Compared with the bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, what new characteristics did the bronzes of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods have?

(1) Generally speaking, the bronze wares of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period no longer had the function of sacrificial and ritual vessels of the previous generation, and became practical implements.

Bronze ware is used in daily life, and its decorative patterns are mostly geometric and abstract traditional animal patterns. There are no longer the monster patterns of the previous generation, and there are many patterns that reflect real life themes.

The decorations in the Spring and Autumn Period were relatively simple and general, but during the Warring States Period they became more complicated.

The production process has evolved from the mixed casting method of the previous generation to the separate casting method, and a variety of processing methods have been adopted, bringing the bronzes of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to a historical peak.

(2) During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the patterns of bronzes were mainly processed by the stamping method, and the patterns were mainly continuous in four directions.

The most important decorative patterns are the dragonfly pattern, the feather eye pattern, and the dragonfly pattern.

The decorative parts gradually move upward, from the abdomen to the neck, which is related to the gradual rise of people sitting and lying down.

(3) There have been new changes and innovations in the processing methods of bronze ware.

①Welding: The welding method is to heat and connect the originally cast parts to the newly cast bronze. This method enriches the shape of the bronze.

②Carving: The use of iron tools makes it a simple matter to carve bronze finely.

③Inlay: Jade, turquoise and other materials are inlaid on the bronze to create different textures.

④ Gold and silver inlay: A new bronze inlay technique during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which specifically refers to inlaying gold and silver wires or gold and silver sheets into various patterns on bronzes, and then polishing them with inlay stones.

⑤ Gilding: First cut the gold foil into pieces, heat it in a crucible, then pour mercury in a ratio of 1/7 and melt it into liquid, that is, gold mud.

Gold mud is applied to the utensils and then heated over charcoal fire to evaporate the mercury, leaving the gold on the utensils. This is also called fire gilding.

⑥Hollowing out: mainly using the lost wax method.

In short, the development of bronze ware has gone through a stage of transition from religion and ethics to practicality. This is closely related to the historical background at that time. The development of bronze ware in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods heralded the glorious history of bronze as an important technological achievement.