Bronze Wares
The Zhengzhou Museum
Collections of Inscribed Bronzes
of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties
Wei Tang
Associate Curatorial Research Fellow, Zhengzhou Museum
Jinzhong Chen
Associate Curatorial Research Fellow, Zhengzhou Museum
S ome of the Zhengzhou Museum collections of inscribed bronzes have not been
published, including three gu-goblets,
one jue-cup, one li-cauldron and one
mao-spear head. Below is a summary discussion of
these six artifacts.
1. gu-goblet (1 piece: ZH1496): The artifact
was submitted by the former Henan Cultural Heritage Task Force (now the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology) in 1958. Its
height is 25.2 centimeters, opening diameter 15.1 cm
and bottom diameter 9 cm. The goblet is slender and
tall, and consists of three sections. It has a large wide
opening, expanding upper belly, narrow waist, and
trumpet-like tall ring foot. Its upper belly is decorated with four sets of a banana leaf pattern; the waist
has two sets of inward curled animal mask patterns
and a ring foot with four sets of curling dragon patterns. All the decorated patterns are incised against
Figure 1:
gu-goblet (ZH1496)
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Figure 2: 得 gu-goblet (ZH1477)
Figure 3: 得 gu-goblet (ZH1495)
a thunder pattern background. The junction area
of the ring foot and the waist contains two lines of
convex string pattern, with four cross-shaped decorative holes between the lines. The inscription “ ” is
cast in intaglio in the inner wall of the ring foot. This
character is probably a clan emblem of the maker of
this artifact. The date of this goblet is the late Shang
Dynasty (Figure 1 and Figure 8:2). The character
as a place name appeared in one of the Yin Ruins
divine inscriptions. (Collections 20398): “Divined
on Ding Wei: order [person] Zheng to conquer
[place names]
and Bo.”[1] The place names
and Bo were on the same divine oracle, so it can be
speculated that may be close to Bo.
2. 得 gu-goblets (2 pieces): The artifacts were
submitted by the former Henan Cultural Heritage
Task Force in 1958. They were collected at Jianxi
Reservoir in Meng County, Henan Province in
October 1956.[2] The height of Artifact ZH1477 is
22 cm, opening diameter 14 cm, bottom diameter
8 cm and weight 0.69 kilograms. It is severely corroded. The height of Artifact ZH1495 is 21.4 cm,
opening diameter 14 cm, bottom diameter 8 cm and
weight 0.7 kg. The shapes, forms and decorations of
these two goblets are identical. Both have expanding openings, blunt lips, high necks, slightly bulging mid-bellies and outward-extending ring feet.
Their bellies are decorated with thunder patterns
in uneven lines. The overall bodies are decorated
with an inward curled animal mask pattern with
eyes slightly bulging. Inside the inner wall of each
goblet, a casting inscription “ ” is found, and both
are embossed (Figures 2 and 3, and Figures 8:4 and
8:5).
The character
has a left prefix 彳 as a hand
holding a shellfish, and is deciphered as the character 得. In Phase I of the divine inscriptions of Yin
Ruins, the character 得 is the name of a person or
a clan, such as:
– “Divine whether indeed to order 得” (Collections 4719);
– “Divined on [two illegible Chinese characters]: Zheng [divined] whether to order 得 ... to
farm ... in the twelfth moon” (Collections 9495);
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Inscribed Bronzes of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties
Figure 4: Father Yi wine jue-cup (ZH1478)
Figure 5: Father Xin li-cauldron (ZH3967)
– “Divine whether to instruct 得 on farming” (second divination on the same subject, Collections 9496);
– “Divine whether Shu should order 得” (Collections 28094).
In bronze inscriptions, the Chinese character
得 was used as the name of a person or clan. There
is a bronze yan-steamer of the father of the 得 family (Compilations 0844);[3] 得 ding-tripod (Compilations 1066, 1067 and 1476); 亞得 Father Geng
ding-tripod (Compilations 1880); 得 you-wine jar
(Compilations 4795); 亞得 Father Kui you-wine jar
(Compilations 5094); 亞得 He dan-goblet (Compilations 6505); 得 gu-goblet (Compilations 6634
and 6635); 得 Father Yi gu-goblet (Compilations
7086); 得 jue-wine cup (Compilations 7439); 亞得
Father Ding he-pitcher (Compilations 9375); 得 leijar (Compilations 9742); 得 Father Kui square dingtripod (Diaspora 51); etc.[4] All of the above bronze
artifacts belong to the late Shang Dynasty. From the
shape and form and inscriptions of the two 得 gugoblets discussed in this article, they also belong to
the late Shang Dynasty.
3. Father Yi jue-wine cup (1 piece: ZH1478):
The artifact was collected by the Zhengzhou Mu-
seum in 1963. The height of the artifact is 17.5 cm,
cup depth 8.5 cm and weight 0.85 kg. The spout is
very wide and thick, the tail tip is pointing up, and
the cup is deep and has a round bottom with three
outward-extending feet. Two mushroom-shaped pillars are at each side near the root of the spout on the
rim. It is decorated with a curling pattern. A bull-head
knob is attached to one side of the neck and belly.
