#头条创作挑战赛#
In the starry sky of human civilization, there are several places that are particularly bright, marking major and unique glorious episodes in human history. Among them, the bronze civilization hidden in the long scroll of history, like a brilliant galaxy, is engraved with the "civilization context" and tells the story of "why China".
In the different stages of development of the long history of the Bronze Age, the changes in the social and political system, the development of people's ideas and the changes in aesthetic art have made the bronze shapes, decorative patterns, combinations of utensils and inscriptions in the bronze civilization also present different styles of the times, and these phased changes clearly outline the wonderful process of the beauty of ancient Chinese bronze art.
The process of the world's bronze civilization
Around the end of 3000 BC, China entered the Bronze Age; Around 2000 BC, China entered the Bronze Civilization. The Chinese bronze civilization is roughly divided into three regions: the north, the Central Plains, and the south. Among them, the northern region is not fundamentally different from the central and western parts of the Eurasian steppe in terms of bronze types and casting technology, and is an important part of the bronze civilization of the Eurasian steppe. The southern region only entered the Bronze Age after being influenced by the Central Plains Bronze Civilization, and belonged to the secondary type of the Central Plains Bronze Civilization. What truly represents the development of China's bronze civilization is the Central Plains Bronze Civilization with containers as the core.
Map of the locations of early bronze finds in China (click to enlarge the image)
Throughout the 2000 years of development of China's bronze civilization, represented by the Central Plains Bronze Civilization, it can be found that the characteristics of containers as the core have never changed. From the Xia Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the bronze vessels were mainly jue, jue, yao, zun, 卣, 罍, 觥, pot and other wine vessels, forming a jue yao system that identified the status level, and popular animal patterns such as animal face patterns, dragon patterns, phoenix bird patterns, and other legendary animal patterns, and rare character images; From the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Warring States Period, bronze containers were mainly used for food utensils such as tripods, mustaches, gui, tong, dun, and beans, forming an orderly tripod system and bell system. From the "fierce beauty" of gluttonous patterns and animal face patterns in the Xia and Shang periods, full of mysterious atmosphere and power beyond the world, to the early Zhou metric ceremony in the Western Zhou Dynasty, creating a precedent for ritual music of "respecting heaven and ancestors", forming a representation of the trinity of religion, political power and clan power.
The vessel is Tibetan ritual, the object is carried by the way, and there are a large number of ritual vessels in the bronze unearthed in the mainland, which is an important feature of the continental bronze that is different from other countries and regions in the world. "The major affairs of the country are in worship and Rong." But sacrifice is more important than war, because divination is required before war. Bronze ritual vessels were an important medium for the emperor to communicate with heaven and earth and ancestors. Whenever a grand sacrificial ceremony is held, bronze ritual vessels are held in hand, and they sincerely pay tribute to the heavens, earth, and ancestors, praying for good weather and good weather for the country and the people to live and work in peace and contentment.
Sanxingdui bronze Da Liren (priest) line drawing
What Sanxingdui people's eyes represent is still an unsolved mystery
At the same time, the combination of bronzes also reflects the idea of etiquette, and the Shang Dynasty prevailed to pair and combine with a yao, and the more sets, the higher the status; The combination of Ding and Gui prevailed in the Western Zhou Dynasty, especially the "Lieding" system, the Son of Heaven was nine tripods and eight Gui, and the princes and doctors gradually decreased.
Lieding system
The bronzes are a realistic embodiment of social etiquette and moral norms. He Zun was the first bronze to appear "China", and at the same time, it was also the first artifact to appear the word "de". The artifacts before He Zun, whether they are bronzes or oracle bone inscriptions, have no intention of the word "de". Before that, whether it was to express the gain or the expression of morality, it was all without "heart" and all "gain". The inscription after He Zun indicates that there is a "heart" in morality, which means that the emergence of virtue and politics more than 3,000 years ago has had an extremely far-reaching impact on Chinese society.
Ho Zun
In "Zuo Chuan: The Eighteenth Year of Wengong", Ji Wenzi said: "The first monarch Zhou metrical ritual is happy to say: 'Then the view of virtue, virtue to do things, things to do things, merit to the people. Zhou Gongdan was born at the end of the Shang Dynasty, and he personally experienced the decline and fall of the Shang Dynasty. In his eyes, Xia Shang obeyed the mandate of heaven, so Guozuo lasted for a long time, and Shang later lost the mandate of heaven, the main reason was "disrespectful virtue" ("Shangshu Summon"), in the final analysis, there are no rules, there is no circle, and there is no solid system of etiquette and music, and the whole dynasty will be crumbling. "Lile, Lourdes is also." ("Zuo Biography"), Zhou Gongyun "is based on morality", which shows that "then" is the externalized performance of virtue and the scale of observation, and judging whether it is respectful and enlightened depends on whether it is a code.
