The earliest and most complete bronzes unearthed.
The first statement: Erlitou said that copper is one of the earliest metals recognized and applied by human beings. China is one of the earliest countries to use bronzes. So far, the earliest bronzes discovered in China are in the late Neolithic period, which is equivalent to some cultural sites in the Xia Dynasty in the Central Plains. Larger bronzes were unearthed in the ruins of the early Shang Dynasty. (From junior high school textbooks) Among the splendid bronzes, Changliujue unearthed from Erlitou site in Yanshi in 1975 is a relic of the early Shang Dynasty and is called the earliest bronze ware in China.
Changliujue is an ancient drinking vessel with a height of 22.5 cm, a bottom length of 35 cm and a wall thickness of 0. 1 cm. It belongs to Yanshi County Cultural Management Association. Long flow, pointed tail, waist, flat bottom, three slender legs, two mushroom-shaped short columns near the mouth of the flow, a concave pattern with a width of 1.2 cm on one side of the waist, and five chest nails with transverse decoration between two rows. The tire wall is thin, the surface is rough and the decoration is simple, which is indeed the characteristics of early bronzes in China. (Contributed by Henan Provincial Tourism Bureau)
The second statement: Majiayao unearthed 1 bronze knives belonging to Majiayao culture in Linjia Village, Dongxiang, Gansu Province, and they are well preserved. This is the earliest bronze found in China so far, dating from around 3000 BC.
Non-container: Majiayao culture bronze knife, more than 5000 years ago.
Container: Bronze Knight of Erlitou Culture Phase III, about 3800 years ago.
Main classification of bronzes
tributary
Ding is equivalent to today's pot, used to cook or hold fish. Most of them are Fang Ding with round belly, two ears and three feet, and some have four feet.
Li (phonograph) is used for cooking: generally speaking, it is a waste of mouth and three feet are empty.
Yan is equivalent to today's steamer. The whole vessel is divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part is a still for holding food. The lower part is covered with water. There is a piece of copper called Qing between Zan and Wei. Steam has horizontal holes or straight holes.
What is the bronze inscription? Destroy? , equivalent to today's big bowl, full of rice. Generally, they have a round belly, a small mouth, round feet and two ears. Words in ancient books? Hu? Or? Hu? . For food. Rectangular, extravagant outside the mouth, four feet short, cover.
The hairpin (f incarnation) is rectangular, luxurious outside the mouth and short on four feet. There is a lid, which is the same size as the container. When it is closed, it becomes a device, and when it is opened, it is the same two devices. This is also called "? But standing? Or? But buy it? . What is the name of hairpin in ancient books? Hu? Or? Hu? .
Polygonum (X incarnation) is used in millet, millet, rice and sorghum. Ellipse, convergent, two ears, full circle, covered.
Dun (Du? ) For millet, millet, rice and sorghum. Three short feet, round belly, two ears, covered. And spherical Dunn. Beans are used in food, such as meat sauce. There is a plate at the top, a long handle, a round foot and a lid at the bottom.
Drinking vessel
Jue, drink. Equivalent to the wine cup of later generations. There is a wine-filling stream in front of the round belly, a tail behind it, a handle beside it, two columns in the mouth and three-pointed feet under it.
Corner drinking fountain. Shaped like a knight, it has a tail before and after, without two columns. Some have covers.
Book of rites? The ritual vessel said:? Sacrifice the ancestral temple? ,? Noble people raise their horns, and humble people raise their horns? . During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, it developed into a beautifully shaped ritual vessel, which was popular before the middle of the Zhou Dynasty and then began to decline.
"Examination"? Zi Ren quoted Han Shi as saying:? One liter is called Jue, two liters is called Dai, three liters is called Fu, four liters is called Jiao, and five liters is called San. ? Accordingly, the ability of horn and knight is four to one. The shape of the horn is very similar to that of a columnless knight, except that the flow and tail are pointed. Since the Song Dynasty, the Jue-shaped vessel has no flow, and there is a horn with two wings and a tail.
Wine warmer. Shaped like a knight, it has three legs, two columns and a pin.
G not drinking fountain. Long body, mouth, mouth and bottom are trumpet-shaped. Tapirs are shaped like a horn with round feet.
There is often a bulge in the lower abdomen of the container, and two leaves are used as decoration near the foot of the ring. In the early and middle period of Shang Dynasty, the organ was short and full of circles. Cross hole? . From the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the shape of the vessel was slender, the lines of the mouth and feet were very beautiful, and the ornamentation was complicated and luxurious.
