A Study of Ancient Characters (宁) and (墉) Discovered in the Xiajiadian Culture in Chifeng Area : Reviewing the possibility of the ‘Gojoseon-character’ used prior to Yin's Oracle bone script

The purpose of this study was to interpret two characters engraved on a large cauldron made of bronze yan(靑銅甗) from the Toupai site in Chifeng City(赤峰市), which was excavated from the Xiajiadian Culture(夏家店下層文化), and to examine the possibility that these characters are ‘Gojoseon-character’ used before the oracle bone inscriptions. The two characters discovered are and . These characters are called ‘Bronze Inscriptions’ and their format corresponds to characters engraved on bronze during the Bronze Age. However, the form of the characters is different from the bronze characters of Yin (殷) and Zhou (周), and is similar to the ‘Oracle bone script’ of the Yin Dynasty. As a result of my interpretation, that (宁,Jeo,zhù) means “A sacred place where the emperor receives audiences from feudal lords”, and (墉,Yong,yōng) means “The castle of the emperor's palace”. This can be confirmed by the “Dang-Jeo當宁” and “Jeo-Wi宁位” in the “Book of Rites禮記” and the “Jo-Lye朝禮” and “Geun-Lye覲禮” in the “Zhou Li周禮” to confirm the emperor's ritual system. In addition, We will also investigate whether this character is an ancient bronze inscription used by the Gojoseon people who lived in the Chifeng Area around 4000 years ago.