Houmuwu ding

The Houmuwu ding (Chinese: 后母戊鼎; pinyin: Hòumǔwù dǐng), formerly called Simuwu ding (司母戊鼎; Sīmǔwù dǐng), is a rectangular bronze ding (sacrificial vessel, one of the common types of Chinese ritual bronzes) of the ancient Chinese Shang dynasty. It is the heaviest piece of bronzeware to survive from anywhere in the ancient world.[1] It was unearthed in 1939 in Wuguan Village, Anyang, Henan, near Yinxu, the site of the last Shang dynasty capital.

Houmuwu ding at the National Museum of China

Owner

The ding is named for the inscription in bronze ware script on the interior wall, which reads "Queen Mother Wu" (后母戊; Hòumǔwù).[2] This is the temple name of Fu Jing, queen and primary wife of Wu Ding.[3] The ding was made after her death, presumably by her son, Zu Geng of Shang.[4] Whilst the ding itself was unearthed in 1939, in Wuguan Village (五官村), Anyang City, Henan Province,[5] Fu Jing's tomb (tomb 260 at Yinxu) was not located until 1959, and was found to have been looted.[4]

Description
Chiang Kai-shek (right) inspecting the Houmuwu ding in 1948

The ding is of the rectangular type, with four legs. It is 133 cm (52 in) high, 110 cm (43 in) wide, 79 cm (31 in) deep, and weighs 832.84 kg (1,836.1 lb).[2] Compared to earlier ding, such as the Duling rectangular ding, it is wider and its walls are thicker, making it much more massive.[6] Each side has a blank space in the middle, surrounded by a band of decoration featuring taotie (animal faced creatures) and kuilong (one-legged dragons).[6] There are two handles, each decorated on the exterior with two tigers facing each other, their jaws closing around a human head in between them, an image which is also found on Fu Hao battle axes.[6]

Inscription debate

The inscription was originally written as sīmǔwù (司母戊), but since the 1970s scholars have reached the consensus that the first character should be read as hou (后; 'queen''), which is the horizontal reflection of si (司), which is found in oracle bone script before. The National Museum of China has officially corrected its name.[7] The original reading of the inscription would have meant that the owner of the ding was a wife of Wu Yi of Shang (reigned c. 1147–1112 BC), and the dedicator her son, Wen Ding[2] (reigned c. 1112–1102 BC).[8] However, understanding the first character as hou makes it the temple name of Fu Jing, who lived earlier.[3]

See also

References

Citations
  1. "The National Museum of China". China Culture. People's Republic of China Ministry of Culture. Archived from the original on 2014-05-27.
  2. Li (2011), p. 28.
  3. Zeng (1993), p. 71.
  4. Li (2012), p. 13.
  5. Yu Chenglong (于成龙) (ed.). ""Houmuwu" bronze rectangular ding" “后母戊”青铜方鼎. National Museum of China (in Chinese).
  6. Li (2011), p. 30.
  7. Du Xiaodan, ed. (28 March 2011). ""Houmuwu Quadripod" debuts at National Museum of China". CCTV. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014.
  8. Eno, Robert (2010). "Shang Kingship and Shang Kinship" (PDF) (undergraduate course reading). University of Indiana Bloomington. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013.
    Shaughnessy, Edward L. (1999). "Calendar and Chronology". In Michael Loewe; Edward L. Shaughnessy (eds.). The Cambridge History of Ancient China: from the Origins of civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge University Press. pp. 19–29. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521470308.002. ISBN 9780521470308. p. 25
    Gill, N.S. "Shang Dynasty". About.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009.

Bibliography
  • Li Song (2011). Chinese Bronze Ware. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 28–30. ISBN 978-0-521-18685-8.
  • Li Xueqin (李学勤) (2012). 谈新出现的妇妌爵 [On the newly discovered jue of Fu Jing]. Wenbo (in Chinese) (3): 13–14.
  • Zeng Wenqing (曾文清) (1993). "关于"司母戊""司母辛"大方鼎的"司"字质疑" [On the question of the si character on the Simuwu / Simuxin great rectangular ding]. Huaihua Shizhuan Xuebao (in Chinese). 21 (4): 71–73.
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