Bronze is a great invention in human history. It is an alloy of red copper, tin, and lead. It is also the earliest alloy in the history of metal casting. After the invention of bronze, it immediately became popular. From then on, human history entered a new stage - the Bronze Age. China has a long history of using copper. Our ancestors discovered and began to use copper about six or seven thousand years ago. In 1973, a semicircular copper fragment was unearthed from the Jiangzhai site in Lintong, Shaanxi Province, and was identified as brass. In 1975, a bronze knife was unearthed from the Majiayao Cultural Site of Linjia in Dongxiang, Gansu Province (around 3000 BC). This is the earliest bronze ware discovered in China and is proof that China has entered the Bronze Age. Compared with West Asia, South Asia and North Africa, which entered the Bronze Age about 6,500 years ago, China's Bronze Age arrived later, but it cannot be denied that it originated independently, because there was an era in China when bronze and stone tools were used together. It is about 5500~4500 years ago. China's invention of bronze alloys on this basis is consistent with the development model of bronze ware in the world. Therefore, the theory that Chinese bronze ware was spread from abroad can be ruled out. "The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs." For the countries in China's pre-Qin Central Plains, the biggest things were sacrifices and foreign wars. Bronze, which represented the most advanced metal refining and casting technology at the time, was also mainly used in rituals and wars. The functions (uses) of the bronzes discovered in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties were ceremonial utensils and weapons and the ancillary utensils surrounding them. This is different from the bronzes of other countries in the world, forming a bronze cultural system with traditional Chinese characteristics. The development of Chinese bronze culture is generally divided into three major stages, namely the formation period, the heyday period and the transformation period. The formative period refers to the Longshan period, 4,500 to 4,000 years ago; the heyday refers to the Chinese Bronze Age, which includes the Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn Period, and the early Warring States, lasting about 1,600 years, which is the beginning of the traditional Chinese system. Bronze Cultural Age; the transition period refers to the end of the Warring States Period - the Qin and Han Dynasties. Bronze ware has been gradually replaced by iron ware. Not only has the number been greatly reduced, but it has also changed from the original ritual weapons and weapons used in important occasions such as ceremonial sacrifices and war activities to daily utensils. Its corresponding types of vessels, structural features, and decorative arts have also undergone turning changes. 1. Formation Period The Longshan Period was 4,500 to 4,000 years ago, which is equivalent to the legendary era of Yao, Shun, and Yu. Ancient documents record that people had begun to smelt bronze at that time. Archaeological excavations at the Longshan Period sites in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze River have revealed bronze artifacts in dozens of sites. Judging from the existing materials, the bronze ware in the formation period has the following characteristics: 1. Red copper and bronze ware coexisted, and brass appeared. A mold-cast bronze knife was unearthed from the Linjia site in Dongxiang, Gansu Province; two red bronze medallions with holes were discovered from the Dachengshan site in Tangshan, Hebei Province; a fragment of a bronze container containing 7% tin was unearthed from Longshan City in Wangchenggang, Dengfeng, Henan Province; A complete copper bell made of red copper was unearthed from the Taosi Cemetery in Xiangfen, Shanxi Province; two brass cones were unearthed from the Sanlihe site in Jiao County, Shandong Province; brass fragments were unearthed from Yangjiaquan, Qixia, Shandong Province. The largest number of copper products was found in the Qijia culture in Gansu, Qinghai, and Ningxia. Several cemeteries unearthed knives, awls, drills, rings and copper rings, some of which were bronze and some of which were red copper. In terms of production technology, some are forged and some are cast with molds, which are relatively advanced. 2. There are few types of bronze wares, and most of them belong to daily tools and daily life categories, such as knives, awls, drills, rings, bronze mirrors, decorations, etc. But it should be admitted that people were able to make containers at that time. In addition, in the Longshan Culture, red or yellow pottery vessels with flowing mouths and imitated metal rivets are often found on the abdomen and crotch. If the copper vessels at this time are considered to have the same functions as the bronze vessels of the Xia and Shang, jue and vassals, Bronze vessels at that time were already turning or beginning to turn into ritual vessels. 3. Bronze products are also unearthed from small sites, and ordinary residents also own bronze products. In addition, most of the bronze products of this period were simple and unadorned. Even the decorated bronze mirrors were only decorated with geometric patterns such as stars, stripes, triangles, etc., and they definitely lacked the mystery of the decorative patterns of the bronzes of the third generation. 2. The heyday: The heyday is the Chinese Bronze Age, including the Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn Period and the early Warring States, lasting about 1,600 years. Bronze wares of this period were mainly divided into ritual instruments, weapons and miscellaneous wares. Musical instruments are also mainly used in ancestral temple sacrificial activities. Ritual utensils were used in ancient rituals with red tape. They were either displayed in temples, used for banquets or washing, and some were specially used for burials. Bronze ritual vessels have a certain degree of sacredness and cannot be used in ordinary life situations. Among all bronze vessels, ritual vessels have the largest number and are the most exquisitely crafted. Ritual musical instruments can represent the highest level of Chinese bronze production technology. The types of ritual utensils include cooking utensils, food utensils, wine utensils, water utensils and statues of gods. The bronzes of this period were the most exquisitely decorated and had many types of ornaments. One of the most common patterns on bronze ware is the Taotie pattern, also called the animal face pattern. This kind of decoration first appeared on the jades of the Liangzhu Culture in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River 5,000 years ago. The Longshan Culture of Shandong inherited this kind of decoration. The Taotie pattern itself has a strong mysterious color. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals·Xianshi" states that "Zhou Ding's Taotie pattern has a head but no body. If it eats people without swallowing them, it will harm their bodies." Therefore, this kind of animal facial pattern is generally called the Taotie pattern. The Taotie pattern already exists on bronze vessels in the Erlitou Xia culture. There were many types of Taotie patterns in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, some were like dragons, tigers, cows, sheep, and deer; others were like birds, phoenixes, and people.