
Exploring the initial knowledge management of human beings – taking oracle bone script as an example [Arts & culture in KM part 17]
This article is part 17 of a series exploring arts and culture in knowledge management.
1. Introduction
In the antient times when there was no meteorology, the natural phenomena that we now take for granted were the will of God in the opinion of the ancients. As a result, our primitive ancestors tried to communicate with gods by the means of divination. The people in Shang Dynasty unified the forms of divination and invented words to record them systematically, that is the birth of oracle bone script.
2. Dissemination of divination knowledge through oracle bone script
The SECI model proposed by Nonaka1 divided knowledge management into four basic modes. The model is suitable for analyzing the knowledge flow process in knowledge-intensive practices, such as the emergence, dissemination, and conservation of oracle bone divination.
2.1 Socialization
In fact, the history of divination is much earlier than the Shang Dynasty. Before the birth of writing, early divination was a kind of knowledge that relied heavily on oral accounts and experience. People predicted the future by observing natural phenomena such as the flight paths of birds, the stars, and the direction of the wind. And this knowledge was passed down from master to disciple within tribes and learned by observing skilled priests, not through written instructions. At this stage, the knowledge of divination was tacit and could not be expressed directly through language and symbols. The inheritors needed to observe and summarize their past experiences to acquire the technique of divination.
2.2 Externalization
In those days when people were obsessed with divination, almost all the matters were decided through divination. In the glory days of the Shang Dynasty, priests chiseled tortoise shells or animal bones and judged good or bad fortune by the cracks formed after burning. The ruler of the Shang Dynasty asked his priests to perform divination nearly every day, and most of the questions were about war, hunting, and natural phenomena, such as “Will there be no calamities in the next ten days?” “Will the ruler’s toothache get better?” “Will it be reliable to ask military officer called WANG CHENG to attack country called XIAWEI?”

The use of divination to assist the Shang king’s rule was an unprecedented innovation by the Shang dynasty. With the development of divination, the priests tried to use symbols to record the content of the divination, the subject of the question, the predicted results and the actual events. These symbols evolved into the earliest oracle bone script, which became a tool for recording and disseminating knowledge. This kind of dissemination make the mystery of divination can be read and understood by more priests in that dynasty and the people in the modern times.
2.3 Combination
After the emergence of oracle bone script, many divinations were systematized and integrated. Oracle bone script was used not only to record divination, but also began to record various aspects of social life. Different records of divination and the results of events were brought together, including forms of divination, understandings of the will of the gods, and the impact of the implementation of strategies for the country. It is one of the earliest forms of historical records in China. This process of accumulation and integration is the process of combining explicit knowledge.
The ancients were able to deduce patterns from these records to predict the future more accurately, forming a mature system of divination.
2.4 Internalization
By reading and learning from the oracle character records, new priests could learn from their predecessors’ divinatory experiences. This kind of learning also included religious customs and so on. Through continuous research, experimentation and practice, this knowledge was gradually transformed into the personal skills and tacit knowledge of priests.
In addition, the process of internalization of oracle character records also helped Shang rulers to use the results of divination to make political decisions. By studying divination records, rulers were able to cope not only with daily affairs, but also with complex challenges such as wars and political events.
3. The knowledge reuse of oracle bone script
The oracle bone script has evolved over thousands of years into modern Chinese characters, serving as a cornerstone of Chinese cultural heritage.

Although the oracle bone script has lost its value for daily use and ceased to be a carrier for divination, it still has value in areas such as branding and logo design2 by virtue of its powerful figurative expression. Nowadays, artists have revitalized it by combining it with modern art.
3.1 In logo design
A brand’s logo design reflects the brand’s mission and vision and expresses the brand’s personality. Incorporating such traditional elements as oracle bone script into the packaging and branding design of modern commodities can not only stand out from other commodities by virtue of its uniqueness, but also effectively spread the traditional Chinese culture. For example, the sports icons of the Beijing Olympic Games have greatly enhanced the sense of national identity.
3.2 In digital emoticons
At a time when online chatting is common, people like to use emoticons to visually express their moods. Given the highly graphic and vivid nature of oracle bone script, artists have merged them with modern emoticon trends to create playful oracle bone emoticons. This cross-generational innovation offers a fresh approach to cultural preservation and inheritance.
4. Conclusion
The ancient Chinese way of divination has changed its form to accompany people today. One branch of it, which deals with natural weather, has been studied in depth and given scientific significance. The other part is still in the form of divination, giving support to the spiritual world of mankind.
The oracle bone script not only provides a basis for exploring the rise and fall of dynasties in ancient China, but also expresses the ancient people’s style of clothing, food, housing and transportation through their graphic expressions. At the same time, with knowledge management, the innovative use of oracle bone script in cultural and creative design not only enriches the art form and broadens the field of application, but also provides practical experience for the dissemination mechanism of traditional Chinese cultural knowledge.
As highlighted by our lecturer, Rajesh Dhillon, the application of knowledge management strategies in modern contexts, such as branding and emoticon design, serves as an excellent illustration of knowledge reuse. It demonstrates how ancient knowledge remains relevant by evolving to meet contemporary needs. This reflects a core principle of KM strategies – focusing not only on knowledge creation but also on its long-term sustainability and continuous innovation.
Article source: Adapted from Exploring the initial knowledge management of human beings – taking oracle bone script used in divination in Shang Dynasty as an example, prepared as part of the requirements for completion of course KM6304 Knowledge Management Strategies and Policies in the Nanyang Technological University Singapore Master of Science in Knowledge Management (KM).
Header image: Pit of oracle bones at Anyang Yinxu. Source: Xuan Che on Flickr, CC BY 2.0..
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