●The Forum of Relics & Museum Public Opinion

Urban Culture and Traditional Culture, Region Culture and the Variety of Culture (Special Contribution)                                                 Shan Jixiang   (002)

 

Stress the Main Points, Open Up and Innovation, Striving to carry forward Jiangxi Relics and Museum Cause to Whole Development (Special Contribution)         Cao Guoqing   (029)

 

●The Exploration

The ponderation on the origin of lost wax casting in ancient China          Tan Derui   (036)

【Abstrct】Both the Bronze Jin (Wine vessel stand) unearthed from Chu culture Comb, Xichuan County, and the bronze vessels unearthed from Yuanan, Zhejiang and other provinces in recent years, are regarded firstly as earliest lost wax bronzes in China. It is the later Spring and Autumn Period (770 – 475 B.C.) and the technique is rather skillful. Although the deduction, inferred from this fact, that China’s lost wax technique appeared at the early and middle Spring and Autumn Period, is accepted by many scholars, it is still an academic unsettled question about the beginning age of China’s lost wax technique and the original technique of lost wax only because of failing to find out the original lost wax bronzes in early time.

In recent years, the author has found that the carve additions on Chu bronze vessels, unearthed from the southern side of the Yangtse River’s middle reaches, the middle and later Spring and Autumn Period (570 B.C.), 20 years earlier than of the Bronze Jin (wine vessel stand) unearthed from Xichan Chu tomb, are produced by rather skillful lost wax technique. This is the first example to prove the deduction just mentioned above.

Moreover, the author has found that the formation of some design parts or additions on some bronzes unearthed from China’s central plains and Yangtes River’s middle and low reaches, can’t been explained by clay mold casting techniques. According to the technical characteristics, there are four kinds of phenomena: model design on whole vessel surface which difficult to remove clay mold from model, the model design’s groove of wide top and narrow bottle, the upward edge of model design and rope addition without mold join mark. In the paper, through the discussion of this four phenomena and the analogue of upward edge and rope addition, it puts forward viewpoint as follow: China’s lost wax technique stems from burnt technique. The earliest burnt technique appears at the later Shang Period and this technique disappeared generally after the wax technique without mold join mark appears. The lost wax technique, without mold join mark, is rather skillful at the middle and later Spring and Autumn Period.

【Key words】Ancient lost wax casting ;  Burnt casting

 

 

Re-discuss “the lost-wax technology hadn’t been a choice during the Bronze Age in China”

                      Zhou Weirong, Dong Yawei, Wan Quanwen, Wang Changsui   (041)

【Abstrct】This paper, based on the theory of the technical history, demonstrated the objective law of the development of technology – “no need, no invention” and “no need, no development”, pointed out that “lost-model process” could not originate from the Chinese Bronze Age, in which there was a development clay mould casting system, and made a further demonstration according to the manufacture techniques of the zun and pan of Earl Yi of Zeng and the related simulative experimental results. At the same time, this paper doubted that the Chinese lost-wax technology originated from lost-fabric process (burnt method) in Shang and Zhou Dynasties and put forward that lost-wax process in China was firstly imported from the West to cast Western style figures of Buddha after Buddhism was introduced into China.

【Key words】the theory of the technical history, the Bronze age, lost-wax technology, the zun and pan of Earl Yi of Zeng, lost-fabric process (burnt method)

 

●Prehistoric Culture

Propagation of Gaomiao Culture and Its Influence                        He Gang   (051)

 

Initial Comment on Tangjiagang Culture                            Yin Jianshun   (061)

 

Construction City Wall & Trench at Chengtoushan and Their Reflection “Tribe Changes”

                                                             Guo Weimin   (070)

 

●Ancient History New Evidence

Believing the Ancient, Doubt the Ancient and Explanation the Ancient — the Congratulation and Impressions for Special Column “Ancient History New Evidence” of “Relics From South”

                                                             Wang Yumin   (084)

 

The Phenomenon of Offer Sacrifices to Gods or Ancestors in Huadong Oracle Inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty on Tortoise Shells or Animal Bones                       Wei Cide   (088)

 

Making Textual Research for the Offer Sacrifices to Gods or Ancestors in Huadong Oracle Inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty on Tortoise Shells or Animal Bones    Zhang Shicao   (093)

 

Reading the Answer of Oracle Inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty on Tortoise Shells or Animal Bones ( Two Parts)                                            Huang Tianshu   (096)

 

●Tour in a Sea of Learning

Comment on Plant Archaeology in North America                   Chen Xuexiang   (099)

 

●Overseas View

Cultural Ecology                                 Author: Julian H Steward (US)

Translator: Pan Yan, Chen Hongbo      Proofreader: Chen Chun    (107)

 

The Variety and Uncompromising in Public Archaeology    Author: Nick Merriman (US)

Translator: Zhou Hui      Proofreader: Fang Hui    (113)