Bronze culture
2 min readChina’s bronze culture flourished during the Shang and Zhou dynasties(c.1600-256 BC).
Shang and Zhou bronze artifacts have been excavated in almost every region of China. Unlike those of other countries, Chinese Bronze Age objects characteristically were not agricultural implements or weapons, but rather ritual objects and ceremonial musical instruments. In these rituals, members of the nobility would use bronze sacrificial vessels to make offerings to the deities and ancestors of rice wine and food, while musicians performed on bronze in-struments to heighten the atmosphere.
Many cast bronze objects bearing inscribed records of sacrificial rites and historical incidents were made during this time, providing later ages with important evidence concerning China’s Bronze Age.
Legend has it that the Kingdom of Shu existed in the Sichuan basin during the Shang and Zhou dynasties(c.1600-256 BC). Although historical records provide no definite dates for this ancient kingdom, excavation of the Sanxingdui archeological site in Guanghan, Sichuan has confirmed that it did indeed exist.
Most of the artifacts unearthed at Sanxingdui are bronzeobjects approximately 5,000 years old, including a 262 cm tall bronze standing human figure, and a bronze mask 65 cm tall and 138 cm wide. An incomplete bronze”divine tree”foundat the site,395 cm tall with nine mythical birds and one dragon perched in its branches, is the tallest ancient bronze artifact in existence. Also found were a number of gold objects, including two face pieces and a gold staff. Several dozen life-sized bronze heads, each with unique features and holes in the earlobes from which ear ornaments could be hung, still bore painteddesigns when they were unearthed. Of special note is the fact that these mysteriously smiling heads all have high noses and large eyes, quite unlike the features that were common in Central China at the time.
Rhinoceros-shaped bronze zun(wine vessel) with inlaid gold and silver cloud design, Warring States Period(475-221BC).
Bronze standing figure from Sanxingdui，Ancient Kingdom of Shu，Xia-Shang-Zhou period（c.2070-256BC）.
