Bronze Weapons

“The most important affairs of a country lie in sacrificial rites and military affairs,”said the famous work Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo) before the Qin Dynasty.

In Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the turmoil of war continued for years and weapon manufacturing became an important sector in bronze casting. Weapons and armor accounted quite a large share of the bronze casting during that time. For example, the bronze weapons unearthed from the Fuhao tomb, Yinxu, Anyang, Henan accounted for about 30 percent of the total bronze ware unearthed, second only to the ritual ware. In the tombs of Shang and Zhou dynasties, the quantity and proportion of weapons unearthed were even larger.

Shang. Fuhao Yue 39.5cm long, blade width 37.3cm. Unearthed from the Fuhao tomb, Anyang Yinxu, Henan Province in 1976.

Kept in the National Museum of China.

There are many kinds of bronze weapons; some were used for cut and thrust and some for chariot or horse fighting. The bronze weapons can be divided into the following types according to their functions: Grappling weapons: mainly including dagger-axes, spears, halberds, Shu(long pole), Pi(long lance), Qi (axe), Yue(battle-axe), sword, and so on.

Long shot weapons: mainly featuring Zu(arrowhead), crossbow, and so forth.

Spring and Autumn Period. Spear of Wu’s King Fuchai 29.5cm long. Unearthed from Mashan, Jiangling, Hubei Province. Kept in Hubei Museum.

Emperor Qin Shihuang (ruled 246-209 BC) confiscated all bronze weapons to Xianyang after he conquered the six kingdoms and unified China in 221 BC and cast 12 bronze figures each weighing 170,000kg.

Though a great number of bronze weapons were destroyed at that time, many were preserved in nobles’ tombs and ancient war fields. Some extremely exquisite works were especially made for the king, marshals and important ministers.

For example, the bronze Yue symbolizes the military power of the ruler. The Yue is a kind of large axe with an arc-shaped blade, tied to the long handle with the “Nei”and “Chuan(hole)”at the rear. The large bronze Yue unearthed from the noble tombs of Anyang, Henan province, Taixi Village, Gaocheng, Hebei province and Subutun Village, Yidu, Shandong province, have decorations featuring a tiger savaging people, and carved Taotie patterns, thus showing the special status of the holders.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, warfare was more frequent and nobles did not stop taking over cities and seizing the territories of the others. As the weapon materials and casting techniques were directly connected to the rise and fall of a kingdom, all kingdoms attached great importance to bronze weapon manufacturing. Wu, Yue and Chu kingdoms were famous for the superior weapons and this led to the establishment of famous sword casting couple Gan Jiang and Mo Ye in the Wu Kingdom.

Some extant weapons of nobles and famous ministers of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty presented high aesthetic expression in addition to the function of actual fighting. The makers were especially sensitive to the detailed changes such as symmetry, arc and curvilinear of the weapon. Some weapons were embedded with gold wire inlaid inscriptions.

The Sword of Yue’s King Gou Jian unearthed from Chu’s tombs in Jiangling, Hubei, is 55.7cm long, longer than the bronze swords of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and a middle ridge on both sides, and a better blade for cuts and thrusts. When it was unearthed, the sword was still sharp as if it was new with pressed blades. The face and back of the sword sheath were embedded with blue glaze and kallaite and the sword handle was decorated with beautiful diamond-shaped designs. The bird Zhuan inscription is near the swordsheath and reads “Sword made by Yue’s King Gou Jian for his personal use.”Wu’s King Zhiguang’s Sword is similar to this one but shorter, and both sides of the sword handle were decorated with flame-shaped images.

The Spear of Wu’s King Fu Chai was unearthed in Mashan, Jiangling, Hubei province, and was also decorated with diamond-shaped patterns, ridged along the central line, with a bloodlike groove.A relief of an animal face was cast at the end of the spear with the gold wire inlaid inscription,”Wu’s King Fu Cha Spring and Autumn Period. Sword of Yue’s King Goujian 55.7cm long. Unearthed from Wangshan, Jiangling, Hubei Province.

Kept in Hubei Museum. It has eight Chinese characters in the shape of a bird and worm Zhuan, recording Goujian, King of the Wu Kingdom, and the sword was made for his personal use.

The weapons decorated with patterns of the same period include those from Sichuan. The patterns were not carved with machine and cannot be wiped out or grinded, reflecting advanced casting technologies of that time. According to a technical study from cultural relics circles, it was a special but exquisite surface alloy technology that features both decoration effect and anti-corrosion functions.

The famous weapons from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period also included Song Gong Ge, Shaoyu Sword, Yan’s King Xi’s Spear, Caihou Chan’s Sword, Chenhou Yinzi Ge, Shang Yang Halberd, Lu Buwei Shaofu(a department in charge of handicraft for the imperial family) Ge, Banian Lu Buwei Ge, Zenghou Yi Qin Ge, and so on.

The minorities such as the Donghu ethnic group in the north, Guyue ethnic group in the south and ethnic groups in Sichuan also created bronze weapons compatible with the local situation, habits of the ethnic groups and warring environments, creating distinctive ethnic characteristics.

hancheng

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