中国范儿133 青铜器：历史积淀 时光印记
The Imperial Palace, with 600 years of cultural memory, has one of the largest collections of bronzes. There are more than 10,000 items in the collection, some of which have been handed down from the old collection of the Qing palace, and the others are archaeological discoveries, private donations and acquisitions of the Imperial Palace in recent years. The historical, artistic and technological information contained in the bronze ware are of great value. The Imperial Palace has a complete collection of bronzes, which is one of the defining characteristics of the palace. Most of these collections have been handed down from generations, including several rare treasures.
The Bronze Museum of the Imperial Palace has bronze ware from Shang and Zhou Dynasties to the Warring States period on display. "Sanyangzun" is one of the typical features of the bronze ware of the Shang Dynasty. The lower part of the ring foot is decorated with six groups of animal faces on the palisade ground. The pattern layout of the whole vessel is intricate and complex without disorder. There are more than 1,600 bronzes with inscriptions in the Palace Museum. "Qi San You" is the longest inscription of Shang Dynasty. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were new developments in the shape and decoration of bronzes, and there were more bronzes with long inscriptions. These inscriptions are important historical materials for understanding of politics, economy, military and culture of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
In the slave society of Shang and Zhou dynasties, bronze ware was regarded as a ritual instrument of “social stratum”. According to the classification of the social functions of bronze ware, it can be divided into ritual ware, heavy ware, burial ware and daily use ware. In the Shang Dynasty, there were various kinds of eating utensils, drinking utensils, water utensils, musical instruments, weapons, chariots and horses, etc. made of bronze. Bronze ware in the Warring States period was a daily luxury. Currency, seal, symbol and weighing instrument, which aided the development of commodity economy, appeared in large quantities in this period. In the bronze casting technology, the separate casting method, the continuous impression method and the wax loss method are widely used to make the bronze light and even to an unprecedented degree.
Ancient Chinese bronzes, with their magnificent shapes and patterns, represent the highest standard of technology and aesthetic spirit of the time. As wheel of fortune turned and dynasties reduced to dust, Chinese bronzes carried their history. They vividly tell tales of history and show human wisdom and craftsmanship at different times.