How did the bronze ritual vessels develop?
During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, we entered the bronze age, and the ritual vessels mainly refer to bronze ritual vessels. Bronze ritual vessels, also known as sacrificial vessels, are furnishings in ancestral temples and palaces. They were used by slave owners and nobles for ritual activities such as sacrifice, feast, courtship, conquest and funeral. Their function is to show respect for the nobility and distinguish grades, and to show the identity and status of users. They are the treasures handed down from generation to generation in the family and embody the etiquette system. Therefore, they are called "ritual vessels". The bronze ritual vessels used by emperors and vassals have become a symbol of the kingship of the country and vassals. The ancients thought that sacrifice and war were the most important things for a country, and the so-called "national affairs are sacrifice and glory". Therefore, when the two countries are at war, the victorious country will not only plunder the wealth of the defeated country and occupy its fief, but also remove all the ritual vessels and foreign bronzes in the ancestral hall, just as the ancient book often says, "Destroy its ancestral hall and move its heavy weapons."
There are many kinds of bronze ritual vessels, which are huge in quantity and exquisite in workmanship. The most important part of ritual vessels is the vessels related to sacrifice. At present, the most important bronze vessels are those used in ancestral halls.
In many bronze inscriptions, many ritual vessels in the ancestral hall are called "Bao Zun Yi", which is the general term for ritual vessels. Some ritual vessels cannot be moved. The so-called "heavy weapons don't go out" means that if the utensils that are of great significance to the family can't be kept, it means the demise of a family. It can't be compared with utensils in daily life. Therefore, the rulers of Shang and Zhou dynasties attached great importance to the production of bronze tripod, and spared no expense in manpower and financial resources. So far, the bronze ding used by nobles is exquisitely cast, with simple and dignified shapes and gorgeous patterns. They are the crystallization of ancient wisdom and have high artistic value.
Ritual vessels are the most numerous, complex and luxurious objects in bronze wares. According to the regulations of Zhou Li, Yi Li and Li Ji, a complete set of bronze ritual vessels must include cookers (including cookers and food containers), wine vessels, water vessels and musical instruments. Each device category can be divided into ten or more device names. Due to the change of dynasties, the change of etiquette, the mutual influence of customs and even the progress of production technology, each kind of utensils will evolve into many forms. According to rough statistics, there are nearly 40 different names for utensils in the two categories of wine vessels and cooking vessels. There are many variations and varieties of each basic shape, and there are hundreds of these styles. In this way, the bronze ritual vessels formed a huge system of utensils.
Cooking utensils mainly include Ding, Gui, Zi, Zi, Fu (F), Zhong (X), Shield, Dou, Pu, Yu, Bi and so on. Ding and Gui are the most important. Ding is used to cook meat, sacrifice or feast, and it is the main cooker in bronze ritual vessels. It is regarded as the embodiment of "respect and inferiority, neither going up nor down" and a symbol of the hierarchy in China's slavery era. The earliest bronze tripod was discovered in the late summer, and the "tripod system" was formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which was the most obvious manifestation of the patriarchal hierarchy in the slavery era. After Shang and Zhou Dynasties, it was used until Wei and Jin Dynasties, and it was used as a ritual vessel from Song Dynasty to Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the longest used vessel in bronze ware, so it has changed a lot. There are roughly round ding, Fang Ding, flat foot ding and other forms. The so-called "ding" ding is strange; Spouse number reed. Ding materials, patterns and inscriptions are often similar, but the sizes are different, and the sizes are decreasing in turn, and they are displayed to form a regular sequence, which is called "Lieding system" or "Lieding". Since the Western Zhou Dynasty. Patriarchal hierarchy has formed a relatively systematic system on bronzes. Ding first appeared in Erlitou culture. Reed is a container for cooked millet, millet, rice, sorghum and other rice. One of the important ritual vessels in Shang and Zhou Dynasties was equipped with a set of contract ding. By the Warring States period, the bronze ritual vessel system basically withdrew. Bronze reeds first appeared in the middle of Shang Dynasty, but the number was small. In the late Shang Dynasty, especially in the Western Zhou Dynasty, bamboo poles were one of the important ritual vessels, which were used in conjunction with ding in sacrificial ceremonies and banquets. Since the early Western Zhou Dynasty, a kind of square seat reed appeared, that is, a square seat was continuously cast under the ring foot of the reed. Wei is a container for porridge, and bronze Wei first appeared in the early Shang Dynasty. It is a kind of large-pocket abdominal device, which was very popular after the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, and was often unearthed in groups, and naturally disappeared in the late Warring States period. Cooked rice is a kind of rice steamer, which is divided into two parts. The upper part is used to hold rice, called cooked rice; The lower part is used for boiling water, and the grate in the middle is steamed in a steamer. Bronze was cast in the middle of Shang dynasty, but rarely, and more in the late Shang dynasty and early Zhou dynasty. Zan is a container for cooked millet, millet, rice, sorghum and other rice. The bronze hairpin first appeared