A Study on the Categories of Gods, Humans, and Animals in the Western Zhou: Focusing on Bronze Inscriptions and Transmitted Texts

2020 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 353-376
Author(s):  
Hyun-soo Lim
Keyword(s):  
Western Zhou ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions

Scribes, Cooks, and Artisans: Breaking Zhou Tradition

Early China ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 241-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance A. Cook
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Control ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Bronze Vessels ◽  
Western Zhou ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions ◽  
Eastern Zhou

Bronze Inscriptions of the Western Zhou period show how ritualists were once dedicated to maintaining the ritual apparatus supporting the divine authority of the royal Zhou lineage. Bronze and bamboo texts of the Eastern Zhou period reveal, on the other hand, that ritualists able to manipulate local rulers reliant on their knowledge subsequently subverted power into their own hands. Ritualists such as scribes, cooks, and artisans were involved in the transmission of Zhou “power” through the creation and use of inscribed bronze vessels during feasts. The expansion and bureaucratization of their roles in the Chu state provided economic and ultimately political control of the state. This was particularly the case as the Chu, like the Zhou before them, fled east to escape western invaders.

The Eastern Zhou cemetery at Wenfengta, Suizhou City

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Complete Restoration ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Zhou ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions ◽  
Eastern Zhou ◽  
Important Site

AbstractFrom August 2012 through January 2013, the Wenfengta Cemetery of the Eastern Zhou Period, located in the southeast portion of the present-day Yidigang Cemetery in Dongcheng District, Suizhou City, was excavated. 54 burials and three chariot-and-horse pits of the Eastern Zhou Period were found, from which 582 bronzes, including ritual vessels, weapons, chariot-and-horse fittings, tools, and other types, were unearthed. Many of these bronzes were relics of the Zeng State, and inscriptions including the terms “Zeng”, “Zeng Zi”, “Zeng Sun”, “Zeng Da sima” and so on were seen on some of them. Moreover, a bronze ge-dagger ax with an inscription containing the character “Sui” was unearthed from a tomb of the Zeng State. These bronze inscriptions show that the Wenfengta Cemetery was used by aristocrats of the Zeng State during the Eastern Zhou Period. The coexistence of inscriptions concerning the Zeng and Sui States has provided more evidence to support the suggestion that the Zeng and Sui States were one and the same. Following upon the discovery of the Western Zhou-era Zeng State cemetery at Yejiashan, the Wenfengta Cemetery is another important site of great significance for the complete restoration of the history of the Zeng State.

MARITAL ALLIANCES AND AFFINAL RELATIVES (SHENG甥 ANDHUNGOU婚購) IN THE SOCIETY AND POLITICS OF ZHOU CHINA IN THE LIGHT OF BRONZE INSCRIPTIONS

Early China ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 39-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Khayutina
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Society ◽  
New Members ◽  
Weak Center ◽  
Western Zhou ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The One ◽  
Eastern Zhou ◽  
Radial Network

AbstractSeveral hundred inscribed bronze objects dating from Western and Eastern Zhou periods were commissioned for or by married women. Several dozen inscriptions are known whose commissioners called themselvessheng生 (甥) of a number of lineages. In pre-Qin Chinese, the termsheng甥 designated several categories of affinal relatives: paternal aunts’ sons, maternal uncles’ sons, wives’ brothers, sisters’ husbands, and sons of sisters or daughters. The wide geographical and chronological spread of female- orsheng-related vessels, as well as dedications to “many affinal relatives” (hungou婚購) in bronze inscriptions point to the importance of marital ties in early Chinese society and politics.Focusing on the inscriptions commissioned bysheng, the present article suggests that even when concluded at a considerable distance, marriages produced long-term mutual obligations for male members of the participating lineages or principalities. Affinal relationships represented social and political capital that could be converted in terms of individuals’ careers and prestige or benefits for their whole lineages/states. In sum, starting from the early Western Zhou period, marital alliances represented a substantial integrative factor in early Chinese politics. On the one hand, marital alliances helped to consolidate the radial network of Zhou states centered on the Zhou king. On the other hand, they facilitated the construction of decentralized regional and interregional inter-state networks. The latter guaranteed the stability of the Zhou political system even when it had a weak center. As a result, the Zhou networks did not fall apart following crises in the Zhou royal house, but continued to expand by the inclusion of new members.

