Bronze inscriptions in the late Shang Dynasty
The most common forms of bronze inscriptions in this period are:
First, only the inscription of the so-called clan, that is, the name of the family, indicates the genus of the manufacturer. Some of them belong to the so-called compound surname, that is, the author also signs the name of the superior family to which his family belongs, thus showing the pedigree relationship of a clan organization. Such clan names are often combined with sub-symbols, inside or outside the sub-symbols. Now researchers have different views on the meaning of fractal.
Second, besides the family name, are there the names of the deceased ancestors of this family? One person a day: (There are ten names, namely A, B, C, D, E, J, S, N, K? Joe? 、? Father? 、? Hey? 、? Mom? And then wait. ), or only the name of the day and omitting the personal name, shows that this object is a sacrificial utensil specially designed by the family nobility to worship the ancestors with this name.
Third, only the inscription? Japanese name? . This seems to be regarded as an omission of the second form above.
Fourth, only indicate the author's name. Because the personal name of the family leader is often used as the surname, this inscription form may only be the author's personal name, but the individual (such as? Zimou? ) It may also be the name of a family. [2]
Because most of the inscriptions in the late Shang Dynasty belong to the above contents, the number of inscriptions in this period is generally only a few words. In some inscriptions on bronzes, such as The Three Generations of Ji Jin's Literatures, The Records of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, The Collected Works of Yin and Zhou Dynasties published in recent years, there are as few as two or three words, and as many as three or four words, most of which are inscriptions on bronzes in the late Shang Dynasty, which shows that their number is quite large, accounting for a considerable proportion in the bronzes of Shang and Zhou Dynasties. What is this commercial text? Short and meaningful? . From the above explanations of the meanings of several common forms, we can also know that they reflected important issues such as family forms, family systems and religious concepts of businessmen at that time. Although many people have studied it, there are still some profound connotations that are still unknown, which will remain an important topic in the future study of inscriptions on bronze.
There are also a few inscriptions in the Yin dynasty, but the time has reached the late Yin dynasty. The inscription with the largest number of words is Fang Ding, excluding the inscription in the late Ming Dynasty? Arrow? There are 41 words, which are the representatives of Changming. There is also a long inscription of Zhai Qi for three years, which is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing. For example, the number of words in Four Wonders of Ming is 42. Most of these long inscriptions involve important wars in the late Shang Dynasty, royal sacrifices and the relationship between the royal family and the nobility, but the meanings of some words in the inscriptions and the system at that time are still weak points in the study.
The bronze inscriptions in this period have distinct characteristics of the times. It is manifested in the following aspects: First, the characters representing human body, animals, plants and utensils have strong pictographic significance in the glyph. Take the human figure as an example, the head is often made up of thick spots. Legs in kneeling position. This glyph does not mean that the characters are still in the primitive stage at this time (we can know from the same or earlier Oracle characters), but it is just a means of beautification and a solemn expression. Two: most strokes are vigorous and powerful, with sharp ends and twists and turns at the turning point. Three: the font size is not uniform, and the inscription layout is not neat. Although vertical lines are basically in rows, horizontal lines are not in rows.
Because the research on the dating of bronze wares in the Western Zhou Dynasty has been in-depth, the face of bronze inscriptions in the whole Western Zhou Dynasty is generally clear. In view of the fact that the development stage of bronze inscriptions does not seem to be completely synchronized with the stage in which bronze inscriptions are mainly shaped and decorated, in order to have a clear impression of the stage changes of bronze inscriptions in the Western Zhou Dynasty, this paper summarizes the development and evolution of bronzes in the order of early, middle and late Western Zhou Dynasty. Although in a certain period of time, bronze inscriptions will have some common styles of popularity and times. But this does not rule out the embodiment of some unconventional personalities in the style of inscriptions, because the writers who wrote inscriptions at that time did not always have the same style. Therefore, the following introduction to the characteristics of inscriptions at various stages is only general.
The inscriptions on bronze in the early Western Zhou Dynasty can be summarized into two stages:
In the first stage, the king of Wu became a king, but in the Kang Wang period (about earlier), there were still some inscriptions with the characteristics of this stage. In terms of content, there are still many inscriptions on ethnic names with few words and their combinations with the names of ancestors. Most bronzes with such inscriptions belong to the adherents of the Shang Dynasty who surrendered to the Zhou Dynasty after the subjugation of the Shang Dynasty. But since this stage, more and more long inscriptions have appeared, which is related to many important historical facts in the early Western Zhou Dynasty and the official and military systems at that time. Generally speaking, the bronze inscriptions in this stage retain many points of the bronze inscriptions in the late Shang Dynasty. First of all, the layout is not regular enough, or it is vertical and not horizontal. The font size is still uneven. Pictographs are still strong. The writing momentum is also bold and unconstrained, and the strokes are thick and dignified. Some strokes are thick and fat in the middle, while the first and second strokes are sharp and the strokes are full of twists and turns. These are similar to business. The above characteristics can be known from the inscriptions of Wu Wang, Wang Period, Hou Ding in Wang Period and Dafangding in Kang Wang Period (about earlier).
