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Chinese Ritual Bronzes: Meaning and Explanation, ChineseRitual Bronzes: The pqrplexitvgf vesselgr4a{nentation ffiffi ChadMorris ANTH 445-A1A: Technologyof Cultural Materials- Metals Prof.C. Reedy 10 December2002 Monis 1 ene of the great artistic achievemenfsof fhe makersof ancient Chinesebronzes was the feat of binging togetherthe sfrapeof a vessel,which the artisanwas not free to choose,and an abstractanimal fonn, which wasgovemed by its symbolic, perhaps even magic significance...without"subiecting one element ta the uncompromisingexpressiveness of fhe other.' Thus beginsa 1965essay by Eleanorvon Erdberg. In this statement,she has summatedthe entireworld of Chinesebronze ritual vessels, calling attention to boththe strict parametersof vesselform and the mysteryof vesselomamentation. Through much study it has beenfound that, in ancientChina, vessel form was restrictedby functionality.The studyof their ornamentation,houever, has been,since the beginnlngsof regearchof Chinesebronze, a perplexingguestion burning in the mindsof thoseconcerned with the significanceof these bronzesin China'svast history. Thereforethe questionof the intrinsicvalue and implicationsof the ornamentationof Chineseritual bronze vessels in ancientChinese ociety shallbe the focus of this paper. The originsand meaningsof the ornamentationon Chinesebronze ritualvessels have beenspeculated about at leastsince the SongDynasty; houever, the originsof bronze metallurgyin Chinahave only recentlybegun to be understood.lt has beentheorized for many yearsthat bronze-workingtechnology in Chinahad beenintroduced from an outsideculture such as Siberiaor West or $outhemAsia. Recentevidence and study,though, has createda much strongerargument for the independentdevelopment of this technologyin the fairly isolated HuangheBasin. The earliestexample of metaluse in Chinahas comein the form of h^/ocopper pendants.These were discovered in 1955,and have beenattributed to the LongshanCulture of presentdayHunan Province, dating to about40@ yearsago. Bothare unadorned,have a hole at one end and lrreremost likely worn as ornamentg. Also from aboutthe sametime, there existed a culture,termed the Qijia Culture,in preent4ay GansuProvince. Therehave beenquite a few small metalobiects excavated from the burialsites of this culture, The o$ects that have beenfound are mostlytools and ornaments and analysisof the objectshas revealeda highertin contentin manyof them thanoccurs naturally.This observationis importantin the argumentfor the isolatedorigins and development Monis 2 theoryin that bronzeused in ancientChinese pieces, unlike theircontemporary bronze mgtallurgysocieties, has a very hightin content.Analysis has revealedboth forging and single moldcasting as the productionmethods for thesepieces. Atsoof noteare the omamentiation patternson a limitednumber of the pieces,which reappear in laterChine* bronzepieces. In lightof the above-mentionedevidence, the Qijia Culturehas beentermed by somescholars as the possibletransitional stage between copper and bronzein China. The next notableculture in Chinais the one knownas the ErlitouGulture. The Erlitou werespread over the banksalong the midsectionof the Huanghe,western Hunan and southem Shanxi,areas that, according to ancienttexts, were inhabitedby the peopleof the Xa Dynasty. The sitesthat havebeen excavated have typically been split into bothearly and late site components,or occupationperiods. The latersite componentshave beendated to the Xia and very earlyShang Dynasties. In this context,a substantialvarietyof bronzeobjects has been found- includingtools, weapons, jewelry and vessels. The piecesshow a widespread use of bronzeand high productionrates of expendabletools, such as anowheads,as well as the introductionof inlayvrork. Thesodevelopments were madepossible by improvementin casting techniques,as ChinesebronZe m€tallurgy became more sophisticated. Someof the archaeologicalevidence is supportedby Chinesetexts, such as YueJue Shu,Sfii Ben and Sni J, that containaccounts of the legendsthat placebronze ritual vessels in a prominentrole in history. The first b,ronzesv,ere said to be ninevessels in the fing'form. They were producedin aboutthe 21$ centuryacr during the earlypart of the Xia Dynasty.The ancient textssay that theywere commissioned by eitherKing Yu or his son Qi, the first ht€ kingsof the Xia Dynasty.This set of nine ting becamethe "symbolofcentralauthority of ancient 3 China[,t...wtroeverpossessed them wouldhave supreme power over the nation." As suchthey a werepassed from rulinghouse to rulinghouse through both the Shangand ChouDynasties. Ghinese.bronzefitu?l vessel fgrF classification Amongthe containersexcavated at the dig sitesof the ErlitouCulture, the mostcommon form wae the chtieh.The term chilah,likethe abve-mentionedflng, is one of