Page 64 - Sotheby's Junkunc Collection March 2019

his inscribed bronze halberd blade, although typical in form, is uniquely important as its
inscription serves as a critical primary source that reveals the name of its original owner:
TQu Shutuo of Chu. The only known close counterpart to this blade is a damaged bronze
halberd blade, missing the yuan, and inscribed on the hu with seven characters, which can be generally
translated to ‘for the auspicious use of Qu Shutuo of Chu’. That halberd is now in the collection of the
Hunan Provincial Museum, Hunan, and published in Wu Zhenfeng, Shangzhou qingtongqi mingwen ji
tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of inscriptions and images of bronzes from Shang and Zhou dynasties],
vol. 32, Shanghai, 2012, no. 17048.

The reemergence of this significant blade has provided an opportunity for close examination revealing an
inscription of a total of twenty characters, eight on the hu and twelve on the nei (seven on one side and
five on the other side). The meaning of seven of these characters is unresolved; however the remaining
thirteen can be translated as: ‘Qu Shutuo of Chu, Qu X’s grandson, yuanyou of the King of Chu’. Based on
the inscription, the owner of this blade can be identified as someone named Qu Shutuo.

Twentieth century scholars, using only published ink rubbings and drawings of the present halberd,
have attempted to match Qu Shutuo to members of the Qu family recorded in historical texts. The Qu
family enjoyed prominent status in the Chu court. Members of the family were appointed to various

楚屈叔沱戈，銘二十字，胡上八字「楚屈叔沱屈 館，載於吳鎮烽，《商周青銅器銘文暨圖像集成》，
之孫」，內背面七字「楚王之元右王鐘」，正面五字 卷32，上海，2012年，編號17048。
「于缶之 笙」。從銘文可知，此戈主應為楚國屈
屈氏，春秋時期楚國重要氏族之一，其族人多為朝官
叔沱。楚屈叔沱戈的出現為揭開其戈主身份的研究提
或將軍等。屈氏與楚國王族淵源深厚，據宋代鄭樵所
供了重要的一手資料。
著《通志·氏族略三》中記載，楚武王之子瑕受封於
除此戈外，目前僅知另一殘戈見相近銘文，缺援，胡 屈地，遂以為氏，後人皆用屈姓。由此可見，對於屈
上銘七字「楚屈叔沱之元用」，現藏於湖南省博物 氏族人身份的研究將有助於學術界對楚史更為深入的
了解。

62 JUNKUNC: ARTS OF ANCIENT CHINA