The second stage is the period of health and prosperity. The inscriptions at this stage are mostly long or long, and their contents are similar to those at the first stage, and they are also related to important historical facts such as war, politics and knighthood at that time. Inscriptions of clan names are rare. Different from the first inscription, most of the inscriptions are arranged more orderly than the first inscription, not only vertically, but also horizontally. However, there are still some inscriptions that are not uniform in the number of words and the size of words in each vertical line, showing individual irregularity in the overall neat situation. There are two font forms of inscriptions at this stage.
First, the strokes of the font are still vigorous and have obvious twists and turns. Some pen faces are still thick in the middle and pointed at both ends. Such as Kang Wang's 23-year-old inscription.
Second, the font has changed from the vigorous and bold style in the past to regular and formal. Many numbers have even strokes, but there are still some points that are used as thick pens, such as a stroke in the sky and a horizontal stroke on the king, all at the junction of horizontal and vertical strokes. In addition, there are twists and turns on the right of some words. This inscription form appeared in the period of Zhao Wang, such as JUNG WOO's Wei Gui and Mao Qi Ming.
The above two glyphs belong to the mainstream of this stage. However, there is another loose form of inscriptions at this stage, and the number of words in each vertical column is basically the same. However, due to the different sizes of characters, the horizontal arrangement is basically uneven and the font has twists and turns. It seems that there is still a legacy of the first stage. Only the strokes are thin and round.
Bronze Inscriptions in the Middle Western Zhou Dynasty
In this issue, inscriptions recording the registration ceremony of Zhou Wang's entry into the DPRK began to appear, and gradually became a condom. ? Children and grandchildren will use it forever? Words like this became popular. There are only a few surnames in this issue. The formation of fonts can be roughly divided into three stages:
The first stage, mainly the period of King Mu, is still characterized by some inscriptions in the period of co-king. Inscriptions basically follow the small, regular and formal fonts that appeared in the above-mentioned Zhao Wang period, and generally present a neat style. The pictographic characters are very weak, and most of the characters representing the human body no longer kneel down, and their lower limbs extend downward.
In the second stage, a total of kings arrived. Some inscriptions still retain some features of the previous stage in terms of the regularity of the inscription layout and the structure of the glyph, but the brush strokes have been uniform in thickness and further developed in the direction of lines, and the tortuous and thick brush strokes no longer exist, which is obviously for the convenience of writing. In terms of font, it is also more relaxed than the formal form of the previous stage. This inscription style can be seen in the inscriptions on the wall during the reign of the king. At this stage, some other inscriptions are more unique in style and sloppy in layout. Although there are no twists and turns and fat pens, the font is more open and generous.
As can be seen from the above, the inscriptions in the second issue of this issue also have two styles: regular and rough, and the former is the mainstream. However, at the end of this issue, when the filial piety king was appointed, the bronze inscriptions in the late Western Zhou Dynasty appeared again.
Bronze inscriptions in the late Western Zhou Dynasty
This period refers to the period from King Yi to King You in time. There are many long inscriptions in this issue, most of which are etiquette books in the shape of condoms. There is also more about war, hell litigation and so on. When Wang Xuan proclaimed himself emperor, the longest inscription on Mao appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which was 499 words long and recorded the letters to Mao Gong. In addition, there are many groups of words at the end of this inscription, which are popular? A thousand years? Something like that. Especially in this issue, there are many inscriptions belonging to rhymes, which are also very distinctive. The inscription layout of this issue is neat and standardized, with horizontal rows and vertical columns. Clear long squares can be seen on a few inscriptions, indicating that the grid was drawn first and then written according to the grid. The characteristics of glyphs in this issue are obvious: first, they are generally rectangular, and the glyph size is similar; Second, the brush strokes are mostly thin and uniform lines, with only a few words, such as? God? On a horizontal line? Dan. There is a dot in the next horizontal line of the word. Ding? Most words are still written in dots. Is this bronze font old or called? Jade body? . Due to elegant glyphs and neat ranks, the inscription in this issue is solemn as a whole. As mentioned above, this kind? Jade body? The real source originated from the last leaf in the middle period, which only prevailed in this period. Such as: the inscription of Li Daishi, the inscription of Dakeding in Li Dynasty and so on.
