Chapter 3 Section 2 Unique Ritual Vessels of Ancient Chinese Bronze Wares

During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties in ancient China, not only bronze was used to make production tools and weapons, but also bronze was used to make a large number of utensils used in the life of slave owners and nobles.The bronze utensils used by slave owners and nobles for various ceremonial activities such as sacrifices, court appointments, banquets, and funerals are not only used as containers for holding things, but also have the function of indicating the status of the user, that is, to "show the status of the noble and the humble." , distinguish and rank" ("Zuo Zhuan·Yin Gong Five Years").It is a symbol of aristocratic power and status, and a manifestation of the ritual system at that time, that is, the so-called "vessels are used to store rituals" ("Zuo Zhuan · Chenggong Second Year"), so they are called ritual vessels, also known as Yi vessels.The well-developed bronze sacrificial vessel is a remarkable feature that distinguishes ancient Chinese bronze wares from those of other countries in the world, and it is also a distinctive feature of the essence of ancient Chinese bronze culture.This is determined by the characteristics of ancient Chinese Xia, Shang and Zhou civilizations - the developed patriarchal blood relationship.On the other hand, the high development of bronze smelting and casting technology in ancient China provided a material and technical basis for the development of bronze ritual vessels.In short, this also strongly demonstrates that the ancient Chinese bronze culture developed independently on the Chinese soil, and all kinds of Chinese bronze cultures are groundless.

In the Xia Dynasty, bronze ritual vessels had already appeared.By the Shang Dynasty, especially in the late Shang Dynasty, bronze ritual vessels had matured, and the main types of vessels were available, mainly including food vessels, wine vessels, water vessels and musical instruments. The most important of the food utensils is the tripod.Bronze tripods are imitated from pottery tripods, most of which have round bellies, two ears, and three legs, and a few have square quadrupeds or crotch pocket feet.The tripod is mainly used for cooking and serving meat. It is the most important food utensil of the ancient Huaxia people. device.As we have said before, according to ancient documents such as "Zuo Zhuan Three Years of Xuan Gong", Xia Yu cast Jiuding, and since then Jiuding has become a symbol of royal power and a treasure handed down to the country.Later, "Jie had chaotic virtues, and the tripod was moved to Shang." Zhou destroyed Shang, and King Cheng moved Jiuding to Luoyi (now Luoyang).In the Spring and Autumn Period, in the first year of King Ding of Zhou Dynasty (606 BC), King Zhuang of Chu attacked Luhun's army, and Chen Bing was near Luoyi. King Ding sent Wang Sunman to comfort him. Man's forceful refutation: "Although Zhou De declined, the destiny has not changed, and the weight of the tripod is unquestionable" ("Zuo Zhuan·Xuan Gong Three Years").This is the famous "Aspirations" story in history.

The earliest bronze tripod discovered by archeology at present is the bronze tripod of the early Shang Dynasty unearthed from the Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan. The late Shang Dynasty Houmuwu (Simuwu) tripod unearthed in Wuguan Village, Yinxu, Anyang in 1939 has a rectangular bucket-shaped belly, two straight ears on the mouth, and four cylindrical feet under the belly.The abdomen is decorated with animal face and Kui (kui) patterns, the outer sides of the ears are decorated with double tiger cannibal head patterns, and the upper part of the feet is also decorated with animal face patterns. Both of them use cloud and thunder patterns as ground patterns, which are mysterious and complicated.The inner wall of the abdomen is cast with the inscription "Houmuwu", according to which it can be known that it was made by Zugeng or Zujia, king of the Shang Dynasty, to sacrifice his motherwu.The body is huge, 1.33 meters high, 1.10 meters long, and 0.79 meters wide. In 1994, it was measured by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Chinese History Museum and the China Institute of Metrology. The measured weight was 832.84 kilograms. of bronzes.Exquisitely made, it is made of multiple pieces of pottery inner and outer molds, representing the high level of ancient Chinese bronze smelting and casting industry and the incomparable wisdom and creativity of ancient Chinese people.

