雙語科技百科(手工業) 第71期:司母戊大方鼎
The Simuwu Rectangle Ding
In 1939, a bronze ding which is an ancient cooking vessel with two loop handles and four legs was unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province. This four-legged ding known as the Simuwu Rectangle Ding was so big and heavy that it could not be moved after it was unearthed. The Japanese invaders tried several times to plunder it. To protect this rare cultural relic, the local people reburied it and then unearthed it again after China won the Anti-Japanese War in 1945. The Simuwu Rectangle Ding is now collected in the National Museum of Chinese History. The opening of the Simuwu Rectangle Ding is 110cm long and 78cm wide,its sides are 6cm thick and the loop handles are 133cm high. The whole ding weighs 875 kilograms and is the heaviest bronze ware in the world. The casting of this huge bronze vessel used over l ,000 kilograms of metal and needed 70 t0 80 crafts-men to work on it. It is the biggest bronze ware unearthed in China and also a treasure in the world's bronze ware collection. Though the ding is big and heavy,its workmanship is ef of Kui (a one legged mythical animal) was carved on the four sides of the body of the ding. The animal figures are portrayed with artistic exaggeration and create a ferocious, mysterious and dignified atmosphere. Dings were used in the primitive society in China as cooking utensils. At first they were made of pottery clay. Then, as metallurgy emerged and developed, the material was changed to bronze at the end of the Shang Dynasty some 3, 000 years ago. By that time, dings had changed function to become sacrificial vessels and the symbol of their owners' power and wealth. The Simuwu Rectangle Ding reveals a high level of casting technique and artistry. It represents the highest casting achievement of the Shang Dynasty. According to the archeologists, the King of the Shang Dynasty had the Simuwu Rectangle Ding made to commemorate his mother.
1939年，在河南省安陽市出土了一件青銅鼎，該鼎爲我國古代一種炊食器，有兩個立耳和四足。這件被稱爲司母戊大方鼎的四足方鼎出土後，因爲又大又重，一時無法搬運。日本侵略者多次強索該鼎，爲避免這件珍稀文物慘遭掠奪，當地人們再次把它埋人地下，直到1945年抗戰勝利後，才重新將其出土。司母戊大方鼎現收藏於中國歷史博物館。司母戊大方鼎口長110釐米，寬78釐米，壁厚6釐米，立耳高133釐米。整尊鼎重達875公斤，是世界上最重的青銅器。鑄造這件大型的青銅器皿使用金屬原料1000多公斤，需要七八十名工匠操作完成。它是中國出土的最大一件青銅器，也是世界青銅器收藏中的一件珍品。大方鼎雖然形大體重，但製作工藝非常精美，鼎身四周用浮雕刻出夔龍（想象中的一種單足動物）紋樣。這些動物紋樣是經過藝術誇張而刻劃出來的，紋樣襯托出一種猙獰、神祕、威嚴的氣氛。鼎在原始社會時期的中國用作炊食器，最先由陶土燒製。隨着冶金技術的出現和發展，在約3000年前的商代後期鼎改用青銅澆鑄而成，而且，這時的鼎已經改變用途，成爲一種禮器，是權力和財富的象徵。司母戊大方鼎展現出一種高超的鑄造工藝和藝術水平，代表了商代鑄造技術的最高成就。據考古專家考證，商王鑄造這尊司母戊大方鼎是爲了紀念自己的母親。
