Si mu wu ding vessel (司母戊鼎)

China has a long history of using green bronze, and it is one of the most symbolic metals in the ancient China. Start from 5000 year ago China has entered the age called green Bronze Age. This age last for more than 2000 year until iron were appearing in the civilization and substitute green bronze. Ding vessel was the symbol of Chinese green Bronze Age. Before civilization appears, ding vessels were created by clays and it was used for burning food for worship ceremony. When the first dynasty Xia appeared, ding vessel was made in green bronze instead of clay and has a significant meaning in the civilization. The number of vessel a person could have symbolized his power in the society. According to “Zhou Li (周礼)”, the emperor could have nine ding vessels which symbolize the nine state in China called “Jiu Zhou”, dukes and barons could have seven, high officials five, and scholars three. People must follow this rule; any mistake made about the number of the vessel could result a serious criminal case for the person. . Therefore, we can find the person’s status by analysing the number of ding vessel inside of their tomb.

Si mu wu ding vessel is one of the greatest green bronze ware created in the Chinese history. It was excavate in1939 by a farmer in He Nan province. The vessel was made in Shang dynasty and was used by the emperor to worship his mother. The ding vessel is weight 832.24kg. The huge rectangle body is sitting on top of four legs that is empty inside. There is a vertical ear on each side of the vessel. The ear is also known as loop handle. The whole ding vessel was made in in piece from leg to the body, and the two ears were made separately and attached to the body later. The handle face was shaped into two tigers open their mouth toward each other and a human head between mouths. This figure of two tiger eating human’s head is a symbol of the great power owned by the emperor. The side of the handle has fish figure drawn on top. The rectangular body has ferocious animals figures Engraved on the each side. The whole picture on the side wall showes the great power of the emperor. Inside of the vessel, there are three words “司母戊” (Si mu wu) written on the wall. The name Si mu wu ding vessel came from these words. The beauty of this vessel shows us the highest point of green bronze art.

Zhaoyu Hunter Chen