The Research On The Culture Of Bronze Ding In Pre-Qin Dynasty

This research is to seek the process of design development on bronze Ding and its related traditional culture which including material, social and mental culture through the artifacts of bronze Ding during Pre-Qin Period.This paper focuses on five aspects of the form of bronze Ding and its related rules of design development, the Pre-Qin Period mode of production which including the advancement of smelting on copper and the development of casting technology on bronze Ding, the human life styles which is related to the function of bronze Ding such as diet habits, the social etiquette and the religious culture, seeking the relationship during the mode of production, the life style and the design in human society through the study of design culture on the typical container of bronze Ding in Pre-Qin Period, researching on how to inherit Chinese Civilization after exploring Chinese traditional culture of design and the design principles.The bronze Ding is the representative of Chinese Bronze Age culture and it's a special kind of Bronzes. Being a kind of eating utensils on diet or Being a kind of ritual Bronzes on social function and religious activities, the bronze Ding was a certain Bronzes for wide use and highest rank. So it's very complex on the design of the shape and the patterns.Human being adored gods in Shang Dynasty, so the widest use of the bronze Ding wass containing in sacrifice.The patterns design was much more important than the shape design. And this could be found obviously in the abstract animal patterns in eternally changing. A solemn and grave image could be felt at the local changes on the shape of the bronze Ding which showed the deep reverence to gods and ancestors of human in Shang Dynasty. The bronze Ding was some kind of tool for the monarch in Shang Dynasty to maintain and consolidate their own rein with solidifying the relationship between the gods and themselves. Otherwise, human being adored the code of etiquettes in Chou Dynasty. And the moral thoughts could be found in the design of the bronze Ding. Diet Culture took the place of Wine Culture in Chou Dynasty and the moral thoughts took the place of religious belief in Chou Dynasty. So the bronze Ding was used for diet and social etiquette mostly. The shape design was much more important the patterns design, especially on the handles,the foot and the main body of the bronze Ding. The bronze Ding was design into various kinds on different shapes for diet. And Sequence bronze Ding was generated for its social function. The systematic and canonical shapes of the bronze Ding appeared in different areas with the extreme local features.The development of human living style was manifested by the constant change on the shape of the bronze Ding. The form of the bronze Ding was decided by the mode of production and it was also influenced by the human life style. This rule not only affected the process of the bronze Ding's development on design but also affects all kinds of design in human history. First, the production technology was decided by the means of production on Bronzes.And the design was decided by the production technology. The very mode of production in Pre-Qin Dynasty which was so different from other civilization made the bronze Ding possible. Second, the constant change on human life style in Pre-Qin Dynasty exerted a strong influence on the function of the bronze Ding, and the change of functions was related to the change of design on the form. So it can be decided that the design of the bronze Ding was decided by the mode of production and it was also influenced by the human life style. The design is base on the mode of production and the human life style. It keeps the balance between the production and life, which bring the human living style to highly developed state.The study on the process of Chinese traditional design by the way of culture analysis on the ancient codes and records is different from the study of Chinese design history which only focus on the facts of history, and it also different from the study of Arts and Crafts which only focus on the products.This article will create a system of philosophy which contains the design process,the mode of production and the human life style in Pre-Qin Period. The research on this system will focus on two aspects.One is the process of the combination of Art and Science in the human act of creating. The other is how to put the action of design into the background of human living style which included the material, the economic, the society, and the mental activities.Seeking the rules on the advancement of design by the study of Chinese traditional culture is the rational method to explore how to inherit the spirit of our own culture on the modern design.