He zun, Bronze ritual vessel in Baoji, China.
The He zun is a bronze ritual vessel housed at the Baoji Bronzeware Museum in Shaanxi Province, standing approximately 39 centimeters tall with a diameter around 29 centimeters. Its interior surface bears 122 Chinese characters arranged in 12 rows that document significant information about early Zhou Dynasty rule and administration.
Created between 1038 and 1000 BCE during the Western Zhou Dynasty, the vessel documents the establishment of a royal residence under King Cheng's rule. The inscriptions reveal how central the concept of royal authority was to early Chinese governance and administration.
The inscriptions on this vessel contain the earliest written reference to 'Middle Kingdom' and show how early Zhou rulers documented their power and authority.
The vessel can be viewed at the Baoji Bronzeware Museum in Shaanxi Province, where it remains on permanent display for close examination. Visitors should plan to spend time reading the displayed information to fully understand the historical content of the inscriptions.
The object was discovered in 1963 by a local family who initially used it for food storage until it was later identified at a waste site and transferred to the museum for protection. This remarkable story illustrates how an artifact of global importance nearly vanished before attentive people recognized its true value.
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