The best of bronze ware in ancient China

The earliest copper objects of the world were found in Turkey, dating back 9,000 years. The earliest bronze ware in China was made more than 6,000 years ago, in the period of the Yangshao Culture. The bronze artifacts unearthed from the ruins of the Longshan Culture, dating back t0 2500 BC, were made of an alloy of copper and tin, in some cases with a certain amount of lead. Some broken pieces of the articles proved that they are even in thickness. These wares were cast by split molds, which show that the bronze industry was at quite high a level of development. Later in the ruins of the Qijia Culture, archaeologists unearthed articles made of bronze, brass, copper, bronze mirror, crucibles, and residues from copper smelting. The findings proved that in 2000 BC, bronze was widely made and a special kind of bronze had been developed for making mirrors. In the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BC) the bronze making technology developed in a comprehensive way. A three-leg wine vessel unearthed from the Erlitou site in Yanshi of Henan Province is a representative of Xia bronze ware. The vessel is made of a copper-tin alloy, with 92% copper and 7% tin, and cast in complex molds. Also unearthed were various molds, which show that bronze smelting and casting were quite common at that time. The Xia Dynasty belonged to the Bronze Age.
The heyday of the Bronze Age in China lasted more than 1,600 years, from the Shang Dynasty, Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), the Spring and Autumn period, to the early years of the Warring States period. The bronze ware of the time included ritual and musical instruments, weapons, and miscellaneous articles. The musical instruments were mainly used in sacrificial activities in ancestral temples. The ritual instruments were used in various rites-some were exhibited at temples, some were used for dining and washing, and some were to be buried with the dead as funeral objects. The ritual bronze ware was of a divine nature and not used in daily life. Most of the bronze ware were ritual articles, which came from excellent craftsmanship. The ritual and musical instruments were the best of bronze ware in ancient China. The ritual articles included those for cooking and dining, wine and water containers, and divine figures. The weapons were mainly ge (dagger-axe with a long pole), shu (long-pole edged weapon), ji (halberd), and mao (spear). The bronze ware was decorated with various mysterious patterns, mainly after the images of animals, such as dragon, tiger, ox, goat, deer, phoenix, and birds, as well as human beings. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the patterns on bronze ware became less mysterious, but dragon and phoenix remained the main theme of them, though in varied forms.