Characteristics of bronze inscriptions:
The bronze inscriptions on Yin and Zhou bronzes are also called Zhong Dingwen. Shang and Zhou Dynasties were the bronze age, with the tripod as the representative ritual vessel and the bell as the representative musical instrument. "Zhong Ding" was synonymous with bronze ware.
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. China entered the Bronze Age in the Xia Dynasty, and the smelting of copper and the manufacture of bronzes were very developed. Because copper was also called gold a week ago, the inscriptions on bronzes were called "bronze inscriptions" or "auspicious words"; This bronze ware was called "Zhong Dingwen" in the past because it had the largest number of characters on Zhong Ding.
The application time of bronze inscriptions is about 1200 years, from the early Shang Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty's destruction of the Six Kingdoms. According to Rong Geng's Jin Wen Bian, there are 3,722 inscriptions, of which 2,420 can be identified.
There are different words in the inscriptions on bronzes. The content of memory is also very different. Its main content is mostly to praise the achievements of ancestors and princes, but also to record major historical events. For example, the famous Mao has 497 words, covering a wide range, reflecting the social life at that time.
Different from Oracle Bone Inscriptions's thin strokes, many straight strokes and turning points, Jinwen's strokes are thick, many curved strokes and many lumps.
Bronze inscriptions have been unearthed since the Han Dynasty and have been studied by scholars. Bronze inscriptions are the main materials for studying the characters of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and are also the most precious materials for studying the history of the pre-Qin period.
The development of bronze inscriptions
The earliest Oracle Bone Inscriptions disappeared with Yin's death and was replaced by bronze inscriptions, which became the mainstream of calligraphy in the Zhou Dynasty. Because it is engraved on the Zhong Ding, it is sometimes called Zhong Dingwen. According to the investigation, bronze wares in Shang Dynasty were engraved with inscriptions similar to pictures. Later, it continued to evolve, and the bronze inscriptions at the end of Shang Dynasty were also consistent with those of Oracle Bone Inscriptions. This bronze inscription reached its peak in the Zhou Dynasty and lasted until the Qin and Han Dynasties. However, there were few artifacts and inscriptions in the Shang Dynasty, and the Qin and Han Dynasties reached the end, which should be regarded as the mainstream of the Zhou Dynasty.
According to statistics, there are about 3,005 words on inscriptions on bronze, of which 1804 are known, slightly more than Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Bronze inscriptions inherited from Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and began with Xiao Zhuan in Qin Dynasty. Most of the books circulated are engraved on Zhong Ding, so they can preserve the original text better than Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and the style is simple.
The heyday of bronze inscriptions was the Zhou Dynasty, which moved eastward and was divided into the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The Western Zhou Dynasty tended to be complete and vigorous, resulting in the golden age of bronze inscriptions. The regional characteristics of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty were formed by the separatist regimes of various countries-so they are introduced separately.
The Western Zhou Dynasty inherited the calligraphy style of the late Yin Dynasty, and it was not until it became a queen that it produced a unique style, and the calligraphy style was magnificent. After Zhao Mu, he became rigorous and correct.
The development of academic culture will be influenced by social and political factors to some extent. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, from Yin Ke, the king of Wu, to Kang Wang, due to the unification of the world, social stability and the rites and music of the Duke of Zhou, it was a peaceful and prosperous time, and calligraphers were able to show their vigorous and elegant style, and their contents were gradually lengthened. For example, The Great Yu Ding is the most typical representative work of this period.
After Zhao Mu, the style of calligraphy changed gradually, and the strokes became unified from coarse to fine. The pen-receiving and pen-starting also changed from Fiona Fang to round pen; The lines are even and square, and the book style is extremely rigorous and correct. The representatives of this period are the elegant ode tripod, the elegant big tripod and the Mao Gong tripod with a little early style.
Eastern Zhou Dynasty: After moving eastward, Qin moved the capital to Yong and inherited the hometown and culture of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Because of this, the characters of Qin in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are in the same strain as those of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Because of this, when the characters in eastern countries have horizontal variation due to regional characteristics and cultural reasons, the culturally backward Qin characters have become the orthodoxy of Chinese characters (even if we don't consider the fact that China was finally unified by Qin, we can think that in the history of Chinese characters development, Qin characters represent the mainstream of Chinese characters development, while the six-country characters represent the tributaries. Therefore, the characters in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period can be divided into two series: Qin characters and Six Kingdoms characters. (The Qin script is from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, and the Six-country script refers to the eastern countries in the Warring States Period. ) General philologists are also called "western languages" and "eastern languages".
