The Shang Dynasty is the first era in China with reliable history. Its pottery, jade, bronze, literature and writing all have high aesthetic value. Among them, bronze, with its rich forms and profound symbolic meaning, has become an important part of the treasure house of ancient Chinese art. From the simple shapes in the early days to the complex designs in the later days, the bronzes of the Shang Dynasty show the profound changes in aesthetic concepts and social ideas. Through the two major modeling categories of geometric and bionic types, they reflect the Shang people's awe of the gods of heaven and earth and their profound thinking about life and death.

Recently, "A Study on Aesthetic Consciousness in the Shang Dynasty (Revised Edition)" was published by Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House. The book takes the study of Shang Dynasty artifacts and characters as the entry point, leading readers to appreciate the great sense of history and religious mystery in Shang culture, and explores the origin and development of ancient Chinese aesthetic consciousness. This article is an excerpt from the book. Taking food and wine vessels as examples, it explores the evolution of the shape of Shang Dynasty bronze ware and the spirit of the times it contains, revealing its charm in formal beauty, power symbols and religious concepts.

There are many types of bronze wares in the Shang Dynasty, with different shapes. Each type of utensil has a relatively fixed shape. In the later period, the status of the formal beauty of the Shang Dynasty bronze wares gradually rose, and eventually the strict and solemn bronze wares were submerged in the huge formal implications and became an important "ritual vessel" of the Shang Dynasty people. The huge bronze wares reveal the majestic and domineering sense of royal power, and also embody the religious ideals of the Shang Dynasty people to communicate with heaven and earth, pray for blessings and eliminate evil. The shape of Shang Dynasty bronze wares "is based on images", depicting natural images without solidification and dullness, and reflecting the beauty of symmetry and balance and lively and agile charm everywhere. The heavy and ferocious bronze wares have therefore become a symbol of the lively life spirit of the Shang Dynasty people. Here, we mainly take food utensils and wine vessels as examples to show a corner of the beautiful and colorful shape world of Shang Dynasty bronze wares.

1. Form and spirit of the times

The shape of bronze ware has a clear spirit of the times. In the Erlitou period of the Xia Dynasty, bronze ware was small in size, thin in wall, and childish in shape, but the shape had been basically finalized, laying a solid foundation for the development of bronze ware in the Shang Dynasty. The bronze ware of the Erligang period still clearly has traces of pottery. Generally, the wall is thin, the decoration is few, the body is small, simple and ancient but not without solemnity, it looks light and smooth, and has a strong integrity. Although the bronze ware of the late Shang Dynasty continued to inherit some of the modeling characteristics of pottery, such as round abdomen and plump bag feet, it has become a school of its own. They are thicker and more stable, often with thicker wall, more decoration, and larger volume. The shape of bronze ware in the late Shang Dynasty has a distinct sense of hierarchy, and the superb craftsmanship makes the curves of bronze ware smooth, and each part is integrated, with a natural atmosphere. At this time, some new varieties also appeared, such as pot tripods, square Yi, bird and animal statues, etc., which also have a clear sense of the times. (Figure 1, Figure 2)

Figure 1: Bronze figurine of Fuhao, collected by the National Museum of China; Figure 2: Three-ram statue, collected by the Palace Museum

The change of form is not just a simple transformation of aesthetic concepts, it is closely related to the mentality of the times and the nation. Early bronzes were largely daily necessities, and they replaced some pottery after the invention of new materials. Therefore, they were more practical, light, convenient and durable. But even if the shape is simple and the body is small, the heavy texture still makes bronzes often present a stable and solemn trend. People found that this is very consistent with the solemnity of sacrificial occasions. ... Therefore, in the Shang Dynasty, when people respected heaven and earth and feared ghosts and gods, the rulers extended their own respect to gods, ghosts and ancestors, and constantly made perfect utensils to show respect and piety. In this way, bronzes gradually changed from daily utensils to sacrificial utensils, and their practicality began to be subordinate to religious and ornamental. Therefore, the shape of bronzes developed in the direction of thick, heavy, solid and large. The practical and sacrificial functions strengthened people's requirements for the quality and beauty of bronzes, and the unprecedented development of social productivity and the proficiency and progress of casting technology made the evolution of bronze shape possible. The change in body shape made the heavy and mysterious characteristics of the times obtain appropriate artistic expression.

Bronze ware is full of power and status, and its shape is no exception. The huge tripod symbolizes the vast and stable royal power, which is reflected in the value scale and aesthetic taste of bronze ware, which is that big is precious. However, due to the limitation of its texture, bronze ware is difficult to be as finely crafted as jade and gold ware, so delicate and small bronze ware is also classified as precious.

2. Geometric type and bionic type

There are many types of bronze ware in the Shang Dynasty, and their shapes are also varied. They can be mainly divided into two categories: geometric and bionic.

