The epitome of the Chinese writing system, the Oracle Bone Script, has been introduced to primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong on Tuesday for the first time, aiming to kindle a passion for Chinese history and language among students.

The introductory tournament of Oracle Bone Scripts will initially be presented at 11 schools, each hosting a monthlong exhibition on the ancient script, which originated in the central part of China more than 3,000 years ago.

A graphic design competition featuring Oracle Bone Scripts elements was also launched to ignite students’ creativity and “bring the ancient writing system into the modern world”, said Liang Kwun-fan, chairman of the Association of Hong Kong Chinese Middle Schools.

The association, which represents 230 Chinese-language member schools, will organize study tours to Anyang, Central China’s Henan province, for an immersive educational experience. Anyang is home to archaeological sites of the scripts that were carved on bones and turtle shells, excavated mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Oracle Bone Scripts, first found in the 1860s, are the earliest known form of Chinese pictographic characters. The writing system of some 4,500 characters were mostly used for divination and fortune-telling during the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC).

Candy Yeung and Mandy Ho, both Year 10 students at ELCHK Lutheran Secondary School, expressed curiosity about the “mysterious archaic written system”, which until now they knew little about.

Lawrence Tang Fei, a legislator and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, said that learning about the scripts is an “an essential approach” to promoting Chinese culture among Hong Kong’s youth.

Tang said he expects the program will enable students to “appreciate the Chinese cultural origins and aesthetic beauty of its characters”.

Some local English-language schools, including Hong Kong Management Association David Li Kwok Po College, have also shown an interest in showing their students the ancient scripts, seeing them as a gateway to spark an interest in learning Chinese.

“We have taken the initiative to promote the Oracle language in Hong Kong with a multipronged approach to allow our students to merge into the Chinese culture of some 3,000 years ago,” said Yuan Jiaqiang, secretary of the Anyang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China at the opening ceremony held at the ELCHK Lutheran Secondary School.

Study tours to Anyang are scheduled for 2025 for students and principals of local schools to help them “better appreciate the origins of Chinese civilization”.

“We welcome Hong Kong school students to Anyang and we are eager to promote the Chinese culture here in Hong Kong,” said Wang Liguo, a representative of the Anyang municipal government who took part in initiating the study program in the SAR. 

Contact the writer at jessicachen@chinadailyhk.com