Chapter 3 Section 3 Shang Zhou's "Sound and Light" Communication in Mythology

In ancient mythology, there is a record about the use of beacon fire by King Shang Zhou, which refers to the early "sound and light" communication in our country about 3000 years ago.According to the Records of Supplements written by Wang Zinian, the tyrannical King Zhou wanted to annex the princes of neighboring countries, so he ordered his favorite minister Fei Lian to carry out subversive activities in neighboring countries, and lit a beacon there to report to King Zhou.When King Zhou stepped onto the stage and saw the beacon fire, he immediately sent troops to destroy that country, captured its people, plundered its women, and used it for his own lust.This action aroused the wrath of the gods, and the gods sent a divine bird down to earth, holding fire in its mouth to shine like a star, so that the light of the beacon fire confused and flew away, so that King Zhou couldn't find his target and was at a loss what to do.Shang Zhou had no choice but to stop attacking neighboring countries.This myth tells us that perhaps at the end of the Shang Dynasty, our country already knew the technology of using light to communicate, more than 400 years earlier than the later Zhou Youwang Fenghuo opera princes.

According to oracle bone inscriptions, during the time of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty, the means of voice communication had been widely used.Historians Guo Moruo and Chen Mengjia used the word "(壴女)" several times in their oracle bone inscription monographs.Guo Lao said that this word "reads like Qi", "its character is like a drum", as if someone is kneeling and guarding next to it ("Tongzhuan Anxie" No. 431, 512, 513).Chen Mengjia further explained: This is the ancient drummer.Through the sound of loud drums, "the border princes reported the invasion of the enemy country" ("Yin Xu Divination Review" p. 239).This is an ancient fringe.The frequent appearance of this character indicates that organized voice communication activities appeared in the late Shang Dynasty, and the most widely used was in the border areas at that time.