Research On Bronzes Of The Middle Shang Dynasty

The "Middle Shang Dynasty" discussed in this thesis,reflected in archaeological culture,probably refers to the early stage from the first phase of Baijiazhuang to the first phase of Yinxu in Zhengzhou;from the historical point of view,it is from the period Zhongding moved the capital Ao to the period Wuding moved the capital to Huannan.Moreover,the word " Middle Shang Dynasty " not only refers to the time,but also represents the cultural features of a number of archaeological remains,that is,the remains with its own style created by the people mainly from Shang nationality.In the typological analysis of bronzes,referring to the classification results of Mr.Zhu fenghan,the research scope is limited to containers and musical instruments,while weapons,tools,chariots and horses are no longer discussed.The continuous distribution of Middle Shang Dynasty culture is roughly equivalent to today's Beijing,Hebei,Shanxi,Shaanxi,Shandong,Henan,Hubei,Anhui province and religions around it.Some or more of the artifacts of Middle Shang Dynasty style have been found in Oceania of Xingan in Jiangxi province,Sanxingdui of Guanghan in Sichuan province,and even Wengniuteqi of Chifeng,Inner Mongolia.This thesis will try to analysis and integrate these bronzes.In the first chapter,the introduction,we will first explain the relevant concepts,sort out the previous problems about the Middle Shang Dynasty and the bronzes in this period,analyze the views and differences of various schools,and clarify our own understanding.The Middle Shang Dynasty culture inherited the initial development stage of Erligang culture,and developed the first prosperous period of the bronze ware of Yin Ruins culture.In addition,historical records show that the upper class of Shang nationality moved their capitals many times at that time.It is of unique significance to study the remains of bronze ware,which represents the superstructure,from the perspective of "mid-term qualitative change".In the second chapter,according to the classification results of Rong Geng,Lin Si Naifu,Ma Chengyuan and Zhu fenghan,the collected utensils can be divided into eating utensils(Ding,Li,Gui,Zhen,etc.),wine vessels(Jue,Gu,Jia,Lei,Bu,Zun,You,Hu,Zhi,etc.),water utensils(He,Yu,pan,etc.)and musical instruments(drum,Nao,etc.),which are classified into types,subtypes and styles,and combined with stratigraphy,pottery periodization,dating data,historical documents and so on,we can divide the age by stages.In the third chapter,the author divides the materials into animal ornaments and geometric ornaments by referring to the classification results of predecessors,and discusses the causes of various kinds of ornaments,such as the relationship between different ornaments and the symbolic symbols of ritual system and belief,and the relationship between different patterns in different positions and the specific display effect.In the fourth chapter,it is necessary to restore the specific objects of each category to the unearthed environment,summarize the combination relationship,and refer to the clear combination of artifacts in the early and late Shang Dynasties,combined with the etiquette system recorded in the literature,analyze the hierarchy system of the Chinese Shang Dynasty,especially in the case of frequent capital relocation to see whether such system has different forms of expression.The fifth chapter can be used as the appendix of the thesis to discuss the phenomenon and reasons of the emergence of Middle Shang Dynasty style bronzes in different places.Combined with the folklore investigation and the findings that the specific differences of seasons,financial levels,and sacrifices will affect the behavior and use of utensils in etiquette,we could give the possible explanations by reviewing all these collected materials.Finally,it summarizes the contents of the previous chapters,points out the problems existing under the current conditions and levels and the future direction.As an important part of the early Chinese civilization,bronze culture played a powerful role in the process of constructing the ideological system of the whole society.So It is undoubtedly very important to understand and study the bronze ritual system in the Middle Shang Dynasties.