The Warring States Period To The Western Han Dynasty Lacquer Tripod Study

Lacquer tri-pot which had great significance appeared in Warring States and it was widely used till Western Han Dynasty. This paper intends to discuss some essential questions of lacquer tri-pot including the appearance of lacquer tri-pot, the function of it and its great significance on the basis of the archaeological findings and the research results of Thought History and Social History. In the author's opinion, firstly, the existence of lacquer tri-pot is concerned with the concept that people treat the pot, because the continuity or change of human's concept can directly reflect on the appearance and use of a new thing, the social revolutions which contains living habitude, funeral custom and so on impacts the rationality and durability of the use of lacquer tri-pot. Secondly, these two aspects also influence the function of lacquer tri-pot, especially the upper class of the society-the vassals. The lacquer tri-pot took over every aspect of their lifehood, such as, offering sacrifices to ancestors and funeral.The meanings of the lacquer tri-pot associate with the social hierarchies, individual wealth and the funeral custom at the same time. Thirdly, with the changes of the tomb owners and the ages, the changes of lacquer tri-pot's material make the ceramic lacquer tri-pot break out the singleness of ritual objects, which makes the ceramic lacquer tri-pot a symbol of pot, and this is also the result of the powerful meanings of pot and the copy of hierarchies. So, the research of lacquer tri-pot must be set in the social background from Warring States to Western Han Dynasty, and only in this condition can we get the most objective research on lacquer tri-pot.