in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and its basic shape is a cuboid, which is inclined and flat from the mouth to the foot wall, with the same cover and can be divided into two parts. A cup is a vessel for holding cooked millet, millet, rice, sorghum and other meals. The bronze helmet first appeared in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and its basic shape was ellipsoid, and the lid could be tilted to hold things. Dun is a container for cooked millet, millet, rice, sorghum and other rice. Bronze piles first appeared in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period. Its basic shape is round from top to bottom, and the lid and container are combined into spheres, some of which are not completely symmetrical or completely symmetrical. Beans are containers for pickles, meat sauces and other condiments. Bronze beans first appeared in the late Shang Dynasty, but rarely. The basic shape is that there is a plate on it, and its lower long handle is connected with a round foot, and some have a cover. Bronze beans prevailed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. A shop is a container for meat sauce. The shape is similar to that of beans, but the edge of the dish is narrow, the bottom of the dish is flat, and the circle is thick and short, mostly hollow. Bronze paving was seen from the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period. The bowl is a big rice container, which is used with the basket. The rice in the basket is taken from the bowl. Bronze cans were first seen in the late Shang Dynasty, and their shapes were generally small mouth, deep belly, round ears and feet, all of which were relatively large. Easy to cut and fill the meat case, combined with diced meat. There are few bronze cups handed down and unearthed, or most of the cups used at that time were made of wood, which was difficult to preserve. What we see at present are cups in the late Shang Dynasty and early Zhou Dynasty, which are rectangular, slightly concave in the middle, with wall-shaped feet at both ends and bells on them. Bi is a spoon for taking food. Archaeological findings show that Bi often associates with Ding and Wei. Bronze daggers were first seen in the late Shang Dynasty, and few were handed down from generation to generation. The body is shaped like a peach leaf and has a long handle.
Wine is a necessary thing for activities such as offering sacrifices to gods and enjoying ancestors, etiquette and communication, and entertaining guests. Wine vessels naturally become ritual vessels. Wine vessels mainly include Jue, cellar, inkstone, inkstone, statue, pot, inkstone, square instrument, inkstone, cloth, inkstone, Liao, spoon, plate and so on. Jue, Jiao, Zun, Hu and Heng are the most common. Jue is a drinking vessel. The bronze Jue first appeared in the late Xia Dynasty and prevailed in the late Shang Dynasty. The basic shape of Jue is that there is a flow in front, that is, a trough for pouring wine; There are two rows at the junction of Liuhe and Linkou, with a pointed tail at the back, a cup in the middle, ears on one side and three feet at the bottom. The horn is a drinking vessel, which looks like a faint, with no flow and no note. The number of unearthed and handed down horns is far less than that of Jue, and bronze horns prevailed in the late Shang Dynasty and early Zhou Dynasty. A water bottle is a drinking vessel, which is a container with a bell mouth, a thin waist and high legs. Bronze ribbons were first seen in the early Shang Dynasty, and mainly prevailed in the late Shang Dynasty and the early Zhou Dynasty. There are two kinds of drinking fountains: oval and round, with small mouth, neck, deep abdomen and round feet, and most of them have lids. Bronze Fu was first seen in the late Shang Dynasty, and it was also very popular in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Tuo is a container for holding wine, which is used for nude ceremonies or as a wine warmer. Its shape is a small mouth, two cylinders, a deep abdomen, three legs under the circle and an ear between the neck and abdomen. Bronze coffins were first seen in the late summer and prevailed in the early Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Zun is a wine container, a large or medium-sized wine container with a large bottle mouth and a whole circle at the bottom. Bronze statue first appeared in the middle of Shang Dynasty and prevailed in the late Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty. The body of the statue can be divided into three types: shoulder-shaped statue, shoulder-shaped statue and bird and beast statue. Pot is a container for holding wine, which has many forms, such as round, square, oval, flat and so on. Generally speaking, they have a hanging beam and a lid, which is a major category of wine containers. Bronze pots were first seen in the middle of Shang Dynasty, and they were popular for a long time. From Shang Dynasty to Warring States, it can still be seen after Qin and Han Dynasties, and its shape changes are quite complicated. It is a container for holding wine and a sacrificial vessel dedicated to holding cabinets. The cabinet is an ancient wine brewed with black millet and vanilla. There are various forms, such as round, square, oval, bird-shaped, etc., and there are hanging beams and covers, which are sleeved outside the device mouth. Bronze was first seen in the late Shang Dynasty and became popular in the early and middle Western Zhou Dynasty. Fang Yi is a container for wine. It is square and has a roof-shaped lid. The transverse section is short and long, and the abdomen is connected with the round foot. There is a gap in the center of each side of the round foot, which is divided into four positive feet. Some Fang Yi have ears on both sides. Bronze Fang Yi was first seen in the late Shang Dynasty and was popular in the late Shang Dynasty and the early Zhou Dynasty. A water bottle is a container for holding wine. There is water flowing on one side of the bottle mouth, and the