In museums, we can often learn about the historical status of bronzes, but rarely appreciate it from an aesthetic point of view. The ornamentation of the bronzes of the Shang Dynasty took on a vicious posture, thus strengthening the shang king's deterrent power and deterring his subjects. Due to the zhou dynasty's implementation of virtue rule, the bronze ornaments are relatively simple and restrained. During the Spring and Autumn Period, bronzes gradually changed from temple utensils to daily necessities, and the ornamentation on them became more concrete. What is the significance of bronzes? How did the ornamentation of bronzes evolve? What are the characteristics of bronzes from different dynasties?
Produced by: Gezhi Dao Pulpit
The following is the transcript of the speech of Zhang Kailiang, blogger @ Kailiangjun and author of "Cat and Dog Picking History":
Seeing the two words bronze, I guess everyone's first reaction is the bronze duan of "Glory of the King".
Bronze, not as bright as gold, silver, and diamonds, so it ranks at the end. But in fact, in ancient times, bronze was once the king.
I first came into contact with bronze in junior high school, when history books would print such pictures with the words "Stepmother Pengding", which was the first bronze I knew of with a name and a surname.
However, the bronzes at that time gave me the feeling of being printed in a book, vague and very distant.
Later, when I went to the museum, I saw a lot of brothers and sisters in the black of the stepmother, and the docents would tell you that bronze ware has a very important historical status, but it is rarely guided to appreciate it from an aesthetic point of view.
Sometimes we go to the museum to see cultural relics, and we don't know where its beauty lies, especially cultural relics like bronzes that are wrapped in patina.
I couldn't understand it at the time, and then because of the development of network technology, many photography experts on the Internet shared some very beautiful bronze photos, and I found that the original bronze was so beautiful.
This pulls me into the aesthetic world of bronze.
Later, I also tried to make some of these pictures, trying to close the distance between the general public and bronzes, but I felt that it was still a little bit interesting, because there was not enough aesthetic guidance.
Bronze aesthetics guide the exploration
When the bronze was first baked, it was golden, so people at that time called the bronze "Jijin", which literally means very auspicious metal.
I studied archaeology, the predecessor of archaeology has a branch called epigraphy, epigraphy in the "gold" is bronze.
This is the stepmother Pengding, now in the collection of the National Museum, it is the heaviest bronze ever found, weighing more than 800 kilograms.
Ding was originally a cooker, used for cooking rice, and later became a ceremonial vessel.
This photograph was taken in 2011, when the houmu Pengding was still naked.
This is the front of the hindquarter, which has a lot of ornamentation engraved on it, thus forming a complex combination of ornaments.
The blue part is called the animal face pattern, and the yellow part is called the dragon pattern, which may look more abstract, but if you look closer, you are now showing half of the animal face pattern.
The green part of the animal face is the horns of the animal face, the blue part is the forelimbs of the animal face, and the yellow part is one of its eyes and teeth.
In the late Shang Dynasty, the animal's facial expression was vicious and its teeth were sharp, giving people a very aggressive feeling.
This is a four-sheep square statue in the collection of the National Museum, and it is also a national treasure-level cultural relic.
Zun was a kind of vessel used for wine at that time, and the upside-down dragon pattern and animal face could be seen on zun's neck, as well as sharp teeth, vicious eyes, and sharp claws.
Why is the ornamentation of bronze in the late Shang Period like this?
This brings us to a very important phrase describing the Shang Dynasty: "The great affairs of the country are in the worship and rong."
What does this sentence mean?
It is that the two most important things in the Shang Dynasty are war and sacrifice.
As the supreme ruler of the country, the Shang King had the highest military command and the highest sacrificial power, that is, the right to communicate with the highest god.
The social environment during the Shang Dynasty was different from the present, and the territory directly controlled by the Shang King was very limited, surrounded by a series of fang states.
In order to control the entire wider realm, the Shang King needed to carry out armed conquests against other countries, and at the same time to implement spiritual suppression through sacrifice.
