Tencent launches AI platform to decode inscriptions on China's ancient oracle bones

Tencent has launched its Oracle Bones Corpus, an online platform and database dedicated to the study of the ancient inscriptions, that uses AI tools to help researchers translate those writings by comparing it with thousands of indexed images, according to a statement from the Shenzhen-based video gaming and social media giant on Tuesday.

AI "significantly" improves the efficiency and accuracy in the process of character recognition, which is one of the biggest challenges in studying the oracle bones, the company said.

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"With Oracle Bones Corpus, we have established a platform for all the stakeholders in oracle bones research to work together towards a common goal," said Zhan Shu, head of the digital culture lab at Tencent's Sustainable Social Value Organisation. "We look forward to seeing more oracle bones digitised, and invite researchers and anthropology enthusiasts to decipher the secrets of these ancient texts."

An oracle bone, with inscriptions painted in red. Photo: Simon Song alt=An oracle bone, with inscriptions painted in red. Photo: Simon Song>

The latest initiative by Tencent bolsters the company's efforts to show that the advanced technologies deployed in its businesses can make a contribution to areas outside online entertainment, including culture and science.

The company said the new online platform aims to amass various digitised versions of the oracle bones - including photos, three-dimensional models, Chinese ink rubbings and AI-enhanced replicas - for easier comparison by researchers, while establishing an index of characters to speed up search.

The platform's "indentation highlight" feature is expected to enhance the visualisation of the oracle bones, enabling researchers to see sharper details on the oracle bones including shallow carvings.

Inscriptions on the oracle bones can shed light on early Chinese civilisation and the evolution of the country's language, as people thousands of years ago used the characters carved on tortoise shells and animal bones for divination.

A visitor watches a video showing how Chinese characters originated from inscriptions on the oracle bones at the National Museum of China in Beijing. Photo: Simon Song alt=A visitor watches a video showing how Chinese characters originated from inscriptions on the oracle bones at the National Museum of China in Beijing. Photo: Simon Song>

Around 4,500 unique characters have been discovered from 16,000 pieces of oracle bones unearthed so far in China and other locations around the world. At present, only 1,500 of these characters have been successfully identified to match with modern Chinese characters.

Tencent on Tuesday said it also developed an educational mini program on its super app WeChat for users interested in learning about the oracle bones.

Microsoft last year worked with Chinese university researchers through its Project Diviner, which used AI to curate and restore inscriptions on the oracle bones.

Before its Oracle Bones Corpus platform, Tencent in February started work with China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism in using AI and virtual reality technologies to restore decades-old video recordings of traditional Chinese operas.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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