In the Xia Dynasty (2070 BC — 1600 BC), using grains to make alcohol, also called millet wine, was popular. During this period, nobles used Jue, a type of exquisite bronze ware, to place alcohol in sacrificial ceremonies and to drink it on important occasions.
Bronze Jue (Wine Vessel) 铜爵
Bronze | Xia dynasty (21st – 16th Century BC) Erlitou Culture (ca. 1800-1500 BC) | China Archaeological Museum, Erlitou site, Yanshi, Henan. 铜器｜夏代（约公元前21世纪～前16世纪）二里头文化（约公元前1800～公元前1500年）｜中国考古博物馆，河南偃师二里头遗址
A Jue 爵 is used to serve warm wine during rituals. Its particular shape makes jue one of the most easily identifiable ancient Chinese bronze and pottery vessel forms.
The legendary inventor of wine, Yidi 仪狄 (from modern day Shandong) is said to have made zhijiu, a fermented rice wine, for Yu 禹, the founder of the Xia Dynasty. Yidi’s tribe, the Fangfeng family, established a state in the area now known as Gaoqing, which is considered an important origin of winemaking in China.1 Another legendary figure in the history of wine, Du Kang 杜康 (from modern day Shaanxi) is said to have discovered the role of rice fermentation by putting rice in a bamboo tube and leaving it in a tree hole. Both are recorded in ancient texts and accredited for discovering fermentation and distillation of liquor. One thing for sure, it was during Xia dynasty that this happened.
The Jue 爵 takes the form of an ovoid body supported by three splayed triangular legs, with a long curved spout (liu 流, left side) on one side and a counterbalancing flange (wei 尾, right side) on the other. Many examples have one or two loop handles (pan 鋬) on the side and two column-shaped protuberances (zhu 柱) on the top of the vessel, which were probably used to enable the vessel to be lifted using leather straps.
Wine Vessels 铜酒器
The Jue, Jia and He bronze tripod vessels of the Erlitou culture represents the earliest known combination of bronze ritual vessels in the Bronze Age China. The emergence of this ritual set indicated that the Erlitou state laid down the ritual foundation of its political institutions with the first bronze ritual vessels in early China. With the state control of the copper resources, as well as the production and distribution of bronze ritual vessels, the Erlitou state ushered in the era of Bronze Age kingship centred around a well-defined ritual bronze vessel set. The emergence of this ritual assemblage represents a major benchmark for the formation of the ritual bronze vessel and music set of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.
Bronze He (Wine Vessel) 铜盉
The bronze He tripod pitcher has an enclosed body, a chimney-shaped tubular extension in the upright position on the top, and a handle on the side. This vessel shape first appeared in Erlitou Phase IV. It was used extensively during the Shang Period and then disappeared afterwards.
Bronze Jia (Wine Vessel) 銅斝
The bronze Jia tripod pitcher can be distinguished from the bronze jue tripod beakers by its absence of liu (spout) and its relatively large size. Bronze jia tripod pitcher first appeared in the Erlitou Phase IV. The vessel shape was used extensively during the Shang and the Early Western Zhou period, and gradually disappeared afterwards.
Bronze Jue (Wine Vessel) 铜爵
The bronze Jue tripod beaker has a long spout for pouring heated liquid from the cup on one side, and a handle on the other. Bronze jue tripod beaker appeared in the Erlitou Phase III. It was used extensively during the Shang period and gradually fell out of use after the Western Zhou Dynasty.
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中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
- 相传夏禹时期的仪狄发明了酿酒。公元前二世纪史书《吕氏春秋》云:”仪狄作酒”。最为详细记载的是汉代刘向编辑的《战国策》，书中有一段鲁共公姬奋劝谏魏惠王魏婴的话：”昔者，帝女令仪狄作酒而美，进之禹，禹饮而甘之。遂有“禹疏九河功盖世，仪狄酿酒传千年”之说。
从古籍记载中可以看出，这里的仪狄是夏禹时期的人物，可以说是造酒最早的人。夏禹的女儿让仪狄酿造美酒献给禹，禹喝了之后觉得味道醇美，又认为喝酒误事，后世一定会有因为饮酒无度而误国的君王，从此疏远了他。https://www.sohu.com/a/636881522_121492407 ↩︎
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