However, the sacrifices of the Shang Dynasty were different from those of now, when the sacrifices were very bloody, and each sacrifice would kill hundreds of thousands of people as important sacrifices.
The ornaments on ceremonial and bronze vessels will inevitably show this vicious posture and thus strengthen the Shang King's deterrent power to deter his subjects and people.
Of course, the animal face pattern is already relatively restrained.
This is the ear of the queen mother Pengding, and the ornament on it is called the tiger ornament.
It is very obvious that it depicts two tigers nibbling at the head of a man, who may be a prisoner of war or a slave.
This is a tiger cannibal now in the collection of Izumiya Hirokokan in Japan, depicting a tiger that directly begins to nibble on a person with his arms around him.
This is the tomb of the woman who was excavated from the tomb of the woman, and it is a weapon itself, but here it is used as a symbol of military command.
This woman is good, and there is also an image of a tiger eating man on it.
We all know that the woman is good, she is a lady of the Shang King Wuding.
But she was also a very famous military commander in the Shang Dynasty, so it is very normal to find weapons in her tomb.
In addition, we will also see this owl pattern on many Shang Dynasty bronzes, which is the ornamentation of the owl.
Why do owls be seen on the bronzes of the Shang Dynasty?
There are many explanations for this, some people think that the owl may be the embodiment of the Shang God of War, and some people think that the owl may be related to the ancestors of the merchants.
Legend has it that the ancestor of the merchant, Qi, his mother gave birth to Chi because she swallowed the egg of the bird and conceived by induction.
Some scholars believe that this bird is an owl.
But whatever the interpretation, the owl is a feature of Shang bronzes.
This bronze artifact also has sharp teeth, vicious eyes, and sharp claws on the animal face, but it is not an artifact of the late Shang Period but an artifact of the early Western Zhou Dynasty.
It is now in the Zhouyuan Museum, and it is also a wine vessel, and the lid on it can be taken down and poured down with the bow.
In 1046 BC, the Zhou people destroyed the Shang and established the Zhou Dynasty, but the cultural level of the Zhou people at that time was very different from the Shang Dynasty, so they borrowed a lot of cultural heritage from the merchants.
Art styles like this one are also taken directly and used.
What did the bronzes before the Zhou People look like?
It's nailed and piecey, with a particularly punk feel, referred to as bronze punk.
Bronze ware with the characteristics of the era
However, after the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, it gradually developed its own characteristics, and the bronze ornamentation at that time was relatively simple and restrained, which was now in the Shanghai Museum.
This large shell weighs 201 kilograms and is one of the treasures of the Shanghai Museum.
The claws and teeth of the animal face pattern on it are gone, very soft and simple, not as fierce and fearful as the Shang Dynasty ornaments. Why?
Because the Zhou Dynasty practiced the rule of virtue, the Zhou Dynasty was different from the Shang Dynasty, and in the Zhou Dynasty, the whole world was not the royal land.
All kinds of princes were heads in their own country, but here in the Zhou King, they were all vassals.
At that time, "virtue" was different from the current "virtue", and the King of Zhou formulated a series of codes of conduct for them in order to limit the power of the princes, which were called etiquette.
Therefore, princes at all levels were called virtuous as long as they obeyed the rules of etiquette, defended the Zhou royal family, and obeyed the will of the Zhou king.
If everyone abides by the rule of virtue, the country will be in peace and stability for a long time, which is completely different from the intimidation from the outside to the inside during the Shang Dynasty.
Dezhi has a very obvious embodiment in bronzes, and western Zhou people like to write small compositions on bronzes, which is now in the National Museum, which is also a national treasure.
Gui is a kind of container dedicated to grain, this piece is also a cultural relics of the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and the animal face pattern on it is still similar to the ornamental style of the late Shang Dynasty.
What does the inscription on this record?
The record is the specific time of King Wu Keshang, who wrote down this good deed he did on the ligui, so that his children and grandchildren can always use it, so that they must remember this good deed done by their ancestors.
