Chapter 18 Section 3 The Appearance of Bronze Dun, Jian, Fou, Basin, Cheng, and Yu, and the Increase of Inscriptions on Utensils

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhou royal family declined and the vassal states rose. Therefore, the bronze ware made by the Zhou king and his officials decreased greatly, while the bronze ware made by the princes and officials of various countries greatly developed. At this time, among the types of bronze wares, the new ones mainly included Dun, Jian, Fou, Basin, Gong and Chun (chun Chun).Dun, a food vessel for Sheng millet.Most of them are round, with a deep abdomen, two ears on the neck, and three legs.It has a cover with three buttons.Some covers have the same shape as the body, and the upper and lower buckles are oval.Jian, a large basin of water (or ice).Round, wide mouth, narrow neck, deep belly, flat bottom, some have ring feet.There are two or four ear rings on the ventral side.During the Warring States period, there were square ones.Before the ancient bronze mirrors were widely used, people often used the mirror to hold water to take care of their faces. Therefore, mirrors were also called mirrors in ancient times.Fou, a container for wine or water.Round, deeply bulging, with a lid.There are also square ones.The one that holds wine is called Zun Fou, such as the Luan Shu Fou from the Jin Dynasty, which has a taller body, with four ring buttons on the upper abdomen and four ring buttons on the cover.On the neck, shoulders and abdomen, there are 40 characters of five elements in wrong gold inscriptions, which are exquisite and gorgeous.Those that hold water are called toilets.For example, Da Meng Ji washes the fou, which was unearthed in 1955 from the tomb of Caihou in Shou County, Anhui Province. It has a short body and two ears on the shoulders.Basin, or called (upper laying down dish) [zhengzheng].A vessel for water or blood.Round shape, flat edge, closed mouth, folded shoulders, deep belly, flat bottom, ears on the shoulders and belly.钲, also known as 钲(钅(上成下土))〔成成〕, Ding Ning or Ju鑃〔diaiao〕.A percussion instrument used in banquets or battles.The shape is like a cymbal, and the body is slender.The upper part is arc-shaped, and the lower part is a long handle for holding.Some are in groups of different sizes, up to 11 pieces.In the south, Wu, Xu, and Chu prevailed.Yu, a percussion instrument, is mainly used to command the army in war, and also used in ancestral temple sacrifices.Oval cylindrical shape, big on top and small on bottom.There are buttons on the top, most of which are tiger-shaped, also known as tiger buttons.It appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, and prevailed in the Warring States and Han Dynasties.More are found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the south.

Secondly, the content of bronze inscriptions also changed a lot at this time. Not only were the long inscriptions greatly reduced, but they generally no longer had the book-historical nature of the inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty mentioned above, and a large number of inscriptions on bronze wares appeared.The reason is that there were frequent hegemony and annexation wars among the vassal states at that time. In order to strengthen their status and strength, countries needed to form political and military alliances with each other.On the one hand, an alliance needs to take an oath, and on the other hand, it needs to rely on marriage.As recorded in "Zuo Zhuan Thirteen Years of Chenggong": "Together with one heart, make an oath of alliance, and the most important thing is marriage." Therefore, at this time, the political marriage among the vassal states developed greatly, which promoted the dowry in bronze ritual vessels. The number of utensils made by the daughter greatly increased, among which pans, pans, and mirrors were the most.In addition, an inscription that strengthens the political friendship between the two countries must be cast on it, which has become a distinctive feature of the age of bronze inscriptions in the Spring and Autumn Period.

For example, Wu Wangguang (the father of Fucha) unearthed from the tomb of Caihou in Shouxian County, Anhui Province in 1955, is 35 cm high, 59 cm in diameter, and has an inscription of 53 characters cast on the inner bottom: "Wei Wang Wuyue, the word Baiqi, the auspicious day Chugeng, Wu Wangguang chose his auspicious Jinxuanyu and Baiyu, and used it as a recommendation for Shuji Temple, Xu Zongyi, to enjoy filial piety, and his eyebrows and longevity are boundless. Go to Shuji! Piety is the queen, and grandchildren should not forget." It's time to get married.On the auspicious Geng Day, Wu Wangguang chose the best copper, lead and tin to make a bronze mirror for the dowry of his third daughter, Sixu.And told the temple to say: go!Respect your husband (referring to Marquis Cai), and future generations should not forget the friendship between Wu and Cai.The inscription has rhyme and the content is very vivid.