The jue-wine cup belly is decorated with a polygonal
animal mask pattern, filled with cloud and thunder
patterns. A cast inscription of the Chinese characters
“父己” [Father Yi] is engraved in intaglio inside the
knob. The caps of the pillars are very tall, designed
to transition toward the knob. The artifact dates to
the end of the Shang Dynasty and the Early Zhou
Dynasty (Figure 4 and Figure 8:3).
4. Father Xin li-cauldron (1 piece: ZH3967):
The artifact was collected at Xiaogou Village in Gongyi County in March 1984.[5] Its height is 22.5 cm,
diameter 18.8 cm and weight 1.7 kg. It has an expanding opening, blunt lip and slightly narrow neck, with
a pair of symmetrical square, erect ears decorated
with a pottery pattern. Its belly is slightly bulging,
with a separated crotch and low column feet. Ears
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Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1, 2014
Figure 6 (left): Jing Zuo Ku [left-side
weaponry casting workshop of Jing]
mao-spear head (ZH4885)
Figure 7 (right): Inscriptions on Jing
Zuo Ku mao-spear head (ZH4885)
and feet are positioned in a pentagonal distribution.
A plan view of the opening shows a slightly roundcornered triangle shape. The neck is decorated with
cloud pattern and is mostly corroded. Traces of soot
can be seen under the crotch and around the feet.
Seven cast inscription characters “甬作父辛宝尊
彝” [Yong casts (deceased) Father Xin a precious and
prestigious vessel] are found on the inner wall near
the opening. Of these, 甬 [Yong] might be the name
of a person. This li-cauldron very closely resembles
the Mai li-cauldron (Artifact IIM251:16)[6] found
in the Liuli River in Beijing, which is dated between
Kings Cheng and Kang of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, this artifact’s date is probably no
earlier than the early Zhou Dynasty (Figure 5 and
Figure 8:1).
5. Jing Zuo Ku [left-side weaponry casting workshop of Jing] mao-spear head (1 piece: ZH4885):
The artifact was unearthed in the south courtyard of
the office complex of the Chinese Communist Party
Committee of Henan Province in February 1966.
Its remaining length is 11.2 cm and width 2.8 cm.
The body of the mao-spear head is in a willow leaf
shape, with a diamond-shaped cross section, sharp
ridges, and part of the stem missing. A line of three
characters “京左库” [Jing Zuo Ku] is inscribed on
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the left side of the ridge of the mao-spear head. The
strokes of these characters are clearly engraved.
The word Zuo Ku is common in weapons used in
three marches [i.e., states] of the later Jin State during the Warring States Period. According to data
of the inscriptions on the cached weapons found
in Baimiao Village, Xinzheng City, the weaponry
casting of the Han State during the Warring States
Period often contains inscribed words such as Wu
Ku [weaponry casting workshop]; Zuo Ku [left-side
weaponry casting workshop]; You Ku [right-side
weaponry casting workshop]; Zhi Ku [weaponry
casting workshop of Zhi]; etc.[7] Judging from the
shape, form and inscriptions, this mao-spear head
is a weapon of the Han State from the late Warring
States Period (Figures 6 and 7).
The character 京 [Jing] in the inscriptions is the
name of a place. Weapons with the inscription “京”
are also found on a Jing ge-dagger-ax (Compilations
10808); a ge-dagger-ax ordered in the ninth year of
[the reign of] Jing;[8] etc. In addition, the characters 京昃 [Jing Ze] are found in pottery inscriptions
unearthed in the Zhengzhou and Xingyang areas
(Collections of Pottery Inscriptions 6.48) [9] and
on a Jing hu-measuring container (Collections of
Pottery Inscriptions 6.51). There are quite a few
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Inscribed Bronzes of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties
4
2
1
3
5
Figure 8: Bronze inscription rubbings
t 1. Father Xin li-Cauldron (ZH3967) t 2. gu-goblet (ZH1496) t 3. Father Yi wine jue-cup (ZH1478)
t 4, 5. 得 gu-goblets (ZH1477 and ZH1495) (all actual size)
flat-shouldered, hollow-headed knife coins with
cast inscriptions of the character 京, as included in
Currency Systems 386, 388, 389 and 391.[10] Therefore, Jing is a place that not only casts weapons, but
also mints coins. The site of a town called Jing is
located about 10 km southeast of today’s Xingyang
City near Jingxiang Village at the border junctions
of Yulong Town, Jiayu Town and Qiaolou Town.
