Zonghe
In ancient society, the bronze Dading was a heavy instrument of the country and a symbol of the community.
The Surging News has learned that after the recent reunion of the bronze heavyware Da Lu Ding and Da Ke Ding at the Shanghai Museum's "DingSheng Qianqiu - Shanghai Museum Gifted Bronze Ding Special Exhibition", on September 14, the "Lihe Wanfang - Shang Zhou Bronze Ding Special Exhibition" opened at the National Museum of China in Beijing, and the Zilong Ding and Da Lu Ding collected by the National Museum were jointly unveiled with da Ke Ding from the Shanghai Museum. In addition, the exhibition also brings together dozens of other highly representative Bronze Ceremonial Vessels of the Shang Zhou Dynasty. It is reported that Zilong Ding, Da Lu Ding, Da Ke Ding is a classic in the ancient Chinese bronze Ding, carrying the brilliant achievements of early Chinese civilization, considering its volume and connotation, can be called "the dignity of the Yuanding". Bronzes of this size rarely have the opportunity to appear together in a single exhibition, and this time the three respects are gathered together, which is very rare.
Zilongding, Da Lu Ding, Da Ke Ding exhibition site
According to the organizers, the exhibition focuses on fine cultural relics, focuses on highlighting the display of bronze Ding, a carrier of civilization, combined with Tao Fan and Full-shaped Tuo, comprehensively presents the long-standing history of the Shang Zhou bronze ceremonial civilization from the aspects of the Ding system, plastic arts, ornamentation patterns, inscription content, and production technology, and shows the breadth and depth of traditional Chinese culture.
Thanks to the scientific cultural protection measures and the meticulous exhibition design, in the form of display, the exhibition arranges Zilongding, Da Luding and Da Keding in a relatively independent space, with material relics and ceremonial civilization as the core, creating a multi-angle and all-round display effect. These fine cultural relics are "zero-distance dialogue" with the audience in the form of a nude exhibition, and the audience can more truly admire the bronze heavy objects and feel the shock and impact brought about by the ritual civilization of the Shang Zhou.
In addition, the bronze inscription is not only the feature and symbol of the Bronze Ware of the Shang Zhou Dynasty, but also an important part of this exhibition. The exhibition uses pictures, rubbings, multimedia and other means to present a more diversified and clearer appearance of inscriptions, so that the audience can appreciate the unique charm of early Chinese writing. At the same time, the exhibition comprehensively interprets the inscription content of representative heavy instruments such as Zilongding, Da Luding and Da Keding in the form of interpretation and translation, so that the audience can understand ancient texts and read ancient civilizations.
Ding, a cooker Chinese in ancient times, later evolved into a ceremonial vessel and became a symbol of power and etiquette. As the core type of Bronze Ceremonial Vessel of the Shang Zhou Dynasty, it not only carries the connotations of identity, hierarchy, etiquette, culture and other aspects, but also reflects the political concepts, aesthetic art and scientific and technological achievements of that era, and plays a very important role in the development of China's history and culture.
After the Opium War in 1840, China suffered hardships and civilization, and many bronzes unearthed at this time suffered a fate of displacement. For example, Da Lu Ding and Da Ke Ding were buried in the ground to avoid being plundered by the Japanese; Zi Long Ding once flowed into Japan and then to Hong Kong... Fortunately, these three bronze heavy objects eventually remained in China. At the same time, the exhibition also brings together nearly 40 representative bronze ceremonial vessels and other precious cultural relics of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, combined with Tao Fan and Quan-shaped Tuo, from the aspects of the Ding system, plastic arts, ornaments, inscription content, production technology, etc., to comprehensively present the long-standing bronze ceremonial civilization of the Shang Zhou Dynasty, showing the breadth and depth of traditional Chinese culture.
Exhibition site
The exhibition site, Zilong Ding
Exhibition scene The above photo: Yu Guanchen According to the National Museum
It is reported that the exhibition has five highlights: heavy weapons gathered, the three major bronze circles are concentrated; 2. The narrative angle is rich, and the deep connotation and cultural charm of the bronze ding are fully presented; the key exhibits are naked, and the audience is "zero distance"; the key exhibits are fully presented, in-depth interpretation, so that the audience can understand the bronzes; in the special period of epidemic prevention and control, the exhibition will comprehensively use new media technology, so that the majority of the audience can stay at home and enjoy the wonderful content related to the exhibition on mobile phones and computers.
