Simuwu Ding: The largest bronze artifact unearthed in China
The Simuwu Ding was a casting of the late Shang Dynasty (around the 14th to 11th centuries BC). The original artifact was unearthed in March 1939 in Wuguan Village, Houjiazhuang, Anyang, Henan. This tripod has a magnificent shape, weighing 832.84 kilograms and reaching a height of 133 centimeters, making it the largest and heaviest bronze artifact unearthed to date. At the beginning, Simuwu Ding was excavated by local people without permission. However, after excavation, it was too large and heavy to be easily relocated, and the private diggers buried it again. The Simuwu Ding was rediscovered in June 1946. After the founding of New China, it entered the History of China Museum in 1959.
This tripod has a large and thick shape, with the three characters "Simu Wu" cast on its abdomen. It was made by the ancestor Geng or Zujia of the Shang King to worship his mother. The body and feet of the Simuwu Ding are cast as a whole, and the ears of the Ding are molded and cast after the body is cast. To cast such a tall copper vessel, the metal material required should be over 1000 kilograms and there must be a large furnace. After measurement, the Simuwu Ding contains 84.77% copper, 11.64% tin, and 27.9% lead, which is basically consistent with the copper tin ratio recorded in ancient literature for making the Ding. The Simuwu Ding fully demonstrates the production scale and technical level of the Shang Dynasty bronze casting industry.
The Simuwu cauldron has upright ears, square abdomen, and hollow four legs. Except for the rectangular plain surface on the center of the four sides of the cauldron, there are decorative patterns everywhere else. On top of the dense cloud and thunder patterns, each part of the main decoration has its own form. The four sides of the tripod body are surrounded by a square plain surface, with taotie as the main decoration. At the intersection of the four sides, a door ridge is decorated. Above the door ridge is the head of a cow, and below is the taotie. The outer outline of the tripod ear has two fierce tigers, with the tiger mouth facing each other, containing a human head. The ear side is decorated with fish patterns, and the four tripod feet are also decorated with unique craftsmanship, with animal faces applied to each of the three string patterns. According to research. The Simuwu Ding should be a heavy weapon of the Shang royal family. Its shape, decoration, and craftsmanship all reached a very high level, making it a representative work of the peak period of bronze culture in the Shang Dynasty.
The Simuwu Ding, unearthed in March 1939 in Wuguan Village, Houjiazhuang, Anyang, Henan, is the largest surviving bronze ware in China.
The mid Shang Dynasty to early Western Zhou Dynasty was the peak period of ancient bronze smelting and casting in China, producing a large number of bronze ritual vessels, weapons, daily utensils, production tools, etc. Among them, the Simuwu Ding in the late Shang Dynasty typically represents the high level of bronze smelting and casting technology during China's slavery era.
The Simu Wu Ding, also known as the "Simu Wu Da Fang Ding", is rectangular in shape, with a deep belly, a slightly retracted lower part, a flat bottom, four columned legs, and a border around the belly decorated with animal face patterns. There is an opposing ear on the Ding. The height from Dingzu to Li'er is 1.33 meters, with a mouth length of 1.1 meters, a width of 0.78 meters, and a weight of 875 kilograms. The body is majestic and dignified, with exquisite patterns and smooth lines. Ding is a metal utensil used for sacrifice in ancient times. Simuwu Ding was made by Wending, the king of Shang Dynasty, to sacrifice his mother Wu.
According to archaeological research, the tripod was cast using the method of assembling cores. This modeling method involves first using soil to shape clay molds, then using clay molds to turn over pottery molds, and then pouring copper liquid into the pottery molds together. The structure of Simuwu Ding is complex, with the ears, body, and feet cast separately and then combined to form a whole. From the casting marks of the tripod, it can be seen that the body is made of 8 molds, the bottom is made of 4 molds, and each tripod foot is made of 3 molds. In addition, based on the melting of 12.7 kilograms of copper in each crucible, a 875 kilogram Simuwu cauldron requires 70 to 80 crucibles to be melted simultaneously. Three to four people are required for each crucible to burn charcoal, observe the color of the fire, transport materials, and transport copper liquid, while two to three hundred people are required to work together for seventy to eighty crucibles. This indicates that the scale of bronze smelting and casting workshops in the late Shang Dynasty was already quite large, and also reflects the high level of organization and management of production at that time.
After the excavation of Simuwu Ding in 1939, the local people were afraid of being taken away by Japanese invaders and buried it underground again. Unfortunately, after the victory of the Anti Japanese War, when he dug up again in June 1946, he had already lost a standing ear. The Simuwu Ding, which is now displayed in the History of China Museum, has one standing ear cast according to the other during restoration and installed.
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