This past week I read some articles by Jerome Silbergeld and a post about the bronze vessels in China. As I mentioned last week, when I signed up to take this course I knew only the very basics about Chinese History. Last week I learned more about the Great Wall of China that I did not previously know. This week, I learned about the bronze vessels. Here are three things I took away from reading about the bronze vessels.
Each vessel is design with a specific task in mind: When objects are made it usually comes with a purpose and there is no difference here. The cool thing about certain vessels is that they each designed for something specific. For example, Zhi Vessels are made to be drunk at ritual banquets.
Some vessels are designed after animals: Some of these animals represented include owls, frogs, dragons and tigers. I found it very interesting what animals were chosen to be represented. The Owl is what I found as an interesting animal choice.
Some vessels were used for political reasons: This point I actually didn’t include in my last post, I just happened to read up on it this past weekend. I did not realize that if you controlled the production of the bronze vessels, there is a good chance it was for a political reason. This was so the person in charge of the bronze vessels could have the most control on the political side of China.
“Precious Metals: Animal-Shaped Bronze Vessels in the Shang Dynasty Period.” December 8, 2019. Accessed September 8, 2020. http://scalar.tdh.bergbuilds.domains/hst137/precious-metals-animal-shaped-bronze-vessels-in-the-shang-dynasty-period.
Silbergeld, Jerome, and Eugene Y. Wang. The Zoomorphic Imagination in Chinese Art and Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2016.
