Английская Википедия:He zun
Шаблон:Infobox artefact The He zun (Шаблон:Zh) is an ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel of the zun shape.[1] It dates from the era of Western Zhou (1046–771 BC),[2] specifically the early years of the dynasty,[3] and is famous as the oldest artifact with the written characters meaning "Middle Kingdom" or "Central State" — Шаблон:Zh: "China" — in a bronze inscription on the container.[4] Today it is in the Baoji Bronzeware Museum in Shaanxi.[1]
Dimension and significance
The vessel, dating to the 5th year of the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, is Шаблон:Cvt tall, Шаблон:Cvt in diameter and weighs 14.6kg.[1] Inside the container, at the base, it contains 12 rows of 122 inscribed Chinese characters.[5] Of the 122 characters, 119 are identified while 3 are unknown.[6] The inscription contains the phrase Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Zh) inscribed in early Zhou form, structurally different to the modern form of the characters. The term (Шаблон:Zh) here does not carry exactly the same semantic meaning as today, referring rather to the "central region" of the newly expanded Zhou dynasty political domain, but is the earliest occurrence in the Chinese corpus of the word Шаблон:Zh, which gradually expanded in its meaning over the next millennium.[6][7] The He zun is also the earliest known vessel bearing the character de (Шаблон:Zh, "virtue"),[8] and one of only 64 historical artifacts that can never leave Chinese soil.[9]
History
The construction of the city of Luoyi (Шаблон:Zh) is documented in two chapters of the Classic of History. The inscription of this vessel supports the textual claim.[10] The record shows King Cheng of Zhou established his residence in Chengzhou (Шаблон:Zh) in his 5th year. Most scholars consider this was the 5th year after Duke of Zhou handed over the government.[10]
The inscription is (in liding characters and with modern punctuation added): Шаблон:Quote
The inscription has been translated as follows:[11]
Discovery
The lost artifact was discovered by a Chen family. Behind their house in Baoji was a 3 metre tall cliff.[1] One cubic metre of the piece was sticking out from the soil. In 1963, the second son of the family dug out the piece thinking that someone might be hurt by the protruding part.[1] The piece revealed a taotie design. The family did not grasp the value of the vessel, using it as a food storage container at home. On August 8, 1965, the family struggled with financial difficulties and sold the piece along with other unneeded items to a waste center in Baoji for 30 yuan.[1]
In September 1965, a worker in the waste center informed an expert about the bronze piece. The expert recognised it as a Zhou dynasty artifact and brought it back to a museum.[1] In 1975, near the end of the Cultural revolution, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage sent the piece to the Shaanxi relic bureau. Ma Chengyuan, a bronze expert at the Shanghai Museum, recognised its significance.[6]
In 1976, the PRC cultural bureau organised an art exhibition to the United States. The US requested this piece join the exhibit and offered a US$30 million protection coverage.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ For a transcription of the vessel's text, see Шаблон:Cite book This differs from the reading offered on the vessel's Chinese wikipedia article. See also Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 6,0 6,1 6,2 6,3 Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Citation
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 10,0 10,1 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- Страницы с игнорируемыми отображаемыми названиями
- Английская Википедия
- Страницы с неработающими файловыми ссылками
- Zhou dynasty bronzeware
- History of Baoji
- Names of China
- 1965 archaeological discoveries
- Archaeological discoveries in China
- 11th-century BC works
- Страницы, где используется шаблон "Навигационная таблица/Телепорт"
- Страницы с телепортом
- Википедия
- Статья из Википедии
- Статья из Английской Википедии
