A career scripted in history

Li has loved literature since high school, and she didn't think twice about choosing Chinese language and literature for her undergraduate years at Zhejiang Normal University, where she then went on to zoom in on oracle bone scripts for her Master's degree.

She was initially drawn to the mystery and poetic meaning behind the strokes of the ancient characters in her sophomore years.

"I was particularly interested in the origins of things at that time, so I chose the direction of oracle bone inscriptions," Li says, adding that they are the earliest and most mature writing system discovered in China to date and helped shed another 1,000 years of light on history.

However, there was only one professor at the university who specialized in the study of oracle bone inscriptions, and in that particular year, Li was literally in a class of her own as a student.

Students from different grades would often gather at the professor's place, drinking tea and listening to his stories about oracle bone inscriptions.

"These gatherings became our class time," Li says.

She says she spent most of the time reading and studying books recommended by the professor.

"Every week, we would gather with fellow students to exchange ideas, present reports, and engage in discussions at our mentor's home," she says.

"Looking back now, I find it quite remarkable."

Li soon met with another embarrassing situation after graduation last year.

She found pertinent job opportunities were slim pickings.

Eventually, she landed a job being a short video director at a new media company in Zhejiang's provincial capital Hangzhou.

In the following months, she developed more than 100 scripts, and the data traffic was steadily increasing.

"But I sensed a lack of meaning and value," she says.

She eventually listened to her inner voice and launched her own career.

"I gave myself up to six months, and even if I failed, I figured it wouldn't be too late to find a job again," she says.

From the beginning, she made a detailed schedule, with set goals.

"I wanted to use actions to prove my seriousness," she says.

In order to trace the origins of the Chinese characters in use today, Li needs to spend time consulting dictionaries, reading up on extensive literature and books, and then converting them into concise and accessible copy for only two or three minutes of delivery.

One of the difficulties is to find informative content.

"Currently, there are over 1,000 characters unveiled, but not every character has a fascinating and engaging story behind it. Therefore, I need to search through a large amount of information to find a suitable subject and an interesting angle to talk about the character," she says.

Her efforts have paid off, as many of her fans have urged her to update her works.

Chen Nianfu, professor from Zhejiang Normal University, says Li's efforts have helped to fill a void in the popularization of oracle bone script knowledge.

As compared with other disciplines, there are relatively few researchers specializing in oracle bone script, and as a result, efforts to promote the science among the public are far from enough, Chen says.