The Dignity of the Circle
According to the National Museum, the first unit of the exhibition focuses on the three most representative bronze large round dings of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties: Zilong Ding, Da Lu Ding, and Da Ke Ding. In the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the bronze ding type was divided into fang ding and yuan ding, and the round ding appeared earlier, the popular time was longer, and the number was more than that of the fang ding. The large-scale Fangding "Houmu Pengding" and "Duling Fangding" collected by the National Museum of China are well-known treasures of the town museum, while the leaders in the Yuanding are none other than "Da Lu Ding" and "Zi Long Ding". Coupled with the "Big Keding" collected by the Shanghai Museum that was invited to participate in the exhibition this time, the three large-scale Yuanding statues were jointly unveiled, considering their size, historical and artistic value, and it is not too much to call them "The Dignity of the Yuanding".
Zi Long Ding
■ Late Shang Dynasty
■ Height 103 cm, caliber 80 cm, weight 230 kg
■ Legend was unearthed in Hui County, Henan in the 1920s
Zilong Ding was excavated in Hui County, Henan Province in the 1920s, and later flowed into Japan and then to Hong Kong. In April 2006, with the support of the "Special Fund for the Collection of National Key Precious Cultural Relics" set up by the central government, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage collected Zilongding back to China. Zilongding got its name from the inscription "Zilong" cast near the mouth of its abdominal wall. The round abdomen of the Zilong Ding is slightly drooping, with a slightly out-skimmed upright ear on the upper and a three-hoofed foot on the lower. The neck and feet are decorated with gluttonous patterns. The shape of the whole instrument is majestic and stable, and it is the largest volume in the Shang Dynasty round ding seen so far.
Regarding the interpretation of the inscription of Zilongding, there are more interpretation perspectives in the academic community. Macroscopically, such short, concise inscriptions do not carry verbs, and belong to the category of "early inscriptions", which are mostly used to cast information such as those who are instruments, clans, or sacrifices. The title "Zi Mou" is more common in oracle bones and Shang Zhou bronzes, and is also found in the literature of the world. The "zi mou" in the oracle bones is either the son of a Shang king with patriarchal aristocratic status, and some refer to the head of the patriarchal nobleman who served as a heavy subject in the Shang Dynasty. Although the latter is not necessarily related to the Shang royal family, it is more common.
Big Bowl
■ Early Western Zhou Dynasty
■ Height 101.9 cm, caliber 77.8 cm, weight 153.5 kg
■ Legend has been unearthed in Li Village, Jingdang Township, Qishan County, Shaanxi Province
According to legend, it was excavated in the Light Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850) in the Village of Jingdang Township, Qishan County, Shaanxi Province, and was later owned by Pan Zuyin after several turns. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in order to avoid the Japanese raids, Shuangding was loaded into wooden boxes and placed under the Pan House. In 1951, Ms. Pan Dayu, a descendant of the Pan clan, dedicated it to the Shanghai Cultural Relics Management Committee and later stored it in the Shanghai Museum. In 1959, the former Museum of Chinese History was opened, and Da Lu Ding applied for the north. In 2004, Da Lu Ding and Da Ke Ding gathered in Shanghai to exhibit at the "Life Life Peak - Centenarian Panda Yu Donation Da Lu Ding Da Ke Ding Retrospective Special Exhibition".
Grand and dignified, it is a typical style of large bronze dings in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. There is a long inscription on the inner wall of Ding, totaling 291 words, which records the death of King Kang of Zhou in September of the 23rd year. In the inscription, King Kang of Zhou recounted to Lu the experience of King Wen and King Wu of the founding of the country and the lesson of merchants who fell to the country because they indulged in wine, exhorted Lu to emulate his ancestors, loyally assist the royal family, and rewarded Lu. The content of the inscription recounting the changes of the Shang Zhou Dynasty coincides with the "Shang Shu Jiu" and other handed down documents, and has precious documentary value. From the perspective of calligraphy, the inscription of Da Lu Ding is arranged in a regular manner throughout the text, and the style of writing is solemn.
