The Position of Ancient Bronzes in the History of Chinese Arts and Crafts

Ancient Chinese bronzes have a long history and have timeless historical and artistic value. A large number of bronzes that have been handed down and discovered in recent years show that there is a complete system of development and evolution of bronzes themselves:

Budding in the late primitive society

Preliminary development in the Xia Dynasty

Shangzhou and Zhou Dynasties in full bloom

Prosperity of Spring and Autumn and Warring States States

Changes, revival of the Qin and Han dynasties

The two Jin and North and South Dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties in decline

Song, Yuan, and Ming and Qing antiquing and counterfeiting

Stone, wood, mussel, bone - metal objects, the first to appear was copper. The appearance of copper marked the development of social productivity to a new stage, history into a new period. The historical conditions of the late primitive society provided the following material basis for the invention of copper smelting:

First of all: in the late Neolithic period, due to the development of agriculture, the agricultural economy occupied an important position in people's lives, and with the improvement of labor efficiency, people could create more surplus products, and due to the increase in productivity, people inevitably put forward a higher demand for the sharpness and hardness of the production tools At the same time, due to the increase of surplus products, to the people's desire to pursue beauty provides more material conditions. Agriculture, handicrafts division of labor, so that the metal manufacturing industry and ceramics, jade, textiles, as the same as the independent handicraft sector.

Secondly, at the end of China's primitive society, people in order to make stone agricultural tools, tools and weapons, in the process of mining and selecting stone, gradually discovered and recognized the stone containing copper and natural copper, or copper-tin mixed ores. In order to be able to smelt copper from the ore, people used their long production experience of firing pottery to smelt copper. The temperature of firing pottery is generally 950 ℃ - 1050 ℃, the melting point of copper in 1080 ℃, the two temperatures have been quite close, so that the smelting of copper ore provides an important combustion conditions.

Finally, in the late primitive society, people were able to make many kinds of tools, weapons and living utensils, and people had skillfully mastered techniques such as grinding and drilling, and modeled accurately. Especially in the production of jade, a whole set of techniques such as cutting and carving have been utilized. Reflecting the high level of craftsmanship. A solid foundation was laid for the production of bronze.

Section I. Objects and tasks of the study of bronze

I. Bronze and the Bronze Age

Bronze refers to the alloy of red copper and other chemical elements, such as copper and tin alloy for tin bronze, copper and lead alloy for lead bronze, and other lead-tin bronze, nickel bronze and so on. Chinese bronze in the Shang and Zhou dynasties is anciently known as gold or jijin, its chemical composition is tin bronze and lead-tin bronze.

The first copper used by mankind was natural copper

Iraq: Zawi? 10,000 to 9,000 B.C. Ornaments made of natural copper

Iran: Ali? Kashi c. 9th or 7th millennium B.C. Decorative objects made of natural copper

Egypt entered the copper and stone period in the 4th millennium B.C.

Egypt's entry into the copper and stone period was in the 4th millennium B.C..

Bronze Age: The stage of human technological development in which bronze weapons and tools were used is known as the Bronze Age.

Chinese Bronze Age: Characterized by the extensive use of bronze production tools and weapons and the extensive use of bronze ceremonial objects.

The Bronze Age in China was formed from about the second millennium B.C. through the Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, and Spring and Autumn periods. It lasted about fifteen centuries.

Peak: Bronze smelting and casting reached its peak as a sign of productivity development in the late Shang and early Western Zhou periods. In the late Warring States period, iron smelting appeared, and a high level of bronze smelting and casting completed the mission entrusted to it by history.

The discovery and study of bronze

The Book of Han? Suburban Sacrifice Zhi" recorded Emperor Xuan Di when Meiyang offered tripod. According to the inscription on the tripod, Zhang Chuan suggested: "I am not stupid enough to trace the ancient text, steal the biography of the words, this tripod is almost the reason why the Zhou praised the ministers, the ministers' descendants engraved on the merits of their ancestors, hidden in the temple also. This tripod is small and has a paragraph, it is not appropriate to recommend in the temple."

The study of Song Dynasty bronzes has developed greatly, and the development of science and technology and commodity economy in this period, especially with the invention of movable-type printing, topography and other technologies are inseparable.

Lv Dalin, "Archaeological Chart," Wang Ming, "Xuanhe Bogu Chart."

