Bronze wares have existed in China since ancient times. The most famous one is that after Dayu controlled the water, he cast Jiuding with copper and annotated the Dafa in the world.
The history of China was called the "Bronze Age" in the Three Emperors era 5,200 years ago.
So far, the earliest bronze age discovered is ancient Babylon 5000~6000 years ago.
Moreover, in the limited literature records, China was the first country to use bronzes. Babylon left no valuable documents, only unearthed cultural relics.
Therefore, the origin of bronze can only be given such an approximate time, and the specific process cannot be verified.
Second, the historical origin:
Bronze ware, as its name implies, is an appliance made of bronze, which has a long history in China. But in the long river of time, bronze ware is not only an object, but also endowed with a unique social status by the times and is a product of strict hierarchy. The so-called "bronze age" in history refers to the period when a large number of bronze tools and bronze ritual vessels were used. It is conservatively estimated that this period mainly lasted from Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to Qin and Han Dynasties, with a time span of about 2,000 years, which was also a glorious period for the development, maturity and even prosperity of bronzes. Bronze ware, with its unique shape, exquisite ornamentation and elegant inscriptions, reveals the casting technology, cultural level and historical origin of the pre-Qin period and is called "living history book" by historians. China's ancient civilization has a long history and is profound, and bronzes are its epitome and representative.
Generally speaking, the development of bronze culture in China can be divided into three stages, namely, formation period, peak period and transition period. The formation period refers to the Longshan period, 4500 ~ 4000 years ago; The heyday was the bronze age of China, including Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn Period and early Warring States Period, which lasted about 1600 years, that is, the bronze age of China's traditional system; The transitional period refers to the period from the end of the Warring States to the Qin and Han Dynasties. Bronze ware was gradually replaced by iron, which not only greatly reduced the number, but also changed from the initial ritual weapons and used in ceremonial sacrifices, war activities and other important occasions into daily utensils, and its corresponding types, structural characteristics and decorative arts also took a turning point.
1, formation period
Around 2 1 century BC, China began to enter the bronze age, and Erlitou culture was the earliest bronze culture in archaeological discoveries in late summer. The bronze containers, musical instruments, weapons, tools and decorations unearthed from Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan Province, and the casting sites found together show that the bronze ritual vessels have begun to take shape, the walls of the vessels are even and thin, the casting technology of pottery blocks has reached a skilled level, and the ornamentation and turquoise inlay technology with animal characteristics have also taken shape. Bronzes of this period show that China has entered a civilized society.
2, the heyday
From the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the bronze art reached a brilliant level, and the heavy wine system of Shang Dynasty ritual vessels was perfected. A large number of decorative patterns on the vessels were combined with relief and flat carving, which was absolutely exquisite. The use of exaggeration and symbolism to express animal facial patterns is unprecedented, both solemn and mysterious, full of life. The inscription of chronology appeared at the end of Shang dynasty, and the ritual vessels appeared at the beginning of Zhou dynasty, which showed the clue of changing to food system. Casting long inscriptions is an important feature of ritual vessels in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
3. Transition period
The transitional period generally refers to the period from the end of Warring States to the end of Qin and Han Dynasties. After hundreds of years of annexation war and political, economic and cultural reforms aimed at enriching Qiang Bing, Qiang Bing finally established a centralized feudal society, the traditional etiquette system was completely disintegrated, and iron products were widely used. Great changes have taken place in all fields of society.
The status of bronzes in social life is gradually declining, and most of the utensils are for daily use, but there are still some exquisite works of bronzes. For example, two bronze chariots and horses unearthed from the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang in Lintong, Shaanxi Province. The first one rode four horses, with a shed on the car and the charioteer. These two kinds of chariots and horses are made of bronze, which is proportional to the actual size and extremely beautiful. There are many gold and silver ornaments on the car right away, all of which are painted. The second horse riding, with a length of 3. 17 and a height of 1.06 meters, can be said to be the bronze ware with huge shape and the most complicated structure discovered so far.