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the mystery of bronze decoration gradually faded. Dragon and phoenix are still the motifs of many bronze patterns. It can be said that many patterned patterns are actually derived from the two major types of decorations: dragon, snake and phoenix. The cicada pattern was a common pattern in the Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty. In the Spring and Autumn Period, there were also deformed cicada patterns. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the chilong pattern became popular and gradually occupied a dominant position, almost squeezing out other patterns. Another outstanding feature of ancient Chinese bronzes is the exquisite craftsmanship, which shows the ingenious creative talents of ancient craftsmen. The Hefan method, which uses ceramic composite molds to cast bronzes, was fully developed in ancient China. The selection of materials, molding and carving of the pottery models are extremely exquisite, and the techniques of solid casting, split casting, casting joint and stack casting are very mature. The subsequent development of the lost wax process technology that does not require separate casting is undoubtedly a major advancement in bronze casting technology. The technique of inlaying bronze vessels to enhance their beauty has appeared very early. The first inlay material was turquoise, a green gemstone that is still used in jewelry today. The second type is jade, including jade-aided spears, jade-leaf spears, jade-edged axes, etc. The third type of meteorite, such as iron-edged copper axes and iron-aided copper blades, has been identified as being made of solid iron. The fourth type is inlaid with red copper, using red copper to form animal-shaped patterns. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, bronze vessels were also inlaid and decorated with gold and silver. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, smelting and casting technology developed at a high level, and a summary document on the technology of making bronze ware, Kao Gong Ji, appeared. The book stipulates in detail the ratio of copper to tin in the bronze used to make bells, tripods, axes, halberds and other utensils. Due to frequent wars, weapon casting developed rapidly. In particular, the swords of Wu and Yue were extremely sharp and famous all over the world. Some famous sword craftsmen appeared, such as Ganjiang, Ou Zhizi and others. Some swords have been buried underground for more than 2,000 years, but they can still cut through stacks of paper. Some swords, such as King Goujian's Sword of Yue, have undergone certain chemical treatments on their surfaces to form rust-proof diamond-shaped, scale-shaped or flame-shaped patterns, which are extremely gorgeous. Another characteristic of Chinese bronzes is that no portraits have been discovered so far. Many bronzes use human faces as decorations, such as human-faced tripods, human-faced axes, etc., but these human faces are not the faces of specific people. More utensils are the overall image of a person, such as a human-shaped lamp or utensil base; or the whole person is used as a part of the utensil, such as a bell frame with a human figure holding a sword and raising its hands to support the beam, and there are several human-shaped utensil feet under the copper plate. Most of these human figures are dressed as male and female slaves, and they are not portraits of specific slaves. The three-dimensional figures and human heads unearthed at Sanxingdui in Guanghan, Sichuan are all larger than a normal human being, with long ears and protruding eyes, a high nose and a wide mouth. They are full of mystery and should be mythological figures. Tens of thousands of Shang and Zhou bronzes have inscriptions, and these inscriptions are now generally called bronze inscriptions. For historians, it plays the role of proving and supplementing history. Most of the inscriptions on Chinese bronzes are cast. The concave characters are called Yin characters, and the few characters that are raised are called Yang characters. In the Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty, it can be said that inscriptions were all cast, with only a few examples of inscriptions using sharp tools. In the late Western Zhou Dynasty, completely carved inscriptions began to appear. In the middle of the Warring States period, most of the inscriptions were already carved. Even the three extremely important ritual vessels from the Han Dynasty Tomb of King Zhongshan in Pingshan, Hebei Province were all carved. Their swordsmanship was extremely sophisticated and had high artistic value. The ancients believed that bronze vessels were extremely strong and that inscriptions could be passed down forever. Therefore, matters that were to be passed down for a long time must be cast on bronze objects. Therefore, inscriptions have become important materials for studying ancient history today. 3. Transition period; The transition period generally refers to the period from the end of the Warring States Period to the end of the Qin and Han Dynasties. After hundreds of years of annexation wars and political, economic, and cultural reforms aimed at enriching the country and strengthening the army, the feudal system was replaced by the county system, and a centralized feudal society was finally established. The traditional etiquette system has been completely disintegrated, and the iron system has been completely destroyed. Products have been widely used. Earth-shaking changes have taken place in all areas of society. The status of bronze ware in social life has gradually declined, and most of the utensils are for daily use. However, when it comes to certain bronze ware, there are still many exquisite works. For example, the two bronze chariots and horses excavated from the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang in Lintong, Shaanxi Province. The first is to ride four horses, with a shed on the carriage and the charioteer in a sitting position. The two chariots and horses are both made of bronze castings. Their size is in proportion to reality and they are extremely delicate. There are many gold and silver ornaments on the chariot and horses, and the whole body is painted. The second riding horse is 3.17 meters long and 1.06 meters high. It can be said to be the largest and most complex bronze vessel ever excavated. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, ceramics had developed greatly and played an increasingly important role in social life, thus further crowding out daily bronze vessels from life. As for weapons, tools, etc., iron tools had already occupied a dominant position at this time. Bronze wares during the Sui and Tang Dynasties were mainly various kinds of exquisite bronze mirrors, usually with various inscriptions. Since then, except for bronze mirrors, it can be said that there has been no development in bronze ware. Therefore, the research on the development of bronze ware in ancient China on this website does not end until the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Follow-up question: Copying someone else's. I just saw this. I despise this type of team. Answer: I only represent myself, not the team... Follow-up question: Well, I like this and adopt it