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The Li ''gui'' () is an ancient Chinese bronze sacrificial ''gui'' vessel cast by an early Zhou dynasty official named Li. It has the distinction of being the earliest Zhou bronze vessel to be discovered,〔Shaughnessy (1989), p 51〕 the earliest record of metal being given as a gift by the king,〔Cook, p 267〕 one of only two vessels dateable to the reign of King Wu of Zhou to record personal names,〔Xie, p 75〕 and the only epigraphic evidence of the day of the Zhou conquest of Shang.〔Shaughnessy (1991), p 87〕 This makes the Li ''gui'' highly important to the periodisation of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and it has been described as bearing "the single most important inscription regarding the Zhou conquest of Shang."〔Li Feng, p 48〕 A round vessel on a square pedestal, the Li ''gui'' measures 28 centimeters high; the mouth of the vessel has a diameter of 22 centimeters. It has two bird-shaped handles and is covered with a high-relief taotie motif similar to earlier Shang ritual objects.〔So, p 16〕 It was excavated in 1976 in Lintong district, Shaanxi, and was kept for a time at the Lintong County Museum, before being transferred to the National Museum of China in Beijing, where it now resides. In 2002, it was listed among the cultural artefacts prohibited from leaving Chinese soil.〔( The Chinese Cultural Heritage Protection Web Site (in Chinese) )〕 ==Inscription== The Li ''gui'' is inscribed with thirty-two graphs commemorating King Wu of Zhou's conquest of Shang. The most important feature of the inscription is the record of the cylical signs of the day of the decisive Battle of Muye. The inscription accords with the date carried by the ''Shi Fu'' (世俘, "capture of the world") chapter of the ''Yi Zhou Shu'',〔Yi Zhou Shu, 40.439〕 and the ''Mu Shi'' (牧誓, "Speech at Muye") chapter of the ''Book of Documents''.〔(Speech at Muye ), with translation by James Legge〕 The inscription begins: "King Wu attacked Shang. It was the morning of the ''jiazi'' day." King Wu's name thus recorded on a contemporary vessel supports the theory that the early Zhou kings were called by the same titles in life as they were after their deaths, unlike later Chinese monarchs.〔Shirakawa, p 325, citing Tang Lan (唐蘭) (1977)〕 The next several graphs are the subject of much dispute in interpretation, most saliently over whether to read the word ''sui'' (歲, the bottom-rightmost graph in the inscription) as the name of a ritual or as a reference to the planet Jupiter.〔Shirakawa summarises the various proposed translations pp 320–28; Shaughnessy (1991) illustrates the different interpretations on a graph-by-graph basis, then translates each individually, pp 92–4. Shaughnessy (1991), pp 92–104, is the most thorough English treatment of the inscription, though it antedates several Chinese translations.〕 There is no scholarly consensus on the meaning of this portion of the inscription, with renderings ranging from "Jupiter was in the correct position, letting the King know he would conquer, and soon he controlled Shang"〔Chinese Archaeology, pp 196–7〕 to "The King performed the ''sui'' and ''ding'' sacrifices, letting it be known that he could rout the ruler of Shang."〔Shirakawa, p 325〕 Following the problematic passage, the inscription concludes: "On the ''xinwei'' day (seven days later ), the King was at Jian〔The reading ''jian'' for this graph was proposed by Yu Xingwu. It is a toponym that appears in other inscriptions, and appears to have been part of the Shang royal demesne near the capital. See Shirakawa, p 324.〕 encampment. He granted his ''youshi''〔''Youshi'' is read variously as 又事 or 右史. Cook renders this title as "aiding ritualist"; Shaughnessy gives "''chargé d'affaires''", which has the drawback of still not being English. See Cook, p 267; Shaughnessy (1991), p 87〕 Li metal, with which he makes this treasured ritual vessel for his esteemed ancestor Zhan."〔Zhan (旜) may be Li's family name, or it may be his home state. The two interpretations are not exclusive, but if it is a toponym, 旜公 may also be rendered "the Lord of Zhan". Zhan may also be identical to 檀 (''tan''), as suggested by Tang Lan. See Shaughnessy (1991), p 91〕 This indicates that Li, the caster of the vessel, may have been a participant in the Battle of Muye.〔See Shirakawa, p 325, citing Tang Lan; Cook, p 267 n 104〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Li gui」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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