Popular in the late Neolithic period to the Qin and Han dynasties, Shang and Zhou artifacts are the most exquisite. Gadgets or decorations appear first. There were bronze containers and weapons in the Xia Dynasty. In the middle of Shang Dynasty, the varieties of bronzes were very rich, with inscriptions and exquisite patterns. From the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, it was the heyday of bronze ware development, with diverse shapes, rich inscriptions and rich patterns. Subsequently, the bronze matrix began to thin, and the decorative pattern gradually simplified. From the late Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, due to the popularization and use of iron tools, copper tools became less and less. In the Han Dynasty, with the introduction of porcelain and lacquerware into daily life, the variety of copper containers decreased, the decoration was simple, mostly plain, and the carcass was light. Ancient Chinese bronzes are the great contribution of our ancestors to human material civilization. Although according to the current archaeological data, Chinese bronzes appeared later than some other places in the world, there is no place in the world where bronzes can be compared with ancient Chinese bronzes in terms of scale of use, casting technology, plastic arts and varieties. This is one of the reasons why China ancient bronzes occupy a unique position in the history of world art and attract widespread attention.

Judging from the shape of Western Zhou bronzes, it is impossible to cast the same pottery sculptures because they are made of pottery sculptures, just like those in Xia and Shang Dynasties. Therefore, there were no exactly the same bronzes in the Western Zhou Dynasty. If there is, one of them must be fake or both.

Judging from the decorative patterns, there are almost no bronzes with the same decorative patterns or nicks, because except for a few bronzes cast by a single fan, the Shang Dynasty was cast by Fan Tao, but this decorative pattern was rare in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

From the point of view of copper-iron co-casting, archaeological discoveries in recent years have proved that in the late Shang Dynasty and the early and middle Western Zhou Dynasty, the iron used in this copper-iron co-casting was meteorites, so when did artificial iron smelting appear? This is a very important time estimation problem, because as long as this time is fixed, we can know the time from the late Shang Dynasty to the combination of meteorite and copper. When did the era of artificial ironmaking and copper smelting exist? 1990, an iron sword with a jade handle and a copper core handle was unearthed from Guo Guizu's cemetery in Sanmenxia, Henan Province in the late Western Zhou Dynasty. It is a typical copper-iron co-casting artifact, known as the "first sword of China", and the earliest artificial iron smelting artifact discovered in China so far. Therefore, it can be inferred that the co-casting period of copper meteorite in China history is from the late Shang Dynasty to the late Western Zhou Dynasty. The era of artificial iron smelting and copper casting technically matured at the latest in the late Western Zhou Dynasty.

Classification of bronzes

Ding is equivalent to the current pot, used to cook or hold fish. Most of them are Fang Ding with round belly, two ears and three feet, and some have four feet.

Li (phonograph) is used for cooking: generally speaking, it is a waste of mouth and three feet are empty.

Yan is equivalent to the present steamer. The whole vessel is divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part is a still for holding food. The lower part is covered with water. There is a piece of copper called Qing between Zan and Wei. Steam has horizontal holes or straight holes.

Corner drinking fountain. Shaped like a knight, it has a tail before and after, without two columns. Some have covers.

Jia (Yinjia) wine warmer. Shaped like a knight, it has three legs, two columns and a pin.

Ancient (phonological) drinking apparatus. Long body, mouth, mouth and bottom are trumpet-shaped.

Of (phonology) a drinking apparatus. Round belly, small mouth, round feet, shaped like a small bottle, mostly with a lid.

Four-tone wine or drinking apparatus. Egg belly or square belly, circle foot or quadruped, with flow and fins, and the cover is made into the shape of animal head or elephant head.

Noble wine container. It is shaped like a tapir, with a thick middle, a small caliber and a square shape.

Your wine container (one of the main wine containers). The general shape is oval mouth, deep abdomen, round foot and covered beam, and the abdomen is round or oval or square, and there are also cylindrical, owl-shaped or tiger-eating shapes.

He (sound and harmony) is a container for wine, or an ancient vessel for mixing wine. Generally, it is a deep round mouth with a cover, flowers in front, bamboo in the back, and three or four feet under it. The cover and bamboo are connected by a chain.

Fang Yi's wine vessel. Tall and square, covered, looks like a roof, with buttons. Some Fang Yi also have ribs. Some have a bent abdomen, some are straight, and some have two ears beside their abdomen.

Spoon wine extractor. Usually a short cylinder with a handle on the side.

A container for wine or water. There are two forms: square and round. Square shoulders, two ears, covered; Round belly, round feet, two ears. Generally, there is a threading nose at the lower part of one side of both shapes.

A pot for holding wine or water. For example, The Book of Songs said: "Hundred pots of sake", and Mencius said: "Eating the pith of a pot". Pots have various shapes, such as round, square, flat and retort.

The plate holds or receives water. Most of them are round, shallow-bellied, circle-footed or three-legged, and some still flow.

Moo (Yi, phonograph) "Zuo Zhuan" has "Feng Moo Wo Xi", which means watering, and washing means washing hands and face, indicating that washing hands is an ancient watering tool. Oval, three-legged or four-legged, with flow in front, bamboo behind, and some covered.

A container for water or rice. Small mouth, deep belly, round, with ears, much like reed with ears, but bigger than reed.

Gui (audio track) bronze inscription "destroyed", equivalent to the current big bowl of rice. Generally, they have a round belly, a small mouth, round feet and two ears.

Fu (sound fu) is written as "Hu" or "Hu" in ancient books. For food. Rectangular, extravagant outside the mouth, four feet short, cover.

The cup is used to hold millet, millet, rice and sorghum. Ellipse, convergent, two ears, full circle, covered.

Pair (sound pair) is used for millet, millet, rice and sorghum. Three short feet, round belly, two ears, covered. And spherical Dunn.

Beans are used in food, such as meat sauce. There is a plate at the top, a long handle, a round foot and a lid at the bottom.

Jue (wine) drinking device. Equivalent to the wine cup of later generations. There is a wine-filling stream in front of the round belly, a tail behind it, a handle beside it, two columns in the mouth and three-pointed feet under it.