Due to the development of exegesis in the Qing Dynasty, bronze inscriptions became an important object of ancient writing research.

The collection of bronzes and bronze inscriptions interpretation of the wind prevailed, bronze images and textual examination and revision of the work also gradually increased. In the Qianlong period of the West Qing Gu Jian, West Qing renewed Jian, Ning Shou Jian Gu

Bronze as a comprehensive study of the discipline, by Guo Moruo, Rong Geng laid the foundation. Guo Moruo's "two weeks of Jinwen Rhetoric large series of illustrations and interpretation", "Yi ware figurative exploration", the two weeks of bronze inscriptions made a systematic study of the intergenerational. Guo Moruo combined the study of bronze inscriptions more clearly with the study of ancient history and attempted to solve the problem of the nature of ancient society. Rong Geng's "Shang and Zhou Yi ware" in the conditions of the Yi part of the bronzes as comprehensive as possible, a meticulous argumentation, constituting a relatively complete research system.

After the founding of new China, due to modern science and technology, new testing methods applied to the bronze breaks, casting, and even the study of music, the formation of a period of scientific research on bronzes combined with scientific archaeological excavations.

Three, the research object and research tasks are roughly divided into the following aspects:

1, bronze production tools, production tools, including hand tools and agricultural tools. The form and quantity of this type of artifacts reflects an important aspect of the development of social productivity. Without the corresponding bronze production tools, it is impossible to have a higher degree of production division of labor and create more wealth for the civilization of the ancient society in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

The study of the Shang and Zhou bronze hand tools and agricultural tools, mainly in the form of a variety of tools for the intergenerational research, but also on their use of the object and the effectiveness of the research should also be carried out. That is, labor simulation experiments. Collation, statistics and study of pottery models is essential for us to understand the casting technology of bronze. The composition of bronze tools should also be systematically analyzed chemically or physically.

2, bronze weaponry, bronze weaponry is the necessary equipment for the army of the slave-owning aristocracy, is extremely important to the slave aristocracy. Bronze weapons were produced in large quantities.

The study of Shang and Zhou bronze weapons is an inseparable part of the study of the history of Shang and Zhou weapons and the history of war. The changing styles of various weapons are to be studied. The shape of the weapon is gradually improved with the rich experience of use, thus contributing to the evolution of the shape of the weapon. The study of the characteristics of bronze weapons in various periods, explore the sequence of changes in various weapons, the sequence is bound to reflect the process of improvement of weapons. The analysis of the composition of bronze weapons is more special than the study of bronze ceremonial weapons. Weapons are relying on its alloy texture and style improvement to win, especially in the late Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, all kinds of weapons alloy composition has been greatly improved. For the production of weapons, the use of the then latest and most advanced casting methods, some of which are to improve the physical properties of weapons, but also to play a decorative role. Many extremely valuable legacies in foundry science have been preserved here.

3, bronze ritual, bronze ritual has been the main body of bronze research, is the study of the Shang and Zhou ritual system is the most important physical information.

The categorization of ritual artifacts is crucial, which is the basis of the research work of bronze ritual artifacts. In the various types of bronze ritual in the basic shape of the change, have its objective development sequence. In each sequence, there should be a clear standard of time or kingship. The standard for the classification of bronze ritual objects, typology has an important significance.

Bronze ritual ware is also known as Yi ware, Yi means often, with the bell and tripod as the representative of the temple often ware, that is, bronze ritual ware. Ritual contains a wide range of content, all can reflect the "ritual" objects, are within its scope

4, inscriptions, refers to the Shang and Zhou bronzes on all the casting and engraving of the text, which is mainly bronze ritual inscriptions. There are many which can be regarded as letters and historical documents. The Eastern Zhou Dynasty is not a ritual bronze, there are also very important content of the inscription.

The study of bronze inscriptions is an important part of the study of bronze ritual objects. Bronze inscriptions are especially important because of their rich historical value. At the same time, Shang and Zhou bronze inscriptions are all records of the language of the time, preserving a large number of philology, phonetics, exegesis and other aspects of the information. For a long time, an independent bronze inscription rhetoric has been formed. Bronze inscriptions are one of the most ancient existing texts in China, and the bronze inscriptions and oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty exist side by side. The focus of the study of bronze inscriptions is the study of historical materials linked to the Zhou rituals.