Big Gram
■ Mid-Western Zhou Dynasty
■ Height 93.1 cm, caliber 56 cm
■ Shaanxi Fufeng Renjia Village excavated
■ Collection of Shanghai Museum
Da Ke Ding was excavated in Renjia Village, Famen Town, Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province during the Guangxu Dynasty, and was excavated no later than the beginning of the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889). There are still 7 pieces of Xiaoding, tweezers, bells, cups, etc., all of which are instruments made by Ke, so Xi calls Dading a big Ke Ding, and a small Ding a small Ke Ding. Soon after the excavation of Da Ke Ding, it was obtained by Pan Zuyin, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Works, and after Pan Zuyin's death, it was transported back to his hometown in Suzhou by his brother Pan Zunian to collect. Pan's descendants did their best to protect Dakeding and other treasures, especially after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War on July 7, 1937, Ms. Pan Dayu, who presided over Pan's family affairs, decided to let Dakding and others bury them again, and after the fall of Suzhou, several groups of Japanese troops broke into Pan's house to search, but fortunately they were never found. In 1951, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ms. Pan Dayu decided to donate Da Ke Ding and another national treasure To the country free of charge. In 1952, the Shanghai Museum was established, and Keding has since become one of the most important "treasures of the town museum" in Shangbo.
The big gram is majestic and thick, the lower edge of the mouth is decorated with deformed animal face patterns, the wide pattern on the abdomen is undulating and rhythmic, and the upper part of the hoof foot is decorated with a relief animal face. Each group of deformed animal faces and the nose bridge of the animal face pattern on the feet are equipped with wide ribs. The lines of the ornamentation are convex and steep, and the style is rough, simple and simple. The ornate and elaborate bronze decorative style formed since the late Shang Dynasty has completely disappeared. This upheaval reflected the socio-political, economic and cultural changes of the time.
The inscription on the inner wall of the abdomen is 290 words, and the inscription records that the person who made the instrument was "Ke", who was the official who managed the diet of the King of Zhou, and the duty granted by the King of Zhou was to upload and issue the king's orders. The content of the inscription is divided into two paragraphs, one is the praise of ke for his ancestor Hua Father, and the other is a detailed record of the rituals and rewards of the Zhou King's book. This inscription is an important material for the study of the social politics and economy of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it is also a huge piece of the emperor in the art of Western Zhou calligraphy.
See everything
(Photo: Yu Guanchen)
The second unit is "Ding Seeing Everything", and the key cultural relics are 㺇鼎, 㺇簋, Nangong Liuding, Yuding, 爯鼎, Ren Ding, Zao Boding and so on.
"Zhong Ming Ding Food" is a concentrated expression of the Chinese bronze ritual music civilization, reflecting the important relationship between the daily life of ancient society and the ceremonial system. Bronze Ding is developed on the basis of Neolithic Pottery Ding. At present, the earliest bronze Ding found was excavated from the Erlitou site, and the Ding gradually became the most important food and ceremonial vessel in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and continued to the Two Han Dynasties and even the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and is one of the longest-used bronzes. Originally a kind of cooking and serving meat, Ding was widely used in ceremonial occasions such as sacrifices, feasts, court appointments, alliances, weddings and funerals, and was gradually endowed with special etiquette, culture, rank, and belief attributes. In the pre-Qin period, nobles of different identities and levels used different specifications of Ding, which was reflected in its volume, form, and composition relationship. Especially after the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a relatively strict system of using dings was formed, which became an important representation of the etiquette system of the Zhou Dynasty. Ding's modeling, ornamentation, casting process, and the profound cultural connotation behind it are worthy of our careful study and taste.
㺇簋
Nangong Liuding
Yu Ding
Ren Ding
Ding Ding
Giggin's ink
The third unit, "Jijin Ink", displays several precious rubbings of Da Lu Ding, Da Ke Ding and Mao Gong Ding respectively. They were born in different historical periods, and they all have special significance and value for understanding the history of the collection and circulation of these three bronze heavy objects, studying the content of their inscriptions, and appreciating their literary art.
Rubbing is the shape of inscriptions, bronzes and other cultural relics and the words and patterns cast on them on rice paper, which is an important material for the study of bronzes and inscriptions in traditional epigraphy. Its simple and elegant ancient style is also respected by the world, and it has become a kind of high-style artwork, and successive generations of gold and stone scholars and literati have competed to collect and appreciate, which has become a common practice. Therefore, rubbings are not only appendages of cultural relics, but also precious cultural relics in themselves. The National Museum of China's collection of Da Lu Ding, Da Ke Ding, Mao Gong Ding inscription rubbings and full-shaped rubbings are a testimony to the appearance of the heavy objects of the Three Kingdoms known as the "Three Treasures of the Sea" in different historical periods.
Dakding inscription rubbings and full-shaped rubbings
Mao Gongding inscription rubbings and full-shaped rubbings
The large luding inscription rubbings two white copies
The Great Luding Inscription Rubbings Are Three White Books
(This article is based on the National Museum, People's Network and other materials collation)
Editor-in-Charge: Li Mei
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang