甲骨的“十”是一道竖;把两道竖并排、底下一连,就是二十。《说文》说得直截:“廿,二十并也”,并就是合在一起。这种写法叫合文:两个字合成一个字形,省一刀。三十写作“卅”,三道竖连底;四十写作“卌”,四道竖连底,一路数下去。有的写法在两竖中间再加一道横,把底下封成一个三角,那一横只是加固,不影响数目。卜辞里“廿”用来数日子、数人、数牲:贞人记一次用牲多少头,记一队人有多少个,都写这种合文。要注意读的时候别把它和“十又十”混起来——商人写数目有整有零,二十三写作“廿三”,把零头直接接在后面。
甲骨的「十」是一道豎;把兩道豎並排、底下一連,就是二十。《說文》說得直截:「廿,二十并也」,并就是合在一起。這種寫法叫合文:兩個字合成一個字形,省一刀。三十寫作「卅」,三道豎連底;四十寫作「卌」,四道豎連底,一路數下去。有的寫法在兩豎中間再加一道橫,把底下封成一個三角,那一橫只是加固,不影響數目。卜辭裡「廿」用來數日子、數人、數牲:貞人記一次用牲多少頭,記一隊人有多少個,都寫這種合文。要注意讀的時候別把它和「十又十」混起來——商人寫數目有整有零,二十三寫作「廿三」,把零頭直接接在後面。
A 十, a ten, is one upright on the bones; set two uprights side by side and run their feet together and you have twenty. 說文 puts it flatly: “廿 is two tens put together.” A spelling like this is a 合文, two words carried by one shape, one cut saved. Thirty is 卅, three uprights joined at the foot; forty is 卌, four of them, and so on up. Some spellings add a bar across the two uprights, closing the foot into a triangle; the bar only stiffens the shape and changes no number. On the bones 廿 counts days, people and animals — how many head were used in a rite, how many men were in a party. When reading it, do not confuse it with 十又十: the Shang wrote round numbers and remainders together, so twenty-three is 廿三, the remainder set straight after.