According to the China News Service, there are varying estimates about the number of Oracle bones discovered so far. Since their first discovery in 1899, some suggest that the world's collection of Oracle bones is around 130,000 to 150,000 pieces. Another viewpoint proposes a figure closer to 160,000 pieces, composed of more than 4,300 unique characters. As per Professor Huang Dekuan, only about 1,300 characters have a consensus interpretation, leaving nearly 3,000 characters yet to be understood.
This suggests that it is a language still shrouded in mystery. But how should it be deciphered? A reward of a hundred thousand for each interpreted character is a common practice. Often, the decoding of a single noun or verb brings life to many Oracle scripts, giving us a deeper understanding of their historical context.
