Good steam column steam retort

"Hao" steam column steamer, wine vessel, late Shang Dynasty, 32.5 cm in diameter, 15.5 cm in height, 13.1 cm in column height, 4.7 kg in weight. Excavated from Fu Hao's Tomb in Yinxu, Anyang in 1976. Now in the collection of Henan Museum.

"Hao" steam column steamer, open mouth, deep belly, steam column, double handles (ears). The shape is flat and concave, with a slightly outward-slanting square edge and a circle of grooves on the edge, which should be the seam groove for the lid. The lower abdomen is curved, the bottom is slightly concave, that is, the hollow is inward, and the bottom is round and flat. It was unearthed in January 1976 from Fu Hao's Tomb in Beiyinxu, Xiaotun Village, Anyang City, Henan Province. It belongs to the second phase of Yinxu culture, Wu Ding era, dating from about 1250 to 1192 BC. In April 1987, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences transferred it to the Henan Provincial Museum (now Henan Museum) for collection.

The "Hao" steam column steamer-shaped vessel had traces of silk fabric on one side of its belly when it was unearthed. The vessel was incomplete in shape, but was later restored to its original state. It was severely rusted. The inscription "Hao" was engraved under the mouth of the inner wall of the vessel (Figure 1). "Hao" is an abbreviation of the two characters "Fuhao", which can be verified by the oracle inscription on page 3 of Guo Moruo's "Comprehensive Compilation of Oracle Inscriptions, Part 2".

Figure 1 "Hao" steam column steamer-shaped vessel "Hao" inscription and rubbings

There are two major groups of patterns on the outer wall of the vessel, namely six groups of bird patterns under the mouth, with two bird heads facing each other, each with a bird crown, hooked beak and round eyes, short wings, long and downward-bending tail feathers, two feathers on the tail, and feather patterns on the top. Due to heavy rust, the patterns are blurred. The abdomen is decorated with six pairs of large Kuilong patterns and six pairs of cross-triangular patterns (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Rubbing of the decoration of the steam column shaped vessel with the word “good”

When this steam column shaped vessel with the word “good” was unearthed, no cauldron was found to match it, so its function still needs further study. As we all know, the cauldron is composed of a steam column and a cauldron. This device is a multifunctional steam column body of the cauldron, so it is called “steam column steam column”. It is used on the cauldron of multiple separate cauldrons, that is, it acts on the cauldron with water added. After the lid is added, the water vapor sent up through the central steam column heats, steams or cooks the food. The function of the steam column in the center of the steam column is to expand the internal heating area and cause the temperature inside the vessel to rise rapidly. “The column of this vessel is hollow and transparent, and there is a small hole on the top. Its structure is similar to that of today’s steam boiler, so it is temporarily named as such. When in use, it can be placed on the cauldron and the rising steam is used to steam the food.” [1] As shown in the legend (Figure 3): 1. Steam column. 2. Direction of hot air flow. 3. Li mouth. 4. Ears. 5. Lid. 6. Wine. 7. Wall decoration.

Figure 3 Section and function diagram of the “good” steam column steamer

A cylindrical hollow steam column protrudes from the center of the bottom of the “good” steam column steamer, and the top of the column is in the shape of a convex four-petal flower. There are four melon seed-shaped hollow holes around the stamen. The holes are perpendicular to and connected to the hollow column that is concave upward at the bottom. The height of the hollow column is lower than the mouth of the vessel. The steam column part has the function of heating (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Sectional view of the steam column and plane line drawing of the top of the column

The casting process of the “good” steam column steamer is the split casting method, that is, the steam column and the handle are cast separately. Then the steam column (accessory) is embedded in the mold of the vessel body, and the copper liquid is poured to make the steam column and the vessel body integrated. The handle is also made by first molding the body of the vessel, then casting protrusions or leaving casting holes in the corresponding parts of the body, then attaching the ceramic mold and clay core of the handle to the body, and finally casting molten copper to make the handle and the body fit together. The body of the steamer is cast vertically from the bottom of the steamer.

The wall decoration of the "Hao" steam column steamer is divided into two layers, the upper and lower layers, and the patterns are arranged in an orderly manner. The bird pattern in the upper row is a two-square continuous pattern; the triangle pattern of the large Kuilong pattern in the lower row is a parallel continuous pattern. It has a generous and beautiful shape, unique craftsmanship and unique shape. From the main body of the vessel to the accessories of each part, the proportions are balanced, and the lines are upright and smooth.

In the processing and production of most of the copper-tin-lead objects in Fu Hao's tomb, the lead content was intentionally added. This proves that the craftsmanship at that time had mastered the new process of smelting and casting ternary alloys. This test result provides a scientific basis for the prevention and control of harmful rust on Yinxu bronzes.