Page 36 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

Fangyi 方彝

The fangyi 方彝 is, as its Chinese name indicates, a square or rectangular
vessel, similar to a small house with its four walls and a high roof-like
cover of four sloping sides.

The Chinese character yi 彝, which is frequently found in inscriptions,
is the general term used in ancient Chinese for ritual or sacrificial
vessels.

The term fangyi 方彝 or square yi first appears in the Song 宋
dynasty work Kaogu tu 考古圖, a record of ancient bronzes and other
antiquities in the imperial and private collections with illustrations and
inscriptions, compiled by the scholar Lü Dalin 呂大臨 in 1092 A.D..

Although nowadays the fangyi 方彝 is generally classed among vessels
used for fermented beverages, we cannot be certain as to its actual use
in antiquity. Chinese antiquarians of the Song 宋, Ming 明 and Qing
清 dynasties believed the fangyi 方彝 was used to hold food. In recent
times, eminent archeologists and scholars such as Chen Mengjia 陳夢
家 and Bernhard Kalgren hold to the same view, but others such as
Rong Geng 容庚, Ma Chengyuan 馬承源 and Minao Hayashi 林巳奈夫
regard the fangyi 方彝 as a vessel used to hold fermented beverages.

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Fangyi, Shang dynasty, Yinxu period (circa 14 – 12 /11 centuries B.C.)
Height: 22.8 cm – Private Collection.
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