Important food utensils in the Shang Dynasty also included gui [gui ghost], 鬲 [li li], 甗 [yan yan] and beans.The gui is a utensil for serving millet and rice, and it is also an important ritual vessel, often used in conjunction with a tripod.In the mid-Shang Dynasty, there were bronze guis, whose shape was slightly similar to today's large bowls, generally with a wide mouth, narrow neck, round belly, ring feet, and some belly with two ears.Some of the bronze gui in the late Shang Dynasty are decorated with exquisite and complicated animal face patterns or diamond-shaped cloud and thunder patterns and milk ding patterns on the surface.Ge is a utensil for cooking or serving rice commonly used by businessmen in their daily lives, mostly pottery.The nobles also used bronze to make it and used it as a ritual vessel.Its shape is extravagant, with two upright ears on the mouth, narrow neck, round belly and divided crotch. It is characterized by three hollow feet, called style (bag) feet; in this way, the area exposed to fire is large and easy to cook.In the mid-Shang Dynasty, the bronze 鬲 had already appeared.甗, is a food utensil for steaming, that is, a steamer.The lower part is a Li, which is used to hold water, the upper part is a retort [gifted by zeng], and the bottom has a copper grate [bibi] or a wooden grate, which is used to hold rice.In the mid-Shang Dynasty, there were already bronze zeng, most of which were zeng and li joined together and cast at one time. Unearthed in 1976 from the Fuhao Tomb at the Yin Ruins in Anyang, a triptych steamer composed of three steamers and a rectangular steamer was unearthed in 1976. It is 68 centimeters high and 103.7 centimeters long.Beans, mainly used to hold pickled vegetables, meat sauce and other foods, with a disc on the top and a high handle on the bottom.The number of copper beans in the Shang Dynasty was small, and it began to appear in the late Shang Dynasty.