Bronzes in the Spring and Autumn Period were mainly made by vassal states and domestic ministers, so the inscriptions on bronzes in this period reflected the social activities of vassal doctors and their laws and regulations, which showed strong regionality in both content and form, thus forming an unprecedented colorful situation. This situation is consistent with the political situation that after the decline of the Zhou royal family, countries competed to develop their own power with the consciousness of self-reliance, and domestic ministers and families gradually flourished. In addition, due to the above-mentioned changes in historical background, from the early Spring and Autumn Period, the inscriptions of the common ritual content in the bronze inscriptions in the late Western Zhou Dynasty have disappeared.
Early inscriptions in the Spring and Autumn Period
Because the early Spring and Autumn Period is close to the Western Zhou Dynasty, the inscriptions of various countries in this period have retained some characteristics of the inscriptions in the late Western Zhou Dynasty to varying degrees, which are reflected in the writing structure and calligraphy style. Among them, the inscriptions of some important vassal States are more similar to those of the late Western Zhou Dynasty, with rectangular characters and dignified layout. Such as: Jinjiang Ding, one of Qi Houmian, the father of Lu Ban, Zeng Houmian and so on. Jin Wenyou of Qin State in the early Spring and Autumn Period is very similar in font structure and style to the inscription of Mijizi Baipan in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, which can be known from the comparison between the inscription of Qin Gongsuo in the early Spring and Autumn Period unearthed in 1978 Baoji Taigong Temple and the inscription of Mijizi Baipan. As mentioned above, this shows that the characters of Qin inherited the characteristics of the characters of the western regions in Wang Xian in the late Western Zhou Dynasty. However, the inscriptions of various countries in this period are also different from those in the late Western Zhou Dynasty. This is mainly manifested in:
(1) Some inscriptions are scattered, irregularly arranged, irregular in shape and different in size, not all rectangular, such as "Min" and "Min" by Zheng. This font may be popular at that time, or handwritten, and the above-mentioned regular script characters similar to the bronze inscriptions in the late Western Zhou Dynasty were specially treated and solemn.
(2) Some countries in the Huaihe River, Hanshui River Basin and between the Han and Huai Dynasties obviously showed different styles from those in the late Western Zhou Dynasty in the early Spring and Autumn Period. For example, the inscriptions on Chen's brand and Chu's brand are all of different sizes, and the strokes are curved, which tends to deliberately lengthen the strokes.
Bronze inscriptions in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period
By the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, the inscriptions on bronzes in different countries have formed distinct characteristics of the times, and the inscriptions on bronzes in different geographical regions and even neighboring countries are very different. However, at that time, there were many countries, large and small, and the available inscriptions are not enough to make detailed country studies one by one. According to the available data, the bronze inscriptions at this stage can be summarized into four regions, namely Qilu in the East, Jin in the Central Plains and southern countries. Guan Zhong (Qin).
Qilu bronze inscription
This area is rich in Qi inscriptions. Since the mid-Spring and Autumn Period, there have been two styles in Qi. The first style: slender and neat shape, smooth brushwork, long and tortuous vertical pen, solemn and elegant. For example, the inscriptions on the so-called four Qi Hou wares (tripod, shield, plate and wood) unearthed in yi county. However, the inscription of Qi, the font of this inscription is very similar to the inscription of Qi Houqi in yi county.
At the same time, the inscriptions on Qi tablets also have another style. The font is square, the strokes are relaxed and the style is bold. For example, the inscription of Meng Jianghu, the son handed down from ancient times, can also belong to this form, but the layout is rather sloppy. Although the calligraphy of these two forms of inscriptions of Qi State in the Spring and Autumn Period is different, the glyph structure is the same, which can be understood by comparing the inscriptions of Qi State and Guo Tea. Of the two forms, the former is a deliberately processed artistic font, while the latter is close to the usual popular handwriting, or vulgar style.
Lu is adjacent to Qi, but in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, there are few slender, neat and hanging fonts in Lu's inscriptions, and most of them still retain the style of inscriptions in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, which may be related to the fact that Lu has preserved the most Zhou rites. However, at present, the size of bronze inscriptions is different. Compared with the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the strokes of individual fonts are also more tortuous and the layout is more relaxed. It embodies the style of the times. Typical fonts, such as Yuan Pu's inscription by Lu Da Situ Hou and Mao's inscription by Lu Da Situ Zi.