manyterms used * Whenenerpossible I try to usethe mo6tcsnmon pronunciationd the Chinesechar*ters for the rressdsforms. Morris 3 to describethe form of Chinesebronze vessels. Theseterms come from Chinesecharacters foundin inscriptionson someof the vesselsthemselves. These terms, while describing form, alsoprovide one with informationabout other aspects of piecesbeing examined, mainly about the functionof the vesseland someclues as to the mosttikely type of ornamentationthat will be foundon the vessel. After investigationof the, sometimeslengthy, inscriptions on a fair numFr of Chinese ritualbronzes, the vesselsare mostcommonly thought to have playeda part in the practicesof the ancestorvrorship that was prevalentduring China's prehistory and earlydynastic time. There are.numerousbrief inscriptions[that] designate [a] vwsel for use in sacrificeto an ancestorand are sufficientproof that the venerationof ancestorsuras not confinedto royalty.'5Believed to hold swayover the lives and eventsin the livingworld, it was the goal of ancestorworship to appease and consultwith thosespirits of one'sfamily who have passedon. lf the ancestorswere kept happy,they broughtgood fortune to the living membersof their familyand wouldprovide guidanceto thosefamily membersseeking their help' As such,each different function uras assigned a vesselform,rnost associated with the offeringof food and drinkto the ancestors.According to strongevidence uncovered at archaeologicaldigs like thoseof the ErtitouCulture, the bronzeforms seem to haveevolved, and $omeeven copieddirectly, from earlierclay vessels. The functionalityof the bronzevessel forms can be split lnto threebroad categories based on wfratmaterials they weremade to contain- food,wine or water. Eachof thesebroader categories can be split in two dependingon what role they playedin the use of the materialsthey rirrere meant to contain' The first of the broadercategories, those veEsels to be usedwith food,can be subdivided as to a vessel'suse in eitherpreparation or holdingof food. The namesof the forms usedin preparationare ting, Ii andhien.. Ting isthe mostcommon form pf vesselfound among th's type and was most likely used for cookingrneat. Most often it consistsof a roundedbowl form supportedby threestraight legs with two handles,or ears,and may or may not have a lid (Fig. ' Oth6xvarious forms for ech of the categoriesthat will be disc$s€d haw b€enidentified according to differentauthors. l, hoe1g1er,hare chcsr to onlyinclude the mct csnmon,widely accepted fonns sincelhe ultimategoel of this paperis tc presenttheories Sorlt the meaningbehind their ornanefltation' Monis 4 1a). Therealso exists a fairly commonmodification of the fing consistingof a rectangularform supportedby four legs(Fig. 1b). Theseare referredto by eithera hybridname, such as fang- ting, or by descriptivephrase, such as rectangularting. Li aresimilar to the roundfrhg except that they bulgeslightly above hollo,v legs and mostoften have no ears,but may alsocome in a rectangutarmodification (Fig. 1c). This form ulasmoot likely used for cookingdishes with liquids as the hofforvlegs allow the liquidto have moreexposure to the heatof the fire. Hien are steamer$vrfrose form congistsof a tiwith a bowl, the bottomof wfrich is perforated,that fits above (Fig. 1d). The mostcommon form of the vesselsused to holdfood is the kuer"This form consists of a bowlraised on a stand,either circular of rectangular,and may have up to four earswith the mostcommon number being two (Fig. 1e). Thoseyessels used for wine can be partitionedinto those used to containwine and those usedas goblets. Of thore usedas containers,the mostcommon forms arefang-yi, tsun, yu, lei andhu. Fang-yiare archit*tonic forms basedon ancientChinese buildings - rectangularin naturewith knobbedroofJike lids iFig. 1f). The term fsun is usedby manyancient cataloguers to denotepieces that do not easily fit in other categoriesbut has subjectivelybeen ueedin modem terminofogyto referto a widevase-like form with a largemouth (Fig. 1g). Yu, lei andhu area]l .swinging urn*shaped.Yu aeedistinguishableby the pre$enceof a lid and a handle"(Fig. th).6 Leiare generally more slenderwith a higherbelly and a smallermouth, do not havelids and have tr,voears (Fig 1i). Hu areverysimilar in form to the yubuthaveno lids and in placeof the handle hastwo tubularears through wfrich rope could be threadedfor carrying(Fig. 1j). The tvro most commonforms by far of the wine g blets are chfieh and ku. Chteh is describedby WilliamWatson as a: ...[flat-basedlcup on threesplayed and pointedlegis of triangularsection. The handleon the siCe...standsover one of theselegs. The prcjectingports of the lip are at rightangles to the handte. To the lefr of the handleis a spoutwith a roundedchannel and oppositeto it the tip extendsoutwards
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