Ancient documents record that Yidi or Dukang (Shaokang) made wine in the Xia Dynasty.According to archaeological findings, wine has been invented as early as the Neolithic Age, and pottery wine vessels have appeared.Liquor is an important drink, which is made by fermenting grain or fruit.The invention of wine is a great event in the history of human material life development, and wine plays a major role in people's daily life and social life.Ancient documents record that merchants drank too much, and during the time of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, they even drank in the wine pool and meat forest for a long night.Archeology has found that wine vessels were commonly used in Shang Dynasty tombs, and a Shang Dynasty winemaking workshop site was discovered in Taixi, Gaocheng, Hebei.Under such social conditions, the bronze wine vessels of the Shang Dynasty were very developed.There are mainly drinking utensils jue, horn, goblet [gugu], goblet [zhizhi], gong, gong [gonggong] and wine vessel zun, you [youyou], bu [bubu, also read pou掊],罍 [lei Lei], Fang Yi and pot, etc. (Figure 7).Jue is the common name of ancient drinking vessels.As a proper name, it refers to a kind of mouth, a round belly, a flow of wine in the front, a pointed round tail in the back, two small pillars on the upper edge of the mouth, and a hand-held chisel on the ventral side [panpan ], There are three drinking vessels with flat edges and feet under the abdomen.Some have no column or single column, or square belly and four legs, or have a cover.A bronze jue from the early Shang Dynasty was unearthed at the Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan.In the Fuhao Tomb of the Yin Ruins in Anyang, 40 bronze jue were unearthed from one tomb, including a pair of large Fuhao Jue, 37.3 cm high, with exquisite bird patterns and animal face patterns on the abdomen.corners, less in number.It appeared in the middle of the Shang Dynasty.The shape is like a jue, and the front and rear are tails without flow and pillars.An ox horn-shaped bronze horn was unearthed from Tomb No. 1022 in Yinxu, Anyang, with a cover and a piercing ear on the side of the mouth, which can be tied.The shape is also like a jue but it is big, with a round mouth and two pillars, but no flow and tail.There are also quadrupeds with a square belly, or three-pocketed feet with a crotch.Wang Guowei's "Shuo Jia" (Volume 3 of "Guantang Jilin") believes that Jia is the San recorded in ancient documents such as "Zhou Li".Or it is considered that jia is a vessel for holding wine and spilling it on the ground when performing naked (guanguan) rituals.Four round and eight square bamboos were unearthed from the Fuhao Tomb at the Yin Ruins in Anyang, the largest of which, the Fuhao square bamboo, is 68.8 centimeters high and has exquisite animal-mask patterns on its abdomen.Goblet, high body, wide mouth, round belly, high circle feet, in the shape of a trumpet.There are also square bellies.It appeared in the middle of the Shang Dynasty, and it was widely used in the late Shang Dynasty, and it was often matched with Jue to form a group.As many as 53 bronze goblets were unearthed from the Fuhao Tomb at the Yin Ruins in Anyang.觯, shaped like today's small bottle, began to appear in the late Shang Dynasty.Generally, it has a wide mouth, narrow neck, oval abdomen, ring feet, and a cover.Gong has an oval or rectangular abdomen, with a flow in front, a scorpion in the back, a ring foot below, and a cover on top.It is the largest drinking vessel, and it is very delicately made with complicated decorations. "The Book of Songs · Zhou Nan · Juan Er": "My aunt drinks the other's cup, so as not to hurt forever." Zheng Xuan's note: "Gong is also punished." Gong began to appear in the late Shang Dynasty.Eight pieces of toasts were unearthed from the tomb of Fu Hao in the Yin Ruins of Anyang.Among them, two pieces of Fuhao Gong are in pairs, with a total height of 22 cm and a total length of 28.4 cm.The front end of the cover is in the shape of a standing carved tiger head, and the back end is the head of an owl [Xiao Xiao].The body of the vessel is decorated with embossed tiger body on the front part and embossed owl body on the back part.When the lid and the container are fastened together, the front view is in the shape of a squatting tiger, and the rear view is in the shape of a standing owl. The design concept is very ingenious. Unearthed in 1959 in Taohuazhuang, Shilou, Shanxi Province, the dragon-patterned Gong has a horn-shaped body with ring feet and a cover.The Gong head is in the shape of a raised dragon head, with protruding horns and exposed teeth. The belly of the vessel is decorated with dragon patterns and 鼍 (tuo camel, alligator) patterns, which is a unique idea.It is 18.8 cm high and 24.1 cm long.Zun is not only the common name of wine container and even ritual vessel, but also specifically refers to an important wine container used for dedication. It is tall, exquisitely decorated and numerous in number.The status of Zun in ritual vessels is second only to tripod.The shape of the statue is mostly round belly and circle feet.Some have large mouths with folded shoulders; others have wide mouths with rounded bellies like goblets.There are also square bellies.There is another kind of statue, which is made in the shape of birds and beasts as a whole, including owls, elephants, cattle, sheep, etc., called bird and beast statues.Bronze statues appeared in the mid-Shang Dynasty and were widely used in the late Shang Dynasty.Ten bronze statues were unearthed from the Fuhao Tomb at the Yin Ruins in Anyang, including five round statues, three square statues, and two owl statues.It is said that Yu Xizun, a small minister of the late Shang Dynasty unearthed in Liangshan, Shandong, is 24.5 cm high and is in the shape of a standing double-horned rhinoceros, with a very vivid shape.You, "The Book of Songs Daya Jianghan": "Li [xixi] Ergui Zan [zan Zan], 秬 [ju Ju] 鬯 [chang singing] a you." Fragrant wine is used for sacrificial wine containers.According to archaeological findings, you began to appear in the late Shang Dynasty, and were often used in groups with Zun.Its shape is mostly an oval abdomen, with ring feet below and a cover on the mouth.Its characteristic is that there is a handle on it.Unearthed from the Fuhao Tomb of the Yin Ruins in Anyang, there are two Tiliang You in pairs, with a small mouth, a slender neck, a bulging belly, and a ring foot.The cover button is in the shape of a vertically carved bird, and the two ends of the lifting beam are in the shape of a vertically carved dragon head.The neck, abdomen and ring are fully decorated with animal face patterns.36.4 cm high.In addition, some you are made in the shape of birds and animals as a whole.For example, it is said that the late Shang Dynasty tiger-eating man unearthed in Anhua, Hunan Province, is in the shape of a crouching tiger, holding a person in its two front paws, with its mouth wide open, as if it is about to devour, which implies mystery.There is a cover on the top and a handle on the upper part for easy carrying.The whole body is decorated with complicated patterns of animal face, tiger and dragon.32.5 cm high.Bu, or called 〔pian articles〕.The shape is like today's jars, with a short round belly, ring feet, and some have covers.It appeared in the middle of the Shang Dynasty.Three bronze ampoules were unearthed from the tomb of Fuhao in the Yin Ruins of Anyang.Among them, two pieces of Fuhao are in pairs, with lids, and the abdomen is decorated with animal-mask and Kui patterns, 34.2 cm high.罍, a large wine container. "The Book of Songs·Zhou Nan·Ju Er": "My aunt drinks that golden pot, and I will not cherish it forever." Its shape is round and square, and its characteristic is that there is a nose in the lower abdomen that can be worn and used to pour wine. button.In the mid-Shang Dynasty, bronze ware began to appear.Unearthed from the Fuhao Tomb of the Yin Ruins in Anyang, there are two pairs of Fuhao square knuckles, straight mouth, curved shoulders, deep belly, and flat bottom.There are two semi-circular ears on the shoulders and a nose button on the lower abdomen.There is a cover, and the cover button is roof-shaped.The shoulders are decorated with Kui patterns, and the abdomen is decorated with scroll patterns and triangular Kui patterns.52.5 cm high.Yi is the common name of bronze ritual vessels.Fang Yi refers specifically to a cuboid wine container with a ring foot on the bottom and a cover on the top, and the cover and cover button are roof-shaped.Most of them are decorated with complicated and exquisite patterns.It began to appear in the late Shang Dynasty.Five pieces of Fang Yi were unearthed from the tomb of Fu Hao at the Yin Ruins in Anyang.One of them is a pair of square Yi, which looks like two pieces of square Yi connected together, in a rectangular shape.The cover is in the shape of a four-a-style roof, with two buttons on it also in the shape of a roof.The mouth of the device is made into the shape of a protruding beam head, with two attached ears on the ventral side and ring feet at the bottom.The whole body is decorated with animal face patterns and bird patterns.The inscription "Fuhao" is cast on the inner bottom of the abdomen.It is 60 cm high and 88.2 cm long.Jug, large wine container. "The Book of Songs · Daya · Han Yi": "Show the father to preserve it, a hundred pots of sake." Most of them are oval, with a slightly protruding mouth, long neck, bulging belly, and ring feet.There are two pierced ears on the neck for carrying with a rope.Covered.Unearthed from the Fuhao Tomb at the Yin Ruins in Anyang, there are two Fuhao pots in pairs, and the whole body is decorated with complicated animal face patterns and Kui patterns.Up to 50.9 cm.In addition, two square pots were unearthed.

Because the ancient slave owners and nobles had to wash their hands when saluting, to show cleanliness and piety; and, as in "Book of Rites Internal Rules": "When entering the bathroom, the young ones will serve pan (pan), and the elders will serve water, please wash. Give the towel." Therefore, there are water vessels among the bronze ritual vessels.The water vessels of the Shang Dynasty mainly include 盉 and pans (Fig. 8).盉 is a vessel for holding water to pour hands; it can also be used to pour water into wine vessels to adjust (reconcile) the intensity of wine.Shaped like today's teapots, most of them have a round belly, with a tubular flow in the front, a handle in the back, and three legs in the bottom.Unearthed at the Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan Province, the bronze yu of the early Shang Dynasty has a flow on the top and three cone-shaped hollow feet under the abdomen.In the late Shang Dynasty, there were also bronze yu with square belly and four legs.For example, the inscriptions unearthed from the tombs of the Shang Dynasty kings at the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province are three squares of "left", "middle" and "right", which are very exquisite.The tray is used to accept the discarded water after washing.It appeared in the middle of the Shang Dynasty.The bronze plates of the Shang Dynasty are mostly round, with a shallow belly and high ring feet.Some handicaps are decorated with standing birds.The bottom of the plate is mostly decorated with dragon, turtle and fish patterns.

