To celebrate the 2024 UN Chinese Language Day, the opening ceremony of "The Spirits on Turtle Shells and Cattle Bones: Oracle Bone Script Art Exhibition" was held at the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town, and the exhibition was unveiled at the Learning Center (Groot Constantia), Iziko Museums of South Africa on April 19. 

Oracle bone script art exhibition. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

The exhibition is sponsored by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, ChinesePlus, the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), the Chinese Language Teachers Association of South Africa, Iziko Museums of South Africa, the Chinese Bridge Club in Cape Town, and the Confucius Classroom of the Cape Academy of Math, Science and Technology, and undertaken by the CAFA Co-Innovation Center for Art Creation and Research on Silk Road. 

Farnaaz Johadine, acting executive director of core functions at Iziko Museums of South Africa, in her speech, noted that, paintings or etchings in natural materials including rock, bone, and wood, are ancient arts that exist across the globe and continues to influence contemporary society and culture. For instance, San rock art in the South Africa and oracle bone inscriptions in China are very alike. According to her, the simultaneous presence of two disparate historical narratives in separate regions proves the significance of exchanges and mutual learning between African and Chinese civilizations. She hoped that China and South Africa would continue to enhance cultural exchanges for better mutual understanding. 

As You Wenze, Chinese consul-general in Cape Town, stated in his speech, though thousands of miles apart, China and South Africa have forged an enduring relationship. An increasing number of South Africans start learning Chinese, and wish to communicate and learn about Chinese culture and history through the Chinese language. The exhibition offers a very artistic presentation about oracle bone inscriptions, allowing people in South Africa to learn about the evolution of Chinese characters, and appreciate and feel the beauty of Chinese characters. What's more, he expressed his hope that the exhibition can help enrich people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and further strengthen our enduring ties.

This exhibition showcased artistic works that had been meticulously completed and published by experts in oracle bone inscriptions, picture book authors, and typographic designers over a span of three years. Over 70 oracle bone characters pertinent to daily life have been carefully selected by oracle bone inscription experts. In addition, the exhibition provided an extended introduction to the discovery and the research outcomes related to oracle bone inscription. 

The exhibition covered four dimensions, including oracle bone inscriptions and oracle bone script studies, Chinese character sorting and retrieval based on pictographic elements, Chinese character aesthetics, and interpretation of oracle bone scripts in artistic forms. A total of 92 pieces or groups of works were exhibited, with the aim of promoting people-to-people communication through interconnectivity as the main theme. 

Oracle bone script art exhibition. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

At the workshop held in parallel with the exhibition, panelists including Dr. Wendy Black, chief curator at Iziko Museums of South Africa, Yue Jieqiong, director of the CAFA Co-Innovation Center for Art Creation and Research on Silk Road, and Zhou Lan, deputy director of academic affairs at the CAFA, and Dr. Iris Wu, dean of the Confucius Classroom of the Cape Academy of Math, Science and Technology, discussed how to apply ancient arts like oracle bone inscriptions and San rock art in modern life for better innovation under the theme of "Ancient Arts, Modern Modes."

The exhibition is said to serve the central purpose of enabling people from all over the world to learn Chinese and understand China.