abdomen is oval or rectangular, with a circle foot or four feet under it and a cover. The side from the lid to the spout is often decorated with animal heads. Another form is that the whole device is animal-shaped. In some cases, there is a bucket for drinking, and bronze cups are mainly popular in the late Shang Dynasty and early Zhou Dynasty. Money is a container for wine, and it is a tall, large or medium-sized container with a lid. Its basic shape is round and square, with ears on both sides of the shoulders and one ear at the lower end of the front abdomen. Bronze chimes prevailed in the late Shang Dynasty and the early Zhou Dynasty. A bottle is a container for wine, a big wine vessel with a big mouth and a round belly. Bronze vases were popular for a short time, only in the middle and late Shang Dynasty. The cup is a vessel for holding wine, which contains mysterious wine and harmonizes the strong and weak flavor of wine. The shape is small mouth, wide abdomen, round foot or three feet. There is an oblique flow between the neck and abdomen, and the device has a cover. Bronze was first seen in the late Xia Dynasty, flowing on the top in the early stage and carrying beams in the late stage, and it was popular until after the Warring States Period. This is a drinking water container. This is a small cup with a long curved handle. Bronze ladle was first seen in the late Shang Dynasty and still existed in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Handed down and unearthed are rare. A spoon is a wine spoon, similar to a spoon, except that a small cup is continuously cast with a straight handle. Bronze spoons are mostly utensils in the late Shang Dynasty. Forbidden is a person who holds a statue of wine, which has two forms: square and rectangular, with walls on all sides and rectangular holes. It is rare for bronze to be handed down from generation to generation and excavated in archaeology. It was first seen in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and books were occasionally banned in the Spring and Autumn Period, which was not widely circulated.
Water containers are divided into four types: water receiver, water injector, water container and water scoop, which mainly include trays, cards and signs. Cai is a water receiver. When used with moo, you can pour water into your hands, and the discarded water can be accepted by Cai. Bronze plates first appeared in the middle of Shang Dynasty. But there are only a few, which have been popular from the late Shang Dynasty to the Warring States Period. Open body, round foot or three feet under shallow abdomen, with ears on both sides. Before the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, the disc was not matched with knots, but with tubular flow, and it was changed into stripes in the late Western Zhou Dynasty. The card is a water container, which is used with the plate. Bronze cards were first seen in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty and were popular in the late Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. The shape of the moo is that there is a curved flow at the front end of the mouth, and there are three feet, four feet or round feet under the oval abdomen, which is flat in the Warring States period. There is a card on one side of the abdomen to hold. Jane is an important water container and basin, which usually has three uses: first. Is to take a bath with water; Second, store water on the face; Thirdly, it is used to hold ice, which is what Zhou Li called an ice guide. Generally, the body is large, the mouth is large, the abdomen is deep, the bottom is flat, the foot is round, and there are animal ears on both sides. Bronze swords appeared in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, most prevalent in the late Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and were still cast in the Western Han Dynasty.
Musical instruments are used in military services, sacrifices and banquets. There are mainly cymbals, cymbals, bells, beats, divisions, bells, hooks, bumps and drums. There are few kinds of bronze musical instruments in Shang Dynasty, only three kinds are cymbals, cymbals and bells. After the Western Zhou Dynasty, the largest number of bells appeared in the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was still an important ritual vessel in sacrificial banquets and it was used for a long time. After the Tang Dynasty, it was no longer used as a musical instrument. But it can tell the time.
Ding is the core and the most important part of bronze ritual vessels. The number and size of tripod depend on different aristocratic status and rank: the son of heaven is Jiuding, the prince is seven tripod, the Qing doctor is five tripod and the scholar is three tripod. Ding system was formed in the middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty, that is, odd ding groups with the same shape and decreasing size represented the identity of nobles. According to He Xiu's note in the biography of the Spring and Autumn Ram, the emperor used Jiuding, the vassal used seven ding, the Qing medical used five ding, and the scholar used three ding or one ding. In archaeological discoveries, odd-numbered ding and even-numbered reeds are often used in millet, that is, Jiuding with eight reeds and seven ding with six reeds.
Ding is divided into iron pot ding, rose ding and shy ding, of which the number of rose ding is the most critical. These pots are so-called cooking containers.
Iron pot ding is a special cooker for cooking meat when nobles sacrificed or feasted in the pre-Qin period, which is large and small. Among the pots buried with nobles, the pot tripod is the largest. "Yili" records that the tripod that can hold a sheep is called a sheep pot; A wok that can hold a pig; A tripod that can hold a cow is called a wok. Matching with the iron pot tripod is Sheng Ding, which is a special ritual vessel for holding all kinds of meat cooked in the iron pot tripod when offering sacrifices to ancestors or entertaining VIPs.
