The Tian Se Ce Fu Gui You, Late Shang dynasty | 商末 天𥢺冊父癸卣

Discovered prior to 1935.

Collection of Eiji Koichi, member of the Tokyo Art Club (by repute).

出於1935年之前

小市英治收藏，東京美術俱樂部會員（傳）

Wang Chen, Xuyinwencun [Continuation of the surviving writings from the Yin dynasty], vol. 1, 1935, p. 75.

Luo Zhenyu, Sandai jijin wencun [Surviving writings from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties], vol. 13, 1937, p. 12.

Luo Fuyi, Sandai jijin wencun shiwen [Interpretations of the surviving bronze inscriptions from the Three Dynasties], 1941, published in Hong Kong, 1983, vol. 13, no. 2737.

Wang Xiantang, Guoshi jinshizhi gao [Manuscript of archaic bronze in Chinese history], 1943, published in Qingdao, 2004, vol. 1, p. 269, pl. 85.

Rong Geng, Jinwenbian [Compendium of archaic bronze inscriptions], vol. 2, Beijing, 1959, p. 92.

Zhou Fagao, Sandai jijin wencun zhulubiao [List of the inscriptions from the surviving writings from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties], vol. 2, Taipei, 1977, p. 482.

Sun Zhichu, Jinwen zhulu jianmu [Concise list of recorded bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 1981, p. 279, no. 4832.

Yan Yiping, Jinwen Zongji [Corpus of Bronze Inscriptions], Taipei, 1983, no. 5304.

The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yin Zhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], vol. 10, Beijing, 1984, no. 5173.

The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yin Zhou jinwen jichengshiwen [Interpretations of the compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], vol. 4, Hong Kong, 2001, no. 5173.

Wang Xinyi, ed., Shangzhou tuxing wenzi bian [Dictionary of the pictograms from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], Beijing, 2007, p. 577, no. 1344.

Liu Yu, Shangzhou jinwen zhulu zongbiao [Comprehensive list of recorded Shang and Zhou bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 2008, p. 775, no. 5672.

He Jingcheng, Shangzhou qingtongqi zushi mingwen yanjiu [Study of the clan pictograms on the bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], Jinan, 2009, p. 619, no. B153.

Guancheng Library, ed., Rong Geng xueshu zhuzuo quanji [The complete collection of the academic works by Rong Geng], vol. 3, Beijing, 2011, p. 1126.

Wu Zhenfeng, Shang Zhou qingtongqi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of inscriptions and images of bronzes from Shang and Zhou dynasties], vol. 23, Shanghai, 2012, no. 13029.

王辰，《續殷文存》，卷上，1935 年，頁75

羅振玉，《三代吉金文存》，卷13，1937 年，頁12

羅福頤，《三代吉金文存釋文》，1941年，刊印於香港，1983年，文13，編號2737

王獻唐，《國史金石志稿》，1943年，刊印於青島，2004年，冊1，頁269，圖版85

容庚，《金文編》，卷下，北京，1959年，頁92

周法高，《三代吉金文存著錄表》，卷下，台北，1977 年，頁482

孫稚雛，《金文著錄簡目》，北京，1981 年，頁279，編號4832

嚴一萍，《金文總集》，台北，1983 年，編號5304

中國社會科學院考古研究所編，《殷周金文集成》，冊10，北京，1984年，編號5173

中國社會科學院考古研究所編，《殷周金文集成釋文》，卷4，香港，2001年，編號5173

王心怡編，《商周圖形文字編》，北京，2007年，頁577，編號1344

劉雨，《商周金文總著錄表》，北京，2008 年，頁775，編號5672

何景成，《商周青銅器族氏銘文研究》，濟南，2009年，頁619，編號B153

莞城圖書館編，《容庚學術著作全集》，卷3，北京，2011年，頁1126

吳鎮烽，《商周青銅器銘文暨圖像集成》，卷23，上海，2012 年，編號13029

A Union in Bronze: The Tian Se Ce Fu Gui You

The present you is remarkable for its inscription, which comprises an exceedingly rare complex clan pictogram (fuhe shiming 複合氏名). A complex clan pictogram can be identified as having two or more individual clan symbols, plus, sometimes, specific non-clan symbols, incorporated into one stylized sign to represent a single clan. The five-character inscription on the present vessel suggests the owner, who belonged to the clan of Tian Se Ce 天𥢺冊, made this ritual vessel for his father, Gui. This you appears to be the only surviving bronze known to have come from this ancient clan.

According to Zhang Maorong's study, whenever the character ce appears in a complex clan pictogram, it suggests the members of that clan served the official position of zuoce 作冊 at the court. The author further notes that the character ce was frequently incorporated into the design of ancient clan pictograms; it demonstrates that zuoce was a high rank position at the court (see Zhang Maorong, 'Shilun shangzhou qingtongqi zuhui wenzi dute de biaoxian xingshi [Discussion on the unique style of the clan pictogram on Shang and Zhou bronzes]', Guwenzi yu qingtongqi lunji [Compilation of essays on ancient scripts and archaic bronzes], Beijing, 2002, p. 4).

