Hu Gui

Hu Gui

Age: Late Western Zhou Dynasty

Specifications: Total height 59 cm, belly depth 23 cm

Excavation site: Qijia Village, Fufeng County, Baoji City

Historical value: Hu Gui is the largest bronze Gui found in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. It is a food container weighing 60 kg. It is known as the king of Gui because of its huge shape, thick and elegant. The ears of Hu Gui are in the shape of elephant heads. There is a square seat under the body of the Gui, which enhances the sense of stability. The belly and the square seat are decorated with straight ridges, and the neck and the ring foot are decorated with a circle of curved patterns. The upper and lower parts are in contrast and echo each other, which is unique.
There are 12 lines of 124 characters on the bottom of the belly of Hu Gui. It is a sacrificial text by the tenth king of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Li of Zhou, Ji Hu, to worship his ancestors and pray for blessings from the gods, so it is also called "Wang Gui". The inscription says that as the eldest son of the Zhou family, King Li of Zhou did not dare to indulge in pleasure day and night, but devoted himself to the cause of the previous kings, governed the four directions, and prayed to the ancestors to bestow blessings and wisdom to protect the long-term stability of the Zhou Dynasty. This is one of the few self-made vessels of the Zhou kings that has been discovered so far, so it is very precious. King Li of Zhou was a famous tyrant in Chinese history. During his reign, he did not allow the people to make a living by relying on mountains and swamps, and prohibited the people from freedom of speech. In 841 BC, the people with weapons gathered together and attacked the palace. Eventually, King Li died in a foreign land (now Shanxi). This was the famous "People's Riot" in Chinese history. The "People's Riot" shook the rule of the Western Zhou Dynasty and directly led to the decline of the Zhou royal family and the gradual disintegration of the situation.

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