Hey (zh? ) drinking fountain. Round belly, small mouth, round feet, shaped like a small bottle, mostly with a lid.
Hey (s? G not G not gōng) wine or drinking utensils. Egg belly or square belly, circle foot or quadruped, with flow and fins, and the cover is made into the shape of animal head or elephant head.
Noble wine container. It is shaped like a tapir, with a thick middle, a small caliber and a square shape.
Yǒu wine container (one of the main wine containers). The general shape is oval mouth, deep abdomen, round foot and covered beam, and the abdomen is round or oval or square, and there are also cylindrical, owl-shaped or tiger-eating shapes.
Hey (h? ) a container for holding wine, or an instrument used to mix drinks in ancient times. Generally, it is a deep round mouth with a cover, flowers in front, bamboo in the back, and three or four feet under it. The cover and bamboo are connected by a chain.
Fang Yi (y? ) wine container. Tall and square, covered, looks like a roof, with buttons. Some Fang Yi also have ribs. Some have a bent abdomen, some are straight, and some have two ears beside their abdomen.
Spoon wine extractor. Usually a short cylinder with a handle on the side.
Water device
Hey (l? I) containers for wine or water. There are two forms: square and round. Square shoulders, two ears, covered; Round belly, round feet, two ears. Generally, there is a threading nose at the lower part of one side of both shapes.
A pot for holding wine or water. As the Book of Songs says:? A hundred pots of sake? Mencius said:? Eat pot pulp? . Pots have various shapes, such as round, square, flat and retort.
The plate holds or receives water. Most of them are round, shallow-bellied, circle-footed or three-legged, and some still flow.
Hey (y? ) "Zuo Zhuan" has? What are you doing? Wo Wo means watering, and washing means washing hands and face, indicating that this is an ancient instrument used for watering when washing. Oval, three-legged or four-legged, with flow in front, bamboo behind, and some covered.
Bu (b？ ), wine containers and water containers are also used to hold sauces. Popular from Shang Dynasty to Warring States Period. The device is similar in shape to the statue, but smaller. Round body, closed mouth, wide shoulder, big belly, full circle, covered, with ears but without ears, square ampoule. The body is often decorated with gluttony, milk nails, clouds and thunder, and the ears are mostly made into animal heads.
A container for water or rice. Small mouth, deep belly, round, with ears, much like reed with ears, but bigger than reed.
The water detector is shaped like a modern basin. There are four purposes: (1) to hold water; (B) Sheng Bing, "Zhou Li": In spring, you can learn from it, and you can also learn from it. The same is true of all wine grains with wine pulp. Sacrifice the ice guide. ? ; (3) take a bath; (4) look at the face, and then it will be replaced by a bronze mirror. Sword making was the most popular in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, it was also called Zhi, Ding, Pot and Sword.
During the Shang Dynasty, musical instruments were popular in the army. It is disc-shaped and its shape is basically the same as that of cymbals.
Bells and percussion instruments (court music). The surface is large and thin, mostly arc-shaped, with concave roots and slightly inclined edges. Weave percussion instruments (court music). The body tends to be round, shaped like a chime, but the mouth is flush.
weapon
Yue was originally a weapon used by princes and nobles to behead people, and it was also a punishment and ritual vessel symbolizing power. Shaped like a hatchet and an axe, it is bigger.
As a weapon, it consists of a bronze beryllium head and a long handle. Beryllium has a sharp head, straight blade, flat stem and strong penetration. It probably developed from a flat-stemmed dagger. It appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and was widely used in the Warring States Period. As for the axe, because its lethality is not as good as that of Mao Ge, its position in actual combat in the Spring and Autumn Period has been greatly reduced. As a symbol of military power, it is mostly used for etiquette and decoration purposes.
The moon is one of the important ritual vessels in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and it is also a weapon. According to textual research, this kind of utensils evolved from tools such as stone axes. In bronzes, gorgeous and beautiful features are emphasized and become ritual vessels symbolizing power and majesty. Here, two cymbals are selected as works in the late Shang Dynasty, with special emphasis on the majestic and horrible features of the utensils, which completely conforms to the artistic style of the Shang Dynasty.
