由甲骨文倍数合书例谈殷人记数两系说

A Discussion on Two Ways of Counting in Yin Dynasty from the Perspective of Beishuheshu(倍数合书)in the Oracle Bone Script

本文通过对甲骨文中倍数合书字九十、二十释读纠葛的辨别,指出殷人记数,除了倍数合书,还存在另一种倍数析书,构成了记数形式的两系分列。先秦后期派生出的所谓殷派、周派、楚派等古文字书体字理变迁的源头,可以追溯到殷墟甲骨文。

Beishuheshu(倍数合书)means when oracle bone inscriptions meet multiples of ten,they would inevitably combine two characters into one.By identifying the tangled interpretations of Beishuheshu of ninety and twenty in the oracle bone script,this paper points out that in addition to Beishuheshu,Beishuxishu(倍数析书)is another way for counting.Oracle bone script was not always written in a fi xed form,but is written separately,and it is called Beishuxishu.These two constitute the two systems for counting.The origins of the so-called Yin,Zhou,and Chu schools of ancient writing,which were derived in the late pre-Qin period,can be traced back to the oracle bone inscriptions at Yinxu.