◀ British Chamber of Commerce in China Comprehensive index starts in volume 5, page 2667. Bronzes of the Shāngcháo de qīngtóng yìshù ​ 商朝的青铜艺术

Thousands of ­one-­of-a-kind ritual bronzes Some of the bronzes were cast with inscriptions of have been excavated in China, all artifacts of their owners or symbols of a family or tribe. Often par- the Shang dynasty ­(1766–1045 bce). The so- ticular patterns were cast on certain parts of the vessels. phisticated construction and often stylized The­double- ­eyed image, which was called a mask or , was commonly used; other motifs consisted of mythi- designs indicate that the Shang used an ad- cal animals (such as dragons and imaginary birds) and vanced technology to create some of the great- real animals including elephants, tigers, bison, cattle, fish, est treasures of the in China. snakes, and owls. Geometrical patterns were also com- mon. The combination and location of these motifs and designs suggest some cultural significance, since their he alloy of copper (usually around 80 to 85 per- patterns were used for hundreds and thousands of years; cent), tin, and lead produces a tough and du- if they were not related to beliefs or customs of the Shang, rable ­metal—­bronze—that the Shang dynasty the designs might have changed through the years. But ­( 1766–1045 bce) used to develop a unique culture dur- their meaning is still a mystery. ing Bronze Age China. Instead of making only utilitarian items from bronze, the Shang chose to cast ritual vessels as offerings to their gods and ancestors. The largest num- Typology and Ritual Functions ber of bronzes has been excavated at the Shang dynasty’s last royal center, Anyang, “the Yin Ruin,” in Henan Prov- Most bronzes have been excavated from large tombs of ince. Many other regions within the Shang domain, or royalty and the elite; some are from sacrificial pits, and under its cultural influences, also produced bronzes with very few are from architectural remains. Museums and or without regional styles. private collections have preserved a great number of The Shang bronzes were ­piece-­mold cast wherein bronzes, although many of the bronzes were originally the mold was made of carefully selected clay that was taken from excavation sites by looters. sculpted, incised, and polished to form inner and outer The earliest ritual bronze discovered so far was a type molds. After the melted alloy was poured into the mold of vessel called a jue, which was used for holding liquor and allowed to cool down, the molds were removed to and might have also worked as a cup; it was excavated in reveal the newly designed pieces. Because the process of 1959 from the Erlitou site in Henan Province, which was removing the molds destroyed them, each set could be the center of the late Xia (2100–1766 bce) and early Shang used only once to make a single object, therefore every dynasties. This vessel shows a sophisticated casting tech- artifact was individually designed and cast, and no two nique and is elegant in design, indicating that it was not were identical, even the ones designed as pairs. from the early stages of bronze casting. Learning about 214 T © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC Bronzes of the Shang Dynasty n Shāngcháo de qīngtóng yìshù n 商朝的青铜艺术 215

the beginnings of China’s Bronze Age therefore depends were ritual objects that were never used but only symbol- on finding older artifacts in future excavations. ized the power and position of their owners. Sets of bells The ritual bronzes can be catalogued according to their and drums have been excavated as well, indicating that functions: containers for cooking food, for eating, and for music was important in ritual practice. holding liquor and water; weapons and tools, musical in- struments, and other uses. Some pieces were used as sets and in various combinations for different occasions. Anyang and Regional There are about thirty types of ritual bronze ves- sels for food and drink, and many thousands of exam- Cultures ples have been excavated. The most important vessel is a ­ —­both round ding and fangding (square vessels) In the central ­plains—­the center of the Shang ­culture—­a with three or four legs have been unearthed. Fire could clearly advancing chronology of development in tech- be lit underneath the vessels for cooking. The remains niques, styles, types, and numbers is evident from bronzes of a whole cow were found in a ­large-­sized ding, yet the excavated at the sites of Erlitou, Erligang, and Anyang. small ones functioned as bowls. Only the highly ranked In Anyang, the most important and the largest site of the elite could use ding. Shang dynasty, scholars have established four periods of Large-sized weapons have been found in the tombs of bronzes, along with pottery and inscriptions. kings, queens, and military leaders. Most bronze weapons A revolution in casting technique occurred during the

Chinese bronze ding, Western Zhou, (1045–771 bce). Photo by Joan Lebold Cohen.

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Province, ritual pits with a large number of bronzes were found. These bronzes show a clear similarity to the Shang bronzes, yet they are different in proportion, motif com- bination, and casting techniques. In the southwest, at Sanxingdui in Sichuan Province, more ritual pits and altars were excavated, and large-­ ­sized bronze human figurines and human masks were found. Elongated bronze vessels that are unique to this area were unearthed also. In the northwest, small groups lived in the mountains of Shanxi, and their bronzes exhibited a strong local character also; yet the bronzes found in the far northeast regions of today’s Liaoning Province show no local distinction but are similar to what was found in Anyang. The bronzes prove that the Shang culture spread throughout China, and that the Shang had lived together with many other peoples who also made bronze ritual artifacts but retained their unique lifestyles. The ritual bronzes are the highest achievement of the Shang dynasty and exhibit the beliefs and social systems of the Shang as well as their private lives. WANG Ying

Further Reading Bagley, R. (1995). Shang ritual bronzes in the Arthur M. Chinese bronze, Han dynasty, (206 ­bce–220 ce). Sackler collections (Ancient Chinese bronzes in the Ar- Photo by Joan Lebold Cohen. thur M. Sackler collections), (Vol. 1). New York: Harry N. Abrams. Bagley, R. (2001). Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a lost civ- ilization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. thirteenth and twelfth centuriesbce: A rich style of three Bunker, E. C., & So, Jenny. (1995). Traders and raiders on layers of high and low reliefs was invented. Many bronzes China’s northern frontier. Seattle: University of Wash- from this time and place were fully covered with designs. ington Press. In 1976 the tomb of one of King Wuding’s consorts, Lady Chang, K. C. (1980). Shang civilization. New Haven, CT: Hao (often referred to as General Hao, since apparently Yale University Press. Chang, K. C. (1981). Food in Chinese culture: Anthropologi- she led several battles), was excavated to much excite- cal and historical perspectives. New Haven, CT: Yale ment: It had never been looted in antiquity and contained University Press. approximately 900 ritual bronzes with nine kinds of in- Wen Fong. (Ed.). (1980). The great bronze age of China: scriptions. Some types of artifacts were seen for the first An exhibition from the People’s Republic of China. New time during the excavation. Daggers and axes found in her York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. tomb indicate her high position in the Shang army. Yang Liu, Capon, E., & the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Locally made bronze vessels display significant re- (2001). Masks of mystery: Ancient Chinese bronzes from gional character. In Xingan Dayangzhou in Jiangxi Sanxingdui. Sydney: Art Media Resources.

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