Form and Construction
Like other ritual bronze shapes, the ding was originally an ordinary ceramic cooking, serving and storage vessel, dating back to the Chinese Neolithic, and ceramic dings continued to be used during and after the period when ceremonial bronze versions were made. From the time of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), dings were also cast in bronze as high-status "ritual bronzes", which were often buried in the tomb of their owners for use in the afterlife. This is the period to which the oldest examples of bronze dings date. Inscriptions found on dings and zhongs are used to study bronzeware script.
Read more about this topic: Ding (vessel)
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