An Initial Study Of The Concrete Decoration Of The Bronze Wares In Dian Culture

Since the earliest discovery, the bronze wares of Dian culture have drawn wide attention for their exquisite casting workmanship and unique national style, writing a glorious page in the history of Chinese bronze ware. One feature of the bronze wares of Dian culture is the varied images of human and animals on them, which are called the "concrete decoration" in this thesis. Those images vividly reflected the ancient Dian nation's material and spiritual culture, so as to provide the most intuitionistic profile of the Dian's society. In recent years, achievements have been made in the research on the concrete decoration of the bronze wares of Dian culture. However, an overall exposition and systematic combing of it are still wanted. This thesis aims at filling the blank on the basis of previous studies.Firstly, the thesis makes an archaeological typology study of the images of man and animals by bringing them into one system, and tries to set up the temporal development sequence of the concrete decoration of the bronze wares in Dian culture and discusses the course of its development and the features of each stage. Then, the thesis explains the signification of several image by the use of iconographic methods and ethnologic methods, and also reviews Dian people's ideology, beliefs, and aesthetic standards through it. Further, the thesis compares the concrete decorations of the bronze wares in Dian culture with the Bronze Arts of the North China, and explores the interior and exterior courses the concrete decoration's formation in Dian...