The enclosing city wall remaining today on the
ground surface is more than 2,800 meters long and
rises more than 10 m above the ground surface.[11]
There are rich records related to this town in various
historical documents, such as the Book of Gongyang
[Gongyang Zhuan 公羊传] and the Book of Guliang
[Guliang Zhuan 谷梁传], both of which state: “Autumn, seventh moon, Ji Wei, allies gathered in the
north of Jing Town.”[12] Grand Historical Records:
Biography of Yu Xiang [Shiji-Xiangyu benji 史记:
项羽本纪]: “Chu ... and Han battled between the
towns of Jing and Suo, south of Yingyang City.” The
Meaning of Historical Records [Zhengyi 正义], as
cited in the Journal of Geography [Kuo di zhi 括地
志], says: “The county seat of Jing is located 20 li
(10 km) southeast of Xingyang County of Zhengzhou: [it is] Jing Town, located in Zheng Duchy.”[13]
According to the Commentary of Zuo [Zuozhuan 左
传]: “In the first year of the reign of Duke Yin, the
early Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Jiang asked
Jing Town for Gong Shu, to let him stay there, and
called him Uncle Jing Town.” Yu Du noted: “Jing,
a Town of Zheng.” Today’s Jing County is located within Xingyang city.[14] Jing Town belonged
to Zheng during the Spring and Autumn Period,
and belonged to Han during the Warring States
Period; it was under the jurisdiction of Sanchuan
Commandery during the Qin Dynasty. It belonged
to Henan Commandery during the Han Dynasty,
when Jing County was established.
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Chinese Cultural Relics » Issue Number 1, 2014
Photography: Wei Chen
Rubbings: Lan Zha
References Cited
[1]
Guo, Moruo. 1978-1982. Jiaguwen heji 甲骨文合集 (Oracle Collections) (referred to in the article as
“Collections”). Zhonghua Book Company.
[2]
Cultural Relics Task Force of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of Henan Province. 1961. “Henan Mengxian jianxi
yizhi fajue” 河南孟县涧溪遗址发掘 (The Excavation at Jianxi Site in Meng County, Henan Province). Kaogu
考古 (Archaeology) No. 1. However, the summary report of the excavation did not mention these two goblets.
[3]
Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2007. Yinzhou jinwen jicheng 殷周金
文集成 (Compilations of Bronze Inscriptions of the Yin and Zhou Dynasties) (referred to in the article as
“Compilations”). Zhonghua Book Company.
[4]
Liu, Yu and Tao Wang. 2007. Liusan oumei yinzhou youming qingtongqi jilu 流散欧美殷周有铭青铜器集录
(Catalog of Bronze Vessels with Inscriptions from the Yin and Zhou Dynasties Diaspora in Europe and
America) (referred to in the article as “Diaspora”). Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House.
[5]
Chen, Lixin. 1986. “Gongxian faxian Xizhou zaoqi qingtongli” 巩县发现西周早期青铜鬲 (The Early Western Zhou
Dynasty Bronze Ge found in Gong County). Zhongyuan wenwu 中原文物 (Cultural Relics of Central Plains) No. 4.
[6]
Beijing Institute of Cultural Relics. 1995. Liulihe Xizhou Yanguo mudi (1973-1977) 琉璃河西周燕国墓地
(1973~1977) (The Cemetery of the Yan State of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Liuli River [1973-1977]), pp. 140,
161. Cultural Relics Press.
[7]
Hao, Benxing. 1972. “Xinzheng ‘Zhenghan gucheng’ faxian yipi Zhanguo tongbingqi” 新郑“郑韩故城”发现一
批战国铜兵器 (Discovery of a Cache of Bronze Weapons of the Warring States Period in the “Old Towns of
Zheng and Han” in Xinzheng City). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 10.
Kou, Yuhai. 1992. “Xinzheng faxian yijian kekuan Zhanguo tongmao” 新郑发现一件刻款战国铜矛 (Discovery
of an Engraved Bronze Spear Head in Xinzheng City). Zhongyuan wenwu 中原文物 (Cultural Relics of Central
Plains) No. 3.
[8]
Fang, Hui. 1998. “ ‘JIunian jingmin ge’ kao” “九年京命戈”考 (Studies of a “Ninth Year Jing Order Dagger-Ax”).
Zhongguo wenwu bao 中国文物报 (China Cultural Relics News) Sept. 23.
[9]
Gao, Ming. 1990. Gu taowen huibian 古陶文汇编 (Compilations of Ancient Pottery Inscriptions) (referred to in
the article as “Pottery Inscriptions”). Zhonghua Book Company.
[10] Wang, Qingzheng. 1988. Zhongguo lidai huobi daxi – Xianqin huobi 中国历代货币大系•先秦货币 (The PreQin Dynasty Currencies: Complete Catalog of Ancient Chinese Currency Systems) (referred to in the article as
“Currency Systems”). Shanghai People’s Publishing House.
[11] Cultural Heritage Record Compilation Committee of Yingyang. 2011. Yingyang wenwuzhi 荥阳文物志
(Cultural Heritage Record Compilations of of Yingyang), p. 62. Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House.
[12] Ruan, Yuan (Qing Dynasty). 1980. Shisanjing zhushu 十三经注疏 (Commentary to the Thirteen Classics),
pp. 2304, 2427. Zhonghua Book Company.
[13] Sima, Qian (Han Dynasty). 1963. Shiji – Xiangyu benji 史记•项羽本纪 (Grand Historical Records: Biography of
Yu Xiang), p. 324. Zhonghua Book Company.
[14] See [12], p. 1716.
Wenwu (Cultural Relics) Editors: Tong Zheng and Yanming Zhou
Translated by Garry Guan
This article was originally published in Wenwu (Cultural Relics) No. 11, 2013, pp. 73-75, 77.
308
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