The Shi Qiang ''pan'' (史墻盤; "Basin of Scribe Qiang"), also called the Qiang ''pan'' (), is an ancient Chinese bronze ''pan'' vessel (basin). Dated to the end of the

10th century BC The 10th century BC comprises the years from 1000 BC to 901 BC. This period followed the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Near East, and the century saw the Early Iron Age take hold there. The Greek Dark Ages which had come about in 1200 BC cont ...

E, it is inscribed with a text that has been described as "the first conscious attempt in China to write history." Low and round with two handles, the vessel is 16.2 cm tall, with a diameter of 47.3 cm. Its exterior is cast with a

taotie The ''Taotie'' () is an ancient Chinese mythological creature that was commonly emblazoned on bronze and other artifacts during the 1st millennium BC. ''Taotie'' are one of the " four evil creatures of the world". In Chinese classical texts such a ...

design. It is regarded as a national treasure, and in 2002 it was listed as one of sixty-four cultural relics prohibited from leaving Chinese soil. The basin is kept at the Baoji Bronze Ware Museum.

History

The Shi Qiang ''pan'' was cast sometime during the reign of King Gong of Zhou (r. 917/15 to 900 BC) for a member of the Wēi clan (𢼸, modern 微), whose name was Qiáng (). Some time later it was buried along with over 100 other vessels belonging to the family, and only unearthed in 1976, in

Fufeng County Fufeng County () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Baoji, in the west-central part of Shaanxi Province, China. The county lies in the fertile Guanzhong Plain on the north bank of the Wei River between Xi'an, t ...

Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accor ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

Inscription

The interior of the vessel is inscribed with 284 characters divided into eighteen lines. The content praises the previous and current rulers of the Zhou state, extolling their virtues and deeds, and then recounts the history of the family of the caster, culminating with Scribe Qiang himself. This is in contrast to most inscriptions which detail only immediate events. The inscription recounts how

King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different historical perso ...

"joined the ten thousand states",

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC. King Wu's ancestral name was ...

"campaigned through the four quarters", King Zhao of Zhou "tamed Chu and Jing". In all the inscription records the virtues and highlights of the first seven Zhou kings. Slightly before the midpoint of the passage, the inscription begins describing the caster's own family, beginning with how his high ancestor had been moved from a more eastern location to the Zhou homeland at the time of the conquest of Shang by Zhou. The account touches on such subjects as the appropriateness of Qiang's grandfather's sacrifices, as well as the agricultural success of Qiang's father. The language of the inscription is difficult both graphically and lexically. Transcriptions are available, but most are incomplete due to font constraints. The fullest treatment can be found in Shirakawa's ''Complete Explanations of Bronze Inscriptions''. Edward Shaughnessy has translated the passage into English. The hagiographical intent of the inscription is demonstrated by positive spin on historical fact: the inscription claims King Zhao "tamed Chu and Jing", while in reality the campaign was defeated and the king killed, within living memory of the casting of the vessel.

Notes

References

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External links

Inscription of the Shi Qiang pan
- English translation from the Columbia University {{Chinese bronzeware Zhou dynasty bronzeware History of Baoji 1976 archaeological discoveries