It was given brief information about the Chinese language and Chinese language communities (from antiquity to the present day) and it was shown the history of the formation of the Chinese language. The oldest monuments of the Chinese language are the inscriptions on the bones and tortoise shells (Jiaguwen), which were used for fortune telling, as well as inscriptions on bronze vessels (Jinwen). In this paper, for the study of hieroglyphic inscriptions on the most ancient artifacts, it is proposed to use a method based on photometry of the investigated surface of the samples and subsequent digital processing of the obtained data on a computer in order to determine the characteristics and parameters of the test sample. To test the method, we used onyx, jasper, and jade specimens, the surface of which is similar to the surface of ancient specimens. Some features of this method for the study of ancient artifacts are noted. The possibility of obtaining reliable results in the study of the most ancient hieroglyphic signs is shown. © 2022, Rossiiskaya Akademiya Nauk, Institut Istorii (Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of General Hist). All rights reserved.