Ancient Bronzes in the History of Arts and Crafts

Bronze is a bright pearl in the history of ancient Chinese art. It has a long history and unique national style. The historical story of "summer casting nine tripods" circulated in the folklore shows that the casting of Chinese bronzes had already begun in the Xia Dynasty. The Shang and Zhou dynasties were its heyday, and there were developments in the Qin and Han dynasties. The range of bronzes is very wide, which includes ritual vessels, cooking vessels, eating vessels, drinking vessels, water vessels, musical instruments, weapons, tools, weights and measures, etc. Bronzes are made of copper and tin or lead. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin or lead, our common yellow (red) copper has a high melting point, but the hardness is very low, people in practice found that adding tin or lead to brass can not only lower the melting point, but also increase the hardness. At the same time, the melted bronze slightly increased in cooling and solidification, filling better, less porosity, so it was widely used, of course, this is before the emergence of iron. This stage of history is also called the "Bronze Age" by archaeologists.

Chinese bronzes are famous for their great variety and exquisite production. This is first of all because China is an ancient civilization, the production of bronzes is very early, with a long history, the craftsmen in the process of thousands of years has accumulated exquisite skills, formed a unique tradition, ancient Chinese bronze craftsmanship, shape, decoration have their own style, in the world of art history is unique. At the same time, China has been a multi-ethnic country since ancient times, in the motherland of the vast expanse of the ancient peoples of the countries living and reproducing, the art of bronze art has its own creation, which in turn, for the Chinese bronzes to bring a rich diversity.

Shang dynasty 1, bronze is the embodiment of the status of the slave master, called "rituals" such as "the son of heaven nine tripods, seven vassals, five doctors, the first three" 2, the Shang dynasty respect for the gods and ghosts, worship of ancestors. The Shang Dynasty was characterized by respect for the gods and the worship of ancestors, and was full of mysterious and intimidating colors. The Simeu Dafang Ding (司母戊大方鼎), Taotie (饕餮) and the Tiger Wine Container (虎食人卣)(you), Kui ( 夔) and dragons, oxen, scales, and scales, and the mysterious colors faded away in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which was simple and pursued the beauty of simplicity and elegance. The bronze objects tended to be lighter, more realistic and easier to understand, with more realistic decorative techniques, and easier to understand motifs Lianhe Square Pot with dragon, phoenix and chi dragon motifs Fifteen Lamps in the Form of a Tree

Qin and Han Dynasties With the widespread use of iron and lacquer, the bronze objects in general lost their original splendor and moved towards lighter, more compact and more practical objects for daily use and ornamental purposes, and were often noteworthy for the high degree of unity between their practicality and aesthetics. /p>

Shang Dynasty: representative works include "Simuwu Square Tripod" and a complete set of bells for Zeng Houyi Tomb in the Warring States period. Simuwu Fangding, a cooking vessel and the most important ceremonial vessel at that time, is the largest bronze vessel found in China so far. The tripod is a common cooking vessel in ancient times, mainly used for cooking or serving fish and meat. Most of his shape is round or, three feet, two ears, there are also four-footed square tripod, like Simuwu square tripod. The shape of the vessel is solemn and heavy, and the relief carving on the outside of the ear is two opposing tigers with open mouths holding a human head, full of mysterious colors, reflecting the supreme authority of the slave-owning aristocracy in the Shang Dynasty. The Tiger Eating Man Wine Container, no matter how different its shape and decoration are, also has the above characteristics. It is a kind of wine container, a famous bronze vessel of the late Shang Dynasty. The shape of the vessel is that of a seated tiger, with erect ears and eyes, and a large open mouth, with the tiger's teeth exposed and two claws grasping a person, sitting and eating, which is very scary. Ware set with a lid, on the standing beast, beam decorated with kui dragons, two ends of the beast head, the tiger's front paw decorated with dragon, back decorated with cattle, tail decorated with scale pattern. The whole text decoration is extremely delicate, but unfortunately this vessel is scattered outside.

Western Zhou: "Yu Ding" early Western Zhou works. The shape is majestic and heavy, and the decoration is simple. It is mainly decorated with taotie motifs.

Spring and Autumn Period: "Square Pot with Lotus Crane" and "Fifteen Lianjian Tree-Shaped Bronze Lamps" during the Warring States Period are the masterpieces of bronzes in this period. The former is a kind of wine vessel, the vessel shape is tall (117 cm high), magnificent and exquisite, the top cover stands a spreading wings want to fly crane, it is going to fly to the far side of the demeanor, and since the Shang and Zhou bronzes of solemn, majestic style is very different. The beasts supporting the body of the pot and all the upward climbing dragons and beasts on the body of the pot are printed and harmonized with each other, giving people a feeling of lightness and mobility. The double lotus petal decorations on the lid of the pot, tilted in all directions, strongly accentuate the crane in the center with its wings spreading. The vivid and realistic image of the crane is very rare in early bronzes and is considered by academics to be a symbol of the Spring and Autumn period. Fifteen Lamps in the shape of a tree" is a cleverly conceived lamp image of a tree, there are fifteen lamp bases on the branches of the tree, a group of monkeys playing in the tree, birds chirping accordingly, under the tree, there are two bare shoulders in the food throwing play monkeys, very rich in the interest of life. The whole structure of the lamp is flexible and can be dismantled into eight sections when moving, integrating practicality and aesthetics into one.

Qin and Han Dynasties: "Changxin Palace Lamp", "tiger and bull-shaped sacrificial case" and other bronze, is the famous works of this period. The "Changxin Palace Lamp" is made in the shape of a palace maid kneeling and holding a lamp, the whole body is gilt, and the parts are cast and synthesized, the lamp plate can be rotated, and the lampshade can be opened and closed, so as to regulate the direction of the light irradiation and the size of the illumination. The courtesan's right arm and body hollow, smoke through the right arm into the body, soot storage in the body, can keep the room clean. This lamp design dexterity, reasonable structure, the courtesan modeling vivid, is practical and aesthetically pleasing highly unified arts and crafts. The Tiger and Ox-shaped Ritual Case is a bronze vessel with strong local characteristics unearthed from the tomb of the ancient Dian State in Yunnan Province, which is used for rituals. The case is in the shape of a bull, with a back edge, forming a disk, which is convenient for placing offerings. In order to maintain the stability of the artifact, a small tiger that bites the tail of the ox is designed at the tail of the ox. The cow's belly across a calf, a different kind of life. The ox and the tiger are both common motifs in the bronze culture of the Dian ethnic group, so this utensil has a strong local flavor.

From the perspective of art appreciation, the outstanding achievements of ancient Chinese bronze craftsmanship, is a rich variety of shapes and decorations, as well as different artistic styles in different historical periods