Sacrificial container
Bronze ritual vessels are used by slave owners and nobles for ritual activities such as sacrifice, feast, courtship, conquest and funeral. They represent the status and power of users and are treasures handed down from generation to generation. There are many kinds of bronze ritual vessels, which are huge in quantity and exquisite in craftsmanship. Their existence is a remarkable feature of ancient bronzes in China. Bronze ritual vessels can be divided into four categories:
According to the social function of bronzes, bronzes are divided into ritual vessels, heavy vessels, burial vessels and daily-use vessels.
Ritual vessels: Slave owners in Shang and Zhou Dynasties worshipped ghosts and gods, offering sacrifices to witchcraft, and combined several large bronzes in a certain way. Rites and music system? As a sign and symbol of kingship, fame and national prestige. Bronze ritual vessels are composed of food vessels, wine vessels, water vessels, musical instruments and weapons. , and in their use and arrangement with a strong witchcraft color.
Heavy weapon: a large bronze ware cast in one piece with inscriptions on it, which is specially used to record important events or praise the achievements of the former king and ancestors. Heavy weapons? . Bronzes with long inscriptions are all heavy weapons.
Funerary wares: namely? Gods That device. The ancients thought that people died but their souls never died, so they had to live again in another world. Therefore, the slave owners and nobles in Shang and Zhou dynasties were popular with thick burial, and they buried their favorite bronzes, jade articles and pottery with them.
Bronze sacrificial vessels are generally composed of tripod, reed, bean, pot and pot (or cup), and the number of nobles of different grades is specified. However, this ritual vessel is different from the ritual vessels specially made in later generations, and it is still a ritual vessel.
The famous Ding Zun was unearthed.
Izin
Owl [xiāo] is considered as an ancient wine container. The bronze statue was first seen in Shang Dynasty. Owl, commonly known as owl. In ancient times, owls were the most loved and worshipped birds. The image of owl is a common prototype in ancient works of art.
Yan Zun 1976 was unearthed in Fu Hao's tomb in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan. The original containers were in pairs and were cast in the late Shang Dynasty. The original instrument is 45.9 cm high and looks like an owl with its head held high. The decorative patterns are rich and fine. The beak and chest are decorated with cicada patterns; Kui Wen is on both sides of the owl's neck; The wings are decorated with serpentine patterns on both sides; There is a thrush flying above the tail, and the whole statue is a perfect combination of plane and three-dimensional. Is there an inscription on the inside of your mouth? Good woman? Two words.
Mao-Ding Gong
Late Western Zhou bronzes were unearthed in Qishan County, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province at the end of Daoguang period. Named after the manufacturer Mao Gong (factory sound). Straight ears, hemispherical abdomen, short hoof-shaped feet, and heavy ring lines along the mouth. The inscription, with 32 lines and 499 words, is the longest inscription in existence: a complete title. * * * Five paragraphs: First, the situation is restless at this time; Secondly, Xuan Wang ordered Mao Gong to govern the country and the outside; Thirdly, Mao Gong was given the exclusive right to announce the king's orders, emphasizing orders without Mao Gong's consent, so Mao Gong could predict that ministers would not follow them; Fourth, words of warning and encouragement; Fifth, reward and praise. It is an important historical material for studying the political history of the late Western Zhou Dynasty.
On June/2009165438+1October1March-June1May, China Antique Technology Exhibition was held in Shanghai International Exhibition Center. The high imitation was cast by Luoyang Bronze Co., Ltd. Won the only gold medal.
Longhuzun
Businessman. The original 1957 was unearthed in Funan County, Anhui Province. The container is 50.5 cm high, 44.9 cm in diameter and weighs about 20 kg. It is a tall wine container with a trumpet-shaped mouth, wide folded shoulders, a deep belly and a full circle.
The dragon and tiger are decorated with three dragons winding forward, and the bibcock protrudes from the shoulder. The belly is decorated with a tiger head and two tiger bodies, and there is a human figure under the tiger's mouth. The title of a person is in the tiger's mouth. The lower part of the tiger's body is bounded by leaves, and it is decorated with animal faces composed of two opposite dragons. The upper part of the circle foot has strings and cross holes.
The theme of dragon and tiger decoration is "tiger mouth holding people" On this theme, some people think that the "people" here should be those slaves, and "grabbing food from the tiger's mouth" reflects the cruelty and terror of slave society. Other archaeologists question this traditional explanation. They think it should be a witchcraft theme.
