How inscriptions and style reflect politics: the bronzes of King Cuo.

How inscriptions and style reflect politics: the bronzes of King Cuo. The Warring States Period Warring States periodChinese Zhangou(475–221 BC) In Chinese history, a period in which small feuding kingdoms or fiefdoms struggled for supremacy. The period was dominated by seven or more small feuding Chinese kingdoms. (476-221 BC) forms a bridge between thearchaic kingdoms of the Shang and Zhou and the highly complex Qin andHan empires. This period witnessed profound socio-politicaltransformation, economic development and intellectual ferment ferment/fer��ment/ (fer-ment��) to undergo fermentation; used for the decomposition of carbohydrates. fer��mentn.1. . The Zhou(c. 1050-221 BC) feudal system collapsed, and the powerful Zhou courtwas eclipsed by numerous contending vassal vassal:see feudalism. states. One of these warringstates, the Zhongshan, was known only in sparse historical records untilthe late 1970, when the excavation of the tomb of King Cuo (c. 313 BC)in present-day Hebei Province Noun 1. Hebei province - a populous province in northeastern ChinaHebei, Hopeh, HopeiCathay, China, Communist China, mainland China, People's Republic of China, PRC, Red China - a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most brought to light thousands of artefactsleft by this enigmatic kingdom. The tomb (Figure 1) yielded severalhundred bronze artefacts, including ritual vessels, utensils, horse andchariot fittings, weapons, and structural pieces of lacquer lacquer,solution of film-forming materials, natural or synthetic, usually applied as an ornamental or protective coating. Quick-drying synthetic lacquers are used to coat automobiles, furniture, textiles, paper, and metalware. ware,screens, tents and coffins. Many of the bronzes, especially the oneswith elaborate designs, have on their surface carved or castinscriptions that record the year, workshop, overseer and artisanresponsible for the manufacture of the artefact See artifact. . Therefore we can putthem into a chronological order, and observe the developments andchanges of their styles over time. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The artistic styles of these bronzes changed dramatically duringthe fourteenth year of King Cuo's reign, the year in which thestate of Zhongshan achieved a great military success against a rivalstate, the Yan. New metallurgical technologies were used and new motifswere introduced into the iconographical vocabulary of the Zhongshanbronzes. This paper will identify these changes and discuss theirsignificance in connection with the politics of their time. The inscriptions on King Cuo's bronzes The workshop inscriptions on the bronzes from the tomb specify theyear of the king's reign, the workshop unit, the title and name ofthe overseer, and the title and name of the artisan (Figure 2). In somecases the weight of the completed artefact was also included. Forinstance, an inscription on a round bronze hu says "the tenth year,Youshi (workshop name), overseer Wu Qiu, artisan Zhou, weighs one shiand one hundred and forty-two dao." On ding 1. ding - Synonym for feep. Usage: rare among hackers, but commoner in the Real World.2. ding - "dinged": What happens when someone in authority gives you a minor bitching about something, especially something trivial. "I was dinged for having a messy desk." , dou and li ritualvessels, workshop inscriptions were abbreviated and only included theworkshop name and the artisan name. These inscriptions were added tobronzes for supervisory purposes in an effort to guarantee the qualityof the final products (Liao Wenyuan1998: 49). Judging from the fact thatwriting styles of inscriptions which containing the same sefu, oroverseer, but different gong gong,percussion instrument consisting of a disk, usually with upturned edges, 3 ft (91 cm) or more in diameter in the modern orchestra, often made of bronze, and struck with a felt- or leather-covered mallet or drumstick. , or artisans, are often very similar, the"workshop inscriptions" were probably written by overseers. [FIGURE 2 OMITTED] The earliest year that appeared in these inscriptions is theseventh year (the year number in these inscriptions is considered theyear number of King Cuo's reign). Only one bronze could beidentified as being made during the seventh year according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. its owninscriptions, a flat hu. A bronze basin and a bronze yi were made in theeighth year according to their inscriptions. The workshop in the seventhand eighth years was called Yeyun in these inscriptions. Bronzes with atenth-year inscription include a multi-plate lamp shaped like a tree, aplate, a