Page 19 - Deydier VOL.2 Meiyintang Collection of Chinese Bronses

In spite of some shortcomings, it is generally agreed that the Song antiquarians
carried out very meticulous research and produced well-written, factual studies,
which was apparently not always the case in later periods, especially during
the Ming dynasty. Apart from a few mistakes, sometimes extremely slight,
the Song antiquarians’ method of classifying bronzes and the classifications
and terminology which they standardized and/or established constitute the
basis of our modern classifications and terminology. For example, the Song
antiquarians found in the ancient texts and then systematized names like ding,
li, jue, jia, pan, etc. for ritual vessels, and terms like leiwen and taotie mask to
refer respectively to a motif composed of alternating spirals and circles, and
the animal mask motif, all of which terms are still used by scholars today.

During the Ming dynasty, on the other hand, antiquarians and scholars seem
to have been less attracted by the study of ancient bronze vessels, and when
they did set their hand to the study of this subject, their work was much less
rigorous and accurate than that of the Song dynasty antiquarians. Some

scholars think this lack of interest and attention to details was the consequence
of the paucity of material to study firsthand, as a result of the government-
sanctioned melting down of many ancient bronze vessels which was carried
out to provide raw material for the manufacture of weapons and coins during
the Ming dynasty.

During the Qing dynasty and especially during the reign of the Emperor
Qianlong (1736 – 96) the interest in ancient ritual bronzes was rekindled,
creating a new impetus for the study of ancient bronzes and their inscriptions.
It was also a time when many important private collections were formed and
numerous specialised books and catalogues were published, including the
following:

- The Xiqing Gujian (西清古鑒), a very important catalogue in 40 volumes

listing, among other antiquities, 1,529 bronze vessels from the Shang
to Tang dynasties in the Imperial Collections, was compiled in 1751 in
the Office of the Hanlin Academy by Liang Shizheng ( 梁詩正) and other
scholars on Emperor Qianlong’s instructions. Unfortunately, half or more
of those pieces are today considered to be later reproductions, many of
them produced in the Song dynasty.

- In 1779, three books: the Ningshou Jiangu (寧壽鑒古), the Xiqing Xujian
Jiabian (西清續鑒甲篇) and the Xiqing Xujian Yibian (西清續鑒乙篇),
were published. They included all the new pieces which had been added
to the Imperial Collections since 1752, which, together with those already
amassed, reached a total of 4,115 bronzes.

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