| The ancient Chinese working people fitted the metallic cover blade on the wooden tools in order to enhance the sharpness and durability of the tools.Metallic cover blade was made into a variety of forms,and concave form was one of the most common metallic cover blades in ancient earth cutting tools.During Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period,concave iron cover blade gradually replaced concave copper cover blade,and became the main form of metallic cover blade for cutting earth tools in Qin and Han dynasties through further development and evolution.Through systematic study on archaeological materials related with concave iron cover blade and analysis on distribution of time and geology,propagation process,functional category and designation,the understanding of the evolution history of farm implements with concave iron cover blade can be deepened.The paper first presented the information known on concave iron cover blade,also reviewed the research status and results of concave iron cover blade,and found that the concave iron cover blade is short of systematic research,and the designation of tools after assembling is confused.Therefore,the study on concave iron cover blade can help to better understand the types and applications of earth cutting tools in Pre-Qin and Han dynasties,and deepen the understanding of ancient earth cutting tools.Based on the current archaeological data,through reorganization and analysis on early distribution range and later change of spatial and temporal distribution of concave iron cover blade,it is found that concave iron cover blade first appeared in Chu state in the middle of Spring and Autumn period,was widely distributed in southern parts of China in Warring States period,and few of them were found in Central Plains Area about in the middle and late period of Warring States.Since the middle period of Xi Han dynasty,more concave iron cover blades were found in Central Plains Area and northern parts of China,and presented in the whole country.In addition to the archaeological discovery of relatively complete real tools,the materials related with concave iron cover blade also include portrait data in Han dynasty,pottery(stone)figurines from tombs.Based on the analysis of fitting style of concave iron cover blade in these materials,the functions of all concave iron cover blades can be found in the four kinds of tools,such as Cha,Lei,Jue and plough.It is found that the blade shape of the above four kinds of tools has no strict corresponding relationship with the kind it belongs to through the analysis of the shape and size of the blade.The ambiguous corresponding relationship between the blade size and its kind is that concave iron cover blade with more than 10cm blade width is probably one kind of the tools of Cha and Jue,and the blade within 10cm is probably one kind of the tools of Lei and Jue.Concave iron cover blade used for plough tools is exceptional,and is seen only in the region Shaanxi.According to the reorganization and analysis of the recorded literature materials on Lei,Si and Cha from Warring States period to the Han dynasty,after the explanation to the reasons of confused recognition to the form of Lei and Si recorded in literature materials after the later period of Xi Han dynasty,it is believed that the main reason of confused recognition is that Cha gradually replaced the designation of Lei and Si from Warring States period to the middle period of Xi Han dynasty;combining the space-time distribution variation of concave iron cover blade and line-style iron cover blade from the period of Spring and Autumn to Han dynasty,with the confusion phenomenon in historical documents,it is believed that Cha was originally the designation of part of the earth cutting tools with concave iron cover blade in southern parts,and Si was originally the designation of part of the earth cutting tools with line-style iron cover blade;maybe in the middle or later period of Warring States,concave iron cover blade appeared in the Central Plains Area,and the designation of Cha was introduced into Central Plains Area;after the middle period of Xi Han dynasty,with the widely application of concave iron cover blade in the Central Plains Area and northern parts,Cha gradually replaced Lei and Si,and became the synonym of earth cutting tools.Finally,the preliminary understandings based on the above analysis are that concave iron cover blade first appeared in Chu state in the middle period of Spring and Autumn,widely distributed in south parts with the expansion of Chu culture in Warring States period,but rarely seen in Central Plains Area and northern parts.With the implementation of the salt-iron monopolization policy after the middle period of Xi Han dynasty,concave iron cover blade became popular in Central Plains Area and northern parts,and Cha,the earth cutting tools with concave iron cover blade gradually replaced Lei and Si as the popular names for earth cutting tools during this period. |
