He zun

The He zun (Chinese: 何尊) is an ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel of the zun shape.^[2] It dates from the era of Western Zhou (1046–771 BC),^[3] specifically the early years of the dynasty,^[4] and is famous as the oldest artifact with the written characters meaning "Middle Kingdom" — 中國: "China" — in a bronze inscription on the container.^[5][6] Today it is in the Baoji Bronzeware Museum in Shaanxi.^[2]

He zun
He zun
Material	Bronze
Size	38.8cm tall, 28.8cm in diameter, weight 14.6kg
Created	1038 BCE – c. 1000 BCE^[1]
Discovered	Baoji 34°21′47″N 107°14′17″E / 34.363°N 107.238°E / 34.363; 107.238Coordinates: 34°21′47″N 107°14′17″E / 34.363°N 107.238°E / 34.363; 107.238
Baoji

Dimension and significance

The vessel, dating to the 5th year of the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, is 38.8cm tall, 28.8cm in diameter and weighs 14.6kg.^[2] Inside the container, at the base, it contains 12 rows of 122 inscribed Chinese characters.^[5] Of the 122 characters, 119 are identified while 3 are unknown.^[7] The inscription contains the phrase 宅𢆶𠁩或 (宅茲中國; 宅茲中国; zhái zī zhōngguó) inscribed in early Zhou form, structurally different to the modern form of the characters. The term (𠁩或) here does not carry exactly the same semantic meaning as today, referring rather to the "central region" of the newly expanded Zhou dynasty political domain, but is the earliest occurrence in the Chinese corpus of the word 中國, which gradually expanded in its meaning over the next millennium.^[5][7][8] The He zun is also the earliest known vessel bearing the character de (德, "virtue"),^[9] and one of only 64 historical artifacts that can never leave Chinese soil.^[10]

History

The construction of the city of Luoyi (洛邑 or 雒邑) is documented in two chapters of the Classic of History. The inscription of this vessel supports the textual claim.^[11] Historians believe King Wu of Zhou was at Haojing (鎬京) after the construction of Luoyi.^[12] The record shows King Cheng of Zhou established his residence in Chengzhou (成周) in his 5th year. Most scholars consider this was the 5th year after Duke of Zhou handed over the government.^[11]

The inscription is (in Liding characters and with modern punctuations added):

隹王初𨟦宅于成周，復爯武王豊，祼自天，才亖月丙戌，王𫌲宗小子于亰室，曰：「昔才爾考公氏，克𬩂玟王，𢑩玟王受𢆶大命。隹珷王既克大邑商，𠟭廷吿于天，曰：『余𠀠宅𢆶𠁩或，自之辥民。』烏虖，爾有唯小子亡戠，𧠟于公氏，有𫤼于天，𬴲令，茍亯𢦒。叀王龏徳谷天，順我不每。」王咸𫌲。𣄰易貝卅朋，用乍𫭌公寶𱀵彝，隹王五祀。

The inscription has been translated as follows:^[13]

 

He Zun rubbing and transcription; framed is the phrase 宅𢆶𠁩或 zhái zī zhōngguó "living in the centre of the realm"

It was when the King began laying out his seat at Chengzhou. [The King] returned from extolling King Wu in the Feng sacrifice, with sacrificial meat from the [Hall of] Heaven. In the fourth month, on day bingxu, the king exhorted the scions of the royal clan in the ancestral temple, saying: "In the past, your fathers were able to aid King Wen, whereupon King Wen received this [Great Command]. When King Wu conquered the great city Shang, he then made reverent declarations to Heaven, saying: "Let me dwell in this, the central region, and from here govern the people." Hark! While you are still minors lacking understanding, look to your fathers' scrupulous respect for Heaven. Comprehend my commands and respectfully follow orders! [Your] sovereign's reverential virtue finds favour with Heaven, which guides me in my slow-wittedness." The King's exhortation having finished, [vessel maker] He was presented with the thirty strings of cowries used to make this treasured sacrificial vessel for [his father] Sire [X]. It was the King's fifth year."