5, bronze art, from the point of view of plastic arts, many bronzes and arts and crafts. Shang and Zhou bronze art decoration to undertake a number of traditions of Neolithic art, after a long period of continuous change, the formation of a unique system, an important part of the history of Chinese art.

The study of bronze art includes the study of the individual ornamentation of bronzes, the shape of the whole and the comprehensive bronze art. The structural features of the decoration are often used to determine the relative age of the objects. In addition, the expressive methods of ornamentation, such as flat carving, relief carving, and high relief carving, also have different characteristics of the era. It is necessary to determine the relative ages of the ornaments with various characteristics based on the archaeological data and the study of the contents of the inscriptions, and then form a sequence. The overall artistic modeling of the bronze, mainly the image of the features of the object, the various attachments and ornamentation of the overall level of adaptability.

6, bronze musical instruments, due to the bronze chimes unearthed data gradually more and more, providing a combination of bronze musical instruments and their use of the possibility of research.

Because of the unearthed chimes of Zeng Hou Yi Tomb in Suixian County, the acoustic research on the pitch and meter of ancient bells has been driven. The discovery of various forms of musical instruments in other regions has raised many new topics for the study of bronze musical instruments. The occurrence of a variety of bronze musical instruments, development, the number of combinations and the role of the musical performance in the scientific exploration, and strive to make a correct estimate of the level of development of the ancient sound.

7, bronze casting technology, bronze smelting, is one of the first results of human transformation of natural substances. The discovery of ancient mines, a variety of casting methods, a variety of bronze composition, pottery Fan and lost wax casting process, etc., are casting technology to explore the important issues.

The development of metallurgical history began with the smelting and casting of bronze. The study of bronze casting technology, not only to make specific and correct interpretation of the height of the ancient technology reached, the results of the study can also serve the real production. The smelting and casting of bronze marked the highest level of productivity development at that time. Ancient furnace construction, smelting methods, raw materials, fuel, casting forms and alloy composition, etc., all need further research.

The most basic key to casting a good bronze is the composition, craftsmanship, fire and quality of the pottery model preparation. Therefore, the study of the pottery model itself is very important. Proportion of alloy composition of bronze is generally more complex, the Spring and Autumn period of the middle and late technological development faster, the emergence of a special casting method to make the appearance of the object with excellent corrosion resistance, these need to make a detailed and accurate scientific analysis and research.

8, the Chinese outside the bronze, the ancient remote tribes outside the central plains cast bronze, has a strong local style and unique form, but also reflects the cultural integration with the Chinese. These bronzes, which are not found in documentary records, are extremely important physical materials for recognizing and studying the material culture of tribes outside the Huaxia race, and are also part of the study of bronzes.

9, bronze discernment, as a unique discipline, bronze discernment is also indispensable. Bronze forgery, is formed under specific historical conditions, heirloom bronzes, still exists in large quantities, a variety of forgery techniques to the extent of the real, in some important writings, sometimes inevitably cited forgeries, which brings a certain degree of difficulty to the research work. To identify the various techniques and characteristics of forgery, it is necessary to make an in-depth study of the heirloom bronzes.

The object of bronze research will be developed with the richness of information and depth of work. The scope of the study of bronzes is quite broad, it belongs to the social sciences, but also belongs to the scope of the natural sciences, and a combination of the two "fringe science". At present, the study of bronzes has become a comprehensive discipline with many subjects. And the task of bronze research, arising from the various aspects of bronze in the process of continuous in-depth exploration, arising from the new discovery of archaeological data in the revelation.

Section II Classification of Bronzes

The classification of bronzes is mainly for the purpose of clearly distinguishing the nature and role of bronzes, and is conducive to the study of the respective systems of forms formed.

The specific classifications are as follows: eating utensils, drinking utensils, water vessels, musical instruments, weapons, carriages and horses, agricultural implements and tools, currencies, seals and runic symbols, weights and measures, bronze mirrors and so on. The following types of artifacts on the name, purpose and form features to do a specific introduction:

One, food utensils. Including cooking utensils, food containers and food containers. There are mainly tripods, iron, 甗, 簋, 盨, basket, dun, beans, daggers and so on.

(1) tripod: ancient cooking utensils, cooking meat or fish purposes. The shape of most of the round, three-footed, two ears; there are also four-footed square tripod and round, square, flat-footed tripod and other forms. The body of a round tripod was usually in the shape of a basin or a pot. The body of a square tripod is usually in the shape of a bucket. The earliest bronze tripods were modeled after pottery.