Because the Zhou people followed the will of Heaven and established the Zhou Dynasty against the unscrupulous Shang Dynasty, this is the right thing to do.
Among the cultural relics is a more famous essay, which is He Zun now in the Baoji Bronze Museum, a national treasure of the early Western Zhou Dynasty.
The small composition on this bronze vessel is a little longer, and this small composition has a golden sentence in it - "House China".
Everyone should have heard of Zhaozi China, of course, this "China" is different from the current China, and this China refers to the meaning of the world.
This is the word "China" recorded in the earliest surviving literature, what is the record of this small composition?
After the fall of the Shang Dynasty in Western Zhou, the western zhou capital, which is today's Xi'an, was implemented in western Zhou, and the king of Zhou had difficulty controlling the princes in the east in Xi'an.
Therefore, King Wu's son King Cheng of Zhou decided to establish Chengzhou in what was then Luoyi, which is now Luoyang, and build another capital to facilitate the control of the eastern countries.
That's what this inscription mainly writes.
The Shang Dynasty had its own bird, the Zhou Dynasty also had its bird, and the bird of the Zhou Dynasty was the phoenix bird.
There is an allusion called Fengming Qishan that speaks of King Wen of Zhou, because he is very virtuous.
Therefore, the phoenix all came to xiqi to roost in this place, indicating that the zhou people would have a prosperous fortune in the future.
This phoenix pattern is often seen on bronzes from the middle period of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
This is a public vessel now in the Anhui Provincial Museum, which is an oval wine container.
The characteristic of the 卣 is that it has a beam, that is, a handle.
There are very gorgeous phoenixes carved on it, the blue part is the crown of the bird, the orange part is the bird's beak, the green part is the bird's wings, and the purple part behind is the feathers of the bird's tail.
Regardless of whether the Zhou Dynasty practiced moral rule or etiquette, in fact, the basis was that the King of Zhou had prestige and had a strong enough strength to suppress the princes of various countries.
Once this balance is destroyed, then the Zhou Dynasty will be easily subverted.
Therefore, when in 771 BC, a people in the north of the Inu Rong attacked Hojing and killed the last generation of Western Zhou Kings, King Zhou You, the son of King Zhou You, moved east to Luoyi, and from then on history entered the chaotic Spring and Autumn Period.
By the time he entered the Spring and Autumn Period, the King of Zhou had lost his prestige, and he could no longer command the princes of the world.
At this time, the traditional etiquette system and moral rule were destroyed, and we are called the liturgical collapse.
Then the bronze ware, which symbolizes the traditional ritual system and moral rule, has gradually changed from a temple utensil to a living utensil, and has become a daily necessity.
The ornamentation on it has also gradually changed from a sinister or ritualistic sense to a lifelike and figurative one.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, bronze was a precious metal, and whoever was strong and rich could do more and better. The number one power in the Spring and Autumn Period was the Jin Dynasty.
This is a statue now in the Shanghai Museum, this is a piece of ornament on the top is very complex, what kind of scene does this ornament represent?
This is a beast face, it is fighting with two phoenixes, the white part is the animal face, the orange part is two phoenixes, and the body of the bird on the left is no longer visible, because it is blocked by other ornaments.
The body of the phoenix on the right is fully reflected, and the two birds are back to back, next to two small yellow snakes, which are decorated on both sides of the animal's face.
The ornamental style of this animal face is very different from that of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, it is more natural and more flexible, why is this so?
This has to start from its geographical location, the Jin state itself is one of the princely states with the surname Ji, he is the son of King Wu was divided by King Cheng of Zhou into the present-day Shanxi region.
At that time, it was on the fringes of China, living with various ethnic minorities, and after hundreds of years of annexation and expansion, the Jin state became the first major power in the Spring and Autumn Period.
However, in the north, they were still ethnic minorities, that is, Beidi, which was a collective name for these ethnic groups in the north in China at that time, and was a collection of many ethnic groups.
