Pre-Qin

Maogong Vessel

毛公鼎拓片

 

Maogong Vessel

Maogong Vessel (about 115-1079 BC), named after Maogong, is one of the longest bronze inscriptions. Now it is kept in Taipei's National Palace Museum. It is the classical masterpieces of Jinwen (a type of inscriptions on bronze). It talks about the great achievements of the emperors in Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Wen and Emperor Wu, and presents turbulence of Pre-Qin Dynasty. It also talks that Emperor Xuan appointed Maogong as an administrator who had the right of announcing Emperor's decisions. Emperor Xuan demanded Maogong to be hard-working, to love people, to cultivate moral character and develop temperament. Emperor Xuan also granted a reward as encouragement to him. Maogong engraved this matter on the bronze tripod in order to cherish this event.

 

 Guo Jizi Bai Pan

虢季子白盘拓片

 

Guo Jizi Bai Pan

Guo Jizi Bai Pan (a bronze plate named Guo Jizi) was cast in the period of Emperor Xuan, XiZhou. It has 8 lines, 110 words.

In the period of the domination of Emperor Xuan, Guo Jizi once led troops to fight the troops of TaiYuan. After the triumph, Guo Jizi was rewarded by Emperor Zhouyi in the Temple Zhou. Guo Jizi Bai Pan was specially made for memorizing this event. The inscription is long and it is of great value in literature. What's more, it is the important materials to study the policy and military affairs in the late period of XiZhou. The artistry of this inscription is extraordinary. The character is large and well-structured. The stroke is of graceful and powerful lines. Also the layout is balanced. It presents the charm through the whole structure of the character.

Now Guo Jizi Bai Pan is kept in the Chinese National Museum of History.

 

石鼓-吾车

 

石石鼓文

 

Shigu Writing

Shigu Writing is the earliest stone inscription that is found in Feng Xiang, Shaanxi, China, in Tang Dynasty. It is called the ancestor of stone inscription. The inscription is carved on ten drum-shaped stone so that it is called Shigu Writing. The inscription, also called Lie Jie, talks about ten Poems in four-character verse of the emperors' hunting experience. Nowadays this inscription is regarded as the relic that belonged to Qin country during the Warring States Period by the archeologists in China. The character of Shigu Writing carried on the characteristic features of Jinwen in XiZhou and then it had an influence on xiaozhuan of Qing Dynasty. The character did not set into a certain shape and it developed through the transition from dazhuan to xiaozhuan. It is regarded as the important sample to practice the seal script by calligraphers.