Page 72 - China, 5000 years : innovation and transformation in the arts

of China's bronzes is unmatched by those of any
other Bronze Age civilization.
BRONZES OF THE XIA DYNASTY
(2IST-I6TH CENTURIES BCE)
The first hereditary monarchy in Chinese history,
known as the Xia dynasty, was also the beginning
of the age of Chinese culture. Historical records,
which note that bronze casting was already quite
highly developed by the time of the Xia, are borne
out by the archaeological evidence of the Erlitou
culture. The Erlitou site atYanshi, Henan Province,
which predates the Erligang site of the Shang at
Zhengzhou, was discovered during the 1950s.
Found in the third level of the tumulus at Erlitou
were a tomb and bronze vessels, weapons, and jades
that had been buried with the deceased. 1 The
bronzes of the Erlitou culture atYanshi comprised
primarily jue, but also jia, he, and cooking vessels. In
shape, these vessels were exceedingly similar to
pottery vessels of the same period or earlier. The
bronze jue from the Shanghai Museum (cat. 21)
closely resembles the pottery jue found at the
Erlitou site, and is obviously primitive in its casting
and design. Xia bronzes also include some relatively
finely worked pieces.
Some of the more distinctive Xia bronzes are
turquoise-inlaid ornamental plaques of unknown
use. But apart from these and a very few vessels that
bear simple geometric decorations, the vast
majority of Xia bronzes are plain and undecorated.
In this, they differ greatly from the Shang Erligang
period bronzes from Zhengzhou, which are
generally decorated with zoomorphic patterns. One
of the items unearthed at Erlitou is a round bronze
ornament decorated with an inlaid turquoise cross
within concentric circles, a decoration unique to
Athe Erlitou culture. bronze ax (yue) with similar
inlaid turquoise crosses in a circle is in the
collection of the Shanghai Museum, and its date
can be ascertained through a comparison with the
objects from Erlitou. This yue, which is very large
and heavy, is the most magnificent of extant Xia
bronzes; it was not a functional weapon but a
symbol of military authority. From it, we may
anticipate the discovery of similarly large and
impressive Xia bronzes. Functional bronze weapons
found at the Erlitou site include dagger-axes (ge)
and battle-axes (iji).The Xia bronzes discovered to
date were cast in the latter part of the Xia dynasty.
Palace foundations and groups of tombs have been
found at sites of the Erlitou type located along the
Yellow River in Henan Province; similar culture
sites are also located north of the Yellow River in
southern Shanxi.The remains of a rather large early
Shang city, which is later than the Erlitou site, has
been discovered east of Yanshi. According to
historical records, this region became part of the
RITUAL BRONZES — EPITOME OF ANCIENT CHINESE CIVILIZATION
Xia domains after the dynasty was founded. Ot
course, the picture of Xia bronzes is far from
complete. Much more archaeological excavation of
Xia cultural sites remains to be done.
SHANG DYNASTY BRONZES
(16TH-IITH CENTURIES BCE)
The development of Shang bronzes can be divided
into early, middle, and late periods.
Early Shang bronzes, from the beginning of the
Erligang period, have been found mainly at
Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and date
Newapproximately to the sixteenth century BCE.
vessel shapes such as the gong, zun, and li appeared
during this period. The strong primitive inclination
to imitate pottery, which is found in Xia bronzes, is
absent in those of Erligang. Among bronzes ot this
period zoomorphic masks (taotie) are the most
commonly seen decorative motif, and animal forms
were used extensively as well.
Mid-Shang saw further variations in the types of
bronzes. Shapes were gradually perfected.
Decoration expanded to cover much of the surfaces
of the vessels, and also greatly increased in both the
line density and complexity of composition.
Further development produced decorative patterns
rendered in strong relief, and bronzes began to be
ornamented with animal heads done in high relief.
Casting technology extended to the casting of large
vessels, as revealed by the number of large zim and
Aother vessels discovered. large square ding, a meter
tall, has also been unearthed at the site of the Shang
city in Zhengzhou. Bronzes of the middle period
include the dragon-and-tiger suif discovered at
Funan, Anhui Province; a jar with movable loop
handles' found with a group of bronzes at
Zhengzhou, Henan Province; and bronzes from
some of the sumptuous Shang tombs at Panlong
city in Huangpi county, Hubei Province. 4 All of
these vessels are markedly more mature than the
early Shang bronzes of the Erligang period at
Zhengzhou. At the same time they differ noticeably
from the late Shang bronzes, marking the period
from the fifteenth through the fourteenth, or
perhaps into the thirteenth, century BCE as one
of transition.
The late Shang was the greatest period in the
development of Chinese bronzes, showing the
largest variety of shapes and decorative schema, and
the bronzes from the "Yin ruins" at Anyang, Henan
Province, offer the most representative and
complete view of the period. Along with the
increase in types of objects there developed set
rules governing the proper combinations of vessels,
and the shapes of pieces reached a fully mature
Newstage. to this period were vessels in the shape
of birds and animals. In these vessels artistry and
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