That the magnificent bronzes were locally cast is beyond reasonable doubt, for the remains of a large bronze casting workshop have been identified. The most significant among the bronzes is a series of three-legged handled wine vessels known as jue. A typical specimen stands about 14 centimeters (5.6 in.) in height and has a long spout. The technique used to produce such elegant vessels is known as piece-mold casting. This represents a Chinese innovation in bronze technology that was in due course to produce very large and intricately decorated vessels. It involved the manufacture of a clay core in the form of the intended casting. Three or more outer clay molds were then fashioned to envelop the core, leaving sufficient space within for the molten bronze to penetrate. The interior of each piece could be decorated by excising clay in the intended pattern; the pieces were then fitted over the core, and molten bronze was poured. The outer mold sections were then fractured to remove the vessel within. This is a highly demanding technique requiring skill of a high order, and it denotes the presence of full-time craft specialists. The casting of wine vessels also points to the presence of a ruling elite capable, through deploying surpluses, of sustaining specialists and seeking prestigious and rare items for ritual and feasting.
The other bronzes, and indeed the jades, also show an interest in improved weaponry. There are, for example, knives and dagger axes as well as horse frontlets. Small disks have been interpreted as mirrors. This bronze industry, when considered in relationship to such forms as the ring-handled knives at Erlitou, has suggested to some scholars an origin in the steppic cultures of Siberia, such as that of Afanasevo, which were familiar with the domestic horse and with metalworking at a far earlier date than in China. The interest in metal weaponry is also not surprising when the friction between the Xia rulers and their client rulers as described in the Shiji is taken into account. Indeed, the end of the dynasty occurred in the context of armed conflict.
EVIDENCE OF THE XIA DYNASTY
The excavations of Erlitou have successfully illuminated remains that beyond reasonable doubt represent the shadowy and once mythical Xia dynasty. They reveal a society able to organize a large labor force for monumental building activity and engage in long-distance exchange for high-prestige valuables. Investigations at the site of Huizui, located 15 kilometers (9 mi.) from Erlitou, have revealed a settlement involved in the specialized production of stone spades. Such spades have been found at Erlitou itself, suggesting that goods from subsidiary communities found their way to the center.
Further reading: Fitzgerald-Huber, L. G. “Qijia and Erlitou: The Question of Contacts with Distant Cultures,” Early China 20 (1995): 17-68.
Er Shi See HUHAI.
World History
