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An etymology of the ideogram Ding.50

confucius

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Etymology of the ideogram Ding.50






The ideogram used to describe Ding.50 (Cauldron) was originally the schematic representation of a ritualistic vase used to prepare the food offerings for the Cult of the Ancestors. These ritual vases from ancient China varied in size, weight and elegance: from a few hundred grams for the smallest to over eight hundred kilos for the biggest. They are an appreciable heritage of ancient bronze art. There was a remarkable variety (as can be seen in the Judgment of Yi.42 –Patella, and the Prefect level of Zhung Fu.61 –Goblet.)

The one designated by this ideogram is characterized by its two solid handles used to pull it out of the fire, using a bar (seen at the Sovereign and Exiting levels); it was originally built on three legs (see the Minister level) and had a lid-less neck. Even though later its shape would evolve to a square enclosure and a four legged structure, its tripod characteristic explains why this ideogram has kept the meaning (by extension) of a Thing Reuniting Three, as in the Greek prefix of Tri: Tricycle, Triangle, Trigram…

If these pieces were so influential in ancient Chinese artistic imagination it is because there are met the two founding pillars of this civilization: the Cult of the Ancestors and the tradition of food. The Cauldron, in this perspective, becomes the symbol of the instrument through which occurs the transmutation. For food, it is the recipient of the transformation from raw to cook. For rituals, it is the passageway between the terrestrial level (material) and the celestial level (spiritual, the domain of the Ancestors) for whom the offerings are prepared and then shared between the members of the family united in their name.

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