows for a fluent reading of all of its occurrences in the oracle bone scripts. The meaning of ce (冊) in later Chinese documents closely corresponds to the meaning of cheng ce; both denote superiors’ orders to their subordinates.
Keywords
oracle bone script, cheng ce, Shangshu, gao
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