A yi is a shape used in ancient Chinese ritual bronzes. It has the shape of half a gourd with a handle (often in the shape of a dragon) and usually supported by four legs. It is believed it was used to contain water for washing hands before rituals like sacrifices.
Yi | |||||||||||||
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Chinese | 匜 | ||||||||||||
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References
edit- http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/30Arts2067.html (unsafe URL)
- http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/30Arts2015.html (unsafe URL) Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine
External links
edit- The great bronze age of China: an exhibition from the People's Republic of China, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on yi
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yi.