WRITING BEFORE INSCRIBING: ON THE USE OF MANUSCRIPTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF WESTERN ZHOU BRONZE INSCRIPTIONS

Early China ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 273-332
Author(s):  
Ondřej Škrabal
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Chinese History ◽  
Word Count ◽  
Technical Process ◽  
Warring States ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Display Function ◽  
Western Zhou ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions ◽  
Material Evidence

AbstractWhile research on Warring States, Qin, and Han manuscripts is flourishing, much less is known about the use of manuscripts during the earlier stages of Chinese history, for which material evidence has not been preserved. Based on the layout features and textual anomalies in the Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, this article explores the traces of use of perishable writing supports in the process of the production of bronze inscriptions in this period and reconstructs their functions and physical qualities. Based on the surveyed evidence, the article posits that two distinct exemplar manuscripts were used in the inscription-making process: an original “master copy” that was kept aside for proofreading purposes and a secondary “blueprint” that was employed directly in the technical process of inscription-making. A single blueprint would be used consecutively by several craftsmen to produce a set of inscriptions on different types of vessels. The word count and layout of many inscriptions were already carefully planned during the process of their composition, and any study of a bronze text should therefore begin with the evaluation of its visual qualities. Moreover, this probe provides unambiguous evidence for the use of tube-lining in the inscription-making process and reconstructs the complete chaîne opératoire of bronze inscription production in the Late Western Zhou period. The article also offers insights into the level of literacy and the division of labor in bronze workshops, and touches upon the display function of bronze epigraphy during the Western Zhou period.

The Suigong Xu 遂公盨 Calligraphy and Inscription: A Contextual Reconstruction and Translation

Early China ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 105-134
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Western Zhou ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions

This article discusses some of the major issues that arise in the reconstruction and interpretation of the Suigong xu inscription, including a discussion of the authenticity issue from the perspective of Western Zhou calligraphy, and provides a contextual reconstruction of the bronze inscription as well as an English translation. The author argues that the Suigong xu calligraphy is consistent with the typical calligraphic style of the late Western Zhou bronze inscriptions represented by the Sanshi pan and Maogong ding rather than with the style of the middle Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, in particular, those dated to the reign of King Gong. It also argues that the main body of the Suigong xu inscription consists of two paragraphs that end with the two exclamatory sentences jue wei wei de 厥亹唯德 and with (jue) hungou yi wei xie tian (厥) 婚媾亦唯協天 respectively, and that both sentences share the same sentence structure jue 厥 … wei 唯 …

Ancient Reproductions and Calligraphic Variations: Studies of Western Zhou Bronzes with “Identical” Inscriptions

Early China ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 1-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Feng
Keyword(s):  
Original Composition ◽  
The State ◽  
Technical Aspects ◽  
Critical Information ◽  
Zhou Dynasty ◽  
Western Zhou ◽  
Organization Of Technology ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions

Traditional studies of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions have long centered on the issue of dating, but have ignored technical aspects regarding the creation of the inscriptions. In these studies, scholars generally considered bronzes with “identical” inscriptions to have been produced simultaneously. This article demonstrates, with the example of the newly excavated Ke lei and Ke he, that an inscription could be reproduced during the Western Zhou. The Ke lei was cast at the outset of the Zhou dynasty to celebrate the granting of the state of Yan, while the Ke he was probably cast somewhat later, with inscriptions imitating the original inscriptions. This article also demonstrates that “identical” inscriptions can display different calligraphy, the calligraphic styles corresponding to sets in the original composition of bronzes. For example, the thirteen “identical” inscriptions on the extant eight Ci gui and three Ci ding vessels were inscribed in three different calligraphic styles; the ornamentation and size or weight of these eleven bronzes show them to have belonged originally to three different sets, corresponding to the three calligraphic styles. These cases of “identical” inscriptions not only provide solid evidence for the contemporary co-existence of different calligraphic styles within the Western Zhou period, but also provide critical information on the organization of technology and labor in the creation of Western Zhou bronzes.

Solving puzzles about the casting method of bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Li Feng
Keyword(s):  
Casting Method ◽  
The Real ◽  
Zhou Dynasty ◽  
Technical Details ◽  
Western Zhou ◽  
Western Zhou Dynasty ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions ◽  
New Interpretation

AbstractThis paper puts forward a new interpretation about the casting techniques of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, especially those cast in raised grids. In fuller consideration of the various phenomena seen on the bronzes, this paper suggests a nine-step workflow in which transitional molds were employed to produce the real casting core with raised texts to be used for final casting. This new theory not only fully explains the production of long inscriptions with sunken texts and raised grids, but also explains the technical details behind a number of recently discovered special inscriptions.

Royal Hospitality and Geopolitical Constitution of the Western Zhou Polity

T oung Pao ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Khayutina
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Entire Period ◽  
Political Capital ◽  
Direct Control ◽  
The Status ◽  
Western Zhou ◽  
Bronze Inscriptions ◽  
Administrative Institution

AbstractThe present article examines how political communication and administration were effected in the Western Zhou polity (1046/5-771 BC) and investigates the significance of the royal residences as political and administrative centers. Bronze inscriptions referring to royal receptions that were offered to Zhou regional rulers, rulers of non-Zhou polities, royal officers and other subjects provide the basis for this study. It is argued that the form of "royal hospitality" described in these inscriptions was a political and, partially, administrative institution of the Zhou kings, and that its territorial localization both reflected and defined the geopolitical constitution of the polity. The article concludes by arguing that in the "larger Zhou polity" embracing the regional states of the zhuhou, political communication was decentralized, and that none of the royal residences held the status as political "capital" throughout the entire period. It is further found that a process of territorial centralization was underway in the territories under the direct control of the king, and that the oldest royal residence Zhou-under-Qi was gradually established as political and administrative capital.

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