The Jin Dynasty was in this position, and thus under the influence of the Northern Di, who were not a bunch of people from Huaxia, and their beliefs were closer to the worship of nature.
Therefore, their artistic style is more natural and more vivid, and there are many animal fighting themes, which naturally affect the artistic style of the neighboring Jin Dynasty.
This is a preserved oyster-patterned cadmium at the Poly Museum of Art and is an instrument.
The flat-bottomed bell also shows the scene of the struggle between the animal face and the dragon and phoenix, which is a beast face, similar to the comparison just now.
We saw that they were already very vivid and natural, much different from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and from the side, this beast bit the neck of a dragon, the yellow part was the dragon's head, and the orange part was the dragon's claws.
The dragon's claws are very delicately carved, and both of its fingers have been carved out.
The dragon was bitten by the beast's face, and it struggled weakly, but it was also unwilling. It's going to pull a cushion back, and the back of the pad is this phoenix.
It was very unlucky, the yellow part was its head, and we saw that the feathers on the head of the phoenix were hooked by the dragon with its claws, and the body was also rolled up by the dragon, and the phoenix was struggling, the expression was very painful, it was very unwilling, but there was no way.
As a very important bridge between China and the West, especially before the opening of the Silk Road, many exchanges between China and the West were transmitted through the northern peoples as an intermediate medium.
We see that the bell knob above is a small animal with a pair of wings, which are likely related to the Griffin of the West.
This plate is a Zizhong ginger plate now in the Shanghai Museum, which was a wash basin given to his wife by an official during the Jin Dynasty.
Let's imagine how happy it was to give my wife a big golden washbasin in those days.
This basin is very fun, the waterfowl on it can be twisted, that is, you can play when washing your hands, and there are small frogs and small fish can also be screwed.
But the more interesting one is later, the plate we see in the museum now is in a state of no water, and once the water is added, it becomes a vibrant pond.
Can we feel the romance of the ancients?
This is a kono-no-no-tori in the Freer Museum of Art in Washington, D.C., and is an artifact for holding wine.
This is an artifact of the Zhao family of the late Spring and Autumn Jin Dynasty, and when you look closely, the bird's beak can be opened so that the wine can be poured out.
The body of the bird is very delicately depicted, the feathers on each feather are carved out, and a small dragon is embedded in the feathers on the edges of the wings, which is very clearly depicted.
This can also be seen that the zhao family's family strength at that time was very strong, and they already had the ability to make such exquisite utensils.
The reason why the Jin state was strong, in addition to its frequent exchanges with the surrounding ethnic groups, was that one of the more important reasons was that the Jin state implemented the six secretaries system.
He selected some talented people from these large families around him to take turns to govern, which made the Jin state gather a group of talents at that time, and also made the Jin state the strongest country in the Spring and Autumn Period.
However, there is also a drawback to this, that is, many large families are too strong, which eventually led to the famous Han, Zhao, and Wei three-family division of jin incidents at the time of the Spring and Autumn Warring States exchange.
In this way, the most powerful state in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin State, disappeared, but other countries also made their own distinctive bronzes.
This is the bronze ice book, what is the ice book?
The function is very similar to the current refrigerator, which is used for refrigeration
It was excavated from the famous tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, and was excavated as a pair, one of which was placed in the National Museum and the other in the Hubei Museum.
We looked closer at the details on the lid, and this bronze ice book unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng was also very fine, but it was completely different from the style of the Jin Dynasty.
This is because of the Zeng kingdom, which was one of the princely states with the surname Ji, but was divided by the Zhou royal family in Suizhou, Hubei.
Hubei we all know that it is wet and has many lakes, and there are many insects and snakes.
So we can see that there are a lot of these tiny, twisted little snakes wrapped around each other.
This may also be a reflection of the local natural environment on bronze.
This is a horn of the Ice Book with a snake-like dragon-shaped creature on it.
