The bone collector

Archaeologist and author Liu Yiman has not let retirement douse a passion for her favorite subject, Ye Zizhen reports.

History teachers come in at least two varieties: those whose lessons are so fascinating that students are keen to flip open their textbooks to find out more; and those whose lessons are as dry as old bones, so much so that students turn their back on history the minute they leave school.

Liu Yiman can count herself as a lucky woman, someone who had a very compelling teacher of history, and yet managed to end up holding dry bones, ones that have kept her captivated for more than 50 years.

The bones Liu has worked with in Anyang, Henan province, for all those years are very special－oracle bones that have told us so much about Chinese history stretching back thousands of years.