round box, a round hu, and a dustpan. In inscriptions of thisyear the workshop of Yeyun was replaced by two new workshop names,Zuoshiku and Youshiku. Two bronze artefacts were made in the eleventhyear: a round hu vessel and a he vessel (Figure 3), and four weremanufactured in the twelfth year: a he, a round box, a round hu and aflat hu. In the thirteenth year, a new workshop called Siku appeared inthe inscriptions, and eight artefacts were made in this year (Figure 4).The fourteenth year is the last year in these workshop inscriptions.This year produced not only the largest number of bronze artefacts, butthe most elaborate and luxurious examples, such as a ding and a hu withlong inscriptions, a table with complicated design, four winged beasts,and three screen stands shaped like animals (Figure 5). [FIGURES 3-5 OMITTED] Stylistic changes in the fourteenth year By comparing bronzes made in the fourteenth year with these madebefore, we can see several clear changes in terms of both their styleand type. One change is that ritual vessels were no longer the focus ofproduction. Among the bronzes inscribed in��scribe?tr.v. in��scribed, in��scrib��ing, in��scribes1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface.b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. with a date earlier than thefourteenth year, ritual bronzes make up a major proportion, and huvessels (e.g. Figure 3) were especially numerous. In the fourteenthyear, luxury objects for daily use make up most of the bronzes with adated inscription, such as a table with complex design and gold andsilver inlay inlay/in��lay/ (-la) material laid into a defect in tissue; in dentistry, a filling made outside the tooth to correspond with the cavity form and then cemented into the tooth. in��layn.1. . Although the ding with iron legs and a fang hu were alsomade in the fourteenth year and both have long inscriptions, they couldbe seen as being made for political purposes rather than ritual needs,inlaid in��laid?v.Past tense and past participle of inlay.adj.1. Set into a surface in a decorative pattern: a mahogany dresser with an inlaid teak design.2. objects for secular purposes comprised most of the fourteen yearbronzes. The method of decor also changed dramatically in the fourteenthyear. All bronzes inscribed with a date earlier than the fourteenth yearhave smooth, undecorated surfaces except for two pushou shaped as animalfaces on some water and wine containers. Several new decorativetechnologies were first adopted by the Zhongshan workshops in thefourteenth year and changed the overall look of Zhongshan products. Goldand silver inlay were first used in this year. Inlay suddenly became thedominant decorative device for bronze artefacts, and the surfacedecoration of the bronzes gave up the various relief patterns andtextures seen on earlier examples, and began to emphasise thecontrasting colours on a smooth surface created by inlaid materials. Forinstance, on the surface of beasts, dragons and human figures are linesin intaglio intaglio(ĭntăl`yō, –täl`–), design cut into stone or other material or etched or engraved in a metal plate, producing a concave, instead of a convex, effect. It is the reverse of a relief or cameo. representing skin or hair texture of these creatures; whilein the case of the screen stands on Figure 5, patterns of gold andsilver inlay replaced intaglio or relief lines for the representation ofthe fur patterns of tiger and deer. Gold and silver inlay must have created a dazzling visualimpression, and spoke out more clearly and directly of the power andsophistication so��phis��ti��cate?v. so��phis��ti��cat��ed, so��phis��ti��cat��ing, so��phis��ti��catesv.tr.1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly.2. of the owner than the monochrome surfaces of earlierbronzes. This new decorative device also required a change of theworking process in bronze workshops. The preparation of gold foil andstrips must be incorporated into the production process, and the mouldfor these bronzes had to be made in a different way: grooves had to becreated on the surface of the bronze artefact when it was cast so thatgold and silver strips could be filled in afterwards. The productionprocess required that new knowledge had to be obtained by previousartisans or new artisans had to be brought into Zhongshan workshops. Liang Shutai (2000) raised the possibility that the gold decorationon some Warring State Period bronzes was actually gold inlay. Whilerestoring bronzes with gold "inlay," he found that moderninlay technique could not successfully conceal traces of the meetingpoints of gold wires and achieve the same smooth visual effect as theoriginal gold decoration on these ancient bronzes. He