Study On Bronze Wares Usage Pattern In The Middle And Upper Yangtze River During Shang Dynasty

This dissertation takes the bronze wares of the Shang Dynasty in the middle and upper Yangtze River as the object,and usage of bronze wares is selected as perspective of the research focusing on the customs and ritual institutions reflected by the bronze wares and their influence on the development of local societies.Various research methods including typology,stratigraphy,cultural factor analysis,contextual analysis,assemblage study,and comparative study are introduced in the dissertation.On the basis of the overall phasing and chronology,characteristics on the categories and the usage of bronze wares in different regions and their chronological changes are observed so that the similarities and differences between the wares,as well as the ritual traditions and social development,in each region can be summarized.By analyzing the factual composition of Shang cultures in different regions at different periods and their own articraft productions and social developments,the background and reasons for the emergence and development of local bronze cultures in the middle and upper Yangtze River are discussed from both internal and external perspectives.This Dissertation is divided into 10 chapters.Chapter 1:Introduction.It defines the spatial and temporal scope of this paper is defined.Bronze wares excavated are introduced,and the gains and limitations of previous studies are reviewed,so that the research directions needing attention and deeper discussion and brief thoughts and methods of this dissertation can be pointed out.Chapter 2:Phasing and subregion.Through the typological study of typical bronze wares in the whole region,bronze wares of the Shang period in the middle and upper Yangtze River are divided into two major phases,six sub-phases,taking into account the co-occurrence relationship and stylistic characteristics.Taking into account the spatial clustering and the stylistic characteristics of bronze wares,five central regions are distinguished.Chapter 3:Study of bronze wares usage pattern in Jianghan Plain.Categories of bronze wares,assemblage characteristics and usage contexts of the two major phases are examined separately.In the first phase,the local bronze wares were strictly controlled within the directly-administrated cities of Shang culture,and a institution of distinguishing the users'status by the type,size,quantity,and fineness of the bronze wares was formed,which continued to develop until the Shang culture shrank to the north.In the second phase,there was no local bronze production,but Jianghan Plain was still an important transportation route between north and south,in that bronze cultures of Central Plains and Circum-Dongting-Lake collided here.Chapter 4:Study of Bronze wares usage pattern around Circum-Dongting-Lake.Categories of bronze wares,assemblage characteristics and usage contexts of the two major phases are examined separately.In the first phase,bronze wares were distributed in northerly area,with only a few small-scale bronze tools and weapons excavated within sites directly or indirectly influenced by Shang culture.In the second phase,bronze wares were distributed in a larger range spanning various of archaeological cultures,but all were dominated by a single ware or single types of bronze wares buried on hills or riversides near residences or cemeteries during same period,which possibly reflected the worship of Natural Gods.Chapter 5:Study of Bronze wares usage pattern in Poyang-Lake and Ganjiang Basin.The bronze wares are concentrated in the second major phase,and the upper limit can be up to the 4^th sub-phase of the first major stage.The local using context included burying in graves and sacrificing mountains and rivers,among which the former was dominated.The assemblage of bronze wares are widely influenced by Shang culture,but only in form.Bronze wares in the local high-grade graves show the double themes of"feasting&musical dance",but no institution distinguishing users'status by different usages of bronze wares.Chapter 6:Study of Bronze wares usage in Chengdu Plain.Bronze wares are concentrated in the second major phase,and the using context included ritual wares,burial wares and sacrificing wares on hill-flanks and riversides,among which the first type was dominated.Through a detailed study on the usage of various types of bronze wares in the rituals,it is concluded that such bronze wares in this context comprehensively displayed the faith and the ritual.People leading the ritual achieved communication with the multiple gods they worshiped through the medium of birds,dragons,and other sacred animals.Based on the difference of functions in the rituals,the people involved in the rituals are distinguished into different classes by costumes and handheld objects.Chapter 7:Study of bronze wares usage in Hanzhong Basin.Bronze wares date from Phase the 4^th phase of the first major phase to the second major phase.Bronze wares were buried in groups or individually on riversides or top of high mounds along the riversides where wares were buried repeatedly within the same locality,not coexisting with pottery or other remains,which might be ritual wares.Hanzhong Basin is a cultural corridor,thus cultural factors of different phases are complex in composition.Although the popular types of bronze wares were different in each phase,characteristics of contexts and assemblages of local bronze wares continually developed.The users'grades and status were distinguished by fineness of bronze weapons,such as Yue,but all these types of weapons were applied together in a common public ritual without any distinction.Chapter 8:Comprehensive analysis of bronze wares usage pattern in the middle and upper Yangtze River.Characteristics of bronze wares usage in different regions are summarized,and their similarities and differences are compared and observed.The context of using bronze wares in sacrificing ritual was a common feature during the second major phase in the middle and upper Yangtze River.However,there were also differences in the degree of development of different regions,i.e.,“central sacrifice”and“public sacrifice”.Then,usage patterns of bronze wares of the middle and upper Yangtze River during the Shang Dynasty could be distinguished into two systems,“Li/ritual system”and“Nuo/mediumistic system”,which reflected different devotional connotations.The former was similar with Shang culture of the Central Plain in both assemblages and usage patterns,the later belonging to a local custom is similar with Shang culture in assemblages but different in their usage patterns.Chapter 9:Investigation of the dynamics of the origin and development of local bronze culture in the middle and upper Yangtze River.From the perspective of both internal and external analysis,it is pointed out that the way and degree of influence from the Central Plains bronze culture were different in regions during different periods,levels of local cultural and social-economic development when absorbing foreign bronzes and technical elements were different in regions,both of which are important factors affecting the appearance and development of local bronze culture.Chapter 10:Conclusion.The research content of this dissertation is summarized and the limitations of this research are also pointed out.