Figure 3: A tripod with animal faces from the early Shang Dynasty, collected by the Palace Museum; Figure 4: A bronze square tripod with nipple-shaped patterns from the early Shang Dynasty, collected by the National Museum of China; Figure 5: A bronze tripod from the late Shang Dynasty, collected by the National Museum of China

Geometric shapes include square, spherical, cylindrical, elliptical, I-shaped, asymmetrical, etc. The shapes of bronze ware in the Shang Dynasty were basically fixed and stereotyped, and the corresponding utensils had basically the same shape. For example, as a symbol of personal status and national power, the shape of the tripod should be solemn and stable, so the regular shapes among geometric shapes - the strong square and the smooth circle became the first choice for the shape of the tripod. However, the asymmetrical shape with rich changes and vitality, the slender and light I-shaped, and the oval shape that is not regular and reserved, etc., will inevitably not become the stereotype of the tripod. In addition, from the perspective of function, the tripod is usually used to hold fish and meat for sacrifice, and its shape should also be considered from the perspective of practicality. A shape that is too "fancy" is not suitable for practical use. Therefore, round tripods and square tripods are the two main types of tripods in the Shang Dynasty, among which round tripods are the most numerous. Most of the tripods in the early Shang Dynasty had round bellies and pointed feet (Figure 3), but there were also square tripods with columnar feet and flat feet (Figure 4). In the later period, the majority of tripods had round bellies and columnar feet (Figure 5), the number of square tripods increased, and the number of tripods with pointed feet basically disappeared, and their majestic and solemn feeling became increasingly stronger.

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Most of the wine vessels in the Shang Dynasty were geometric in shape. As wine vessels, jia, zun, you, gu, etc., the dignity and responsibility they carry are relatively weak. In addition, merchants are addicted to wine and indulge in lust, so the vessels for holding fine wine are correspondingly less cold and formal, and their shapes are clever and luxurious. For example, the shape of you is often round or square, with a long and slightly thin neck, a wide mouth, and a slender and curved handle. The center of gravity is not in the center of the vessel but is obviously lower. The width of the whole body is different, revealing agility in dignity. Gu is slender in shape, with a slender belly, a trumpet-shaped mouth and bottom, and the diameter of the wide mouth is often larger than the bottom, forming an "I" shape. Its shape and proportion are not very solemn, but it is more ingenious. (Figure 6)

Figure 6 Wine vessels from the Shang Dynasty. From left: Jia with animal face pattern, the Palace Museum; Gu with animal face pattern, the Palace Museum; You with animal face pattern, the National Museum of China; Youzun with animal face pattern, the Palace Museum

Bionic bronze ware’s bionic shape mainly refers to its shape imitating the natural form of organisms, among which the main ones are vivid and rich animal shapes. Bionic bronze ware of the Shang Dynasty includes animal shapes, human-animal shapes, etc. Since the shape that lacks solemnity is not suitable for tripods, the bronze vessels with bionic shapes mainly exist in wine vessels, among which bird and animal vases are the most common. The animal-shaped bronze ware mainly imitates the shape of birds and animals such as cattle, rhinos, pigs, elephants, sheep, owls, and dragons, which are vivid, lifelike, and interesting. (Figure 7)……

Figure 7 Four-ram Square Tripod, National Museum of China

Bionic bronze vessels often combine the shapes of multiple animals, and some interesting details are designed. ...There are also strange bird-and-animal patterned goblets (Figure 8), the front of which is in the shape of an animal with thick, curly horns and sharp teeth. It stretches its neck and roars, as if it is about to pounce, and the conical goblets, which are like the animal's feet, are tilted outward, which strengthens the stability and firmness of the vessel and restrains the animal's explosive power. The handle at the back of the goblets is in the shape of a standing owl, with its head held high, chest puffed out, and tail lifted. Its feet are thick and go in the opposite direction of the animal. The forces of the two pull and balance each other, which is full of dynamics but stable and balanced. The lid behind the head of Fu Hao's owl zun is also unique: the front of the lid is decorated with a standing bird, and the lid button is decorated with a dragon, as if the dragon is crawling forward and coveting the bird, ready to pounce at any time. These shapes inject vitality and interest into the originally stable and mysterious bronze ware, creating a sense of scenery everywhere you look.

Figure 8 Gong with bird and animal patterns, from the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art, USA

Bionics is a prominent feature of bronze ware. The lifelike bionic modeling is based on the caster's careful observation of the world, precise grasp and careful casting, which adds interest and appreciation to bronze ware. However, this is not the pure purpose of the development of bionic modeling. In the various forms of bionic bronze ware, there are also richer concepts and purposes.

Figure 9 Tiger-eating-man jar, collected by Izumiya Museum, Japan

Among the bronze vessels of the Shang Dynasty, there is another type of vessel that is a mixture of human and animal. In the Shang Dynasty, animals were deified, and people believed that human power was inferior to animal power. Therefore, in bronze ritual vessels, human figures rarely appear alone, but often in combination with humans and animals. ... For example, the famous tiger-eating-man jar (Figure 9) is shaped like a sitting tiger, with its tail curled down to support the ground, forming a tripod with its two thick hind paws, firmly supporting the body of the jar. The tiger's two front paws tightly grasp a person, with its mouth wide open as if it wants to eat, and the person's head has already entered the tiger's mouth. The person has thick eyebrows, big eyes, a bulbous nose and long hair. The human body is facing the tiger with its head tilted to one side, holding the tiger's shoulder with its hands and stepping on the tiger's hind paws. Although the facial expression of the person is relatively calm, the whole shape is shocking. There is also a human-faced snake-body li (Figure 10), whose lid is in the shape of a human face, with thick eyebrows, eyes shaped like a minister, a big nose and a big mouth, three wrinkles on the forehead, bottle-shaped horns on both sides of the head, a snake-shaped body, and arms like tiger claws. The human face and the body of a beast look mysterious and strange. Human images often appear at the same time as beasts, or borrow some organs from beasts. This is no longer a real person, but a god, a human, and a beast, and has become alienated.

