Editing Oracle bone (section)

==Dating==
[[File:Shang dynasty inscribed scapula.jpg|thumb|Ox scapula recording divinations by {{zhi|p=Zhēng}} {{zhi|c=爭}} during the reign of king [[Wu Ding]]]]
The vast majority of the inscribed oracle bones were found at the Yinxu site in modern Anyang and date to the reigns of the last nine Shang kings.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|pp=xiii, 139}} The diviners named on the bones have been assigned to five periods by [[Dong Zuobin]]:{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|pp=31, 92–93, 203}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Period !! Kings !! Common diviners
|-
| I || [[Wu Ding]]{{efn|Dong also included kings [[Pan Geng]], [[Xiao Xin]] and [[King Xiao Yi|Xiao Yi]]. However, few or perhaps no inscriptions can be reliably assigned to pre-Wu Ding reigns.  Many scholars assume that earlier oracle bones from Anyang exist but have not yet been found.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|pp=97–98, 139–140, 203}}}}
| {{zhi|p=Què}} {{zhi|c=㱿}}, {{zhi|p=Bīn}} {{zhi|c=賓}}, {{zhi|p=Zhēng}} {{zhi|c=爭}}, {{zhi|p=Xuān}} {{zhi|c=宣}}
|-
| II || [[Zu Geng of Shang|Zu Geng]], [[Zu Jia]]
| {{zhi|p=Dà}} {{zhi|c=大}}, {{zhi|p=Lǚ}} {{zhi|c=旅}}, {{zhi|p=Xíng}} {{zhi|c=行}}, {{zhi|p=Jí}} {{zhi|c=即}}, {{zhi|p=Yǐn}} {{zhi|c=尹}}, {{zhi|p=Chū}} {{zhi|c=出}}
|-
| III || [[Lin Xin]], [[Geng Ding|Kang Ding]] || {{zhi|p=Hé}} {{zhi|c=何}}
|-
| IV || [[Wu Yi of Shang|Wu Yi]], [[Wen Wu Ding]] ||
|-
| V || [[Di Yi]], [[Di Xin]] ||
|}
The kings were involved in divination in all periods, with divinations in later periods done personally by the king.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|p=31}} The extant inscriptions are not evenly distributed across these periods, with 55% coming from period I and 31% from periods III and IV.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|pp=139–140}} A few oracle bones date to the beginning of the subsequent [[Zhou dynasty]].

The earliest oracle bones (corresponding to the reigns of Wu Ding and Zu Geng) record dates using only the [[Chinese sexagenary cycle|60-day cycle]] of [[celestial stem|stem]]s and [[Earthly Branches|branches]], though sometimes the month was also given.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|pp=113–116}} Attempts to determine an absolute chronology focus on a number of [[lunar eclipse]]s recorded in inscriptions by the Bīn group, who worked during the reign of Wu Ding, possibly extending into the reign of Zu Geng. Assuming that the 60-day cycle continued uninterrupted into the securely dated period, scholars have sought to match the recorded dates with calculated dates of eclipses.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|p=174}} There is general agreement on four of these, spanning dates from 1198 to 1180&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|p=174}} A fifth is assigned by some scholars to 1201&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Zhang|2002|p=353}} From this data, the [[Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project]], relying on the statement in the "Against Luxurious Ease" chapter of the ''[[Book of Documents]]'' that the reign of Wu Ding lasted 59 years, dated it from 1250 to 1192&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Zhang|2002|pp=352–354}}{{sfn|Li|2002|p=331}} American sinologist [[David Keightley]] argued that the "Against Luxurious Ease" chapter should not be treated as a historical text because it was composed much later, presents reign lengths as moral judgements, and gives other reign lengths that are contradicted by oracle bone evidence.{{sfn|Keightley|1978b|pp=428–429}} Estimating an average reign length of 20 years based on dated Zhou reigns, Keightley proposed that Wu Ding's reign started around 1200 &nbsp;BCE or earlier.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|pp=174-175, 228}} [[Ken-ichi Takashima]] dates the earliest oracle bone inscriptions to 1230&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Takashima|2012|p=142}} 26 oracle bones throughout Wu Ding's reign have been radiocarbon dated to 1254–1197&nbsp;BCE (±10 years) with an estimated 80-90% probability of containing the true individual ages.{{sfn|Liu|Wu|Guo|Yuan|2021|p=165}}

Period V inscriptions often identify numbered ritual cycles, making it easier to estimate the reign lengths of the last two kings.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|pp=116, 174–175}} The start of this period is dated 1100–1090&nbsp;BCE by Keightley and 1101&nbsp;BCE by the Xia–Shang–Zhou project.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|p=228}}{{sfn|Li|2002|p=331}} Most scholars now agree that the Zhou conquest of the Shang took place close to 1046 or 1045&nbsp;BCE, over a century later than the traditional date.{{sfn|Keightley|1978a|pp=226–228}}{{sfn|Li|2002|pp=328–330}}{{sfn|Takashima|2012|pp=142–143}}