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The Bronze Age in
China started in the late Hsia dynasty (ca. early 17th
century B.C.E.) and lasted through the Shang (1600-1046
B.C.E.), Western Chou (1046-771 B.C.E.) and into the
Eastern Chou (770-221 B.C.E.) period, persisting for
about 1,500 years in all.
In this age, only the nobility were allowed to use
precious bronze to cast vessels. As the staying went,
"Ritual and warfare are the most important affairs of
a state." Therefore, apart from being used for weaponry,
bronze was mainly used for making ritual objects for
sacrifices to ancestors in hopes of preserving the family
lifeline. From the arrangement of ritual wares and the
quantity of accompanying jade objects in a ceremony,
one could discern the specific social status and position
of a particular aristocrat. Thus, bronze and jade together
became the most important media for ritual wares in
the aristocratic society of the Shang and Chou.
The Shang and Chou dynasties (1600-221 B.C.E.) were
periods crucial to the formation of Chinese civilization.
The argument can be presented from the following perspectives:
-- within the political realm, the preconceived theocracy
combined with political ideology to yield an awareness
of humanism and propriety;
-- with respect to material culture, the rise of bronze
casting initiated a new era of ritual weaponry; and
breakthroughs in craftsmanship gave rise to the industries
of jade, ivory, bone, pottery;
-- in terms of the spiritual, the two important affairs
of state at the time (ritual and warfare) mandated that
awe and reverence be conveyed for the gods and ancestors,
a necessity achieved through the production of bronzes,
jades, and pottery in various shapes and patterns. The
casting of inscriptions on bronzes also provided a record
of ritual banquets, military conquests, rewards, and
the conferring of nobility.
Chinese civilization was eulogized in "ritual and music"
via the forms of ritual bells and vessels, extolled
in "rituals and warfare" and iterated in the "eternal
mandate" and "richness of Chou culture". It endured
the Eastern Chou, a time when "warlords and hegemons"
competed with each other, and still managed to have
a lavish "golden glitter" in all its glory. Chinese
culture, its beauty manifested in each of these wares
and objects, thus appears exquisitely throughout and
profound yet in moderation.
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