After Qin unified the six countries, it began to standardize the written language, which is the so-called "homonym". The standardized characters in the Qin Dynasty were based on the Qin language, and the evolution of Chinese characters after the Qin Dynasty was also developed on the basis of the standardized Qin Xiaozhuan and Qin Zhuan's daily writing form. After the Qin Dynasty, the six-nation script was eliminated, and Qin Wen became the real mainstream. Therefore, Qin Shu is an important link in inheriting the ancient prose of the Western Zhou Dynasty, creating official script of the Han and Wei Dynasties, and even regular script. Its change can be regarded as a part of the evolution of Chinese characters according to their own internal structural laws. Therefore, as far as philology is concerned, the study of western languages in the Qin Dynasty is more important than that in the six countries, because they are direct blood relatives of Chinese characters, while the six countries are collateral branches, although they also influence and absorb each other.
The bronze inscriptions in the Qin dynasty gradually came to an end, and there were not many stone carvings. After Qin Shihuang unified the whole country, testimonies, scales and stones were carved or cast on copper and iron and promulgated in the world. It is a masterpiece of Biography, which is characterized by smooth curves, strong sense of hierarchy, neatness and changeability, and unrestrained momentum. It also provides the most reliable and complete information for future generations to learn Biography.
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Bronze inscription is a calligraphy name of Chinese characters, which refers to the inscriptions cast on bronzes in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, also called Zhong Dingwen. Shang and Zhou Dynasties were the bronze age, with the tripod as the representative ritual vessel and the bell as the representative musical instrument. "Zhong Ding" was synonymous with bronze ware.
China entered the Bronze Age in Xia Dynasty, and the technology of copper smelting and bronze ware manufacturing was very developed. Because the Zhou Dynasty called copper gold, the inscriptions on bronzes were called "inscriptions on bronzes" or "auspicious words"; This bronze ware was called "Zhong Dingwen" in the past because it had the largest number of characters on Zhong Ding.
The application period of bronze inscriptions is about 800 years, from the end of Shang Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty's destruction of the Six Kingdoms. According to Rong Geng's Jin Wen Bian, there are 3,722 inscriptions, of which 2,420 can be identified.
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Ancient bronze inscriptions
Bronze inscription is a writing form of ancient Chinese characters in China. Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States. There are four kinds of inscriptions on bronze, namely, inscriptions on bronze in Shang Dynasty (about 1300 BC-about 1046 BC), inscriptions on bronze in Western Zhou Dynasty (about 1046 BC-77 BC-0/year BC) and inscriptions on bronze in Eastern Zhou Dynasty (about 770 BC-0 BC).
Shang bronze inscriptions
Even though there were bronzes before Shang Dynasty, the inscriptions on bronzes began after Pan Geng moved to Yin (now northwest of Anyang, Henan). There were only a few figures at first, and by the beginning of the week, it had reached more than 200 words. At the end of Shang dynasty, there were many bronzes with bronze inscriptions, but the descriptions were still very brief, which were mostly taboo for the casters or their ancestors. Until the demise of Shang Dynasty, there were only articles, but the longest article at that time was still only forty words.
Inscriptions on Bronzes in Western Zhou Dynasty
In the Zhou Dynasty of Shang Dynasty, bronze inscriptions gradually flourished, recording the great events of the Emperor of Heaven, such as Wang Zhao's southern tour and Mu Wang's western expedition.
Eastern Zhou Jinwen
Since Pingtung moved to the east, ironware has gradually become popular, and bronze music such as bells has gradually increased, which can also be cast outside bronze wares. Therefore, the bronze inscription records not only the affairs of princes and ministers, but also merits and standards. At this time, bronze inscriptions were widely used and called the heyday.
Qin and Han inscriptions
After Qin Shihuang unified the whole country, imperial edicts were written in the same language and monuments were erected in all directions. The inscriptions on Zhong Ding are no longer engraved, so the inscriptions on bronze inscriptions gradually declined. Until the Han dynasty, people cast more inscriptions on iron, and bronze vessels were no longer used, so there were no inscriptions on bronzes in history.