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Ladle sheds light on social life ritual
July 26, 2009, Sunday
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The Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) lasted for nearly 800 years, longer than any dynasty in Chinese history. It was a period marked by intensive farming, advanced bronze smelting, social hierarchy, warring states and a flowering of intellectual thinking, which shaped the Chinese culture. Great philosophers like Confucius (founder of Confucianism), Lao Tzu (founder of Taoism), Chuang Tzu and Sun Tzu (author of "The Art of War") all lived in this period.
As social life became more complex, elaborate rituals and etiquette were developed and observed with the use of specific objects. Qi Hou Yi, a gourd-shaped ladle on display in Shanghai Museum, can shed some light on social life during the Zhou Dynasty.
This bronze ladel, dating from 900-771 BC, belonged to the marquis of Qi, a vassal state in today's Shandong Province. According to a 22-character inscription on the bottom, the ladle was made for his wife, daughter of the lord of Guo, another vassal state in today's Henan Province.
"The Book of Rites," a Confucian classic, describes that the yi (gourd-shaped ladle) was used for washing hands and is paired with a basin. A slave servant would spill water from the ladle for her master to wash hands before dinner while another servant would hold the basin below to catch water. The book further mentions that yi was used on occasions like weddings, coronations, funerals and ancestor worship. Thus it becomes clear that yi was not a common utensil for daily use, but rather a ritual object and an ornament.
The ladle in Shanghai Museum has a dragon-motif handle with fins that make it too prickly to hold, but the entire piece standing on four legs is pleasing to the eye. The simple pattern of wavy lines around the body is characteristic of the Zhou era style, a sharp contrast to the recurring motif of mythical beasts seen in bronzes cast in the preceding Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC).
Experts believe it was made as a gift to the young bride, whose father married her to the marquis of Qi to form a military alliance. No information is available about its discovery or how the museum acquired it.
As social life became more complex, elaborate rituals and etiquette were developed and observed with the use of specific objects. Qi Hou Yi, a gourd-shaped ladle on display in Shanghai Museum, can shed some light on social life during the Zhou Dynasty.
This bronze ladel, dating from 900-771 BC, belonged to the marquis of Qi, a vassal state in today's Shandong Province. According to a 22-character inscription on the bottom, the ladle was made for his wife, daughter of the lord of Guo, another vassal state in today's Henan Province.
"The Book of Rites," a Confucian classic, describes that the yi (gourd-shaped ladle) was used for washing hands and is paired with a basin. A slave servant would spill water from the ladle for her master to wash hands before dinner while another servant would hold the basin below to catch water. The book further mentions that yi was used on occasions like weddings, coronations, funerals and ancestor worship. Thus it becomes clear that yi was not a common utensil for daily use, but rather a ritual object and an ornament.
The ladle in Shanghai Museum has a dragon-motif handle with fins that make it too prickly to hold, but the entire piece standing on four legs is pleasing to the eye. The simple pattern of wavy lines around the body is characteristic of the Zhou era style, a sharp contrast to the recurring motif of mythical beasts seen in bronzes cast in the preceding Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC).
Experts believe it was made as a gift to the young bride, whose father married her to the marquis of Qi to form a military alliance. No information is available about its discovery or how the museum acquired it.
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