Date：2021-06-19 - 2021-07-18
Location：No.2 Exhibition Hall, Shanghai Museum
China, through thousands of years of civilization, has nurtured the magnificent art of bronze. According to legendary accounts, Yu cast nine bronze cauldrons as a symbol of his divine mandate to rule. These cauldrons, also known as ding, continued as an implicit symbolism of state authority and divine power throughout the history. Engraved with exquisite decoration and inscription, the bronze ding was often used in divinatory ceremonies to commemorate the ancestors and enlighten future generations with their wisdom.
This exhibition brings together 21 ding vessels cast from the late Shang dynasty to the Warring States to epitomize the remarkable Bronze Age in ancient China. They have been gifted to the Shanghai Museum in the past seven decades since its establishment in 1952, among which the reunion of Da Yu Ding and Da Ke Ding is a signature highlight.
The two grand ding vessels, unearthed from the Shaanxi province during the nineteenth century, were collected and treasured by the Pan family for generations throughout the political and social turmoil. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ms. Pan Dayu presented the two ding vessels to the government and then they were housed in the Shanghai Museum. In 1959, the Da Yu Ding travelled north to Beijing and is now a treasure of the National Museum of China. The two bronze vessels, one in the north and the other in the south, have witnessed the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The year 2021 marks the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party. At the moment of triumph, the Shanghai Museum, in partnership with the National Museum of China, brings Da Yu Ding back in Shanghai. The reunion of the two grand ding, together with other 19 bronze vessels, is presented to celebrate our Party's 100th anniversary from 1921 to 2021 and promote cultural heritage through collaborative exhibitions.
鼎
Ding (bronze food vessel)
Fu Ding
Square Ding (bronze food vessel)