The official title, zuoce, began to appear in the Shang dynasty. Numerous related records can be found in oracle bone inscriptions since the period of Wu Ding (circa 1200 BC). Upon the fall of the Shang empire, this title was widely adopted by the newly established Zhou court and remained in use until the middle Western Zhou period, before it was gradually replaced by the titles of neishi 內史 and shiyin 史尹. Zuoce were highly revered and powerful officials at the court. Their responsibilities included drafting royal decrees on behalf of the king; recording important historical events; commissioning ritual bronzes for ancestral ceremonies; leading ceremonies at the ancestral temples; representing the king to reward leaders of the vassal states; and being in charge of the royal banners (which could be used to give orders to the vassal states). For more details about zuoce, see Zhang Yachu and Liu Yu, Xizhou jinwen guanzhi yanjiu [Study of Western zhou dynasty officialdom], Beijing, 1986, p. 125. 

The first and second characters from the present pictogram, tian and se, respectively, each represent an individual clan. The combination of the two suggests a certain form of association between them. There have been many discussions and debates about the types of association held between the individual clans within a complex clan pictogram. Some scholars believe it suggests the merging of two or more clans; some argue it's an indication of marriage between clans; others concluded it could be a way to mark family lineage (see Zhang Maorong, 'Guanyu tansuo 'fuhe zuhui' neihan de xinsilu [New ideas on the discovery of 'complex clan pictograms''], op. cit., 2002, p. 31). The Tian clan is an important and well-known clan of the Shang dynasty, whereas very little has been recorded about Se clan. It is possible that during the late Shang period, members of the Se clan merged or married into the Tian clan, which was more powerful at the time. Alternatively, the Se could have also descended from the Tian clan. 

You are believed to have been used as wine containers at ancestral rituals. The term, however, can be matched with this shape only since it was used for vessels of this form in the Northern Song catalogue Kaogutu (Illustrated antiques), where eight you are illustrated and described. Wang Tao notes that 'in Shang oracle bone inscriptions and Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, a vessel named you was employed as a bucket for aromatic wine used for sacrifice' (see Chinese Bronzes from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2009, p. 62). The character '卣' does, however, not occur in inscriptions on the archaic bronze vessels themselves, which may originally have been named differently. 

The shape of you was in use since the later Erligang period (c. 1600-c. 1400 BC) and can vary a lot, being much taller, cylindrical, square, bearing a long spout, or shaped like an animal with four legs. According to Robert W. Bagley, the wine vessels found in the tomb of Fu Hao, consort of King Wu Ding, the only undisturbed royal Shang tomb at Anyang so far, which has been variously dated from c. 1250 to c. 1200 BC, 'do not include oval-bodied you, suggesting that the type did not appear until after the first century of the Anyang period' (see Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Washington, D.C., 1987, p. 374).

While typical in form and design, the present you is notable for its impressively large size, which is a clear indication of its owner's superiority. Most of the bronze you of this type are recorded under 30 cm in overall height. Only a few examples of a comparable size are known. See a related bronze you (overall height 32.1 cm) from the Qing Court Collection, later entering the collection of Liu Tizhi and now currently in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Minao Hayashi, In Shū Jidai seidōki no kenkyū. In Shū seidōki souran [Research of bronze ware of Shang and Zhou dynasty], vol. 1, Tokyo, 1984, you, no. 80; one (32 cm) in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ed., Yinzhou jinwen jicheng [Compendium of Yin and Zhou bronze inscriptions], Beijing, 1984, no. 04789; and another (33 cm), imperially bestowed by the Qianlong Emperor to the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong province, presently preserved in the Qufu Cultural Relics Preservation Committee, included in Shandong Museum, ed., Shandong jinwen jicheng [Compendium of archaic bronze inscriptions from Shandong], vol. 2, Jinan, 2007, pl. 451. 

For excavated examples, see one (34.5 cm) discovered at Hongwei village, Fufeng county, Shaanxi province, in 2006, now in the Fufeng County Museum, Shaanxi, illustrated in Wu Zhenfeng, Shang Zhou qingtong qi mingwen ji tuxiang jicheng [Compendium of important inscriptions and images of bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties], vol. 23, Shanghai, 2012, no. 12750; and another (32.2 cm) excavated at Qianzhangda village, Tengzhou city, Shandong province, in 1995, now in the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, published in the institute's book Tengzhou qianzhangda mudi [Tombs at Qianzhangda, Tengzhou], Beijing, 2005, p. 282, fig. 201.1. Compare also auctioned examples, including one (33 cm) sold at Christie's London, 17th June 1982, lot 5; and another (32 cm), sold in our London rooms, 13th July 2005, lot 158.

