Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels - Hardcover

Shaughnessy, Edward L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520070283 ISBN 13: 9780520070288

Publisher: University of California Press, 1992

Synopsis

The thousands of ritual bronze vessels discovered by China's archaeologists serve as the major documentary source for the Western Zhou dynasty (1045-771 B.C.). These vessels contain long inscriptions full of detail on subjects as diverse as the military history of the period, the bureaucratic structure of the royal court, and lawsuits among the gentry. Moreover, being cast in bronze, the inscriptions preserve exactly the contemporary script and language.

Shaughnessy has written a meticulous and detailed work on the historiography and interpretation of these objects. By demonstrating how the inscriptions are read and interpreted, Shaughnessy makes accessible in English some of the most important evidence about life in ancient China.

About this title

About the Author

Edward L. Shaughnessy is Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels

By Edward L. Shaughnessy

University of California Press

Copyright © 1992 Edward L. Shaughnessy
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0520070283
Introduction

On December 15, 1975, farmers clearing a field near Mount Qi in Fufeng county, Shaanxi province, accidentally unearthed an ancient bronze vessel. This was by no means a rare occurrence in this county, which three thousand years earlier had been the homeland of the rulers of the Western Zhou dynasty (1045-771 B.C. ), and local archeologists were sent to excavate the site. Even these archeologists, accustomed as they had become in recent years to discoveries of Western Zhou bronze vessels, must have been astounded when, upon opening a pit about two meters long, one meter wide, and one meter deep, they found another 102 vessels neatly arranged and packed in a layer of protective ash.1

These 103 vessels, 74 of which are inscribed, were cast by members of at least five different generations of a family named Wei . The patriarch of the family was originally an inhabitant of eastern China, perhaps a nobleman of the preceding Shang dynasty. After the Zhou conquest of Shang in 1045 B.C. , he went (or was brought) to the Zhou capital and then resettled in the Zhou homeland at the base of Mount Qi. Thereafter, his descendants served hereditarily as scribes at the Zhou court. Judging from the great number of bronze vessels that they had cast, their roles at court provided the members of the Wei family with considerable wealth and access to royal power, and most of the inscriptions commemorate specific awards from their royal patrons. But one inscription is different. In what appears to have been an unusual moment of reflectiveness, a fifth-generation member of the family named Qiang saw fit to cast one vessel, a pan or water basin, with an inscription recounting the history of the family, diplomatically providing as well a similar history of the Zhou royal family (and naturally giving it priority). Composed shortly before 900 B.C. , this inscription on the "Shi Qiang pan " (fig. 1) is probably the first conscious attempt in China to write history.2

For the formal report of this discovery, see Shaanxi Zhouyuan kaogudui 1978; and for an English translation, see Dien, Riegel, and Price 1985, 512-529.

References to studies of this inscription and textual notes supporting the translation offered here are given in Appendix 1. It might be noted that inscribed bronze vessels are conventionally referred to by a combination of the name (and title, if available) of the individual identified in the inscription as the caster of the vessel (which is to say, the person who commissioned the casting) and type of vessel. Thus, the name "Shi Qiang pan " indicates a pan basin cast by the scribe (shi ) Qiang . I will follow this convention throughout this book, providing characters for the title and name of a vessel at its first occurrence in each chapter.
I will also provide a reference to Shirakawa Shizuka 's comprehensive survey of Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, Kinbun tsushaku (or to its supplement, Kinbun hoshaku ), indicating the fascicle number, entry number, and the first page of the entry. For the "Shi Qiang pan ," which is found in fascicle 50, entry 15, of the Kinbun hoshaku (which I abbreviate as Ho ), beginning on p. 335, the reference is given as Sh 50.Ho l5:335. Since Shirakawa provides a full bibliography for this and other inscriptions, I will not repeat studies cited by him; only studies published after his or otherwise not included there will be cited in the notes.

Fig.1
Inscription on the "Shi Qiang pan."

Shi Qiang pan

Accordant with antiquity was King Wen! (He) first brought harmony to government. The Lord on High sent down fine virtue and great security. Extending to the high and low, he joined the ten thousand states.

Capturing and controlling was King Wu! (He) proceeded and campaigned through the four quarters, piercing Yin and governing its people. Eternally unfearful of the Di (Distant Ones), oh, he attacked the Yi minions.

Model and sagely was King Cheng! To the left and right (he) cast and gathered his net and line, therewith opening and integrating the Zhou state.

Deep and wise was King Kang! (He) divided command and pacified the borders.

Vast and substantial was King Zhao! (He) broadly tamed Chu and Jing; it was to connect the southern route.

Reverent and illustrious was King Mu! (He) patterned (himself) on and followed the great counsels.

Continuing and tranquil is the Son of Heaven! The Son of Heaven strives to carry on the long valor of (kings) Wen and Wu. The Son of Heaven is diligent and without flaw, faithfully making offerings to (the spirits) above and below, and reverently glorifying the great plan(s). Heavenly radiant and incorruptible, the Lord on High, Hou Ji, and the witch protectors give to the Son of Heaven an extensive mandate, thick blessings, and abundant harvests. Among the borderland (peoples) and the man -savages, there are none who do not hasten to appear (at court).

Pure and retiring was the High Ancestor! (He) was at the numinous place of Wei. When King Wu had already defeated Yin, the Wei scribes and valorous ancestors then came to present themselves (in audience) to King Wu. King Wu then commanded the Duke of Zhou to dispense (to them) domicile at a low place of Zhou.

Happy and helpful was Ancestor Yi! (He) assisted and served his ruler, distantly planning (with) belly and heart (his) sons' acceptance.

Clear-eyed and bright was Grandfather Xin of the branch lineage! Transferring (the lineage) and nurturing sons and grandsons, (he had) abundant good fortune and many blessings. Even-horned and redly gleaming, appropriate were his sacrifices.

Extending and even was my cultured deceased-father, Duke Yi! Strong and bright, he obtained purity. Without owing agricultural harvests, surpassing shoots were the openings (of the new fields).

Filial and convivial is Scribe Qiang! Morning and night not dropping, may (he) daily have his merits acknowledged. Qiang does not dare to stop, and in response extols the Son of Heaven's illustriously beneficent command, herewith making (this) treasured, sacrificial vessel. (Would that his) valorous ancestors and cultured deceased-father grant favor, and give Qiang vibrant freshness, fortunate peace, blessed wealth, a yellowing old age, and a prolonged life (so that he) may be worthy to serve his lord. May (he) for ten thousand years eternally treasure and use (it).

It probably goes without saying that neither Qiang nor his family was granted "ten thousand years" to "treasure and use" their bronze vessels. Within a century and a half after this vessel was cast, the Zhou homeland was in turn overrun by western invaders, and the Wei family was forced once again to relocate, this time joining the Zhou nobility in a massive migration eastward. Before they left, they buried the family bronze vessels in the pit at Fufeng, doubtless hoping soon to return and reclaim them. Although they never did return, it may bring some solace to their spirits to know that the modern archeologists who finally unearthed them also "treasure" them, and that modern historians, the intellectual inheritors of the Wei family's scribal profession, hope once again to "use" these vessels, this time to cross three thousand years in order to learn something of the beginning of history.

Continues...

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Edition details

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520070283
• ISBN 13: 9780520070288
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312