Bronze

Depicted from Origins of Chinese Art and Craft

        

        Bronze is a representative of the Chinese culture. They are a great human invention achieved thousands of years ago. They are the pride of Chinese people. Thanks to their unique shapes, exquisite designs and elegant inscriptions based on the casting technologies and cultural advancements in the pre-Qin period, they are regarded by historians as a living book of history.

What is bronze?

        Bronze refers to an alloy of copper, tin, nickel, lead, phosphorus and other elements. In ancient times, it was called ‘gold’ or ‘propitious gold’. The bronze objects which were buried underground for thousands of years, acquired a layer of dark green rust as a result of oxidation. That was why archaeologists named these objects ‘propitious gold’ or ‘qing tong qi’ (literally dark-green objects or simply bronzes)’.