Figure 10 Human-faced snake-bodied tripod, Freer Gallery of Art, USA

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3. Agility and vitality

The bronze ware also presents the characteristics of strictness and agility. In order to adapt to the mysterious and solemn sacrificial atmosphere, bronze ware is almost symmetrical, and uses a straight posture to carry the majesty of God and the sincerity of people. Most bronze ware have a certain pattern to find, consistent style, and stability. Most bronze ware can be found with a center line, and if it is cut along this center line, the bronze ware can be divided into two even parts. The door edge on the round ware divides the space into pieces that look like rectangles, combining square and circle, and changing the perspective. For example, the double sheep zun (Figure 11) is composed of the front half of two sheep facing each other. The expressions and postures of the two sheep are exactly the same, and there is no difference in some details. The reason for this is that it is convenient for casting, easy to carve and copy, and it also makes bronze ware often present a solemn static state, which is conducive to the stability of the ware. It reflects the aesthetic mentality of the Chinese nation to pursue symmetry, balance, perfection, and moderation.

Figure 11: Double-ram Zun, British Museum Collection

However, bronze ware is not meticulous and regular in reflecting a uniform pattern. The bronze ware of the Shang Dynasty shows us stability with changes. Almost every piece has a similar appearance, but uses subtle spatial arrangement to form a virtual and real combination in shape, revealing the solemn bronze ware with changes and vitality. For example, no matter how stable and oppressive the square tripod is, it will not be like a hollow square column that strictly conforms to the geometric shape. It will have a wide mouth and gradually narrow at the bottom, slightly inclined to a trapezoid. The four thick feet are often thick at the top and thin at the bottom, or simply become a curled-tailed Kui or bird, and then slightly tilted to form an eight-shaped shape, like a big man with broad shoulders and narrow hips standing with legs apart, stable but not rigid, revealing the beauty of lines everywhere but not ostentatious. (Figure 12)

Figure 12 Yangfu Ding Fangding, collected by the Palace Museum

The shape of bronze ware in the Shang Dynasty is closely related to the traditional Chinese guiding ideology of "making things with images". "The Book of Changes: Xici Shang" says: "The Book of Changes has four ways of the sage: those who speak value words, those who move value change, those who make tools value images, and those who divine value divination." The so-called "making things with images" means expressing certain symbolic meanings through specific shapes. Bronze ware was cast in bionic forms in order to convey religious information with the help of the images of some creatures, "to use their abilities to coordinate with the upper and lower, and to receive the rest of heaven." When human wisdom gradually awakened, the world of gods gradually faded away, and people helplessly found that they had fallen into a situation of "no communication between heaven and earth". The way to communicate directly with gods, ghosts, and ancestors disappeared, and they could only use the power of media to convey their voices to the upper and praise the will of heaven to the lower. And this medium is animals that humans cannot communicate with either. Therefore, in sacrificial activities, the Shang people sacrificed cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, etc., which were closely related to their lives, to worship gods and ancestors, and at the same time hoped that these animals would bring their own respect and prayers. In sacrifices, the mystery and solemnity attached to the sacrifices that played an important role became increasingly stronger, and were eventually incorporated into the shape of bronze ware. In this way, the animals used for sacrifices also became the objects of sacrifice to a certain extent. They were used to bribe the gods, and thus were tainted with divinity. In the eyes of the Shang Dynasty people, they had the power to ward off evil and bring blessings. As for the mythical beasts that were decomposed and recreated by combining various animal images, they also embodied the ideals of the Shang Dynasty people to communicate with heaven and earth and pray for blessings and ward off evil.

The sacred and solemn bronze wares of the Shang Dynasty no longer have the dazzling luster that was reflected by the lights and smoke more than 3,000 years ago, but their consistent shapes still tenaciously and faithfully carry out the religious mission and embody the complex emotional world of the Shang people. However, as the era of blood and fire fades away, some of the connotations have lost their traceable basis, and we can only rely on our common national emotions to appreciate the unique power and grandeur of the bronze wares of the Shang Dynasty.

Book cover of "A Study of Aesthetic Consciousness in the Shang Dynasty (Revised Edition)"

This article is excerpted from Chapter 5, "Aesthetic Characteristics of Shang Dynasty Bronzes", of Zhu Zhirong's "Research on Aesthetic Consciousness in the Shang Dynasty (Revised Edition)". The author Zhu Zhirong is a professor and doctoral supervisor in the Chinese Department of East China Normal University.