The Pilot Study Of The Bronze Tombs At Wayaopo Cemetery In Xixian County

The Wayaopo cemetery is located in the northwest of Xixian county.In a joint excavation conducted in 2005 by the Linfen municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics and the Xixian Bureau of Cultural Relics and Tourism,seventeen tombs were discovered and cleared,including eleven bronze tombs.Lots of fancy bronzes were excavated.Clearing up and publishing the report on the excavation is also very important,as well as repairing the broken bronzes.So I have the honor to enjoy watching the wonderful bronzes to the full.The excavation of this batch of bronzes provided precious visible material for us in the research on bronzes.It's significant for us to understand the stylistic transformation during the early Spring and Autumn period to the mid Spring and Autumn period and the level of foundry technology in the area of Jin Kingdom.These high ranking tombs discovered in Xixian county contribute to the understanding about the system of funeral custom and bronzes used.In addition,it's crucial for us to learn about the sphere of influence and cultural interaction of Jin Kingdom.The princes vied for supremacy and the Zhou royal family died down during the Spring and Autumn period.The social environment is loose relatively.So it promoted objectively the development of handicraft industry and economic development.During the mid Spring and Autumn period,the style of bronze changed from roughness to delicacy.Each region came into being stable and regional characteristic.The research methods used in my thesis are contrastive analysis method and cultural elements analysis method.I elucidate the concept what is bronze vessel.I use the year of 453 B.C.as the dividing line of the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period in my thesis.And,I divide the early Spring and Autumn period into early stage and late stage.The mid Spring and Autumn period and the late Spring and Autumn period are similar.The main body of my thesis is the analysis of the eleven bronzetombs.I analyze the shape,the emblazonry and the group of bronze vessels excavated.Then I divide the nine bronze tombs into groups according to the age.Next,I compare these nine bronze tombs to other tombs published and confirm the age of each group of tombs.On this basis,I analyze the cultural attribute and speculate the status and position of the tomb owner with combination of the historical background.The conclusion is that the Wayaopo cemetery is the cemetery of Jin Kingdom in the mid and late Spring and Autumn period.It relied on the culture of the Jin Kingdom and assimilated the cultural elements of the Chu Kingdom and the north Rong and Di.The cultural exchange was frequent in the period.I speculate the tomb owners are the powerful military governors and subordinates.