Page 113 - Sotheby's NYC September 20 2022 Forging An Empire Bronzes

The highly stylized calligraphy cast on this bronze basin is called chuiluzhuan 垂露篆 (the seal script
of pendant dew). This unique seal script, with its fluent and graceful strokes, is an embodiment of the
sophisticated artistic culture of Chu, and reflects the aesthetics and imaginations of people distant from
the central plains of China. Extant bronzes inscribed in this remarkable calligraphy are extremely rare. In
addition to the present basin, a set of seven Spring and Autumn period bronze ding from the Chu state,
each inscribed with a long inscription in chuiluzhuan (fig. 2), is recorded to be preserved in both the
Henan Museum, Zhengzhou, and the National Museum of China, Beijing. One of these ding is published
in Li Boqian, ed., Zhongguo chutu qingtongqi quanji / The Complete Collection of Bronzes Unearthed in
China, vol. 10, Beijing, 2018, pl. 362.

Fig. 2 A rubbing of the Wang Zi Wu Ding’s inscription illustrated in Li Boqian, ed., Zhongguo chutu
qingtongqi quanji / The Complete Collection of Bronzes Unearthed in China, vol. 10, Beijing, 2018, pl. 362
圖二 王子午鼎銘文拓片錄於李伯謙，《中國出土青銅器全集》，卷10，北京，2018年，圖版362

King Kaolie of Chu and Lord Chunshen strove to save their falling kingdom from the formidable Qin “ T H E S T A T E S O F H A N ,
empire. Chu first ceded land to the Qin state in exchange for a brief period of truce. A transient victory
was relished when King Kaolie of Chu, persuaded by Mao Sui 毛遂, a retainer of Lord Pingyuan 平原君 W EI, Z H A O , W EI, A N D
of the Zhao state, dispatched Lord Chunshen to lead the Chu army, joining forces with the Wei and Zhao
to save the Zhao capital, Handan 邯鄲, besieged by Qin. The coalition army successfully defeated their C H U S T R U C K Q I N A N D
enemy. This, however, was not enough to weaken the strength of Qin. In the later years of King Kaolie CO N Q U E R E D S H O U LIN G . Q IN
of Chu, an unsuccessful military campaign was launched out of desperation against Qin by an alliance
comprising Chu and other states. This devastating failure forced the Chu state to relocate its capital to D I S P A T C HE D T R O O PS . T HE
Shouchun (today’s Shouxian, Anhui province) (fig. 1), and King Kaolie of Chu died shortly after.
F I V E A R M I E S R E T R E A T E D . ”
King Kaolie’s successor was King You of Chu (268-228 BC), who, according to several classical texts,
such as Zhanguoce (Annals of the Warring States), was in fact the son of Lord Chunshen. Lord Chunshen R E C O R D S O F T H E G R A N D
feared that King Kaolie of Chu may not have heirs, and therefore, presented his pregnant concubine to H I S T O R I A N : A N N A L S O F Q I N S H I 「韓、魏、趙、衛、楚共擊秦，
the king. After King You of Chu, his brother, King Ai of Chu (228-228 BC) came to power. However, he was
only able to rule for two months before his brother King Fuchu of Chu (227-223 BC) usurped the throne. H UA N G 取壽陵。秦出兵，五國兵罷」
In 223 BC, the inexorable Qin army eventually conquered Chu, captured the Chu king, and closed the
final chapter of a once-powerful kingdom. 《史記•秦始皇本紀》

110 POWER / CONQUEST: THE FORGING OF EMPIRES