It is generally believed that "writing, cities, and bronzes" are the signs of human beings entering civilization. This is also the reason why Xia Wenming has been questioned, and the text has not been found. From a personal point of view, xia dai must have written words, but the carriers of recorded words may be leaves, knots, fabrics, dirt... but these carriers are too easy to "return dust to dust".
The Shang Dynasty cast writing on bronze, which was a great advance in technology. Without the various explorations that preceded it, there would be no such "leap".
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were more and more words on bronzes, and the people who made bronzes cast the events and honors they wanted to pass on to future generations on bronzes. The carrier of this text is very strong, and finally it has been able to travel through the millennium time and uncover all aspects of social life in the Shang Zhou.
In the exhibition "Zhaozi China - Bronzes and Golden Essences Unearthed in Baoji" held at the National Museum, wars, transactions, lawsuits, marriages, sacrifices, etc. were seen on the bronzes of the Western Zhou Dynasty, where is the bronze, which is the Western Zhou Encyclopedia, which shows us the picture of life in the Western Zhou Period.
The War in The Golden Text:
"The great affairs of the country are in the worship and the rong". Wars and sacrifices were major events during the Shang Zhou Dynasty. These two events are particularly well documented in bronze inscriptions. Participating in the war, it is easiest to get the reward of the King of Zhou, and it is almost common practice to record this honor on bronze. With these records, the events and characters that have been annihilated in the dust of history will reappear in the human world and will be passed on forever.
In the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Shi Tongding.
The Shi Tongding inscription is a typical war type of golden text, and the master of the instrument, Shi Tong, casts the instrument as a memorial because of his meritorious service.
Mid-Western Zhou Dynasty Winter (Gexia Winter) Gui.
Very regular inscription. The content is probably: a general named "Dong" (this word can not be typed) went out to win a great victory, and was rewarded by the King of Zhou, who thanked his deceased mother for his blessing and made this gui.
Not only is the guit in shape thick and exquisitely decorated, but what is even more rare is that it records a person and a war that was submerged in the long river of history 3,000 years ago.
The handle is designed as a majestic phoenix, exquisite!
This grate not only has an inscription inside the lid, but also an inscription on the bottom of the grate.
Late Western Zhou Dynasty 42 years of the reign of Ding Ding (B).
Forty-two years old, there are two pieces, the ornaments and inscriptions are the same, but the size is different.
The inscription details the time, place, reason and reward content of the Zhou royal family's canonization and reward for the Zhou royal family's order to assist the eldest father, the conquest of Rong Di, and the time, place, reason and reward content of the zhou royal family.
Transactions in the Golden Text:
Originally, "the whole world could not be the royal land", which should have been divided by the King of Zhou. But gradually, the princes became stronger and distributed land or finances to their subordinates. From the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was some content about finance and even field transactions in the Jin wen. These deals are a sign of economic activity and a sign of the decline of the royal family.
In the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty (Gongwang) Nine years weiding.
This inscription records a case of woodland trading that occurred in the ninth year of King Gong of Zhou (919 BC).
Mid-Western Zhou Dynasty Qiu Weilu.
The Weilu inscription is a typical example of land transaction (transfer) in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which involves the specific exchange price of land at that time, the factors affecting land price, the specific ceremony and host of land exchange, and the specific implementation of the process of granting land.
Land began to gradually shift to private ownership.
Mid-Western Zhou Dynasty Qiu Weigui.
The regular inscription records the events of Qiu Wei's acceptance of the Zhou King's orders.
Litigation in The Golden Text:
Lawsuits have been filed since ancient times! He was certainly happy to win the case, and "he" was happy to record that let future generations understand a lot of western Zhou legal matters.
In the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Shuo (single side + 朕) 匜.
The inscription records the process and sentence of the cattle herding complaint against the superior. A relatively complete account of the legal proceedings at that time is given.
Late Western Zhou Dynasty Five Years of Zhen Shengzun.
There is a piece of The Dragon On display at the National Museum, and there are several of them, with the inscription of the Five-Year-Old Statue being the most important. The five-year And Six-Year Zhensheng Gui recounts the different stages of the dispute over the same land litigation case between the nobles of the late Western Zhou Dynasty, one is the cause of the dispute, and the other is the result of the final handling. The cause and effect of one thing is clearly explained in several surviving bronzes.
Recommended related reading:
Guobo: Bronze and history books, two sides of the Zhou Li King
Su Bo: The good stuff unearthed from the Ruiguang Temple Pagoda
Shenyang: This spring will finally be empty