Study Of The Shang And Zhou Dynasties Bronze Unearthed In The South Anhui Area

This thesis attempts to explore the historic features of the bronze which were excavated in the South Anhui area and establish a reasonable development array of the South Anhui bronze,after collecting and rearranging the bronze which were unearthed there.The core aim is to explore the age of the bronze which were found in the South Anhui area,and also study the development of bronze in the area within the frame of the whole lower reaches of the Yangtze River.It is the core problem to research the age of the bronze in South Anhui.This thesis first makes an explanation to the research method.On the one hand,starting from the layers of the tombs,arranging the ceramic wares,a tentative frame of stage classification will be established with reference to the time measurement through 14 C data.Expanding the range of research,the stage classification of tombs will be established in the areas of Ningzhen and South Anhui,so as to explore the latest age when tombs were built with bronze.On the other hand,an analysis will be carried out on typical bronze unearthed in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River by referring to the varieties and types of bronze,so as to make out the corresponding position of the bronze of South Anhui in the whole area of lower reaches of the Yangtze River.Based on the conclusions drawn from the above researches and the regular distribution patterns of bronze in the tombs,an age frame of the bronze in South Anhui will be set up with reference to the original articles unearthed in mid-China.The development of the South Anhui mound tomb in the south and north areas is not in agreement.Despite common characters,there are more differences.The time of appearance of the mound tomb in the northern Xuan Wu plain was the same with that in Ningzhen area,but it was a bit late in Tunxi mountain area.The South Anhui bronze were mainly distributed in the comparatively northern Xuanwu plain and the South Tunxi mountain area basin.The bronze of the two areas are greatly different in type distribution and aggregation.The main part of the South Anhui Shang and Zhou dynasties bronze culture should have originated from the local aboriginal culture.The bronze unearthed in the eight tombs in Tunxi are too different from the ones found in Xuanwu plain.They probably belong to the earlier system of Yue people since it is different obviously,in culture,from the Xuanwu plain area which belongs to the earlier Wu culture.The Shang and Zhou dynasties bronze which were unearthed in the South Anhui area can be divided into four periods of time.The second and third periods of time could be divided into the early and the late stages respectively.The corresponding times should be: the first period,Shang dynasty;the second period,the late sect the earlier stage of West Zhou,the late sect: the late stage of West Zhou;the third time: the early sect: the early stage of Chunqiu,the late sect: the late stage of Chunqiu;the fourth time: Zhanguo.The South Anhui bronze went through a process from bud to rising,from inner innovation to boom,then the transition which was impacted by outer elements,and at last the end.The earlier stages of West Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods in Chinese history are the two peaks: the types and amounts of bronze were so many,wares aggregation was complete and unique.It had strong local characters,the shifting degree of amounts and types forged ahead,the change of types and forms was too obvious,this area has become the most thriving area within the South Yangtze River area on bronze culture,and the focus was in the northern Xuanwu plain area in which Tongling,Fanchang and Nanling were the three centers.Up to the early stage of the Spring and Autumn period,the South Anhui bronze had always occupied the main position in bronze culture of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.They were enriched and expanded constantly through the mutual interchange with the adjacent areas.The focus of the South Anhui inner bronze culture had also went through a course which was from the north to the south,then south and north abreast,and at last back again to the north.At the beginning of the late stage of the Spring and Autumn period,the bronze culture of Ningzhen,South Jiangsu and the Northern Zhejiang boomed strongly.Chu culture also brought strong influence from the northwest direction.They together impacted the South Anhui area greatly.The original beautiful,cute and simple characters had been replaced by the style of simplicity and practicality.After entering Zhanguo period,the Southen Anhui area had been swept by the Chu cultural elements,and the original South Anhui bronze culture elements had also disappeared totally besides the forming elements of weapon wares which had been absorbed by the adjacent areas.Bronze in South Anhui area went through a process in which ceremonial wares were first emphasized,then ceremonial wares paralleled with weapon wares,and finally weapon wares were emphasized.This situation is familiar to the bronze development process of the periphery which is different in speed.At last they together formed the unique bronze development system of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.