Exquisite Bronze Ware "Boju Li"
In 1975, a number of cultural relics of the Western Zhou Dynasty were unearthed at the Western Zhou Yan State Capital Museum in Fangshan. Among them, a beautiful bronze ware, "Boju Li", was also nicknamed "Niutou Li" because it was decorated with ox head patterns all over its body. This batch of cultural relics is the witness of the birth of Beijing. Today, the 3000 year old Boju Li is the treasure of the Capital Museum.
Boju Li has a height of 33.5 centimeters, a caliber of 34 centimeters, and a weight of 15 kilograms. It has a grand and magnificent shape, finely crafted patterns, and presents a special high relief style. It has unique artistic design and casting techniques, and is a treasure in the early Western Zhou Dynasty bronze ware.
Boju Li, the full name of Boju Li, was excavated in Tomb 251 of Western Zhou Yan State Capital Museum in 1975. The upper part of this tomb was already destroyed at that time, and only a 30 centimeter thick topsoil layer was excavated to reveal the tomb opening. In this medium-sized noble tomb, the Boju Li, along with other main burial pottery and bronze vessels, is placed on the north second floor platform.
The feet, body, lid, and buttons of the Li are all decorated with cow heads. The button is made of two three-dimensional carved small cow heads, while the lid is decorated with two high relief cow heads. The two strange large cow horns protrude above the ear, which is extremely exaggerated, similar to water buffalo horns. The root of the horns is horizontal, causing the center of the lid to naturally sink, and the entire lid forms a harmonious whole.
The mouth of the Li is relatively large, and the neck is adorned with 6 short gate ribs, with Kui patterns (a type of dragon pattern) between the gate ribs. Each of the three bags has a complete bull head carved on its feet, with its snout retracted and its forehead tilted forward, creating a bullfighting shape. The two sturdy horns tilt upwards, facing each other in pairs with the adjacent ox horns. The two huge eyes, resembling copper bells, and the round pupils add a majestic atmosphere to the entire object. The entire device is adorned with 7 bull heads, giving it a strong sense of confidence.
In the bronze ware of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, cow head decorations were more common, but there were so many patterns of cow heads, which were still very rare. Even now, copying is very difficult.
People's love for cow head markings is not only due to the important position of cows in animal husbandry, as they are the main source and tool for meat consumption, cultivation, and transportation, but also because cows are very important in divination and worship, which is related to people's belief that cows have special divine power. Cattle and animals are indispensable in worshipping heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, ancestors, and ghosts and gods, known as "Tai Lao".
Li in ancient times was usually a pot for cooking Congee or meat. What is this ox head tripod used for? When it was unearthed, it was accompanied by a "manual" - the lid of the Li and the inner wall of the neck of the vessel were each cast with the same Yin inscriptions: "At the Wuchen era, the Hou of the Kui (Yan) bestowed Bo Jubei as the father Wuzun Yi." The lid had 4 lines and 15 characters, and the inner wall of the neck had 5 lines and 15 characters, belonging to the form of the inscription on the vessel lid. The meaning is: on the fifth day of a certain month in a certain year, the Marquis of Yan rewarded the noble Boju with a shell coin, and Boju used it to cast this bronze tripod as a commemoration of his father. According to this inscription, this Li is named "Boju Li".
"Bo" represents ranking, and "Ju" is a private name. Boju's father's name is "Wu", which is a name from the Shang Dynasty, indicating that the ancestors of the Boju family should be merchants. After Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he adopted a policy of appeasement towards the old legacy forces, using the power of these merchant nobles to strengthen his rule over the Yan state.
The layout of the inscriptions is irregular, with vertical columns but not horizontal rows. The font size is uneven, and the writing style is more bold and dignified. Some strokes are thick and thick in the middle, with sharp edges at the beginning and end, and obvious waves on the strokes.
Since the Western Zhou Yan State Capital Museum was discovered in the 1940s, it has received great attention from the archaeologists. Boju Li is a relic left by the Yan state of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a typical representative of the bronze ware of the Yan state of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and also a witness to the birth of Beijing.
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Zhou successively enfeoffed Ji and Yan in the present-day Beijing area. The specific location of thistle has yet to be determined. Most scholars believe that it is in the current Guang'anmen area. Yan is located in the current Liulihe area of Fangshan. After decades of archaeological excavations, archaeologists not only discovered the site of the Yan Capital, but also excavated nearly 300 Yan tombs and a batch of bronze artifacts with Yan Marquis inscriptions, confirming that this was the capital of Yan during the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Small bronzes confirm the Big History of Yan's fiefdom located at Liuli River in the early Western Zhou Dynasty.
In addition to this Li, there are also more than ten bronze vessels made by Boju, including Ding, Gui, and Pan. In addition to the Liuli River, it has also been found in Kazuo, Liaoning, with Boju Li having the longest inscription among them. It is not difficult to imagine the importance of Bo Ju's identity in leaving so many bronze heavy artifacts, and his position in the Yan state should be extremely prominent. From the inscription on another bronze artifact made by Bo Ju, the "Bo Ju Ding", it can be inferred that Bo Ju is in charge of welcoming the envoys of the King of Zhou and is considered a skilled diplomat with long sleeves.
The unique shape of Boju Li is amazing. Today, people have developed and designed many cultural and creative products based on its elements, such as jewelry boxes, Keychain, mobile phone chains, necklaces, bracelets, and even ice cream! According to the cartoon character "Yan Guo Da Ren" designed by Boju Li, the horns and ears of cows are transformed into the character's image attributes, appearing on refrigerator stickers, power banks, phone cases, and canvas bags. The ancient ox head Li is youthful and cute.
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