At this stage, Qi and Lu are not only different in writing style, but also different in font structure. Of course, some words are written in common and special ways, such as? Shou? The upper stroke of the word (? Old? Prefix) has been noticed by scholars. However, the differences in font structure of Qilu inscriptions are quite striking. For example, compare Lu Dasitu's Bai Kuang with Qi's inscription. Its? 、? Shou? 、? Wan? 、 ? Promise? You can see the difference in font structure by writing words like "Chinese characters". The above-mentioned differences in Qilu inscriptions show that the strengthening of political independence of various countries and the state of regional separatism have deepened cultural barriers, even if they are close to each other.
Bronze Inscription in Jin State
In the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, the political center of the State of Jin was still in the south of Shanxi, and the land belonged to the Central Plains. At present, there are not many bronzes belonging to the state of Jin. Luan tree tomb, now belonging to China History Museum, inscribed in? Luan tree? Its name can be found in Zuo Zhuan. It was written by Duke Jing of Jin and Duke Li of Jin, in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period. So it is generally believed that this piece of music was written by Luan Shu. In recent years, some scholars have proposed that this device is Chu, and the word belongs to Chu family. People who hold this view have two versions of the age of the device: the warring States period and the late spring and autumn period.
The inscription on the abdomen of this device is wrong. When the cover is recorded, the eight characters are rhymes.
At present, we can see that in the Ming Dynasty, Jin Gong was at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the Ming Dynasty was Jin Gong. There are some sayings, such as Gong Ping (557-532) and Ding Gong (5 1 1-477). The layout of the inscription is scattered, the horizontal lines are not arranged, and the characters are of different sizes, but the strokes are thin and folded, and its style is close to that of Hou Shu. Without deliberate processing, it should belong to the popular handwriting at that time. The cymbal bell is a musical instrument of the Wei family, belonging to the late Spring and Autumn Period. Its inscription style is close to that of Jin Gong, but there are many round pens. There is also a gift card for the eldest son (Cultural Relics No.7, 1964). The eldest son belonged to the State of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period, with a loose layout. His handwriting still bears the legacy of the late Western Zhou Dynasty, but it is also round and weak in style. Another famous inscription of the State of Jin in the late Spring and Autumn Period is the Zhao Meng pot unearthed in Huixian County, Henan Province, which is now in the British Museum. Its inscription records the meeting between Jin Dinggong and Fu Cha, the king of Wu, in Huangchi in 482 BC. It was made in the late Spring and Autumn Period. The inscription is obviously different from the Duke of Jin, with slender shape and neat and smooth strokes, which is obviously a solemn artistic font.
As can be seen from the above inscriptions, the inscriptions on bronze inscriptions in Jin State in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period are complicated, but they can be roughly divided into two types: handwritten (or vulgar) and artistic fonts. The former is divided into square folding pens and round pens.
The so-called South China here mainly refers to the countries in or near the Jianghuai Valley at that time, including Cai, Xu, Xu, Chu, Wu and Yue. Song kingdom is far north, but judging from its inscription, it can also be included in this introduction. There are three forms of bronze inscriptions in this area:
First, a more casual font can also be called handwriting or vulgarity. It is characterized by long or thin glyphs, round and slightly thick pens, long strokes and curved ends. This style of calligraphy is based on the inscriptions Chen and Chu Yingming in the early Spring and Autumn Period. This form of inscription is not uniform in size, and the layout is not very regular, such as the following inscriptions: Xu Yichu's words, Song Gongluan's words, and Prince Shen Zhan of Chu.
Second, more neat artistic fonts. Its shape is long, the strokes are thin, vertical and straight, the strokes are tortuous, and the flat pen likes parallel twists and turns, which is very decorative. Such as the following inscriptions: Wu Wangsun, Wu Rending, Cai Gongzi, and Xu Zi. The inscription of Zhong Ming, the grandson of the King of Chu, is slightly scrawled, but it can also be roughly attributed to this form.
