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UN rejects Taiwan's oracle bone script
application
ALREADY CLAIMED: The UN's Memory of the World Register can only accept two
submissions per country — and China has already made them, a UN official said
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA , PARIS
Sunday, Sep 12, 2010, Page 1
The UN has rejected an application from Taiwan to have a
collection of oracle bone scripts listed as a world documentary heritage item, a
UN official said on Friday.
The collection, preserved by the Taipei-based Academia Sinica's Institute of
History and Philology, was not nominated for inclusion in the Memory of the
World Register for next year because China had already made two submissions, the
maximum number allowed by each country, according to Joie Springer, an official
at the Secretariat of the Memory of the World Programme.
Taiwan is not recognized as a country by the UN and is not a member of the
organization.
Springer suggested that Taiwan could consider making a joint submission with
China in the future.
The program, established by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization in 1992, is aimed at the preservation and dissemination of valuable
archive holdings and library collections worldwide.
Every even-numbered year, the program accepts up to two submissions from each
country. The program's International Advisory Committee then meets the following
year to decide on the new items to be included on the register.
The next committee meeting is scheduled for next year, which means that new
submissions will not be accepted again until 2012.
The two submissions by China that have been nominated for inclusion are Ben Cao
Gang Mu (本草綱目, Compendium of Materia Medica) and Huang Di Nei Jing (黃帝內經, Yellow
Emperor's Inner Canon).
National Cultural Association secretary-general Yang Tu (楊渡) said in Taipei that
he was surprised Taiwan's submission was not nominated this year.
On the suggestion of making a joint submission with China, Yang said the issue
would require careful deliberation in light of the sensitive nature of
cross-strait relations.
Institute of History and Philology director Huang Chin-shing (黃進興) expressed
regret over the outcome, which he blamed on China's obstruction.
The oracle bone scripts are ancient Chinese characters inscribed on oracle bones
— animal bones or turtle shells used in divination in China between 1400BC and
1100BC. The script is considered a forerunner to modern Chinese characters.
To date, about 5,000 oracle bone characters have been identified, although only
1,500 of them are recognizable. Academia Sinica holds the world’s largest
collection of oracle bone scripts.
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