The tripod was the main eating utensil in the bronze ceremonial vessels, and it was used as a symbol of the hierarchy and power of the ruling class in ancient societies, which was "to make clear the inferiority and superiority, and to distinguish between the upper and lower levels". According to the book of rituals, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Son of Heaven used nine tripods, the first tripod is the cattle, known as Taijuan, the following sheep, boar, fish, wax, intestines and stomach; the vassal generally use seven tripods; the ministers and daughters with five tripods; the Shi with three tripods, but also with a tripod, tripods are actually a boar.

(2) li: porridge cooker, the Neolithic era has been the common use of ceramic li. The "Er Ya? The "interpretation of the instrument" refers to the section foot tripod called the li. The Han Book? Suburban Sacrifices" said that the iron for the empty tripod. Can be seen in the shape of the tripod and empty feet, empty feet is easy to boil water hot. The initial form of copper iron is modeled after the ceramic iron made. There is also a square-shaped iron, the body is divided into two parts, the lower part of the door can be opened and closed, the door can be put into the charcoal. Its shape has a round, square; there are up and down the body, there are up and down the body. After the Han and Jin 甗, there is no foot, this footless 鬲 is called kettle. Earthenware is a must-have in most of the tombs where bronze ceremonial vessels were buried, and it and tripod, gui, beans, pots, plates, and formed a set of burial ceremonial vessels, which were mainly unearthed in the tombs in the western weekend and the beginning of the Spring and Autumn period.

(4) Gui: a utensil for holding boiled millet, grain, rice, beams and other meals. The word gui in bronze inscriptions is usually written as "?" In the ancient books, written as "gui". Its use is equivalent to the current rice bowl. Most of the round belly, wide mouth, rimmed feet, with no ears, two ears, three ears, and even four ears.

Shangzhou period, gui is an important ritual. Especially in the Western Zhou Dynasty, it was used in conjunction with the odd-numbered Li Ding in the same way as the Li Ding system, in the even-numbered combinations during sacrifices and feasts. According to the documents, the son of heaven with nine tripods and eight gui, the vassal seven tripods and six gui, five tripods and four gui, three tripods and two gui. Archaeological discoveries have also proved that there are more even numbers of gui.

(5) basket: worship and feasts and banquets put millet, millet, rice, beams and other food utensils. Zhou Li? Sherman" "all sacrifices *** basket worship". Zheng Xuan note: "square is said basket, round is said gui, hold millet, grain, rice, beam ware." In kind in the state worship are for rectangular, the mouth outside, there is a cover, the cover and the same size, closed for a device, open for the same two devices. This feature is also known in antiquarian artifacts as "but standing" or "but placed". The lid of the basket has four short feet. The state worship is called "Hu" or "Coral" in the scriptures, and "Kuang" in some cases.

(6) 盨: is to put millet, grain, rice, beam rice utensils. Shaped like a gui and oval, converging mouth, bulging belly, both sides of the animal ears or ears, under the foot or four feet, there is a cover, the cover has a rectangular four feet or can be lifted to pick up the ring-shaped feet. The lid can also be tilted to hold objects. It appeared in the latter part of the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, was mainly popular in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, and basically disappeared in the early Spring and Autumn Period. Generally in even numbered combinations.

(7) dun: the millet, grain, rice, beam rice utensils, from the tripod, gui form of the combination of development. Its basic form for the round belly, two ring ears, three short feet, with a cover. Some of the dun for the "upper and lower round connected" shape, that is, usually referred to as "spherical" or "watermelon-shaped" dun. Cover and the characteristics of the device is identical, when used can be divided into a device for two devices, improve the value of the use of artifacts. The ancients also called a footless dun for the waste of dun. Dun produced in the middle of the Spring and Autumn period, prevalent in the late Spring and Autumn period to the late Warring States period, after the disappearance of Qin.

(8) Beans: vessels designed to hold pickles, meat sauce and other and flavored products. From the oracle bone inscriptions and gold inscriptions, beans may be the earliest vessel for millet and grain. The basic shape of the bean is on the disk, under the long grip, with a foot ring, more cover. Long grip called "school", grip under the foot circle called "stirrup", bronze beans appeared in the late Shang Dynasty, prevalent in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States.

