MIDDLE AND LATE
WESTERN ZHOU AND EARLY SPRING AND AUTUMN
A Period of Transition
Between the 10th century and 771 BC, when the influence of Shang culture had gradually disappeared, the Zhou people, after a century of development in the early Western Zhou period, completed the process of reforming and developing Shang bronze art so that it now embodied particular Zhou features. This is the transitional stage of Chinese bronzes. During this period subtle beauty is transformed into imposing simplicity. Wine vessels gradually decrease in number. Jia, jue, zhi and gu vanish completely. Hu, you and fang yi are still used but their shapes are changed.
The you which first appeared during the late Shang reached its final stage in the middle Western Zhou period. Fang yi emerged in the late Shang period but middle Zhou fang yi are very different in shape.
Following the disappearance of the large wine vessel lei after the late Shang period, a new vessel called ling appeared during the transitional period. This was an evolution of the lei and the circumstances of its development and decline are very clear.
New types and particularly large examples of food utensils emerged in this period. The appearance of the mouthed, wide-bodied gui with a ring foot stands out in the evolution of food vessels. Another type of gui, with a cover, a low ring foot and short animal feet, was popular during the Spring and Autumn period. This is the last transformation undergone by gui.
Gui with square stands that first appear in the early Western Zhou continue to be popular during this period. The impressive Hu gui has a cover and a square stand. The animal-shaped handles are lobed. The cover, belly and square stand are all decorated with a wave pattern.
New types of food containers to emerge during this period are called xu and fu. The xu is an oval vessel, the fu rectangular and composed of a top and a bottom section, the four walls of which slant inward.
Washing was on of many daily rituals. The wash basin pan first appears in the Shang period. In the Western Zhou period pan and yi, a ewer, were used as a set. Yi were used as containers for fresh water that was poured over the hands during ceremonies. Pan were used to hold the waste water.
In 771 BC the declining Western
Zhou dynasty came to an end. King
Ping of Zhou moved his capital to present day Luoyang.
The lords of the larger feudal states henceforth ruled the central plains
in succession as hegemons. During
this Spring and Autumn period each of the feudal states has its own bronze
casting industry. The vessel shapes
of the late Western Zhou continued to be used but a few exhibit special regional
characteristics.
These vessels, neither ancient nor modern in style, were made by the Yue tribe from Southern China, who admired the culture of the Central Plains and cast vessels in imitation of ancient styles that also have pronounced regional characteristics.
Source: Ancient Chinese Bronzes in the Shanghai Museum, Chen Peifen, Scala Books