Bronze Ding and Status

DING // 鼎

"The 'ding' had a special function as the only vessel specifically used to prepare and offer meat sacrifices."

-Elizabeth Childs-Johnson (2012) [1]

The ding is known an ancient receptacle or vessel for holding and cooking meat, as well as wine and grain. However, the large-scaled Shang ding had two functions, for it was used as a sacred ritual object and was symbolic of "divine power" and "state authority" during the ancient Chinese dynasties.[2] Thus, the ding was used for the practical purpose of sacrifice, yet it also carried an ideological function - both political and economical. According to scholar Li Song, the size of a ding correlated with one’s wealth and status - the greater in size, the more power it symbolised.[3] Considering this, the Houmuwu arguably highlights the economic, political and perhaps even spiritual power of Wu Ding, shedding light on the various levels of Shang system and social order.

During the Shang dynasty, the ding was cast for and owned by those in the royal lineage. However, in the succeeding Zhou dynasty, it would be cast for and be in the possession of local governors and those that were wealthy and powerful who were able to afford such an object.

There are three types of ding...

li-ding // 鬲鼎

A 'hybrid' tripod vessel that combines the design of a li and ding, it stems from ceramic prototypes prior to bronze use. A li is a food vessel with three legs and a characteristically round belly. The li-ding features a round-shaped body, but with handles and three longer legs. [4]

fangding // 方鼎

The Houmuwu is a primary example of this particular type of ding. With a rectangular body, the only known designs of these tetrapod vessels are made of bronze, suggesting that they did not derive from a ceramic prototype. [5]

pianzu ding // 扁足鼎

With the only known examples dating back to the Shang dynasty, this is a ding with flat-panel feet. These are found at the site of the culture centre of Xingan of the late Shang and thought to be a ''local" style of the culture.[6] Take a look at the map on this page to find out more.

These various types of Shang ding show that although dings have a crucial function, its aesthetic and artistry –- the size and elaborate designs – contribute to the significance of the object. It also shows the development of the objects across time and place, as shown through the example of the pianzu ding.

MATERIAL AND MYTH: THE NINE TRIPOD DING//九鼎

Artistic depiction of the nine ding along with the mythical sage-hero Yu.

The significance of the ding is based on the symbolic meaning of the nine tripods of the Xia dynasty –that is, power based on divination and statecraft.[7] Although there is not material evidence of these particular nine tripods, the ancient mythology of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons has been recorded in traditional literature and philosophical writings of the later dynasties, which explains how the nine ding represents the nine provinces.[8] The possession of nine large ding were a symbol of legitimacy of rule and rites, of territorial and political power, where the 'passing down'of these across the Xia, Shang and Zhou were considered the upholding of this legitimacy of the Three Dynasties.[9] This show the ideology of the Shang is a continuation of the assumed legacy of the Xia which will then be passed onto the Zhou dynasty.

The number of bronze ding denoted the status of the deceased owner of the tomb and was measured in odd-number increments :

The gentleman with one ding,

The minister with three,

The lower official with five,

The high official with seven,

And a total of nine ding for the king. [10]

These distinctions thus provide insight into the upper social stratum of late Shang civilisation and shows how the ding is associated with the noble, elite and royal, excluding commoners from the possession of such a object.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

This is a video that explores the importance of the ding in terms of status and power. Although the video focuses on the large De Ke Ding from the late Western Zhou dynasty in China (c. 1046 - 771 B.C.E.), Dr. Kristen Chiem and Dr. Beth Harris share some interesting points that can be applied to understanding bronze ritual vessels in the Shang dynasty. [12]

Make sure to take note of their discussion of piece-mold casting and the taotie motif.

Reference:

[1] Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, “Big Ding 鼎 and China Power: Divine Authority and Legitimacy,” Asian Perspectives 51, no. 2(2012): 167.

[2] Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, “Big Ding 鼎 and China Power: Divine Authority and Legitimacy,” Asian Perspectives 51, no. 2(2012): 164.

[3] Song Li, Chinese Bronze Ware (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 31.

[4] Robert L. Thorp, China in the Early Bronze Age: Shang Civilization, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006),196.

[5] Rose Kerr, Joseph Needham, and Nigel Wood. Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, ed. Rose Kerr, (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004), 390.

[6] Conrad Schirokauer, Miranda Brown, A Brief History of Chinese Civilization, (Boston: Wadsworth,Cengage Learning, 2003),15.

[7] Lang Ye, Zhenggang Fei and Tianyou Wang, CHINA: Five Thousand Years of History & Civilization City, ed. H. K. Chang (Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong Press, 2007), 123.

[8] Lan-ying Tseng, “Myth, History, and Memory: The Modern Cult of the Simuwu,” in Chinese Culture Centenary, (Taipei: National Museum of History: 1999), 745.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Mu-chou Poo, “Early Chinese Afterlife Beliefs and Funerary Practices,” in The Routledge Companion to Death and Dying, ed. Christopher M. Moreman (New York: Routledge, 2017), 86-87.

[11]Jan and Yvonne Walls, Classical Chinese Myths (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing Co., 1984), 5.

[12] Smarthistory. art, history, conversation. "Da Ke Ding." Youtube video, 5:35. Posted September 23, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAtweI2BUNE&t=235s

Images:

Header: Marilyn Shea, Wu Si Wei Ding - Cooking Vessel (五祀卫鼎烹饪器), 2005. Photograph, http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/Xian/Shaanxi_History/pages/084_History_Museum.html

li-ding: "A Bronze Ritual Tripod Food Vessel, Ding," Christie's. Last modified March 17, 2017. http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-bronze-ritual-tripod-food-vessel-ding-6063749-details.aspx

"Tripod Vessel (Li Ding)," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Accessed 25 September, http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/61286.

fingding: "Ritual Food Vessel (Fang ding) with 'Taotie' Decor," Harvard Art Museums, Washington. Accessed 25 September. http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/203985.

"商青銅方鼎及俎蓋 Rectangular Cauldron (Fangding) with Lid (Zu)," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Accessed 25 September. http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/as/web-large/DP140770.jpg

Pianzu Ding: "Food Vessel Shang Dynasty, 1300-1050 BC," The Asian Art Museum, San Fransisco. http://education.asianart.org/explore-resources/artwork/ritual-vessel-fangyi-approx-1300%E2%80%931050

David Hunn, "Couple donates 225 works worth at least $50 million to St. Louis Art Museum," St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Last modified November 4, 2014. http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/couple-donates-works-worth-at-least-million-to-st-louis/article_cb558144-e93f-5e62-ad59-416216be9042.html.

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