(9) dagger: an ancient tool for scooping up food, there are many records in ancient literature, "Yi Li? The dagger was used for scooping up food, which was recorded in ancient documents, such as "Yi Li", "Shao Jinyuan Feeding Rites", and "Dagger". Visible dagger for the use of food and animal meat. Archaeological discovery of the dagger is often with tripods, li and other artifacts *** out, such as Anhui Shouxian Caihou tomb excavated li with a dagger. Dagger body is generally oval, after the handle, for the convenience of the dagger, some dagger body front made into a pointed shape. The handle is often carved out of very fine pattern, the ritual called this carved handle for the "sparse dagger".

Two, the wine vessel. Drinking wine, wine containers and vessels for extracting wine collectively known as wine. Including jennings, horns, jia, goblets, goblets, zun, goblets, wine containers, wines, divorces, square Yi, earthenware, pots, spoons and so on.

(1) Jennet: the earliest appearance of ceremonial vessels. Jennets were used for drinking and drinking wine, as evidenced by inscriptions. Its shape is round, flat or convex bottom, in front of the flow, that is, pouring wine flow groove, after the pointed tail, in order to equalize the weight of the flow, to play the role of the balance of the whole apparatus. One side of the Jennifer has a jiao, the following three high-pointed feet, the flow and the mouth of the cup on the occasion of the column, which is the same characteristics of the Shang and the early Western Zhou ****.

(2) Horn: drinking vessel. The book of rites? Rituals": "Zongmiao's sacrifice, the honored one lifts the goblet, the humble one lifts the horn." Zheng Xuan note: "four liters for the horn." Combined with other wine vessels. The shape of the horn resembles that of a jennet, but without the two columns and with a tail at each end.

(3) jia: wine warmer. Wang Guowei "said jia" cited Luo Zhenyu said that the scripture drinking vessels of the scattered for the jia of the blackmail. The shape of the jia like jennings and horns, and jennings, horns, the main difference is that there is no flow and no tail, only in the mouth on the edge of the two columns. The shape of the belly is round, flat bottom.

(4) goblet: drinking vessel. There are a large number of heirlooms, and when archaeological excavations are carried out, they are often found with Jennings***. Shaped like a trumpet, generally a long slender body, a large wide mouth, rim, on the long body often have raised prongs as a decoration, which is related to the casting of the Fan's joints and tenons.

(5) Goblet: drinking vessel. There are two types of goblets in bronze, one is flat and the other is round, shaped like a vase, with a wide mouth and a rounded foot. Both types of goblets were found in the late Shang dynasty and early Western Zhou, and the latter was used until the Eastern Zhou.

(6) Zun: a large or medium-sized wine vessel with a high body. In the Jinwen, the ritual vessel is called Zun Yi, which resembles the shape of two hands serving You, and Yi resembles two hands offering a blood-drained chicken, that is to say, Zun wine is served with the meaning of chicken sacrifice. Zun Yi is the ritual ritual **** name, refers to a group of sacrificial vessels, rather than a ritual ritual moniker. All the wine food utensils, Jinwen generally known as Zun Yi. The most common form of zun has a round, wide mouth, rim foot, there are also wide mouth square zun. In addition, in a class of artifacts, there are some birds and animals in the shape of the said bird, elephant, which should be a special form of Zun, collectively referred to as birds and animals Zun. They are all used for wine containers.

(7) goblet: wine container. The vessel is characterized by a washbasin-like shape, an oval or square belly, a rounded foot or a four-footed foot, a flow and a handle, a cover, and a lid made in the form of a horned animal's head or an elephant's head with a long snout curled upwards. The goblet appeared in the late Yinxu period and was used until the early Western Zhou period.

(8) Wine container: wine container. Wine containers were sacrificial vessels designed to hold wine. It is shaped like a jug, but with a lifting beam, so it is commonly called a wine vessel with a lifting beam. There are many shapes of wine containers, such as round, oval, square, or barrel, scops owl, or tiger eating man.

(9) fiancé: a wine container or a vessel for mixing wine and water. The shape of the fiancé teach a lot, generally is a deep belly, round mouth, with a cover, the front has a flow, the back has a handle, there are three feet or four feet. There are also shaped fiancées with a flow on the top, and fiancées with a chi dragon in the round belly. Bronze fiancées appeared in the early Shang Dynasty and flourished from the late Shang to the Western Zhou Dynasty.

