A Study On The Character Style And The Categorization Of The Group (?)Shi Oracle Bone Inscriptions

This study is on the categorization of the oracle bone inscriptions of Group (?) Shi applying the standard of character style.We will discuss all the current categorization systems established by former scholars and analyse the character styles of the oracle bone inscriptions of Group (?) Shi.About some oracle bone rubbings on which scholars have different categorization opinions,I will also offer my point of view.Two research methods are applied in this article: 1)Computer digital processing;2)Distinctive character style retrieval.The study can be devided into four parts: 1)Using Microsoft Access Database to systematically arrange all the Group (?) Shi rubbing categorization given by former scholars;2)Presenting through computer all the character forms on the rubbings which have so far been included into Group (?)Shi;3)Revising some of the categorization opinions of former scholars according to the standard of character style;4)Discussion on composite under-symmetrical style characters.The conclusions of this article are: 1)Divergences exist among former scholars on the categorization standard,the quantity of category,the name of each category and the categorization of rubbings,and there are also improprieties in their categorization systems;2)When former scholars were choosing feature forms for those categories,some forms were improperly chosen while some others were omitted;3)Divergences on the categorization of rubbings can be solve by distinctive character style retrieval,which can help to determine the category they belong to;4)Composite under-symmetrical forms can be used to avoid repetition,but in most cases they are used independently.