Ming and Qing Copper Wares -- A Series of Cultural Relic Appreciation Books

Author: Ma Jinhong (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Copper is one of the earliest metals recognized and utilized by humans. It has excellent malleability, allowing it to be shaped with a few hammer blows. Copper can also be melted into a liquid at high temperatures and cast into various objects. Our ancestors began to understand the properties of copper in the late Neolithic Age. The Yangshao Culture site in Jiangzhai, Lintong, Shaanxi Province, has unearthed bronze-made artifacts dating back approximately 6,700 years. The legendary casting of the nine bronze ding vessels by the Xia Dynasty, along with recent archaeological discoveries, indicate that China entered the Bronze Age around the 21st century BCE. The development of bronze artifacts spanned about 2,000 years across the Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States periods. By the late Warring States period, the iron casting industry flourished, and iron tools and weapons gradually replaced bronze artifacts, leading to the gradual decline of bronze casting. However, as part of the metal casting industry, copperware production maintained a certain scale, producing some outstanding pieces, such as Han and Tang bronze mirrors, Song Dynasty imitation ancient bronze artifacts, Ming Dynasty Xuande furnaces, and Qing Dynasty court utensils. This book primarily introduces bronze artifacts from the Ming and Qing dynasties.