(10) Square Yi: a wine vessel. Yi is a collective name for ritual vessels in ancient bronze. Er Ya? Interpretation of Vessels": "Yi, wine containers, earthenware jars, also vessels." Guo Pu note: "All contain wine, Yi its general name." In the ancient books and bronze inscriptions do not see the name of square Yi as a ceremonial vessel, the Song people of this type of vessel form for the square to set this name. It is characterized by a high square body with a cover that resembles a roof. The belly is straight and curved, and some of them have two ears from the side of the belly, and most of them have four or eight ridges corresponding to the belly. Early Shang Dynasty already have pottery similar to the emergence of square ware, but has been found in bronze square Yi appeared in the late Shang Dynasty.

(11)Earthenware: wine container. The Shuo Wen said: "Earthenware, wine respect." Earthenware can also hold water. There are two kinds of earthenware jar, square and round, square earthenware jar, broad shoulders, shoulders have two ears, have a cover; round earthenware jar, big belly, foot ring, two ears. These two shapes of earthenware jars, commonly in the lower part of one side of a wear system with a nose. The earthenware jar shape is found in the late Shang Dynasty, and it was popular until the middle of the Spring and Autumn period.

(12) Jug: wine vessel. Zhouli? Autumn Officials? Palm Guest": "pot forty." Zheng Xuan note: "Jug, wine vessel also." Poetry? Daya? Han Yi: "A hundred jugs of clear wine." Jinwen jug character like a cover on both sides of the system and the abdomen of a huge container, so the pot can be regarded as a long-necked container of the general term. In ancient times, there were many varieties of wine, so the shape of wine pots also varied. Bronze jugs were used throughout history from the Shang Dynasty to the Han Dynasty or later. There are many shapes of jugs, including round, square, flat and round with a stream.

Three, water vessels. The vast majority of water vessels used for washing, so also known as lavatory, can be roughly divided into four kinds of water, water, water and water, including plate, washbasin, pelvis, identify, fou (fou), ampoule (bu) and so on.

(1) disk: water vessel. Shang and Zhou banquets. Banquet before and after the meal to perform the Wo wash ritual "Li Ji? Inside the rules" contained: "into the wash, the lesser served tray, the elders served water, please wash wash, wash washroom, awarding the scarf." In addition, the plate can also be used to hold ice. It gradually became popular in the late Shang Dynasty, and after the Warring States period, the ritual of washing was gradually abolished, and the tray was replaced by the washing.

(2)

(2)washbasin: washbasin with water. It appeared in the later part of the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and was popular in the late Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period.

(3)Jian: Shuo Wen: "Jian, a large basin." Used to hold water and to bathe. In the copper mirror is not yet prevalent, the ancients also use the Jian water to look at the face.

Four, musical instruments. Including cymbals, bells, gongs, drums and so on.

(1) cymbals: China's earliest use of one of the bronze percussion instruments, popular in the late Shang Dynasty, the beginning of the Zhou used. Cymbals shaped like a bell and larger, the body is short and wide, the mouth is concave arc. Zhou Li? The "Earth Officials" "to stop the drum with the golden cymbal". That is, when retreating from the army to instruct to stop drumming. Also used for rituals and banquets.

(2) bell: bronze percussion instrument used in rituals or feasts. The form of the bell evolved from the cymbal.

(3) gongs: ancient marching instruments. Shape like cymbals, taller and heavier than cymbals, commonly known as big cymbals

Five, weapons. Including go, spear, halberd, arrowheads and so on.

(1) Go: the most common type of weapon during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Anciently known as hook soldiers. By the go head, weapon handle, cap and the end of the butt end composition. Shang and Western Zhou cap is mostly wooden.

(2) spear: weapon for punching.

(3) halberd: the combination of go and spear. It has both hooking and stabbing functions.

(4) Vector arrowheads: long-range weapons.

Six, miscellaneous weapons. Including household utensils, carts and horses, currency, seals and so on.

(1) mirror: the ancient face of the device, generally round, the front is clean, the back has a button can be worn.