We can look up and see the scales on it, which are very similar to reptiles such as snake scales and fish scales, and the whole monster's body and twisted form are also very reptile-like.
This is a bronze sacred beast now hidden in the Henan Museum, which is an artifact of the State of Chu, which is a neighbor of the State of Zeng, so there are many similarities in many places in terms of artistic style.
So when we look at the head of the bronze beast, there is a huge head, and the tongue spits out like a snake, spitting out a letter.
But we carefully observe that there are small heads on this big head, and there are smaller heads next to the small heads, and the culture of the Chu State is very different from that of the Central Plains, and they have implemented a very romantic, unrestrained, exaggerated and imaginative Wuchu culture.
Therefore, their bronzes are very different from those of the Central Plains.
This is the Dragon Hanging Scale Pattern Ding now in the Shanghai Museum, the left side is this Ding is also quite large, the right two pictures, above is a façade above the Ding'er, below is the cross-section of the mouth edge of this Ding.
The area is actually not large, but we see that the Chu people did not waste the area of the two faces, and all of them were depicted with very fine ornaments full of details such as snakes or dragons, and even the lines on the wings were not left.
This is a detail that approximates perversion, is this the annihilation of human nature or the degeneration of morality? You can go into the museum and take a closer look.
After looking at the bronzes in the south, let's take a look at the northern ones.
This is the wrong gold and silver tiger deer screen seat now hidden in the Hebei Museum, which is the base of the screen.
There are two interfaces on it that can be inserted into the wooden screen, which is a cultural relic of the Zhongshan Kingdom.
Zhongshan Kingdom was originally a branch of the Northern Di that we mentioned earlier, they were originally a kind of foreign tribe in the north, and later came to the Central Plains to establish their own kingdom, although they were later Huaxiaized, but we see that there are still many northern ethnic art styles in the artifacts.
For example, the very natural style and the theme of entanglement between animals, let's look at this artifact, which depicts a tiger fighting for a moment.
This is the tiger's posture outlining its body, from left to right to see its hind legs pedaling to the ground, the muscles of the legs bulging out of the right hind legs intact in front of us.
The proportions of the thighs and calves are perfect, and the curve of the waist perfectly presents the flexible waist of the feline.
We have cat owners who probably know that the cat's waist is very flexible and there is no problem with flipping it, and the tiger is the same as a feline, and the tiger's forelimbs grab the hind legs of the outside of the prey.
The prey barely supported its body with this inner leg, and finally the tiger's teeth clenched tightly inside the prey.
Let's recall, what kind of technique did merchants use in the late Shang Dynasty when they portrayed tiger cannibalism?
After nearly 1,000 years, what a dramatic shift in artistic style.
After the Warring States was the Qin and Han Dynasties, the appearance of iron and porcelain in the Qin and Han Dynasties gradually replaced bronze, and the centralized system replaced the existing ritual rule.
Bronzes are becoming less and less needed, so bronzes gradually disappear from people's memories.
Nevertheless, the significance of bronze is still very important.
The meaning of bronzes
I personally feel that bronze is no less important to Chinese aesthetics than ancient Greek sculpture to Western aesthetics, and they both set a tone for the direction of the two later arts.
Of course, ancient Greek sculptures are very familiar to everyone, especially this Aphrodite with a broken arm.
However, bronzes may be very unfamiliar to everyone, of course, ancient Greek sculpture is well known to people may also be due to modern factors.
Because the aesthetics of the modern West subtly dominate all aspects of our lives, and our aesthetics, clothes, interior decorations and architectural styles are all designed and planned in accordance with the principles of Western aesthetics.
Not only aesthetics may also be dominated by modernization, but our lives have sometimes become very mechanized and industrialized.
People tend to become anxious, and I personally feel that our lives can have more possibilities, just as our aesthetics can become more diversified.
Maybe our ancient oriental art is one of these many possibilities, I hope you can find your own fun in the museum in the future, the above is my sharing, thank you!
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