CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

The bronzes from Tomb 163 are somewhat heterogeneous stylistically; the animal-shaped
vessels seemingly are of somewhat earlier date than the bells, but all the bronzes fall within the
Middle Western Zhou period (c. 950-850 BCE). Whereas the inscriptions on the bells mention
the name Xing Shu — presumably referring to the lineage of the tomb occupants husband —
the animal-shaped vessels are inscribed with another name, Deng Zhong. 9 In theory, Deng
Zhong ("second-born of Deng") could be the name of a person, but it is more probably the
name of a lineage — a branch of the house of Deng, probably the natal lineage of the woman
buried in the tomb. The Zhangjiapo finds have shown beyond doubt that Xing Shu ("junior of
Xing"), a similarly ambiguous name, is the name of a branch lineage and not of an individual. 10
It is precisely during the Middle Western Zhou period that major lineages increasingly split up
into branches, possibly in response to demographic pressure. 11
Zhou custom prescribed clan exogamy; since the Xing were affiliated with the Ji clan
(the clan of the Zhou royal house) and the Deng with the Man clan, we know that members
of these two lineages would have been eligible to marry. Aristocratic women often brought
sacrificial vessels from their own families into marriage. The animal-shaped vessel in this exhibition
may be one such example — part of the dowry of a Deng woman marrying into the
house of Xing. LVF
1 Zhongguo Fengxi 1962; Zhongguo 1962; Zhongguo Fengxi
1963; Zhongguo Fengxi 1981; Zhongguo 19843, 253-257;
Bao 1979; Hu 1982; Shaanxi 1995.
2 From its foundation in 1950 until 1977, the Institute of
Archaeology was part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
3 Zhongguo Fengxi 1962; Zhongguo 1962; Zhongguo Fengxi
1965; Zhongguo Fengxi 1980; Zhongguo Fengxi 1981;
Zhongguo Fengxi 1984; Zhongguo 19843, 253-257; Zhao
1984.
4 Zhongguo 1986, Zhongguo Fengxi 1990; Zhang Changshou
1990.
5 Such proximity decreased from generation to generation:
if the first Xing Shu lineage head was the brother of a
Zhou king, his son would have been the first cousin and
his grandson a second cousin of the king in their respective
generations, and so forth.
6 Zhang and Zhang 1994.
7 Zhang Changshou 1990,1991,1992,1993,1994; Zhang and
Zhang 1992.
8 Liang and Feng 1963; Zhongguo 19653; Zhongguo Fengxi
1983; Shaanxi 1977.
9 The inscription on the two vessels reads Deng Zhong zuo
bao zunyi ("Deng Zhong made [this] precious riUml
vessel").
10 Zhsng Changshou 1990.
11 Hayashi 1983; Falkenhausen 1997.
230 BRONZE ACE CHINA