中国学者发现甲骨文,成为人类史上的重大发现,甲骨学也随之成为一门国际性的学科。在研究甲骨文的专家中,天津的王襄有第一个发现之功。
        王襄(1876～1965),字纶阁,号簠室。世居天津东门内大刘家胡同,被称“翰林院王家” 。光绪二十三年(1897),补天津县学生员,光绪三十二年(1906),考入京师高等实业学堂习矿科,毕业奖举人,授知县,分发河南录用。宣统三年(1911),赴开封候补,曾在警务公所帮办文牍,1914年起,任盐务稽查所科员,先后转迁闽、川、浙、鄂及长芦各处20余年。64岁退辞归故里,曾任淑修小学校长、崇化学会讲师。著作颇丰,在书法上也颇有功力。建国后,被聘为天津市文史馆馆长、天津市政协委员、天津文物保管委员会委员、中国科学院历史研究所《甲骨文会集》编辑委员会委员。1956年加入共产党,将所藏文物捐献国家。1965年1月31日病逝,郭沫若题写了墓碑: “殷墟文字研究专家王襄同志之墓” 。
        王襄从20岁始就酷好考古研究。光绪二十四年(1898),山东潍县古玩商范寿轩带着一些刻有刻纹的龟甲骨到天津求售,因不识其为何物,求教于王襄。范寿轩介绍,他有河南安阳农民收获花生时从地下挖掘出来的 “龙骨” ,问王襄要不要。当时著名书法家孟广慧也在场,两人当晚就到客店去看货。范寿轩住在天津西门外简陋的马家客店,店房很矮,又是土墙。范把 “龙骨”从柳条箱里捧出来,放到大火炕的席子上。王、孟看后揣度,认为可能是古简,于是嘱范再到安阳广为搜求,以利研究。第二年,也就是光绪二十五年(1899),范寿轩又带来大批龟甲兽骨,经王襄研究,认定为商代殷墟甲骨,其上所刻字痕即是卜文。范寿轩听后,以为奇货可居,索价高昂。王襄因财力不足,仅买了些碎片。范寿轩又到北京,将所带大批甲骨卖给了时为国子监祭酒的王懿荣。王也据此进行研究,终因年事已高,而未能写出文章。此时王襄正当壮年,得龟片兽骨虽少,但集中精力,深入研究。1920年,王襄的甲骨文著作《簠室殷契类纂》出版,1925年又出版了自藏甲骨拓本《簠室殷契征文》,还著有《题甲之表》、《贞卜文临本》等达20多种。王襄是中国最早发现及研究、收藏甲骨文的学者。

        

·发现甲骨文的王襄

        The finding of Jiaguwen,inscriptions on oracle bonesof Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century B.C.),is regardedas one of the major discoveries in human history. Thestudy of Jiaguwen has become an international subjectamong researchers. Wang Xiang,a scholar from Tianjin,devoted himself to the first discovery of Jiaguwen.
        Wang Xiang(1876-1965),styled Lunge,lived inthe Daliu Hutong in Tianjin. In 1897,Wang became aXiucai of Tianjin County and later was enrolled intoJingshi Higher Industrial College to study minerals.After graduation,he was nominated as a countymagistrate in Henan Province. In 1911,Wang went toKaifeng to deal with official documents of police affairs.Started from 1914,he took charge of salt affairs inFujian,Sichuan,Zhejiang,Hubei provinces and Changluof Tianjin. At the age of 64,he retiredfrom his position and returnedto his hometown,where heserved as the headmaster ofShuxiu Primary School andas a lecturer of ChonghuaSociety. He wrote many booksand also was famous for hishandwriting. After the liberation,he was invited as the head ofTianjin Institute of Literary History. Healso served as a member of the Tianjin MunicipalPeople`s Political Consultative Conference and amember of the Tianjin Protection Committee ofHistorical Relics.He also participated the compilingof the Journal of Jia-guwen Society. Wang donated tothe nation all his collections in 1956 when he joinedthe Communist Party of China. He died on January 31,1965. The epigraph of Wang`s tomb stone was writtenby Guo Moruo,a famous scholar in China,calling him"an expert in the study of Jiaguwen".
        Wang began to study archaeology when he wasin his 20s. In 1898,Fan Shouxuan,a relic merchantfrom Weixian of Shangdong Province,brought someanimal bones with curved lines into Tianjin for sale.Having no idea on the usage of the bones,Fan askedWang for advice. According to Fan,the bones werefound by farmers in Anyang of Henan Province,whenthey harvested peanuts in the field. Wang,together withcalligrapher Meng Guanghui,guessed the bones wereancient slips of writing. They asked Fan to collect morebones after he had returned. One year later,Fan fetchedmore bones to Tianjin. After research,Wang drewa conclusion that these curved lines wereauguries of Yin Dynasty. Meanwhile.Fan asked a high price that Wangcould not afford. The merchant thenwent to Beijing and sold thebones to official Wang Yirong.Wang Xiang conducted anin-depth study based on thebones he had bought. In 1920,Wang`s work on Jiaguwen waspublished. Later he published morethan 20 books in this field. Wang wasthe earliest scholar in finding,researchand collections of Jiaguwen in China.

        

·甲骨文拓片