suggested thatinstead of using gold wire or strip to fill up the prepared grooves,artisans of these bronzes used gold paste (gold mixed with mercury) andheated the bronzes to evaporate mercury as in the gilding gilding,process of applying a thin layer of real or imitation gold to a surface. The process is employed on wood, metal, ivory, leather, paper, glass, porcelain, and fabrics and is used to embellish the decorative elements, domes, and vaults of buildings. process.Observations made by the author in the summer of 2002 suggest that thegold "inlay" on some of the Zhongshan bronzes, especially widestrips of gold, was actually gilded directly onto the bronzes. After themercury-gold amalgam is applied evenly on the surface of bronzes, it isheated while being pressed against the bronze using a steel or agatetool; the mercury then evaporates and the gold stays on the surface (JinDayuan 1996). A silvery colour seen beneath damaged gold decoration on aZhongshan bronze animal is probably remains of mercury resulted fromthis process. The sudden adoption of these new decorative technologies is anissue worth more discussion. First of all, the absence of gold inlaybefore the fourteenth year could not be explained by lack of gold,because gold foil was already used in the thirteenth year to wrap bronzebuttons, a traditional decorative technique called baojin, such as theexample on figure 4. It seems that the Siku workshop was responsible forsmall objects made of gold or involving the use of gold as decoration,given that the only objects inscribed with characters Siku were threegold tubes, three bronze buttons wrapped with gold foil and a Che Huiwith gold inlay. Gold foils were probably in use in the Zhongshanworkshops earlier than the thirteenth year, although this year is theearliest in the inscriptions that appear on artefacts with golddecoration. When they arrive, bronzes with gold and silver inlay weremade by several different artisans. It is therefore likely that the newtechniques were owed to incoming metalworkers. The State of Yan and the Zhongshan bronzes The long inscriptions on the largest ding and a fang hu fromCuo's tomb report an event concerning the Zhongshan that has notbeen found in historical records. One inscription reads: "It was inthe fourteenth year [of the king's reign] that King Cuo ofZhongshan King Cuo of Zhongshan was the fifth ruler of the state of Zhongshan during the Warring States Period in ancient China. He reigned for 15 years.As the son of Duke Cheng of Zhongshan, he inherited the state from his father and expanded it to its peak size. commanded the Chancellor of State, Zhou, to select auspicious aus��pi��cious?adj.1. Attended by favorable circumstances; propitious: an auspicious time to ask for a raise in salary.See Synonyms at favorable.2. Marked by success; prosperous. metals of Yan and to cast a sacrificial sac��ri��fi��cial?adj.Of, relating to, or concerned with a sacrifice: a sacrificial offering.sac hu vessel" (Cook 1980: 22).According to these inscriptions, Zhongshan launched a military campaignagainst the Yan after the Chancellor of Yan, Zizhi, persuaded the Kingof Yan, Zikuai, to abdicate the throne to him. The Zhongshan were notalone. According to several different ancient historical documents, suchas the Shiji and the Zhanguoce, the State of Qi invaded and devastatedthe Yan on the same pretext in 314 BC. According to the same records,the Qi army looted many precious state ritual objects of the Yan. It isclear that the Zhongshan had followed this example, and this alsoexplains why the inscription on the fang hu begins with a statement thatKing Cuo ordered this hu cast using the auspicious metal acquired fromYan. Two Yan bronze ritual vessels also supply evidence for the Qiinvasion of Yan, and indicate the kind of bronzework that Cuo chose toemulate. One is the Chen Zhang fang hu at the University Museum,University of Pennsylvania (body, education) University of Pennsylvania - The home of ENIAC and Machiavelli.http://upenn.edu/.Address: Philadelphia, PA, USA. (Figure 6a), which carries an inscription onits foot recording the abdication event of the Yan and the Qi invasionof the Yan in 314 BC. The inscription also reveals that this fang hu waslooted from Yan by the Qi general Chen Zhang. Another hu vessel (Figure6b), excavated from Xuyi, Jiangsu Province, has an inscription thatreads: "obtained by Chen Zhang in the campaign punishing theYan." [FIGURE 6 OMITTED] These two hu vessels indicate the highly developed craftsmanship ofinlay in the state of Yan. The interlacing See interlace. 