Liu Yiman

Liu Yiman (; born 1940) is a Chinese archaeologist and scholar of oracle-bone inscriptions (jiǎgǔwén 甲骨文) who long worked on the excavations at the Ruins of Yin (Yinxu 殷墟) in Anyang, Henan Province. She was a researcher and a doctoral supervisor at the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Her research interests include Shang and Zhou archaeology, oracle bone inscriptions, and ancient Chinese bronze mirrors.

Biography Liu Yiman was born in June 1940 in Fogang County, Guangdong Province. She graduated from Guangdong Guangya Middle School (广东广雅中学) in Guangzhou in 1957. In 1962, she completed her undergraduate degree in Archaeology at Peking University. In the same year, she was admitted to the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as a graduate student, studying Shang-Zhou archaeology (商周考古) under the supervision of Xu Xusheng (Chinese: 徐旭生). After graduating in 1966, she remained at the institute as a researcher until her retirement in 2005.

Career From 1972 onwards, Liu Yiman committed much of her career to fieldwork at the Yinxu site, which was the capital of the Late Shang dynasty. She participated in excavations of structural bases, tombs, sacrificial pits, chariot‐and‐horse pits, bone‐waste pits, and oracle-bone pits. In 1990, Liu Yiman took part in the excavation of Tomb No. 160 at Guojiazhuang (郭家庄160号墓), which is a well-preserved high-ranking noble (military leader) tomb. The tomb yielded 353 objects, including 293 bronze vessels (among them 41 fine bronze ritual vessels). The find has important significance for understanding Shang-period burial practices, the assemblage of bronze ritual vessels and their chronology. Tomb 160 was selected as one of China's "Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries" in 1990. In 1991, Liu Yiman both led and participated in the excavation of the H3 oracle-bone pit at Huayanzhuang East (花园庄东地). This pit yielded 1,583 bones in total, of which 689 bore inscriptions. The discovery has high value for the study of oracle-bone text chronology, "non-royal" divination records and Shang-period family structures. This pit is regarded as Yinxu's third major oracle-bone discovery.

In addition to fieldwork, Liu led significant research projects. She hosted key research projects for CASS, including two major projects: "Yinxu Huayanzhuang East Oracle‐Bones"(殷墟花园庄东地甲骨) and"Yinxu Xiaotun Village Zhongcun South Oracle‐Bones"(殷墟小屯村中村南甲骨). From 1996 to 2009, Liu was also the project-leader for the project "Periodization and Dating of Oracle Bones from Yinxu" within the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project 夏商周断代工程 (a national scientific and technological project), focusing on the chronology of the late Shang Dynasty.

Public engagement In later years, Liu has been featured in documentaries and interviews recounting her experiences at Anyang and reflecting on the significance of oracle-bone discoveries for Chinese history and archaeology. Her work has been cited in popular and academic accounts of the Yinxu excavations and the development of oracle-bone studies in China.