The Study Of Dragon Patterns On Bronze In Period Of Shang To Early Western Zhou

Dragon pattern is the main manifestation of ornamentations on bronze in the period of Shang to early western Zhou. Shang dynasty is the golden period for the development of dragon patterns on bronze. In the early western Zhou period, the ornamentation of bronze keeps the style of Shang, mainly with dragon patterns, but gradually changes to a phoenix pattern style entering into the period of middle western Zhou. This article mainly makes a researching of the dragon patterns on bronze during Shang to the early part of western Zhou period. The correct interpretation of the cultural connotation of dragon pattern on bronze has important significance in understanding the Shang culture and the beauty of that time.In this paper, the demonstration mainly based on traditional Chinese culture, according to the method of combining the classical literature research and physical examination to carry out feasibility studies. Fundamentally using the historical research method and art research method that proposed in the "Introduction to Archeology Art", to revert the decorative Dragon patterns on bronze to the historical contexts of Shang and early western Zhou period, making an interpretation closing to the history as well as clarifying how the arts reflect the mainstream culture.This paper is divided into four chapters, as well as the preface and conclusion remark. The preface makes an overview of the relevant academic research on dragon patterns of the Shang and western Zhou period; also makes an introduction of the research methods and the significance of the topic. The conclusion remark makes a summary of the difficulties and shortcomings in this research.The first Chapter primarily make a sorely new study about the mysterious patterns on bronze, such as "kui pattern" and "Taotie pattern", so as to arrive at the conclusion that these mysterious diversify images with a similar characteristic on Shang and western Zhou bronzes, which are actually some different manifestations of dragon patterns in that time, one is from the side view, another is from the front perspective. In the second chapter, with introducing the vagaries "divine nature" of dragon in the deep thought of our ancient ancestors, we realized that the images of dragon in ancient time have a characteristic of diversify. The dragon patterns during Shang and western Zhou period appear a colorful splendid styles and features. This chapter gives a detailed summary of the different dragon patterns on the bronze, basically covering all the manifestations of Dragon patterns in the early time dynasties.Chapter III retrospect the dragon cultural remains of prehistoric times and its diversify meanings, clarifying that the dragon cultural created in the time of civilization actually developed from the prehistoric dragon cultures. So the various dragon patterns in Shang Dynasty usually can found its prototype in the dragon patterns of Erlitou culture, which represent the civilization of Xia Dynasty. The reason why the Shang Dynasty has a so wide range of geographical diversified dragon worship phenomenon, actually because it is accumulated from the long and deep culture of diversified dragon patterns developed during the prehistoric time.Chapter IV make a detailed analysis about the rich connotation of dragon patterns reflected in various aspects of Shang and western Zhou society, with special emphasis on exploring the symbolic meaning of dragon patterns on the bronze ritual of Shang Dynasty, founding that those patterns mainly aims to consistent with the "Ritual system" in the intrinsic significance and help the ritual system carried out in a harmonized way. Finally, with an exploration of the social function of bronze ritual and its ornamentation, analysis the deep reasons why the principal patterns on bronze ritual changed from the dragon patterns in Shang to phoenix patterns in western Zhou Dynasty.