1. (hardware) interlacing - A video display system which builds an image on the VDU in two phases, known as "fields", consisting of even and odd horizontal lines. angled and curved lines onthe Chen Zhang fang hu form a pattern that was then inlaid withmalachite malachite(măl`əkīt), a mineral, the green basic carbonate of copper occurring in crystals of the monoclinic system or (more usually) in masses. It is translucent or opaque; the luster is silky, vitreous, adamantine, or dull. . On the Xuyi hu vessel, a highly geometric design of gold andsilver inlay covers its outer surface and the ring on its shoulder,which supports an outer shell formed by ninety-six serpents and fivehundred and seventy-six florets (Zhongguo 1997: 42). The gold inlaypattern formed by diagonally arranged swirling lines with diminishingthickness on this hu can also be seen on the Zhongshan table frame. There are other indications that Cuo's fourteenth year bronzesowe much to the Yan. Seventeen bronze hu were found in King Cuo'stomb. All hu vessels made before fourteenth year are round or flat, andall the three hu made in this year are fang hu; one of them is coveredby a long inscription carved on its surface, and the other two wereinlaid with copper, turquoise, and lacquer. Although the transcriptionof some characters in the fang hu inscriptions is still questionable,scholars who compiled the excavation report consider the name Bo Geng torefer to the overseer (Tomb of Cuo: 411). However, the name Bo Gengnever appeared on earlier vessels. Considering the sophisticatedtechnology and skill required to produce the inlaid fang hu, Bo Gengmust had been an experienced artisan before the fourteenth year of Cuo.The absence of his name on earlier workshop inscriptions suggests thathe was newly recruited from workshops elsewhere. In addition, theresemblance between the Cheng Zhang fang hu and the two Zhongshan inlaidfang hu also suggest that Bo Geng probably came from the State of Yan. Conclusion We can conclude that in King Cuo's fourteenth year, Zhongshanachieved important military as well as political success against theState of Yan, and may have acquired artisans from Yan. The style ofbronzes made in the Zhongshan workshops changed dramatically. Gold andsilver inlay, not seen on earlier Zhongshan bronzes, were adopted forthe first time for personal utensils and ornaments. While the Zhongshanbronzes made before the fourteenth year were characterised by the purityof their colour and texture, and the beauty of their gently curvingprofiles, the fourteenth-year bronzes emphasised lavish surfacedecoration of contrasting colours created by gold, silver, copper,turquoise and lacquer. The changes in the Zhongshan workshops in the fourteenth year,including the stylistic changes of bronzes and the appearance of newworkshops and artisans, were probably inspired by Yan bronzes or helpedby artisans who came willingly or unwillingly from the State of Yan. Inthe fourteenth year, when the Zhongshan king was capable of producingextravagant luxuries in his own workshops, he chose to decorate secularrather than ritual bronzes with gold and silver. He also favouredthree-dimensional representations of natural and fantastic animals overother possibilities in the iconographic i��co��nog��ra��phy?n. pl. i��co��nog��ra��phies1. a. Pictorial illustration of a subject.b. The collected representations illustrating a subject.2. vocabulary of the period. Thispreference suggests that King Cuo of Zhongshan considered that realpower and pleasure resided in possessing, displaying and viewing thesebeautiful secular luxuries full of vivid animal imagery, rather thanritual vessels in the Zhou tradition. Acknowledgements Financial support for my research project has been provided by theMetropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies. My sincere thanks alsogo to Professor Katheryn Linduff for her encouragement and comments. References COOK, CONSTANCE A. 1980. Chung-shan Bronze Inscriptions:Introduction and Translation. MA thesis, University of Washington. HEBEI PROVINCIAL INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL RELICS. 1995. Tomb of Cuo,the king of the Zhongshan State in the Warring States Period. Beijing:Wenwu Chubanshe. JIN DAYUAN. 1996. "Woguo gudai de baojin, liujin, cuojinbi." Zhongguo qianbi 3: 64-65. LIANG SHUTAI. 2000. Cuojinying zhiyi. Wenwu chunqiu 4: 71-72. LIAO WENYUAN. 1998. Zhanguo zhidu tongkao. Chengdu: Bashu Shushe. ZHONGGUO QINGTONGQI QUANJI BIANJI WEIYUAN HUI. 1997. Zhongguoqingtongqi quanji 9. Beijing: Wenwu Chubanshe. Xiaolong Wu, Hanover College Coordinates: Hanover College is a coeducational liberal arts college, located in Hanover, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio River. , Art and Art History Department,Hanover; Indiana 472473, USA (Email: xiaolongwu@yahoo.com) Received: 3 January 2003; Accepted: 3 November 2003