The Taibao ding, with its elegantly elongated legs decorated with discs, intricate banana leaf and taotie beast motifs on the body, and twin beasts perched on its upright handles, it is one of the National Treasures of China.
National Treasure 国宝
Taibao Ding Cast by the Duke of Shao during the reign of King Cheng of Zhou 太保鼎 (Food Vessel)
Bronzeware | Western Zhou Period (1046 BC-771 BC) | H: 57.6 cm, L: 35.8 cm, W: 22.8 cm | Unearthed in Liangshan County, Shandong, c. 23rd year of Qing Jiaqing (1843) | Tianjin Museum Collection. 铜器｜西周（公元前1046-前771）｜通高57.6厘米，长35.8厘米，宽22.8厘米｜清道光23年山东梁山出土｜天津博物馆藏
The Taibao Ding is an important bronze ritual cauldron from the Western Zhou Dynasty, specifically commissioned by the Duke of Shao (Shao Gong Shi 召公奭) during the reign of King Cheng of Zhou 西周成王 (or possibly the subsequent King Kang). The vessel is a prominent cultural relic and is currently held by the Tianjin Museum.1
The Taibao Ding is one of the national treasures that is also listed as a Chinese cultural relic forbidden to be exhibited abroad. Ritual bronze vessels like the ding were symbols of power and status and were used for cooking and offering food to ancestors in religious ceremonies. The Taibao Ding is distinguished by its elegant design, featuring elongated legs with disc decorations and intricate taotie motifs.2
With its elegantly elongated legs decorated with discs, intricate banana leaf and taotie beast motifs on the body, and twin beasts perched on its upright handles, this bronze ding is one of the visitor’s voted favourite treasures of Tianjin Museum. It’s one of the seven bronzes unearthed from Shandong’s Liangshan3 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and the only one still in China today.4
The ding features a three-character inscription, “Da Bao Zhu” (大保鑄), which translates to “Cast by Dabao/Taibao,” indicating its owner and commissioner.5 The script is important to understand the evolution of the characters in early writings, for example the character for 鬲（lì）which forms the upper part of the word “鑄” is now in the form of late Shang/early Zhou.6
It was believed that this ding was excavated together with six other bronze wares in Mt Liangshan in Shandong Province most probably between Qing Emperor Daoguang (r. 1820-1850) or Xianfeng (r. 1950-1961) periods. They are collectively known as “The Seven Instruments of Liangshan” “梁山七器”. China went through a tumultuous period towards the end of Daoguang7, which I assumed the others were “sold” to overseas collectors. This ding went through the hands of famous local collectors Li Zongdai 李宗岱, Ding Muonian丁磨年 and finally Xu Shichang 徐世昌8. It was Xu’s granddaughter Zhang Binghui 张秉慧 that donated this ding to the State.9
The patterns on the body of the ding are more intricate that most of the dings of that period, and there are protruding flanges on the four sides. The elongated feet of the ding are also decorated with bird-head flanges with discs to separate the joints, something that is unique for this particular ding.10
The two handles are decorated with a pair of beasts facing each other. This kind of decoration style does not exist in Shang bronze ware. According to bronze ware excavated so far, most of the ding handles in the Shang Dynasty are simple patterns. The pattern started to evolve only with Western Zhou bronze ware, perhaps because of advancement in bronze casting techniques. But this particular item pushes back the design timeline to very early in Western Zhou and indicate a watershed moment. Many abstract concepts have become concrete, so various images of spiritual and imaginary beasts started to appear.11
Square ritual food cauldron (fangding) with serpents and taotie
Bronzeware | King Kang of Western Zhou (ca. 1050-975 BC) | H x W: 26.3 x 15.8 cm | Excavated from Luoyang, Henan province, China | Freer Gallery of Art Collection, c/o Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.
Another square ding is in the collection of Smithsonian in Washington DC that has much longer inscription (41 characters) that records events associated with the same key figure in early Zhou history: the Grand Protector or “Taibao,” Duke Shi of Shao. Since this fangding mentions the Taibao’s role in creating commemorative cauldrons dedicated to Wu and Cheng, the first two Zhou kings, it was probably made during the reign of the third king, Kang. A scribe or chronicler named Da must have somehow assisted the Taibao in this or another effort; according to the inscription, he received a white horse for his service. Virtually the same text recurs on three similar fangding, indicating they were made as a functional set of food vessels.12
Nobody knows why this ding is cast this way; its design and motif are unique. As you can see from a similar ding that is associated with the same Taibao, this one is an odd one out.
All photos are taken at Tianjin Museum in Oct 2025, unless otherwise indicated.
About Chinese National Treasure Series
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.
