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Oracle bone script meets modern design in the Year of the Snake

CGTN

An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG
An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG

An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG

An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG
An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG

An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG

An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG
An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG

An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG

An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG
An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG

An oracle bone unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. /VCG

Around the world, Chinese communities are set to usher in the Year of the Snake on January 29, 2025. For its latest Spring Festival Gala – an annual variety show that has been airing on Chinese New Year's Eve for over four decades – China Media Group (CMG) unveiled a logo featuring an official mascot named Si Shengsheng for this year's theme "Year of the Snake, Keep Your Spirits Awake."

The design of Si Shengsheng was inspired by "Si," one of the characters in the oracle bone script that corresponds to the word "snake." Among the earliest examples of Chinese writing, oracle bone script was discovered in the early 20th century inscribed on animal bones – typically from oxen or turtles – at Anyang in Henan Province and was used for divination purposes by the royal court of the Shang Dynasty.

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