The graph in the Shang oracle inscriptions, transcribed or , until now, among the best authorities, remains the object of different interpretations. Some common translations are: a rhinoceros, a unicorned si having the appearance of an ox, an ox of the si species, a si (without explanation), a coveted game animal, a wild animal of the central plain, etc. The aim of this short paper is to determine to what extent some clarification can be made.Starting the investigation with Jiabian 3939, it seems that this “big animal's skull,” like the other deer skulls discovered nearby, was considered a hunting trophy. Consequently, the recorded text was inscribed on that trophy, that is on the skull of the animal so skillfully caught. After a careful examination, the paleontologists declared that the “big animal's skull” was the skull of a buffalo. Taking these facts into consideration, we made a new examination of the graph and its variants, of the character cast in the bottom of the Niu fang-ding (HPKM1004), of the head from the small stone bovine (shi niu of M5), of the pronunciation of the character at a later time, of the Shang oracular texts, and of the main ancient texts, starting with the pre-Qin period and going on until the end of the Eastern Jin dynasty. The results can be summarized as follows:The graph of the Shang oracular texts and the character of the later period seem to be the same word. The elements of the graph may not have been always correctly analyzed, the graphic evolution may have been different from what it was previously thought to be, but the semantic content seems to have been always the same: a wild buffalo.

中文翻译：

---

22. 关于图形和字符 Si 的一些说明

图表在商代甲骨文中，抄录要么，直到现在，在最好的权威中，仍然是不同解释的对象。一些常见的翻译是：犀牛、独角兽西有牛的外观，牛的西种，一个西（没有解释），令人垂涎的野味动物，中原野生动物等。这篇短文的目的是确定在何种程度上可以做出澄清。开始调查家边3939，这个“大动物的头骨”似乎和附近发现的其他鹿头骨一样，被认为是狩猎战利品。因此，记录的文字被刻在那个奖杯上，也就是被巧妙地捕捉到的动物的头骨上。经过仔细检查，古生物学家宣布“大动物的头骨”是水牛的头骨。考虑到这些事实，我们对图表进行了新的检查及其变体，在底部的字符牛方鼎(HPKM1004), 小石牛的头部 (石牛M5)、后来的字读音、商代的口头文字、主要的古文字，从先秦时期开始，一直持续到东晋末年。结果可归纳如下： 图商代神谕文字与人物后期的好像一样单词. 图形的元素可能并不总是被正确分析，图形的演变可能与以前认为的不同，但语义内容似乎总是一样的：一头野牛。