Pottery Wine Vessel
3 min readWine vessels，as its name suggests，are used for drinking wine.Its development reflected the level of Chinese ancient handcraft.The vessels，on one hand，influenced drinking custom of different times，and on the other hand，were inherited and promoted as part of Chinese long-time wine culture.Dependant on times and locations，they present various shapes and designs.But generally，they have gone from utility to aesthetic，from simplicity to delicacy，from singleness to multiplicity.
Pottery Wine Vessel
In ancient times，there were no wine vessels of a real meaning.Even for water drinking，man usually bent over and held water from brooks by their hands.Later on.in order to save and carry water，they tried to use some natural containers such as animals’skulls，broad leaves of plants，shells，calabash and bamboo tube etc.
Undoubtedly，this is a step forward comparing with holding water by hands.But human life was not significantly changed until the use of fire.It not only provided human with cooked food but also created a way of making pottery.According to archeological discovery，our ancestors began to make simple potteries as early asover 10，000 years ago.Potteries，as shown by unearthed primitive vessels，appeared in Dawenkou culture period and were further developed in Longshan culture period.We can say that pottery making is one of the important symbols that China entered New Stone Age as potteries can be used not only for cooking，but also for drinking.In ancient times，the main types of pottery wine vessels are Yu（calyx:a broad-mouthed receptacle for holding liquid），zun（wine goblet），bei（cup）and wan（bowl）.The pottery yu was used to warm and blend wine，featured by three feet.Itcarried a handle in Dawenkou culture and a spout in Longshan culture，similar to today’s pot.Pottery zun was initially used as a wine vessel in the pre-Qin period and sometimes for sacrifice ceremonies.It is usually broad-mouthed，with edges folded and belly round.Zun，mainly pottery，was unearthed in many cultural sites along the Yangtze and Yellow river valley.With various patterns on its surface，it can be used for decoration.
Due to its big size，zun is expected to be fixed in some place.Cup，used for drinking both water and wine，appeared in many shapes，such as single-eared cup，long-handled cup and eggshell-like cup.In Dawenkou culture period，there were already such cups made of black pottery.There were even more with various shapes and styles in Longshan，Daxi，and Qujialing cultures.Pitcher shared something in common with cup in terms of function.It has a round shape opening，large belly and without handles or spout，similar to the large-belly bottle that appeared later.
Pitchers of different style were unearthed in the relics of Yangshao culture period，Majiayao culture period，Qujialing culture period and Liangdu culture period.Bowl，container for food，water and wine in ancient times，was found in different color i Yangshao culture pewriod.By Qujialing culture period，there were even bowls on round foot which very much resemble today’s bowl.
It is worth noting that all these drinking vessels were multi-purpose.Some was for food and drinking，and some was for water and wine，which shared a lot in common in their use.This feature still remains up to now.
