Auspicious Metals from the Orient: Ancient Bronzes of China, Korea, and Japan
Venue: Gallery N1
Date: 26 July - 9 October 2022
Hosts: National Museum of China, National Museum of Korea, Tokyo National Museum of Japan
Exchange and cooperation between China, Korea, and Japan not only have a long historical tradition, but also have a realistic basis of mutual benefit and win-win situation, and a bright future with unlimited potential. The year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Korea and the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan—milestones in the development of relations between the three countries. On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the National Museum of China, the exhibition Auspicious Metals from the Orient: Ancient Bronzes of China, Korea, and Japan is jointly organized by the National Museum of China, the National Museum of Korea, and the Tokyo National Museum of Japan. This exhibition will tap into and display the common cultural memory of the three countries, hoping to bring our hearts closer, foster the sharing of our cultures and values, and do our bit to promote lasting peace and universal prosperity in this region.
The use of bronze is a major marker of civilization. In the history of ancient civilizations in many regions, the emergence of bronzes greatly contributed to the development of economy and society. The ancient bronzes of East Asia have evolved a unique and profound meaning of ritual and belief that extends beyond practical function, structuring the great depth and breadth of oriental bronze civilization. Ancient Chinese bronze culture was characterized by the use of ritual vessels. Ritual vessels, musical instruments, tools, weapons, and horse and chariot accouterments feature various categories and rich connotations. As emblems of the status and rank of the pre-Qin aristocracy, records of family honor, and symbols of wealth and prestige, bronzes were not only significant markers for maintaining social order and political landscape, but also important carriers for cultural inheritance. The ancient Korean bronze culture was characterized by daggers, mirrors, and bells, symbolizing the unification of political authority and ritual authority. The ancient Japanese bronze culture was represented by weapons, ornaments, musical instruments, and household utensils—widely involved in various fields such as rituals, life, and beliefs. The exhibition features about 50 pieces (sets) of bronze artifacts from the collections of the national museums of China, Korea, and Japan, fully presenting the distinctive cultural traditions and technological and artistic achievements of the three countries. The bronze artifacts unearthed from the tomb of the Marquis of Cai in China represent one of the major achievements of Chinese archaeological community. The ding (food container), fanghu (wine container), and chimes are typical of ancient Chinese bronze artifacts and provide valuable information for understanding the politics, culture, rituals, and diplomacy of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770–221 BCE). Korean bronze daggers, mirror with fine linear design, and bell, as well as Japanese bell-shaped bronze dōtaku, spear, sword, and mirror reflect the basic appearance and characteristics of Korean and Japanese bronze culture. This exhibition is an attempt to interpret in depth the long history and humanistic heritage of ancient civilizations of China, Korea, and Japan through these precious bronzes, and to fully demonstrate the extensive exchanges and mutual learning that existed between the three countries.
President Xi Jinping stresses that since ancient times, Chinese civilization has been known for its openness and inclusiveness, and it has gained new vitality through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations. We will uphold and promote civilization concepts that emphasize equality, mutual learning, dialog and inclusiveness and understand different civilizations’ recognitions of their own value connotations with an open mind; we should respect different countries’ and peoples’ exploration of their own development paths. We should remove civilization misunderstandings through cultural exchanges, avoid civilization clashes by learning from each other, and replace civilization supremacy with coexistence of civilizations. We will carry forward the common values of humanity contained in Chinese civilization and build a human community with a shared future. The National Museum of China, as the national supreme palace of history, culture, and art, and China’s “cultural lounge,” has always attached importance to international cultural exchanges and cooperation. We hold international exchange exhibitions to present the unique historical and cultural outlook and civilizational achievements of various countries and regions around the world, and to introduce China to the world. On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the National Museum of China, it is our sincere hope that this exhibition will promote cultural exchange, enhance interaction and understanding of the peoples of the three countries, and show the world the unique charm of East Asian civilization.
Ancient Chinese bronze culture first appeared in the late Neolithic period. From archaeological discoveries, the earliest known tools, ornaments, and other bronze artifacts were found at prehistoric sites dating back 5,000 years including Majiayao and Longshan, and had a widely varied impact on the production and life of contemporaneous society. These bronze objects signal the dawn of bronze civilizaiton in China. The Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties (c. 21st century–221 BCE) were the main period of the Chinese Bronze Age. The bronze food containers, musical instruments, weapons, ornaments, and horse and chariot accouterments closely combined specific functions with the culture of ritual and music, giving birth to a profound and unique bronze ritual and music civilization. The value and significance of this civilization lie not only in the excellent craftsmanship and beautiful shapes and decorations, but also in the rich connotations of politics, hierarchy, rituals, culture, beliefs, and aesthetics. Chinese bronze ritual and music civilization laid the foundation of early Chinese civilization, and also had a profound and long-lasting influence on the development of bronze culture in other parts of the world, making a remarkable contribution to the construction of ancient civilizations globally.