Third, the special pattern font, the so-called bird and insect book, often appears in the form of wrong gold, noble and gorgeous, rich in decorative effect, popular in the late Spring and Autumn Period to the early Warring States Period. This kind of calligraphy can be subdivided into insect calligraphy and bird calligraphy, but sometimes it is used in the same inscription. Bird book is also called bird seal, and the strokes are bird-shaped, that is, the characters and bird-shaped characters are integrated, or bird-shaped characters are attached to the top and bottom of the characters for decoration, such as the inscription of Gou Jian of Yue State and the inscription of Gou Jianming of Yue State. More common in weapons, a few in containers and seals, and still visible in Han Dynasty ritual vessels and seals, and even in Tang Dynasty inscriptions. Worm book strokes pretend to be curved, bulging in the middle, sharp at one end, and long feet drooping, just like the bending of insect bodies, hence the name. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the inscriptions of Prince Chu Wuding, except for a few characters close to bird books, belonged to insect books. Prince Wu Yu is also a book about birds and insects. Worm books are not only found in containers and weapons, but also in ancient seals in the Warring States period and bronzes, seals and earthenware in the Han Dynasty. Their names are also listed as "? Qin Shu Buddy? One of them can be seen in the Qin Dynasty. For the development and changes of the book on birds and insects, please refer to Rong Geng's Textual Research on the Book on Birds (Journal of Sun Yat-sen University,No. 1964,No. 1 0) and Ma Chengyuan's Book on Birds and Insects (Research on Ancient Chinese Characters,No. 10).
Inscription of bronze wares in Qin State
There are few inscriptions in the Qin Dynasty in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period. Judging from the existing data, it is obviously different from the inscriptions in Southeast China at that time in font structure and writing style. 19 19 The inscription of Qin Gonggui unearthed in Tianshui, Gansu Province is the representative of Qin Jinwen at this stage. Comparing this inscription with that of Qin Gong in the early Spring and Autumn Period, we can see that the inscription of Qin at this time inherited the characteristics of the inscription of Qin in the early Spring and Autumn Period, that is, it still has the legacy of the inscription of the late Western Zhou Dynasty. Qin, Qin Gonggui and Wu Lun have similarities in font structure and writing style. For the Shi Guwen era; Scholars have different opinions, but many mathematicians still think that the time range is about the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period. Qin's writing structure and writing style are closer to that of Qin Gong.
Qin Gong's words are more smooth and round, while Qin Gonggui's words, like Shi Guwen's, are more cautious and square in structure, more regular in font style and round in brushwork, which shows that Qin's fonts have been further transformed in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, thus becoming more standardized and gradually moving closer to Xiao Zhuan.
Bronze Inscriptions in Warring States Period
After the turmoil and differentiation in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the evolution of social politics and economic forms has made a leap, the traditional aristocratic politics has changed into a new centralized politics, the emerging landlord class has entered the political arena, and all aspects of social structure have taken on a new look. This situation is reflected in bronzes. Not only has the ritual system changed to a certain extent, but the connotation of bronze inscriptions has also been greatly reformed compared with the Spring and Autumn Period.
Judging from the content of the inscription, there are still many cliches on the copper containers in the Spring and Autumn Period, such as praising ancestors and wishing families unity and prosperity, which have been much less since the early Warring States period. Now this inscription only lasted for a long time on Tianqi bronzes, and it can still be seen in the middle of the Warring States Period. Not many other cultural relics have been found in other countries. Generally, the reason and owner of the caster are simply recorded on a copper container. After the mid-Warring States period, with the further development of centralized politics, the government strengthened its control over handicrafts related to weapons and weights and measures, which greatly expanded the carrier of inscriptions and appeared in them at the same time? Wu Le Gong Ming? "The content of the reading notes. The Moon Order records the official names of bronze producers, foremen and craftsmen who directly cast objects, which are more common in weapons and measuring tools. There are also wine containers and food containers, where they are used, and the official position of the person in charge is recorded. The measuring instrument shall record the capacity, weight and place of use.
Because of the lack of data, the inscriptions on wine and food containers on copper containers in the Warring States period cannot be explained systematically. Only a few countries (or regions) can give a general introduction to the characteristics of bronze inscriptions.
The inscriptions on the inscriptions of Qi in the early Warring States period have some characteristics in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, but they have been revised. For example, the inscription on the hairpin preserved the slender and neat shape of the inscription of Qi in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, but the brushwork of deliberately drawing twists and turns was rare, with many twists and turns. By the middle of the Warring States period, Qi's calligraphy style had been greatly improved compared with the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period. Although the inscriptions on bronze wine vessels are arranged regularly and the fonts are rectangular, the handwriting is close to handwriting (a popular folk style), and the strokes are thick and simple. Many characters have already had a strong local color in this period. The inscription on Chen Dun in fourteen years is a typical font on the bronze wares of Qi State in the middle and late Warring States Period. Such as Chen chun pot and purple pot, the inscription is similar to this one.
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