There are also strict regulations on what meat to put in the tripod: the meat in Jiuding is cattle, sheep, pigs, fish, wax, intestines and stomach, fresh fish and fresh wax; Ding Qi's offerings are short of fresh fish and wax, because there are cows in the offerings of Jiuding and Ding Qi, so they are called "prisons". Wuding's products include pigs, sheep, fish, wax and skins. Polishing only pigs, fish, wax or pigs, sheep and fish. Wuding and Sanding are also called "juvenile prisons" because there are no cows among animals.
Shame tripod, also known as accompanying tripod, is a tripod for holding meat soup. According to historical records, the meat held by Shy Ding is generally unsalted, and the bland white cook the meat is definitely unpalatable, so it can only be used for sacrificial activities to worship the ancestors of ghosts and gods.
In addition, the bells and cymbals of musical instruments also have strict regulations. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, there appeared musical instruments such as brass cymbals, cast bells, Yong bells and chimes. "Zhong Ming Shi Ding" has increasingly become a symbol of the power status of aristocratic rulers. Hanging chimes should be strictly in accordance with the rank of fame and status stipulated in the system of rites and music, such as Tianuterus hanging (hanging on all sides), princes hanging (hanging on three sides), QingDafu hanging (hanging on both sides) and Shite hanging (hanging on one side). The system of rites and music became a major event in governing the country and safeguarding the country at that time. Qu Yuan, a great poet in the Warring States Period, wrote a poem "Although the yellow bell is extinguished, the tiles are full of thunder, greedy and arrogant, and the wise are nameless", which not only reflects the social situation at that time, but also shows that the ancient bell has become a noble, just, wise and beautiful symbol of Chinese civilization in people's hearts. In the Qin Dynasty, the giant bronze bell symbolizing centralization reappeared-Zhong Chao.
Zhou Li is a variety of laws and regulations based on the patriarchal clan system, which reflects the difference of grades and is mainly used to adjust the internal relations of the ruling class. There are different combinations of ritual vessels used by different grades of nobles. Shu Ren can't use aristocratic manners.
However, with the development and change of society, the etiquette system of bronze ware characterized by bronze ritual vessels has also changed rapidly.
Entering the Spring and Autumn Period, the history of China has undergone unprecedented great differentiation and change. With the rapid development of social economy, social class relations and the corresponding hierarchical system are undergoing irreversible drastic changes. The outstanding performance is the decline of kingship, and the princes sit big, breaking the hierarchical system established by the Zhou Dynasty.
From the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, the power of governors in various countries became stronger and stronger, while the power of Zhou Dynasty was weakened. In the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, the power of big officials in various vassal countries expanded, while the power of governors in various countries declined. The original hierarchical system of rites and music has been strongly impacted and seriously damaged again and again. As a result, "the ritual collapses and the music is bad", and the wind of the system is getting worse and worse, which is unstoppable. Originally, the gift of Jiuding was exclusively enjoyed by the Emperor of Zhou, but it was widely used in governors' prisons in various countries in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Qing Dynasty and Shang Dynasty, doctors used seven ding in prison, while in the Xia Dynasty, doctors used five ding in prison, and scholars used three ding or a special ding.
Zhao Jianzi's tomb was buried with 18 ding. According to the identification of the remains, it can be confirmed that they are wild birds such as cattle, pigs, sheep, fish and geese. This situation shows that Zhao Jianzi has surpassed the number of tripods in the system and placed sacrifices.
The rapid development of social productive forces in the Spring and Autumn Period led to drastic changes in social and political systems and economic forms, and promoted great development and leap in the ideological field. As a result, people's freedom has also been greatly developed, people's thoughts have been liberated as never before, and ideas, culture, literature and art have shown a situation of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend". The development and change of aesthetic consciousness depends on the degree of human freedom and the change of human ideology. Therefore, the traditional mythical animal ornamentation of bronze ritual vessels has also changed the dull and monotonous image in the past and become vigorous, fierce, sharp and powerful. In addition, a large number of realistic animal patterns and shapes have appeared, such as fierce roaring tigers, raptors, cheerful cranes and pheasants, which are true portrayal of the expansion of social forces and the law of the jungle at that time.
In the bronze age, from the perspective of bronze plastic arts, bronze ritual vessels were the most concerned. The general law of the development of various container modeling is from simple to complex and from unreasonable to reasonable in casting technology, which is a process of continuous creation. At present, we can see tens of thousands of unearthed or handed down bronzes, which are only a small part left over from ancient times. The history of China bronze ritual vessels alone can describe the distant and glorious bronze age.