This section focuses on several sets of representative bronzes unearthed from the tomb of the Marquise of Cai state in Shouxian county, Anhui province. As a very important tomb of a state ruler in the late Spring and Autumn period, 486 bronze artifacts were unearthed here, including food containers, wine vessels, water vessels, musical instruments, and weapons, in a variety of vessel forms and types. The finds contained numerous beautiful artifacts of exquisite craftsmanship and high artistic level, as well as precious vessels with long inscriptions and high historical value. These bronze artifacts, unearthed and studied by experts and scholars for decades, provide a glimpse of the ritual and music civilization of the pre-Qin era, even if they do not show the full picture of ancient Chinese bronze civilization.
In Korea, the Bronze Age began around the 15th century BCE. In its early Bronze Age period, bronze was available as small tools and decorative objects, which were not yet popular. After the 12th century BCE, daggers with blades that somewhat resemble a lute spread widely throughout the Korean Peninsula. Around the 4th century BCE, with the popularity of slender daggers, Korean bronze culture reached its peak.
Bronze objects in Korean Bronze Age are mainly daggers, which can be divided into two categories: lute-shaped daggers and slender daggers. They were both made by casting the blade and hilt separately and then combining the two, which was different from Chinese bronze daggers—typically cast as one piece. Korean bronze mirrors usually come with two or three knobs, all off-center, unlike the single-knob Chinese bronze mirrors. Various kinds of bronze bells such as hand bells with eight arms, pole-top bells, double-headed bells are also important features of Korean bronze culture. In ancient Korea, bronze daggers represented the political authority of the ruler, while bronze mirrors and bells represented the ritual authority of the head priest. That is to say, these items, often found together in ancient tombs, provide strong evidence of a theocracy—a form of government in which the priests rule in the name of a deity. With the introduction of the Iron Age culture in the mid-3rd century BCE, the Korean Bronze Age gradually went into decline. However, after the widespread use of iron, the slender bronze daggers, as a symbol of ruling authority, remained in use for a long time.
In later periods of Korean history, bronze continued to be widely used in different areas of daily life and religious beliefs. In the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), when Buddhism was widely practiced, it was common for people to make offerings to Buddha for national peace and personal happiness, and various offerings such as incense burners, water bottles (Kundika), and candlesticks were mostly made of bronze. During this period, craftsmen mastered the silver-inlaid technique when making bronze crafts, showing the originality of Goryeo culture itself.
The evolution of copper products in ancient Japan, represented by bronzes, was a result of exchanges and influences with China and the Korean peninsula, and an independent choice of trade-offs, which later led to a development process with its own characteristics. Represented by bronzes, the use of metalware in the Japanese archipelago began in the Yayoi period (c. 300 BCE–c. 250 CE). During this period, bronze casting materials such as copper, tin, and lead were sourced from the Korean Peninsula and China, while the raw materials for iron production came from the Korean Peninsula. At first, iron objects were only used as tools, but were later popularized as practical farm implements and weapons. Thus the Japanese archipelago completed the transition from the Stone Age to the Metal Ages, with the production of metalware originating from foreign influences outside the Japanese archipelago instead of locally—this is a key trait of the Yayoi period. During the early Kofun period (250–592 CE), bronze mirrors, arrowheads, cylinders, and swirl-shaped objects could be used as grave goods in burials, and bronze mirrors assumed important functions as status symbols. From the middle-to-late Yayoi period to the first part of the early Kofun period, Chinese bronze mirrors from the Han dynasty, Three Kingdoms, and Six Dynasties were imported to the Japanese archipelago in large numbers, with imitation of these bronze mirrors springing up on the islands on a large scale. Most of the unearthed bronze mirrors from the Yayoi period to the Kofun period shifted from the northern Kyushu region to the Kinki region. It is possible to interpret the development of social stratification and the formation of political unity in the Japanese archipelago from the distribution of the unearthed Chinese bronze mirrors and their imitations, as well as learn a number of details on the emergence of the ruling class and the establishment of the Yamato kingship (Kofun period).
After the introduction of Buddhism in the middle of the 6th century CE, Japanese nobles and local magnates, led by the Emperor, began to build temples on a large scale and, as a result, copper was used not only to produce architectural components but also to manufacture Buddhist sculptures and ritual implements. A metallic currency began to be used during the same period. In the first year of the Wadō era (708 CE), wadō-kaichin, Japan’s earliest coins for circulation were cast and issued.
