Page 52 - Deydier VOL.2 Meiyintang Collection of Chinese Bronses

vessel with an inscription recording the real name by which the vessel was
known in antiquity and its precise use, has now made it possible for us to
correct former inaccuracies and to state with certainty that this type of vessel
is a zun (樽), and that it was used to warm alcoholic beverages.
Pan 盤 be used as a second receptacle on which to display the food
The name of this vessel, which was used for ritual ablutions
during ceremonies, appears in a great number of bronze
inscriptions and in a number of classical texts, including the
Yili (儀禮) (Book of Rites) in which the vessel’s use is clearly
explained.
The pan is a large, round basin of some depth, supported by a ring foot. Very
rare during the Erligang period in the early Shang dynasty, pan become more
numerous towards the end of the Shang dynasty and the beginning of the
Zhou.
From the beginning of the Western Zhou, the pan undergoes
a slight morphological change, with the appearance of
lateral handles fixed to the rim of the vessel. Later, three
feet, sometimes in the form of humans or animals, support
the basin. The pan disappears from the repertoire of Chinese
th
bronze vessels towards the 5 century bc.
Shao 勺, dou 斗, bi 匕 vessel’s two sections, a strainer-like metal plate called a bi is
Called either a shao, dou or bi, this ladle was used to ladle
out liquids and sometimes food from vessels. Generally
this type of ladle resembles a tobacco pipe consisting of a
long handle at the end of which is attached a small cup-like
receptacle, the exception being the bi, which looks more
like a spoon. Very popular during the Shang dynasty, these
ladles are often found together with vessels such as jia, jue, gong, zun, you,
yu and jian.
Such ladles undergo some important changes during the Warring States
period when a ring foot is attached to the cup-like part of the ladle to support
it.
Of all the three types of ladles used to ladle out liquids or food, only the bi has
a rather flat receptacle on the end of its handle, similar to the end of a shallow
European spoon, but more flat. This type of ladle was common during both
the Western and Eastern Zhou dynasties.
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Xu 盨
The xu, used to hold food and especially rice and other
grains, is an oblong vessel of rectangular shape, with a cover
of similar shape. Very close in form to a fu (簠), it differs by
its round angles and a cover that is clearly smaller in size
that the vessel’s body, which when turned upside-down, can
contained in the vessel.
The character xu appears in inscriptions on a number of such vessels, but may
have been considered a variant of a gui or a xugui, since certain xu vessels
contain inscriptions wherein the vessel is thus named.
First appearing in the middle of the Western Zhou, the xu disappears at the
beginning of the Spring and Autumn period.
Yan 甗
The pronunciation of the Chinese character used to identify
this vessel is usually yan, but some scholars pronounce it as
xian. This vessel was used for steaming rice or other grains
and is composed of two parts:
- its lower part, similar to a li-shaped tripod, contained the
water,
- The upper part, called zeng, was used to hold rice or other
kinds of grain food to be cooked by steaming. Between the
fixed.
Found in pottery as early as the Neolithic period, the earliest
known yan in bronze, dating from the Erligang period of the
early Shang dynasty, was excavated at Panlongcheng, Hubei
province. During the Shang dynasty, the zeng or upper part of the vessel is
much larger than the lower li-like tripod-shaped lower section.
Towards the end of the Shang dynasty and the beginning of the Western Zhou
dynasty, the upper part of the yan ends in a horizontal lip on which vertical
handles are secured.
The fangyan or square yan, supported by four legs, also appears in this period,
but is quite rare, with only a few examples being published by Hayashi M., In
Shu Jidai Seidoki no Kenkyu (In Shu Seidoki Sora Ichi) – Conspectus of Yin
and Zhou Bronzes, Tokyo 1984, in Volume 1 part 2, on p. 79 no. 80 – 81, and
p. 80 no. 83.
The yan was used up to the end of the Han dynasty. During this period, its legs
disappear and the lower part of the vessel is cast in the shape of a bowl with a
flat bottom.
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