The Mao GongdingChinese: 毛公鼎;
pinyin: Máo gōng dǐng;
lit. 'tripod vessel of the Lord of Mao' is a bronze ding tripod vessel from the
Western Zhou dynasty (
c. 1045 BCE – 771 BCE), currently at the
National Palace Museum in
Taipei. The vessel has an inscription of 500 characters arranged in 32 lines, the longest inscription among the ancient
Chinese bronze inscriptions. The ding dates from the reign of
King Xuan of Zhou, and was presented to him by the Lord Yin of Mao.[1][2]
Description
The Mao Gong ding takes its name from the Lord (公 gōng) Yin of Mao, who gifted the ding to the King after being appointed to help run
state affairs.[2][3] The artifact is 53.8 cm high, 47.9 cm wide,[1] and weighs a total of 34.7 kilograms.[4]
The interior surface of the ding is covered in an inscription of 500 characters, the longest such
inscription known today.[2] The National Palace Museum summarizes its contents:
"The inscription text bears witness to the 'King Xuan restoration' in Western Zhou history [i.e. revitalization after the ascension of
King Xuan, ending the
Gonghe interregnum]. The first part of the text consists of King Xuan's instructions to the Duke of Mao. The middle portion recounts how the King, upon taking the throne, fondly recalled how the
King Wen of Zhou and
King Wu of Zhou had enjoyed the
Mandate of Heaven and established the kingdom, as well as the King's vigilance and apprehension over inheriting the Mandate himself. The latter part lists in detail the generous gifts the King had bestowed upon the Duke of Mao. In closing, the Duke of Mao expresses his gratitude to the King, and presents the ding as an expression thereof for future generations."[5]
History
The Mao Gong ding was excavated in
Qishan County,
Shaanxi province in 1843, during the
Daoguang Emperor's reign.[1][2] The famous collector Chen Jieqi (1813–1884) acquired it in 1852. He and his studio made precise rubbings of the inscriptions.[6] In the
Xuantong era (1909–1911)
Duanfang (1861–1911) bought it from the Chen family.
Ye Gongchuo (1881–1968) was presented with the ding by friends bought and presented the tripod to him from the Tianjin Dao Sheng Bank, which had it as a
mortgage. During the
Second Sino-Japanese War, the Ye family sold it to
Chen Yon Ren, a millionaire in
Shanghai. In April 1946, Chen Yon Ren donated the tripod to the
Kuomintang Shanghai Government through a general in their army. In 1949,
Chiang Kai-shek and the
Kuomintang moved it to Taiwan, where it remains housed at the
National Palace Museum.[7]
^"Mao Gong Ding" [毛公鼎], description from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan (in Chinese). Accessed 18 April 2020. Text in modern
Chinese characters: "銘文內容見證了西周「宣王中興」的歷史,銘文前段為宣王對毛公的訓誥之辭,文中敘述宣王於即位之初緬懷周文王、武王如何享有天命、開創國家,他即位後對其所繼承的天命也戒慎恐懼。後段詳載宣王贈予毛公的豐厚賞賜。毛公於文末亦表達了對宣王的感謝,並願以此鼎傳之於後世。"
Chinese Art Treasures, Exhibition Catalogue from the National Palace Museum, Taiwan in USA (1961-2), SKILA, Geneva, 1961
Tan Danjiong (1906-1996), The Mao Gong Ding (Chinese Text), The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art volume 4 no.4,127-136p 1986, Taipei, Taiwan