Qijia culture:

Yin ruins: plain back, smaller mirror Spring and Autumn: not much

Mid Warring States: the prevalence of the period, the number of greatly increased, the production of sophisticated and beautiful, the back of the pattern of geometric and animal patterns, no inscription

Han: Western Han to the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the bronze mirrors gradually become thicker and heavier, the back of the casting of auspicious words. Wang Mang appeared chronological inscription bronze mirror. Western Han Dynasty "translucent mirror"

Sui-Tang: copper mirrors of the re-flourishing period. There are many kinds of mirrors, sunflower mirrors, diamond mirrors, characters and stories of mirrors, hunting and riding, sea animals and grapes mirrors, etc.

Song: the popularity of diamond mirrors after the Yuan casting technology gradually declined

(2) hooks: girdle belt hooks at one end of the ancient name of the Xianbei division than the head, the beginning of the northern steppe peoples, the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States period was introduced into the Central Plains, has been in use until the Han Dynasty. The basic form of the lower end of the nail column nailed to one end of the belt, the upper end of the curved head as a hook to hook the other end of the belt, the center of the hook body, side view was S-shaped.

(3) incense burner: the Han and Jin dynasties incense utensils, also known as Boshan furnace.

(4) Currency: Bronze minted coins during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods mainly include cloth coins, knife coins, shell money and huan money.

Bu coins - modeled after the shape of the bronze agricultural tools shovel cast, the original empty head of cloth appeared in the Western Zhou period, a large number of casting in the Spring and Autumn period, the same style as the bronze shovel. During the Warring States period, the cloth coins were reformed and the axe was flattened into a single piece.

Knife coins - imitating the knife casting, Qi big knife, Yan small knife (Ming knife)

Shell coins -, commonly known as "ghost face money" or "ant nose money", popular in the Warring States period of the State of Chu.

Huanqian - modeled after the round jade jade disk.

(5) Runes and Seals

The runes were used to convey commands or dispatch soldiers. A rune was divided into left and right halves and stored in two sides, and when used, the two halves merged, which was known as "conformity", indicating that the command was verified and credible. It is also known as the Tiger's Symbol because it looks like a tiger. It was prevalent in the Warring States period, Qin and Han.

Seals and seals were used for official and private correspondence and mutual dealings.

Section III Bronze Patterns

One, the animal face pattern. Older known as taotie pattern.

Second, dragon

Third, phoenix and bird

Fourth, a variety of animal patterns

Fifth, fire

Sixth, geometric patterns

Seventh, the portrait

Section IV bronze inscriptions

I. The emergence and development of the inscription

Bronze inscriptions are also known as the Jinwen, Zhongdingwen. Inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period are generally cast; most of the inscriptions in the Warring States, Qin and Han periods are engraved.

The emergence and development of inscriptions, and the occurrence of the development of the written word as well as the progress of the casting technology of bronze have a very close relationship.

After the middle of the Shang Dynasty, the casting technology of bronze has a greater development, the oracle bone divination of the book deed is also the rapid development of the casting of bronze inscriptions also began to flourish. But the number of words per artifact is generally only one word, two or three words. More than four or five words, to the end of the Shang Dynasty, there is no more than fifty words. Inscriptions in this period are generally cast in the inconspicuous part of the artifacts, the casting of the engraved text has expressed the name of the clan, sacrificial vessels, banquets, hunting, war, official name and so on.

The Western Zhou Dynasty was a period of great development of bronze inscriptions, inscriptions from the nature, content, form, number and even the style of the book have changed greatly. Records of the political planning of the royal family, the deeds of the kings, rituals and enjoinments, banquets and feasts, hunting, conquests of Fangguo, rewards and gifts, slaves, land transfers and other content.

The inscriptions on the bronzes of the Spring and Autumn period were arbitrary, mostly about marriage and boasting of ancestors.

Warring States period, the rites and music, simple books and books of silk pass, the text of the complexity of the day, after more than a thousand years of development and change, bronze inscriptions are gradually declining.

Second, the format of bronze inscriptions

1, emblems, 2, rituals, 3, the book of life, 4, the granting of 5, the record of events, 6, after filial piety, 7, about the agent (between the individual), the law (the government's legal orders), 8, the thing le work name (the owner of the tool, the master, the artisan, the place of placement of the tool, the capacity, the weight, etc.)

Third, the content of the inscriptions

1, the royal ceremonies

2, military affairs

Section V. Bronze Casting Technology

I. Casting Technology in the Shang and Western Zhou Periods

One Mold, One Model

Secondary Casting

Processing and Sharpening

II. Casting Technology in the Spring and Autumn Periods

Lost Wax Method

Misplaced Gold and Silver