天鑄之合：天𥢺冊父癸卣

本品青銅卣，鑄工精良厚重，尺寸碩大，勝於大多同類型卣例，頗為難得，然其最為重要之處在於其器上所鑄之銘文。此卣銘文甚為獨特，見一極罕複合氏名。複合氏名是由兩個或兩個以上的族氏名號組合而成，有時也會加上非族氏文字，從而形成一個具有極強藝術性、且結構複雜的族徽。本品器內及蓋內均鑄有五字銘文，通過此銘，可知此器器主宗屬天𥢺冊一族，並為其父癸作此寶彝。本卣應為目前已知唯一一件來自於此氏族的青銅重器。

此複合氏名中的冊字應表官職。根據張懋鎔論述，凡是族徽文字與冊字聯綴出現，可表此族為作冊世家。另外，冊字與族徽如此頻繁的出現聯綴現象，且已形成一種較為穩固的結合形式，這表明作冊作為一種職官有著較高的社會地位（見張懋鎔，〈試論商周青銅器族徽文字獨特的表現形式〉，《古文字與青銅器論集》，北京，2002年，頁4）。

作冊這一官職始見於商代。殷墟卜辭中自武丁時期起均可見到對此一職官的記載。武王滅商立周之後，周王朝繼續沿用了作冊一職，直至西周中期，此後作冊便漸漸被內史及史尹所代替。作冊在當時的社會地位非常高，其職能包括起草君王的冊命文書、參與鑄造祭祀用的青銅彝器、冊告祖廟、代表王室出使慰問諸侯，以及管理各種王家旗幟（用以指揮各路諸侯）。關於作冊一職更多資料，可參考張亞初及劉雨，《西周金文官制研究》，北京，1986年，頁125。

此卣複合氏名中的第一、二字為天及𥢺，應分別代表著一個氏族。二者聯綴說明這兩個氏族有著某種聯繫。關於複合氏名中族氏聯綴的原因，目前學術界多有爭論。有些學者認為其代表著兩個或以上的族氏的合併結合；另有一些學者則認為其可能是代表婚姻關係；還有學者認為其表示了一個族的分支（見張懋鎔，〈關於探索“複合族徽”內涵的新思路〉，前述出處，輯三，2002年，頁31）。天族是目前已知的一個古老的大族，而𥢺族則幾乎未見任何記載。此複合氏名的出現可能是商末之際𥢺族族人與天族成員結合或通婚所致；亦或是𥢺族為天族之分支。

卣為祭祀酒器，興於商周。北宋金石著作《考古圖》中曾錄八件青銅卣，其後「卣」即特指此類盛酒禮器。汪濤於其著作中曾指出，商代甲骨文及西周青銅器銘文中均有提及：「卣」為一種桶形容器，用以盛放香酒，供祭祀之用（見《中國銅器》，倫敦，2009年，頁62）。然已知存世青銅卣卻未見有自銘者，可知此類器形或曾用他名。

卣之器形始見於二裡岡後期，其形多變，可高，可圓，可方，可帶流，亦有四足獸形器身。根據羅伯特•貝格利論述，婦好墓中所出之酒器，並未見如本品橢圓扁腹之卣形，故此可見此器形的卣直到之後才漸漸演變出現（見《Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections》，華盛頓，1987年，頁374）。

本品器形及紋飾均為商末典型，唯尺寸碩大，充分體現了其主人非凡的社會地位。同類卣大多高為30高分以下，已知相近尺寸的近例尤少。可參考一清宮舊藏卣例，高32.1公分，原劉體智舊藏，現存於台北國立故宮博物院，載於林巳奈夫，《殷周時代青銅器の研究——殷周青銅器総覧一》，卷1，東京，1984年，卣，編號80；另比北京故宮博物院例，高32公分，錄於國社會科學院考古研究所編，《殷周金文集成》，北京，1984年，編號04789；再比一例，高33公分，為乾隆帝御賜山東曲阜孔廟之器，現存於曲阜文物保護委員會，錄於山東博物館編，《山東金文集成》，卷2，濟南，­­2007年，編號451。

再可參考兩件出土近例，一例高34.5公分，2006年出土於陝西省扶風縣紅衛村，現存於陝西扶風縣博物館，圖載於吳鎮烽，《商周青銅器銘文暨圖像集成》，卷23，上海，2013年，編號12750。另一例高32.2公分，1995年出土於山東省滕州市前掌大村，現存北京中國社會科學院考古研究所，載於《滕州前掌大墓地》，北京，2005年，頁282，編號201.1。另比兩例售於拍場，其一高33公分，售於倫敦佳士得1982年6月7日，編號5；其二高32公分，售於倫敦蘇富比2005年7月13日，編號158。