Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the form of Chinese spoken from the beginning of written records (around 1200 BC) until the 3rd century BC. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from the late Shang dynasty. Bronze inscriptions became plentiful during the following Zhou dynasty. The latter part of the period saw a flowering of literature, including classical works such as the Analects of Confucius, the Mencius, and the Commentary of Zuo. These works served as models for Literary Chinese, which remained the written standard until the early twentieth century, thus preserving the vocabulary and grammar of late Old Chinese.