Ancient China attached great importance to music, believing that music is harmonious and a manifestation of the law of harmony in the universe.When the ancient aristocrats saluted, they usually played music to cooperate, so that the etiquette can be fully reflected and appear gentle.Therefore, the generalized ritual vessel also includes musical instruments.The bronze musical instruments of the Shang Dynasty were mainly cymbals, bells and drums (Figure 9).Nao, a percussion instrument, is used with the mouth facing up and the handle being held.Unearthed from the Yin Ruins in Anyang, they are small, in groups of three or five.Those unearthed in Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other provinces in the south are huge in shape and have to be erected on wooden pillars for use. Unearthed in 1983 at Yueshanpu, Ningxiang, Hunan, is a large bronze cymbal of the late Shang Dynasty, which is 103.5 centimeters high and weighs 221.5 kilograms.The bell is the earliest bronze musical instrument discovered so far. In 1962, a bronze bell of the early Shang Dynasty was unearthed in Erlitou, Yanshi, with a small button on the top and a single wing on the side, with a height of 9.4 cm.Drums are generally made of wood, and traces of wooden drums with python leather surfaces have been found in the tomb of Yinxu in Anyang.There are very few bronze drums whose shape imitates wooden drums. In 1977, a horizontal bronze drum of the late Shang Dynasty was unearthed in Chongyang, Hubei Province. The drum surface was cast with patterns similar to crocodile skin. It is 75.5 cm high and 39.2 cm in diameter.

Due to the great significance of bronze ritual vessels, the production process is exquisite, not only the shape is dignified, but also the surface is decorated with complicated patterns.With a unique national style and immortal artistic charm, it is the crystallization of the labor and wisdom of the ancient people.In the Shang Dynasty, especially in the late Shang Dynasty, most of the bronze ritual vessels used fine cloud and thunder patterns as the ground pattern, and then applied animal-mask patterns protruding from the surface of the vessel (Figure 10), dragon patterns, Kui patterns, and phoenix patterns. Thematic decorations such as bird patterns and cicada patterns.Most of the motifs of these decorations are mysterious animals in ancient myths and legends, combined with the shape of the vessel, creating a solemn and even solemn and terrifying atmosphere, which further strengthens the social function of the bronze ritual vessel and has a high value. artistic value.Among them, the animal face pattern (or taotie [taotie]) is the most common.According to ancient literature, gluttony is a ferocious beast that "has a head but no body, eats people without swallowing it, and harms its body" ("Lu Shi Chunqiu·Xianzhilan").Or think that Taotie is a kind of cruel person in ancient times. "Great money is gluttony, and gluttony is gluttony" (Du Yu's note in "Zuo Zhuan Eighteen Years of Wen Gong").The taotie pattern is characterized by highlighting the head, and many have no body; while those with a body, the body is symmetrically spread out on both sides of the head.In particular, the eyes are very large and protrude above the face, and the giant eyes are gazing, which is daunting.The dragon is a strange animal in ancient Chinese myths and legends. In 1987, a dragon made of clam shells was discovered in the tombs of the Yangshao Culture on Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan Province, and it has been 6,000 years ago.Today the dragon has become a symbol of the Chinese nation.Kui, like a dragon with one foot.Most of them are in the shape of side view.The phoenix bird is the king of birds in ancient myths and legends, with a gorgeous crown and tail feathers.

Since bronze ritual vessels were used in important ceremonies such as offering sacrifices to ancestors, characters were cast on bronze ritual vessels starting from the Shang Dynasty.Generally known as bronze inscriptions, also known as gold inscriptions.Or known as Yi device inscription, Zhong Dingwen.There are a large number of Shang and Zhou bronze inscriptions. According to the statistics of "Yin and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions Collection" edited by the Institute of Archeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, there are more than 12,000 bronze wares with inscriptions.According to Rong Geng's "Jin Wen Bian", there are about 3,700 single characters in Jin Wen, and about 2,400 characters have been known.Bronze inscriptions are very rich in content and are the main representative of the first stage of Chinese character development.The bronze inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty are relatively short, and generally there are only a few words on an artifact.Most of the content is to indicate the clan of the maker of the ritual vessel and the title (temple name) of the worshiped ancestor in the ancestral temple.For example: "Material. The late Shang Dynasty Jinwen calligraphy style is characterized by strong and powerful strokes, striking from the beginning to the end, and obvious waves [zhe folds], which is called the waves.