Read History with Jack 32 - Bronze

If you ask which exhibition hall is most crowded in the National Museum, the answer will probably be the "Ancient China" hall. The bronze things in that hall are spectacular in shapes, patterns, and varieties, and contain a lot of content that today we still cherish. 

The "Owl-shaped Zun" of "Fu Hao"

We us computers to restore what the "Zun" looked like 3000 years ago. 

Bronze in the hands of a Shang craftsman can shine dazzlingly beautiful. Today we see bronze made at that time as having a greenish color. However, 3000 years ago, bronze objects actually possessed a golden color. For example, in the grave of "Fu Hao", a wife of the Shang king "Wu Ding", archaeologists found an "Owl-shaped bronze Zun", a kind of wine vessel. In the grave of "Fu Hao" archaeologists discovered a lot of bronze objects; many of them are in pairs. Can you imagine that 3000 years ago all of those are golden? Can you imagine a king or nobleman placing all of the golden bronze vessels in front of them? It would make them look very wealthy and powerful. In addition, even though today the bronze objects' golden color fades away, they still look dignified and full of history. Moreover, some bronze things look very magnificent. For instance, look at the "Hou Mu Wu" Bronze "Ding", the biggest bronze object ever found. Can you feel its grandeur and dignity? 

Furthermore, bronze things can express the imagination of people living long ago, as well as their delicacy and interest in their lives. For example, there is a cultural relic called the "Rhinoceros-shaped bronze Zun". The rhinoceros' body is fat but vigorous, its legs short but stout, its skin thick but glossy, and its horns sharp but upright. From this, we can see that the ancient Chinese made very detailed observations of a rhinoceros, which can show that they put a lot of interest and effort in their lives. Only people with some taste can appreciate nature and animals. For another instance, archaeologists found a bronze mask excavated at the "Sanxingdui" Site from the Shang Dynasty. We think that this mask probably belonged to the "Shu" king. "Shu" is today Sichuan Province. At a glance, the most distinctive feature of this mask is that the eyes stick out a little bit exaggerated, and its ears are also a little bit exaggerated. But, we can see the "Shu" people’s imagination as well as their elaborate depiction of their king.

In addition, nearly all bronze objects have patterns on them. Some of the patterns adhering to the object are so exquisite that they can make my eyes stop blinking. There are many kinds of patterns, like "Shou Mian" pattern, "Yun" pattern, "Lei" pattern, "Niao" pattern and many others. Each of them is different from others and has its own characteristic. But when the patterns are combined, they can create unspeakable beauty. One of the best representatives in this case, is the "Bronze Zun with four rams". This “Zun” is the largest yet discovered, and in my opinion, is at least one of the finest. It has many different kinds of patterns and is elaborately put together. Some of them intertwine, some of them overlap, some of them express their own beauty. Yet I think that all of the patterns used in this vessel have a logical flow that makes it strikingly eye-catching. This is spectacular, our ancestors can create such delicate bronze objects is appalling for me. 

Moreover, bronze things created thousands of years ago have meanings in them. They can show people's spiritual world back then. Some of the bronze objects are ritual vessels, which was used in some special rites like offering sacrifices to ancestors. In the grave of "Fu Hao", we found many pairs of wine vessels, cutleries, weapons, etc. Some of them might be used as ritual vessels and embody many spiritual meanings. In addition, the "Owl-shaped bronze Zun" also excavated in the grave of "Fu Hao" proves that she is not only a wife of the Shang king but also a general with a lot of strength, because the owl symbolized the war god back then and at most times only generals were allowed to put this kind of vessel as burial objects in their graves.

Furthermore, bronze objects can show how wealthy and how powerful a person is. As we know, if you want to forge bronze, you need to merge copper with either lead or tin. However, as lead is poisonous, tin is extremely rare. Therefore, if a person living in the Shang Dynasty owns many bronze objects, this can indicate that he is rich and his status is high. Many objects have inscriptions on them that can reflect what people were thinking back then. What makes a bronze object really precious are sometimes actually the inscriptions. For example, the "Hou Mu Wu Ding" has an inscription that can allow historians know that this "Ding" is made by the son of "Wu", a wife of the Shang king "Wu Ding", in memorization of his mother.

In conclusion, bronze objects are not stiff; they are alive and document the history, spiritual activities, and cultural meanings of people living a long time ago. Every time I walk near an ancient bronze ware, I can feel the breath of our ancestors thousands of years ago, taking me back to their age, taking me through the ebb and flow of history.