{"id":6419,"date":"2019-11-16T16:41:49","date_gmt":"2019-11-16T16:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/chinese-culture\/bronze-workshops-qing-tong-zuo-fang\/"},"modified":"2019-11-16T16:41:49","modified_gmt":"2019-11-16T16:41:49","slug":"bronze-workshops-qing-tong-zuo-fang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/th\/bronze-workshops-qing-tong-zuo-fang\/","title":{"rendered":"Bronze Workshops \u9752\u94dc\u4f5c\u574a"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Geographical Location:<\/strong> <\/span>Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province<\/p>\n

Period: <\/span><\/strong>Western Zhou Dynasty (1100-771BC)<\/p>\n

Excavation period: <\/span><\/strong>April 2003<\/p>\n

A joint team of researchers from Peking University , Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Shaanxi Archaeology Research Institute, led by Xu Tianjin<\/p>\n

Findings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nearly ten years ago, the ruins of <\/span>bro<\/em>nze workshops<\/strong>(\u9752\u94dc\u4f5c\u574aQ\u012bngtóng zu\u014dfang) from the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century-711BC) were unearthed in the Zhouyuan area of Baoji City, Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. Spreading across Zhuangbai and Lijia villages, the site was named the Lijia (Li Family) Bro<\/em>nze Workshops, with an area of 875 square meters. Here, archeologists found the ruins of 120 ash pits, eight house foundations, two wells, three ash ditches, 35 tombs and one horse-and-chariot pit.<\/p>\n

The site harvested thousands of pottery and bro<\/em>nze artifacts. The most interesting relics include a number of pottery moulds with intricate engravings found in six ash pits. Other artifacts include ding s, pots, bro<\/em>nze bells, bro<\/em>nze buttons and other instruments. These rare and valuable items bear fascinating ins<\/em>criptions and splendid decorations.<\/p>\n

Handicrafts progressed during this period and the bro<\/em>nze industry was especially im<\/em>portant. Bro<\/em>nze works greatly increased in quality, quantity and variety so that their usage encompassed nearly every aspect of daily life.<\/p>\n

Significance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Known as the home of Chinese bro<\/em>nze ware , Zhouyuan has produced large quantities of ancient bro<\/em>nze ware. The exact location of the bro<\/em>nze production center, however, remained a mystery until the discovery of the Lijia Bro<\/em>nze Workshop Site, which has provided solid evidence a<\/em>bout wher bro<\/em>nze ware was produced and demo<\/em>nstrated the high technical standard of bro<\/em>nze production during the period. The discovery of the workshop filled an im<\/em>portant gap in the history of bronze.<\/p>\n

The Zhouyuan Site<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zhouyuan has been a treasure trove of ancient bro<\/em>nze ware for decades. Located in the middle of Shaanxi Province, Zhouyuan has played an im<\/em>portant role in exploring the origin of the pre-Zhou cultures, as well as the social, political, eco<\/em>nomic and cultural developments of the Western Zhou Dynasty.<\/p>\n

The Zhouyuan site, located at the border of Fufeng and Qishan counties, was listed as a site under top State protection by the State Council . In 1976, a batch of 103 Western Zhou bro<\/em>nze pieces was unearthed at Zhuangbai village, drawing attention from archaeologists both home and abroad.<\/p>\n

The bro<\/em>nze culture has been one of the brightest chapters in ancient Chinese civilization for hundreds of thousands of years. The entire western area of the Shaanxi Central Plain is ho<\/em>nored as the Holy Land of Bronze.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n