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Transforming Early Chinaļ¼The Development of Bronze Inscriptions in the Spring and Autumn Period
Date Issued
2016
Date
2016
Author(s)
Huang, Ting-Chi
Abstract
The Spring and Autumn Period was not only a turning point in the development of ancient Chinese society, but also marked the conclusion of the Shang and Zhou cultural era. The transmitted texts and archeological artifacts of the period show clear signs of this transition, and bronze vessels with cast or engraved inscriptions are particularly important as historical sources. This dissertation examines the numerous changes Spring and Autumn bronze inscriptions underwent in regard to their location on the vessel, textual structure, use of new fixed expressions, character forms, and other aspects. It analyzes how these inscriptions continued the Western Zhou bronze inscription tradition, but at the same time gave rise to new regional scripts during the Warring States period. It defines the role of Spring and Autumn bronze inscriptions within the context of this historical development. The first two chapters of this dissertation review previous scholarship and methodological concerns. The first chapter shows that while many Spring and Autumn Period bronze vessels bearing inscriptions have been unearthed, relatively little in-depth research has been conducted except in regard to the forms of the characters that appear in the inscriptions, and based on this defines the significance of this dissertationās research topic. The second chapter analyzes the periodization schemes and regional divisions employed by archaeologists, art historians, and bronze catalogues, and proposes a new framework for analyzing temporal and regional differences within the Spring and Autumn period. The four final chapters enter into direct analysis of the developments occurring within Spring and Autumn Period bronze inscriptions. The third chapter analyzes the placement location, length, subject, and other aspects of the inscriptions, and based on these changes in outer appearance, shows that the importance of bronze inscriptions gradually declined during the Spring and Autumn period. During this period, the location of the inscriptions gradually shifted to the outside of the vessel and the inscribed characters became smaller and more finely wrought so that the appearance of the inscriptions would accord with the aesthetics of the bronze vessel as a whole. Even the subjects discussed by the inscriptions underwent changes due to the rapid decline of the feudal order and the increasing frequency of interstate visits. The fourth chapter challenges the established view that the style of Spring and Autumn bronze inscriptions is formulaic or rigid, and explores the historical information contained within the fixed expressions used in many inscriptions. From changes in the style of the text, the verbs used to describe the creation of the vessel, and changes in the structure of peopleās names, it is possible to analyze the new kinds of connections that were established between the creators of bronze vessels, the sources of the bronze itself, and the right to produce a vessel. These changes also reveal peopleās different pursuits in regard to the quality of the vessels they created. In addition, newly emerging ways of using peopleās names not only reveal the unique historical characteristics of Spring and Autumn period bronze inscriptions, but also provide valuable information about the development of regional bronze cultures. The fifth chapter discusses the set of fixed expressions that began to appear in Spring and Autumn period bronze inscriptions. Based on an examination of these phrasesā meaning, development, and changes in usage, it shows that there are regional and temporal differences in usage that reflect changes in the intellectual climate of the period. Thus they not only provide information about social history, intellectual history, and cultural history, but can also provide a secondary standard for determining the time period and geographic locale in which individual bronze vessels were created. Based on an analysis of changes in character forms, the sixth chapter investigates the characteristics of Spring and Autumn period bronze inscriptions, and examines regional variance in order to more fully understand Spring and Autumn bronze inscriptions in their entirety. Finally, this chapter examines Bird Worm Script, placing it within the framework of the development of Chinese characters in order to examine the changes it underwent, and in order to understand the relationship between it and the characters appearing in contemporaneous Spring and Autumn bronze inscriptions. By means of this, its historical significance can be established. The reason this dissertation focuses on how bronze inscriptions developed during the Spring and Autumn period is because this process was not limited to changes in regard to character form, but in fact constituted a dynamic process that involved social structure, intellectual culture, and historical developments. These inscriptions not only record peopleās views of the bronze vessels, political power, and aesthetics, but also reflect the turmoil and changes of the period.
Subjects
Spring and Autumn Period
Ancient Chinese
Bronze
inscriptions
Character
SDGs
Type
thesis
File(s)
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ntu-105-D99121004-1.pdf
Size
23.54 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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