Page 38 - Deydier VOL.2 Meiyintang Collection of Chinese Bronses

Shapes

Bu (old pronunciation pou) 瓿
This bronze jug or pitcher which has a globular body with a
cramped neck and is supported by a ring foot, sometimes also
has some lateral flanges at its sides and a dome-like cover.
Bu 瓿 Ding 鼎 Dou 豆
This vessel is mentioned very early on in Chinese historical
records, at least as early as the Zhan Guo Ce (戰國策) (Warring
States Annals).

There is some controversy regarding the exact use for which the bu was
Dui 敦 Fangding 方鼎 Fangyi 方彝 Fu 簠 Fangyi 方彝 employed, with many claiming it was used to hold fermented beverages, while
others, citing the Zhan Guo Ce, etc. say it was used to hold various sauces, and
still others claiming the bu was used to hold water. According
to the Han Shu (漢書) (History of Han), the Bu was used to
hold foodstuffs such as minced meat and grains.

Gu 觚 Gui 簋 He 盉 First coming into use during the Shang dynasty at the end of
the Erligang period, the bu becomes rounder by the beginning
of the Yinxu period and gradually disappears by the end of that
period.

Hu 壺 Jia 斝 Jian 鑒 Ding 鼎
The ding is the most important vessel in Chinese tradition and
history. Since the origin of Chinese civilization, the ding has
been considered the symbol par excellence of the legitimacy
of supreme royal power, and the ability to produce or obtain
a ding, and to continue to possess a ding was considered a
Jiao 角 Jue 爵 Lei 罍 Li 鬲 concrete sign of heaven-bestowed legitimacy and continuing
heavenly protection and favour. Confirmation of this can be
found in the classical books and especially the Zhouli (周禮)
(Book of Zhou Rites, written during the Zhou dynasty) and the
Zuozhuan (左傳) (Annals of the Spring and Autumn period –
Annals of the State of Chu – written in the 5 century bc. by Zuo
th
Liding 鬲鼎 Lian 奩 / Zun 樽 Pan 盤 Shao 勺, dou 斗, bi 匕
Qiuming 左丘明). During the Zhou dynasty, ding vessels are always placed in
uneven numbers in a tomb, with a set of nine ding reserved to the king.

As a food container and cooking vessel, the ding constitutes the most important
category of vessels in the corpus of ritual bronzes. It is composed of a round,
bowl-shaped body surmounted by two large handles and supported on three
Xu 盨 Yan 甗 Yi 匜 You 卣 Yu 盂 Zhi 觶
cylindrical legs. Over the centuries its morphology changes, each modification
being typical of its specific period.

Extremely common in pottery during the Neolithic period, the ding is first cast
in bronze at the end of the Xia (夏) dynasty (during the Erlitou culture period).
The earliest ding is composed of a flat- bottomed bowl with thin walls, topped
Zun 尊 Ling 鈴 Nao 鐃 Bo 鎛 / Zhong 鐘 Drums – Gu 鼓
by two vertical handles and supported by three triangular and hollow legs.

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