**A Comparative Study of Weapon-Related Characters in Oracle Bone Script and Dongba Script**
This article presents a comparative study of weapon-related characters in Oracle Bone Script (jiaguwen) and Naxi Dongba script, two logographic writing systems with distinct origins that neither arose simultaneously nor influenced one another. Comparing them, the author argues, illuminates the nature, emergence, and development of ideographic scripts generally, and offers insight into pre-Late-Shang ancient writing. Noting that both the Shang and early Naxi societies passed through slave-based social systems where ruling classes waged wars of plunder and suppressed internal resistance—reflecting the ancient principle that "state affairs lie in sacrifice and warfare"—the study focuses on military vocabulary as a lens for comparison. Using standardized character forms from authoritative compilations (Oracle Bone inscription indexes and Naxi pictographic dictionaries), the author catalogs corresponding weapon terms (spear, dagger-axe, halberd, axe, sword, bow, arrow, etc.) and examines the social, psychological, and geographical-historical factors underlying their similarities and differences.
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