The word "de" in He Zun's inscription
Cultural relics are witnesses of history, and bronze inscriptions are the "historical records" in cultural relics. The vast majority of ancient bronzes around the world are not inscribed, which is in stark contrast to the large number of bronzes with inscriptions in China. Bronze inscriptions are an important means for ancient people to record history, they include sacrificial ceremonies, conquest records, rewards for tin orders, oaths and instructions, praise for ancestors, etc., providing us with valuable historical information. For example, "Ligui" records the major historical event of King Wu's defeat in the early morning of Jiazi Day, providing important historical evidence for the Shang and Zhou dynasties; The inscription of "Zeng Hou Yi Chime" not only marks the pronunciation and tone names of each bell, but also clearly shows the correspondence between these rank names and the rhythms of Chu, Zhou, Qi, Shen and other countries, which is a very important document. A deep study of the inscriptions on the bronzes reveals the mystery of the Shang and Zhou dynasties and gives us a glimpse of what the era was really like.
Zeng Hou Yi chime
Bronzes carry a large number of rituals and cultures of the pre-Qin era. In the pre-Qin classic "Book of Songs", the bronze wine vessel has witnessed the grand feast of "looking at the wine, the purpose of the wine and thinking softly", the bronze weapon has inspired the morale of "Wang Yuxingshi, repair my spear halberd", and the bronze musical instrument has aroused the love ripples of "My Fair Lady, Bell and Drum Music......
Spring and Autumn Prince Yu Ge
Schematic diagram of the structure of Tongge
Schematic diagram of the structure of copper arrowheads
Bronze and Rite also deduced a story, and the fake bronzes were recorded in "Han Feizi Shuolin". The state of Qi attacked the state of Lu, in order to ask for a tripod named "Slander Ding". The state of Lu was defeated by the state of Qi, and after the defeat, he gave the slander to the state of Qi. However, when the envoy of Qi saw Ding, he said, "Ding is fake." Lu replied, "Ding is real." The envoy of Qi said: "Find Le Zheng Zichun of Lu State and ask him to appraise it, we believe his words." Lu Guojun brought Le Zheng Zichun over, he thought that Le Zheng Zichun would help Lu Guo speak, but Le Zheng Zichun said: "Why don't you give the real slander to Qi Guo?" Lu Jun replied, "I love that true slander." Le Zheng Zichun said: "I also love my reputation and credit, I must tell the truth." ”
The "intricate" casting technique of the bronzes reflects the high level of craftsmanship of antiquity. German sinologist Redhous pointed out that the Chinese invented "a production system for assembling objects with standardized parts," including bronze casting. Chinese bronze vessels are mainly cast using the composite casting method (a combination of clay inner and outer molds), which is more difficult to cast, but also more expressive, and the cast bronzes are more exquisite.
In addition to the composite casting method, China has also mastered the lost wax method and the welding sub-casting method, and the development of new processes such as gold and silver, copper inlay and turquoise has also made the bronze decoration style more elaborate and complicated. The emergence of bronze technology in the Central Plains happened to be synchronic with the emergence of a wide area of royal power in China, and modular production also represented to a certain extent the strict social organization of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the meticulous division of labor, and the high development of bronze casting technology.
"Houmu Wu" weighs 832.84 kilograms, which is the heaviest known bronze bronze square tripod in ancient China, and the metal raw materials required for casting exceed 1000 kilograms, and its copper-tin ratio is basically the same as that recorded in the "Examination of the Gongji".
Nowadays, although the bronze civilization has fallen, the bronze still tells the glory and glory of ancient times with a solemn and calm attitude. They come in different shapes, some are majestic, some are exquisite, but they are all full of strength and beauty; Their ornamentation is intricate and mysterious, with both awe and imitation of nature, as well as the unique creation of human wisdom, showing the exquisite skills and endless imagination of ancient craftsmen; They have witnessed the changes of ancient society and carry the beliefs and emotions of the ancients. Each bronze is a microcosm of history, and every line records the trajectory of a civilization. Through them, we can travel through time and space, feel the wisdom and creativity of the ancients, and appreciate the breadth and profundity of ancient civilizations.