The latest results of the two-week research on the naming of bronze weapons: a review of the "Research on the Naming of Bronze Weapons in the Two Weeks".

In the vast history of China, bronze has become an indispensable material evidence for the study of ancient social production and life, history and culture with its unique artistic charm and profound cultural connotation. Among the many categories of bronzes, weapons are a special one. A considerable part of the bronze weapons have the phenomenon of self-name, which is used to explain the use and name of the artifact and other information, and its content involves many aspects such as language and writing, history and geography, official system and archaeological artifacts. How to accurately and scientifically name bronze weapons is not only related to the depth of research on the artifacts themselves, but also affects the overall understanding of ancient society and culture. It is in this context that we are pleased to note that Gong Zhaonan, Luo Wenqian, and Zhang Xulong co-authored the book "Research on the Naming of Bronze Weapons in Two Weeks" (hereinafter referred to as "Naming Research") has been published recently, which provides us with the latest results on the naming of bronze weapons in two weeks with its comprehensive, systematic and in-depth research.

"Two Weeks of Research on the Naming of Bronze Weapons"

Authors: Gong Zhaonan, Luo Wenqian, Zhang Xulong

Publisher: Guangling Publishing House

Publication date: May 2024

The book is based on the 626 bronze weapons with their own names included in Wu Zhenfeng's Shang and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions and Image Collections and Continuation of the Shang and Zhou Bronze Inscriptions and Image Collections, and the work covers the following aspects:

1. Combing and analysis of the self-name of bronze weapons. Through statistical analysis and philological research, the book clarifies the types of glyphs and the origin of the self-names of bronze weapons in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and examines and studies them. At the same time, attention should be paid to the relationship between the shape and system of the artifacts, and the identification of the genera of artifacts on the basis of clarifying the relationship between name and reality fills the lack of research to a certain extent, and has an important reference and guiding role for the naming of bronze weapons in the future.

2. Summary and summary of the naming format of bronze weapons. On the basis of sorting out the naming materials of bronze weapons in the fortnight, this book organizes and analyzes these materials from the aspects of content and format, so as to summarize the naming methods adopted by predecessors when recording bronzes. A comprehensive review of the previous research results can more clearly grasp the naming of bronze artifacts, grasp the research development context, and understand the current academic development trend, so as to lay the foundation for subsequent in-depth research.

3. Discussion and research on the naming of bronze weapons. Combined with the shape of the artifact and the documentary record, the book conducts in-depth discussion and research on the naming of bronze weapons. By summarizing the previous research results, the author continuously refines the original naming principles of bronze artifacts, puts forward clear and feasible naming principles, and uses this as a guide to rename the bronze artifacts in the fortnight.

Although the naming of bronzes is a basic topic in the study of bronzes, there is still a large space for discussion and research on its rules and norms. In the past, influenced by Wang Guowei's statement that "ancient artifacts carry their own names", the "name from the owner", which has long been regarded as the first principle of naming, is not completely suitable for all types of inscriptions in various eras. Mr. Chen Jian pointed out that the principle of "name follows the owner" is "a manifestation of the lack of deep understanding of the complex relationship between the name and the reality of the artifact...... If this principle is thoroughly implemented, the naming of bronze objects will become very confusing, and it will be difficult to know the actual name. In addition, Mr. Du Liaosong, Zhang Maorong, Xu Lianggao, Luo Weidong, Chen Yingjie and other gentlemen have also extensively discussed the principles and methods of naming bronzes.

Self-name is the primary basis and principle for the naming of bronzes, and due to the rich cultural connotation of bronzes themselves, the relationship between utensils, regional culture, and ritual system all have an important impact on the naming of bronzes, and the self-names of bronzes are extremely complex and diverse. "Naming Research" rose to the challenge, comprehensively collected and sorted out the self-named materials of bronze weapons in the past two weeks, carefully sorted out the distribution of their use, and summarized the types of weapons that appeared in the self-named materials. What is particularly commendable is that the book actively draws on the research of the predecessors, integrates its own thinking, and further summarizes and puts forward the basic methods and principles of naming, and uses this as a guide to rename the two-week bronze weapon. Including the principle of inscription; The principle of name from the owner and the name of the instrument; the principle of format uniformity; the principle of serialization of instrument names; The principle of both leniency and strictness of glyphs. Through a large number of specific examples in the book, it is not difficult to see that the above principles are particularly prominent in ensuring the advantages of concise and accurate naming of artifacts and the value of operation practice.

We note that in terms of research methodology, the book "Research on Naming Studies" adopts a combination of research methods. In particular, from the perspective of paleography, this paper investigates the various variants of the self-named characters used in bronze weapons from the two dimensions of time and region, and also pays attention to the frequency of the use of various writing methods to determine the mainstream glyphs, and collects and examines the self-named characters and their modifiers in combination with the form. This undoubtedly also provides a good foundation for the development of research in related fields such as military system, weapon use system and weapon shape, including the book at the end of the book is also attached to the "Weekly Bronze Weapons Self-Name Collation Table", which lists in detail the numbering, vessel names and inscription rubbings of the two weeks of bronze weapons, which greatly enhances the tool attributes and disciplinary radiation significance of the book. Let's try to give an example to see the facts.

In the book, the author sorted out and analyzed 118 pre-Qin bronze halberds that called themselves halberds, and summarized 13 kinds of "halberd" zigzags in three categories. Among them, there are two types of borrowed characters ("丯") and morphophonetic characters (including "丯" and "each" as phonetic notes), which provide an important reference for us to study the etymology (basic form) of "halberd". Combined with the research of Mr. Meng Pengsheng, the ancient pronunciation of the word "丯" is between the two parts of the month and Duo. And the word "halberd" in the inscription of the Warring States period weapons has the sound of "丯", and there are also from the sound of "each". "Saying Wen · Bebe": "Toyoshi", Zhigeya. From the voice, each voice. Then the word "Feng each" is a double-tone character, and each has a sound. and "Saying Wen · Gebu": "Halberd, there are branches." According to this, "Fengge" and "halberd" should be cognate words, "Fengge" is a branch of the tree, and "halberd" is a branched weapon, and its etymological meaning is the form of branching.

The comprehensiveness of the book's grasp of the facts of language and writing and the sophistication of its analysis of problems are obviously closely related to the three-dimensional magnificence of the materials in its possession. Its sources include not only the ancient writing materials handed down and unearthed and the bronze bibliographic documents of the past dynasties, but also the ancient books and dictionaries and dictionaries, etc., so that the authors can rely on the exegesis regulations, inter-character relations, phonological and false materials, etc., to calmly and carefully sort out the self-name materials from different dimensions such as country, instrument type, period, etc., and also provide a batch of new evidence for the interpretation of ancient characters. It is also on the basis of the above-mentioned scientific research methods and rigorous and meticulous work attitude that the "Research on Naming Studies" can present remarkable comprehensiveness, systematization and innovation.

The book "Naming Research" establishes a scientific and reasonable classification system through the combing and research of the self-named materials of bronze weapons in two weeks, and deeply discusses the shape and function of bronze weapons in combination with handed down documents and unearthed documents, which can help us effectively deepen our understanding of bronze weapons. The naming principle proposed in this book is expected to promote the further development of the research on the self-naming and naming of bronze weapons and the standardization of the naming of cultural relics. In the future research, we hope that the naming of bronze weapons can receive long-term and effective attention, and constantly enrich and improve the naming system of bronze weapons, so as to provide more powerful support for better understanding and research of bronze culture.

Author: You Shuai

Author's Affilications:Beijing Language and Culture University

Edit | Zhang Xiaozhu

Review | Feng Zhaohui

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