Volume 90, Issue 1 p. 81-109
Original Article

THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE CHINESE BRONZE AGE

Shi Jinsong

Shi Jinsong

Institute of Archaeology at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, No. 27 Wangfujing Street, Beijing 100710 China

Search for more papers by this author

怀念韩斯堡 施劲松

逾越草原与沙漠 河流与山峦, 犹如迁徙的印痕, 穿透海的深邃, 天的辽远。 大海把白云, 染成深蓝。

记忆的风 揉碎平静的海, 波浪像盘旋的翅膀。 在远方的早晨, 每当落英缤纷, 或是桐叶金黄, 总能听到 海的回响。

To Memory of Klavs

By Shi Jinsong

Passing a prairie, a desert, rivers, and mountains, like migrating with traces, through the depths, the vast sky, with the sea dying white clouds cobalt,

the wind of Memories ripples the calm ocean, waves like hovering wings. In the morning in the distance, when flowers falling and scattering, leaves of plane trees turn golden, a sound resounding of the ocean is always heard.

ABSTRACT

The Chinese Bronze Age culture from the 19th to the 1st century BC can be divided into four zones: the Central Plain in the middle and the lower Yellow River region; the Northern zone along the Great Wall; the Southern zone, south to the middle and the lower Yangzi River; the Southwestern zone covering the upper Yangzi River. In each zone, bronzes are not only different in types and styles but also function differently responding to the processes of the early state formation and social development. More precisely, in the first zone, there are mainly ritual bronzes, serving as symbols of the social and political hierarchy. In the second zone, there are mainly utilitarian items such as weapons, tools, bronzes of everyday use, ornaments, as well as horse-chariot fittings. Bronze musical instruments characterise the third zone. And bronzes of the fourth zone are realistic or symbolic in style, depicting scenes of social life. Though having different cultural origins and characteristics, the four zones communicate with and influence each other continuously, creating a dynamic cultural landscape of the Chinese Bronze Age.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.