Bronze ware was a very important ritual vessel at that time, and such ornamentation should be a scene documentary of wizard's practice. The open tiger's mouth was a symbol of dividing the world into life and death in ancient times. The people under the tiger's jaws are probably wizards, and wizards show a kind of ability to connect heaven and earth and feel ghosts and gods with the help of tigers when offering sacrifices. "
We can't exactly explain the meaning of this pattern, but it must be related to some myths and religious beliefs at that time, which is of great significance in sacrificial activities.
This statue is a treasure in the bronze wares of Shang Dynasty, and it is as famous as the Four Sheep Square statue.
Ding is dedicated to his mother, Amyl.
Wu Ding, the stepmother, was a bronze Fang Ding used for royal sacrifice in the late Shang Dynasty (from about16th century BC to1century BC). It was unearthed in the farmland of a family in Wuguan Village, Anyang City, Henan Province on March 19, because its abdomen was covered with? Stepmother e? Named after three characters, it is now in the National Museum of China. Wu Ding, the stepmother, is tall and heavy, also known as Simu Dafang Ding, with a height of 133cm, a mouth length of 1 12cm, a mouth width of 79.2 cm and a weight of 832.84kg.. The tripod has a rectangular belly with two straight ears (only one ear was found, and the other ear was later copied from the other ear), and there are four cylinders below. This tripod was cast by Zu Geng or Zujia of Shang Dynasty as a sacrifice to his mother "E".
Siyang fangzun
Fang Zun of Siyang is a bronze ware in the late Shang Dynasty and early Shang Dynasty. Belonging to ritual vessels and sacrificial articles. It is the largest Fang Zun among the existing Shang bronzes in China, with a height of 58.3 cm and a weight of nearly 34.5 kg. 1938 Unearthed at Zhuanlun mountainside, Yueshanpu, Huangcun, Ningxiang County, Hunan Province. Now in the National Museum of China.
Siyangfang respects the square body, with a square mouth and a large side. The neck decoration is slightly outside, each side is 52.4 cm long, and its side length is almost 58.3 cm high. Long neck, high circle feet. The neck is towering, and all sides are decorated with banana leaf patterns, triangle-shaped and animal-faced patterns. In the middle of the statue is the center of gravity of the container. Carve a sheep on each corner. On the four corners of the shoulder, there are four sheep's head horns. The sheep's head and neck extend out of the device, and the sheep's body and legs are attached to the stomach and feet. The belly is the front chest of the sheep, and the leg of the sheep is attached to the feet and bears the weight of the body. The back of the sheep's chest, neck and back are decorated with scales, and the two sides are decorated with exquisite long-crowned phoenix patterns, and there are real inscriptions on the circle. Fang Zun's shoulders are decorated with dragons with claws and high-relief snake bodies. The center of the four sides of the statue is where two sheep are next to each other. A pair of horned dragons head out of the table and meander on the right shoulders on both sides of the Chinese statue in the former residence. Are decorated with exquisite thunder patterns. A long ridge is designed at the intersection of the four corners and the center line of the utensils to cover up the possible dislocation patterns when the utensils are combined.
According to the analysis of archaeologists, the square statue of Siyang was cast by secondary casting process, that is, the horn and faucet were first cast separately, then put into the outer mold separately, and then cast as a whole. The whole utensil was cast in blocks in one go, showing a superb casting level. The four sheep square statue integrates line carving, relief carving and round carving, plane decoration and three-dimensional sculpture, and the combination of utensils and animal modeling is just right, which is made by extremely exquisite casting technology. Among the bronze statues of the Shang Dynasty, the dignified and elegant shape of this vessel is unparalleled. This statue is simple, beautiful, magnificent, moving and quiet. Known as? The ultimate bronze model? .
Sheep Babading
Sheep father Ding, height 2 1.3cm, width 17. 1cm and weight 3. 12kg.
Ding cuboid, mouth folded outward, mouth with double vertical ears, straight wall, deep abdomen, flat bottom and four feet under the abdomen. The corners of the mouth, abdomen and feet are ribbed, the center of the abdomen is decorated with thunder patterns, the left and right sides and the bottom are decorated with three nail patterns, and the mouth and feet are decorated with animal faces.
There is an inscription 1 line on the inner wall:
Be a father. Sheep.
Inscription: Making utensils for Father Ding. ? Sheep? For the family's reputation.
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