Peng

Peng was a religious practitioner during the Late Shang period of the Shang dynasty. A member of the He group in Period III, their name appears across multiple oracle bones, giving a rather complete picture of their life relative to other diviners like Zheng or Nan, beginning as a student learning oracle bone script before flourishing as a scribe.

Early life Despite only being visible in oracle bone evidence, Peng appears in myriad texts dated to the reigns of Zu Jia, Lin Xin, and Geng Ding, within the textual styles of the He group. In the earliest instances they are seen, Peng is seen in contexts where the handwriting is noticeably inept and almost anomalous, which implies that they were learning to write, possibly as a child. Smith (2011) has therefore surmised that Peng was a student scribe, possibly learning divination.

Career As oracle bone scribes were not necessarily diviners, it is unknown whether Peng was an actual diviner, only that Peng at least operated as a scribe. 甲寅卜，彭貞：多子其饗。 On the jiayin day, plastromancy was performed. Peng charges: May we perform a banquet for the many princes?

Similarly, they also did wrote enquiries regarding banquets to perform for ancestral kings, namely Da Yi, Zu Yi, and Zu Ding: 癸亥卜彭貞大乙祖乙祖丁暨饗 On the guihai day, plastromancy was performed. Peng charges: Should we perform a banquet for Da Yi, Zu Yi, and Zu Ding?

Peng would go on to write more extensively, such as in the case of this bone, where Peng is involved with a you sacrifice to Bi Ji, the wife of Zu Ding: 癸亥卜彭貞其侑于丁妣己在十月又二小臣𡆥立 On the guihai day, plastromancy was performed. Peng charges: May we perform a you sacrifice to Ding's wife, Bi Ji, in the tenth month? Two minor officials were present to the divination.