Jue (vessel) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jue |
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jue in oracle bone script
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A jue is an ancient style of Chinese ritual bronze cup. People used it in ancient China during special banquets and ceremonies. It acted like a small metal pitcher or ewer. Leaders used it during family ceremonies to show deep respect to their ancestors.
The name jue comes from an ancient Chinese dictionary called the Shuowen Jiezi. This book was written in the 2nd century AD.
Contents
What Did a Jue Look Like?
A jue has a very special shape that makes it easy to recognize. It has an egg-shaped body that rests on three pointed legs. A long spout extends from one side for pouring drinks smoothly. On the opposite side, it has a flared tail to help balance the vessel.
Many cups have one or two sturdy handles attached to the side. At the top of the rim, two small pillars stick straight up. Experts believe people wrapped leather straps around these posts to lift the cup safely.
Ancient artists decorated these vessels with amazing art. They often carved pictures of mythical beasts called taotie into the metal surface. These masks showed large eyes, horns, and sharp fangs.
How Were These Bronze Vessels Made?
Long before metal was common, people made these cups from clay. Potters from the ancient Longshan culture made clay cups between 2500 BC and 2000 BC.
Later, craftworkers lived during the Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty. These famous eras belonged to Bronze Age China. Metalworkers poured hot melted metal into clay molds to shape each unique cup.
Some craftworkers copied the metal shapes in pottery or soft lead. Families placed these items inside tombs as special grave goods. Archaeologists found one rare cup shaped by hammering flat sheets of metal. Metal smiths in Western Asia used this hammering technique thousands of years earlier.
How Ancient People Used the Jue
The jue was the most popular bronze container found in noble Shang dynasty tombs. Leaders used these cups during major rituals. People wrote about these ceremonies on carved animal bones called an oracle bone.
Priests called upon ancestral spirits and the great sky god named Shangdi. They poured drinks to honor these powerful figures. People also used the cups during seasonal temple festivals.
Archaeologists found black soot marks on the legs of about five percent of excavated cups. This proves that servants occasionally placed the cups directly over fires. Fire allowed them to warm the drinks before serving.
Ancient books like the Book of Rites describe the exact rules for using a jue. Another historical text called the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial explains banquets.
A host took the vessel out of a clean woven bamboo hamper. Then, servants rinsed the cup with clean water. The guest lifted the cup with one hand, emptied it, and set it down.
Polite manners were very important during these grand meals. The guest always praised the drink, while the humble host politely disagreed. People used other vessels like the zhi in very similar banquets.
See also
In Spanish: Jue para niños