Footnotes :
- 方形，口上铸双立耳，耳上浮雕双兽，四柱足。腹部四面饰蕉叶纹与兽面纹，四角饰扉棱，最为显著的是柱足上装饰的扉棱和柱足中部装饰的圆盘，这在商周青铜器中是独一无二的，非常奇异。内壁铸“大保铸”三字。大保即太保，为官职名，西周始置，是监护与辅弼国君的重臣。据考证，此件太保鼎由西周成王时的重臣召公奭所铸造的。Museum information card, Nov 2025 ↩︎
- 鼎最初是先民所用炊具，类似今天人们使用的铁锅。大约在4000多年前，中国出现青铜器，并被纳入礼制范畴。所谓“国之大事，在祀与戎”，由于商周时期的文献记载很少，铭文便成了重要的研究资料，可谓“一字千金”。 ↩︎
- 清道光年间，有一位山东学者杨铎在他的《函青阁金石记》中提到：“济宁钟养田（衍培）近在寿张梁山下得古器七种：鼎三、彝一、盉一、尊一、甗一，此其一也，鲁公鼎、牺尊二器、已归曲阜孔庙。”意思是，济宁人钟养田最近在梁山获得7件古器，这7件古器便被称作“梁山七器”。 ↩︎
- China Daily, Ancient bronze ding cauldron with elongated legs, updated: Apr 21, 2025. https://govt.chinadaily.com.cn/s/202504/21/WS6805eae9498eec7e1f735179/ancient-bronze-ding-cauldron-with-elongated-legs.html, accessed 23 Dec 2025 ↩︎
- 太保鼎腹内铸有“大保铸”3字铭文，“大”为通假字，即“太”；“大保”即“太保”，是一种官职，负责监护与辅弼国君。《尚书·君奭》中记载：“召公为保，周公为师，相成王为左右。” 《史记·燕召公世家》中记载：“召公奭（shì）与周同姓，姓姬氏。周武王之灭纣，封召公於北燕。” 因此专家推测，太保鼎为西周成王重臣召公奭（shì）所铸造。“大保”二字明确了器物的“身世”，而“铸”字更有“时代特征”。 ↩︎
- 据专家研究，这里的“铸”字上半部分为金文“鬲”字是商晚期到西周早期的写法。到西周中期，“鬲”字的写法已经变样。因此这个细节不但反映出中国文字的演变，还透露了太保鼎的产生时代。在几代人的保护下，太保鼎得以跨越时空，继续向我们讲述专属于西周的故事。
Shang oracle script -> Western Zhou script ↩︎ - The First Opium War which resulted in the Treaty of Nanking happened under Daoguang. China was invaded in the Second Opium War subsequently by foreign powers in the reign of Xianfeng. ↩︎
- Xu Shichang was a Chinese politician who served as the President of China from 10 October 1918 to 2 June 1922. A member of the Anhui clique, he was the only permanent president of the Beiyang government to be a civilian; his presidency was also the longest of the Warlord Era. ↩︎
- 央视（CCTV），2025年04月15日 06:45 ，文博日历丨这件“窈窕淑鼎”堪称鼎界“颜值担当”，
“梁山七器”被发现后，由于时局动荡多有遗失，只有太保鼎被完整保存下来，且流传有序，是如今唯一一件收藏在国内博物馆的“梁山七器”，堪称国之瑰宝。
据传此鼎为清道光、咸丰年间山东省寿张县梁山出土，同出的有敦、甗、彝等，即著名的“梁山七器”。该鼎历经李宗岱、丁磨年、徐世昌等名家收藏，是享誉海内外的青铜重器，历史价值与艺术价值极高，堪称国之瑰宝。徐世昌孙媳张秉慧捐献。
https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2025-04-15/doc-inetewaa8724670.shtml, accessed 23 Dec 2025 ↩︎ - 太保鼎腹部四面装饰蕉叶纹和饕餮纹，四角有扉棱。据研究，与同期的鼎相比，太保鼎的花纹更精美，是经过进一步艺术加工和夸张处理的成果。而且，太保鼎柱足上装饰的扉棱和柱足中部装饰的圆盘，在商周青铜器中也极为罕见。太保鼎可以说是“细节满分”，不愧是鼎中“颜值担当”。 ↩︎
- 太保鼎口上铸有双立耳，耳上浮雕双兽。这种灵兽形象在商代鼎中并没有。据研究，商代鼎耳大多是简易花纹。从西周开始，花纹开始发生变化。很多抽象的东西变得具象，因此出现了各种灵兽形象。 ↩︎
- https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1950.7/, accessed 24 Dec 2025 ↩︎
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