The tripod is round, with three legs, a common shape during the Western Zhou dynasty. It is high and weighs. Its aperture is. Its mouth was engraved with Taotie patterns and its four legs was engraved with animal face patterns. The king is attributed to King Kang of Zhou, and the date is attributed to the 23rd Year of the king, the Western Zhou dynasty
Inscription
The tripod has 291 Chinese characters in 19 lines inside the tripod. Most is The King's Speech. 1st speech is a Historical Overview in which he provides a moral rationale for the fall of the Shang dynasty and the rise of the Western Zhou. Here, the King said that the excess of drinking wine made Yin dynasty had lost the heaven grace and army. And the Kings of Zhou have not excess drinking in even ceremonial scenes. And, the King commands Yu. support the King, and work official service throughout days. The 2nd is a short charge to Yu to emulate his late grandfather, Nang Gong. The 3rd is the appointment of king's minister with army power. And the detailed inventory granted by the King. At last, Yu himself recorded that he made this tripod for his deceased grandfather Nang Gong in response to the kings kindness. It was the king's 23rd year. The 1726 slaves in the inventory, is an important historic material for studying slavery.
History
In the Daoguang era of the Qing dynasty, this tripod was unearthed in Li village, Mei County, Shaanxi. Song Jinjian, a local rich man, acquired it. Next, the governor Zhou Gengsheng expropriated it. After he died, Song Jinjian recovered the tripod. Before 1873 winter, Yuan Baoheng, a follower of Zuo Zongtang bought it at a price of 700 tael of silver. Yuan might send the tripod he bought to Zuo Zongtang. In 1875, Zuo Zongtang presented the tripod he treasured as a gift to Pan Zuyin in Beijing. Pan Zuyin was a famous collector with rich knowledge in Chinese characters. In 1890, Pan acquired the Da Ke ding, the second largest bronzeware of the Western Zhou dynasty after the Da Yu ding. His younger brother Pan Zunian inherited the family property. In about 1896, Pan Family moved to Suzhou from Beijing with their collection including two tripods. In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out. Fearing looting or destruction, Pan family packed the two tripods in a wood box and buried it in the earth. In 1951, Pan Dayu donated the two tripod to the nation. Shanghai Museum displayed the two tripods and published. In 1959, the Da Yu ding was transferred to Beijing and became one of the most valuable treasure in National Museum of China. In March 2004, in order to celebrate Pan Dayu's 100 birthday, the Da Yu ding was transferred to Shanghai Museum for a special and short display. It's their reunion for half a century.