— Translation by David W. Pankenier.^[13]

Discovery

The lost artifact was discovered by a Chen family. Behind their house in Baoji was a 3 metre tall cliff.^[2] One cubic metre of the piece was sticking out from the soil. In 1963 the second son of the family dug out the piece thinking that someone might be hurt by the protruding part.^[2] The piece revealed a taotie design. The family did not grasp the value of the vessel, using it as a food storage container at home. On August 8, 1965, the family struggled with financial difficulties and sold the piece along with other unneeded items to a waste center in Baoji for 30 yuan.^[2]

In September 1965 a worker in the waste center informed an expert about the bronze piece. The expert recognised it as a Zhou dynasty artifact and brought it back to a museum.^[2] In 1975, near the end of the Cultural revolution, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage sent the piece to the Shaanxi relic bureau. Ma Chengyuan, a bronze expert at the Shanghai Museum, recognised its significance.^[7]

In 1976 the PRC cultural bureau organised an art exhibition to the United States. The US requested this piece join the exhibit and offered a US$30 million protection coverage.^[7]

See also

 

Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article:

何尊銘文

• Names of China

References

1. Khayutina, Maria (May 2019). "The Story of the He Zun: From Political Intermediary to National Treasure". Orientations. 50 (3): 55. The He zun inscription describes events reliably dated to 1038 BCE, the fifth year of King Cheng of Zhou, but the vessel itself is not necessarily contemporaneous, and may have been cast several decades later. See Khayutina, Maria (2019). Reflections and Uses of the Past in Chinese Bronze Inscriptions from the Eleventh to Fifth Centuries BC: The Memory of the Conquest of Shang and the First Kings of Zhou. Historical Consciousness and the Use of the Past in the Ancient World. pp. 157–180.
2. Xinhuanet.com. "Xinhuanet.com 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine." 何尊. Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
3. Wolfgang Behr (2004). "'To Translate' is 'To Exchange' — Linguistic Diversity and the Terms for Translation in Ancient China". In Michael Lackner and Natascha Vittinghoff (ed.). Mapping Meanings: The Field of New Learning in Late Qing China. Brill. p. 176. ISBN 9789004139190.
4. Rawson, Jessica (1990). Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. Vol. 1. pp. 15–73.
5. big5.7qiji.com. "China's 7 wonders (中國七大奇蹟)^{[permanent dead link]}." 何尊. Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
6. For a transcription of the vessel's text, see Academy of Chinese Social Science Archaeology Research Institute, ed. (2001). 殷周金文集成釋文 [Transcribed Texts of Collected Shang and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions]. Vol. 4. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Chinese Culture University Press. p. 275 (no. 6014). ISBN 962-996-039-7. This differs from the reading offered on the vessel's Chinese wikipedia article. See also Shirakawa Shizuka (白川靜) (1962). "48.1". 金文通釋 [Complete Explanations of Bronze Inscriptions] (in Japanese). Vol. 6. Kobe: Hakutsuru bijutsukan. pp. 167–80.
7. Qkzz.net. "Qkzz.net 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine." “中国”一词的最早记录者——何尊. Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
8. Constance Cook and Paul Goldin, ed. (2020). A Source Book of Ancient Chinese Bronze Inscriptions. The Society for the Study of Early China. p. 16-18. ISBN 9780996944014.
9. 郑勇 (北京师范大), "由《遂公盨》看西周金文中“德”观念的演变". 学语文学 2012.2:3.
10. Wenbao.net. "Chinese cultural heritage protection official web list 2010-08-05 at the Wayback Machine." 何尊 . Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
11. Li Feng. [2006] (2006) Landscape and power in early China: the crisis and fall of the Western Zhou, 1045–771 BC. Cambridge university press. 0521852722, 9780521852722. pg 63.
12. News.chinavoc.cn. "News.chinavoc.cn^{[permanent dead link]}." 西周何尊赏析. Retrieved on 2010-05-01.
13. Pankenier, David W. (10 October 2013). Astrology and Cosmology in Early China: Conforming Earth to Heaven. Cambridge University Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-107-29224-6.