The Meaning of the Taotie Motif on Shang Dynasty Bronzes - Essay Example

The Meaning of the Taotie Motif on Shang Dynasty Bronzes: A Critical Review In order to be able to best understand the meaning of the taotie motif on Shang Dynasty bronzes, there are several different issues that we really have to take into consideration. We also want to take into consideration the views of different authors so that we can integrate elements of their arguments and thus be able to best conclude on what the actual meaning of the taotie motif on Shang Dynasty bronzes is. First, before anything else, it needs to be known that there has been much that has been said about the meaning and about the explanation of the decoration on the Shang ritual bronzes, and the most discussed issue of all in this regards is whether or not these decoration motifs actually have any sense of value or meaning, or if they are simply of decorative value. In this dissertation we will be analyzing what the most involved scholar's opinions are, and using this, combined with a personal opinion as well, we will be able to discover what the meaning of the taotie motif on the Shang Dynasty bronzes is. There are so many different views that have been taken on this matter over the years, especially as of recently in particular, and by sort of consolidating these views in with our own, we will be able to not only better understand the actual meaning of the taotie motif on the bronzes, but as well be able to understand why certain people have taken the stance on it that they have. The topic we are discussing here is what the meaning - if any - of the taotie motif on the Shang Dynasty bronzes is, and in my opinion there is some form of meaning that is behind the taotie, due to the results of the studies and opinions that have been made in regards to it, and in this dissertation I will set out to prove that there is certain meaning behind the taotie motifs, as well as what that meaning is, and in order to do this I will be using the opinions and resources of prestigious and respected scholars, as well as the evidence itself that is available in regards to these Shang Dynasty bronzes and the taotie motifs that are found on them. There are many different scholars that have taken their own stance in regards to these decoration motifs, one in particular being Sarah Allen, and Allen is one of the many who believe that the decorations are in fact directly related to that of mythology, and that they are as well representing the religious ideology of Shang people. She states that "By such means, the bronze motifs create a sense of the 'other', that which is not limited by the physical realities of this world and which can never be precisely defined. Not only are the motifs on Shang bronzes continually transformed, but their primary allusions are also to transformations of state - eating and sacrifice, the watery underworld of the dead, the dragon which is also a bird, the cicada which emerges winged from the earth, snakes which slough their skins, deer which shed their antlers, etc." (Allen, pp. 16). Allen truly puts a lot of thought into her work of the meaning of the taotie motifs, and Allen is one of the most well known scholars in regards to her stance on how there is significant meaning behind these motifs. Out of all the motifs that are present on the Shang Dynasty bronzes, she feels supremely strongly that the taotie is the most influential and powerful, and in particular regards to this she makes the statement that "Although the taotie is not representational, the image does nevertheless allude to real creatures, including the buffalo or ox, sheep, possibly the goat, deer, tiger, all of which were used to sacrifice." (Allen, pp. 20). Basically by this statement, she is trying to prove that there is significant meaning behind the taotie motifs, as interrelated are animals that were used to sacrifice, showing that there was much meaning behind these motifs. In my opinion, this is very important that there was a lot of detail and issues as considered as being a part of this issue, and as well I agree with Allen that there is definitely at least some sort of significance or serious meaning to the taotie motif on the Shang Dynasty bronzes. After all, when you consider the length of time that these have been around, as well as how significant the elements are to the Chinese that are used in the taotie, in my opinion it seems only logical that there would have to be some importance to it. As well, although there are also some other elements that are on the Shang Dynasty bronzes that actually are considered as 'definitely' not having any particular significance, so many scholars and even Chinese specialists have made note of the fact that out of all the motifs used on these bronzes, the taotie is by far the most intriguing and thus most likely the most important, and I for one certainly agree. Thrope and Vinograd describe this situation as "The definition of an elaborate mask motif distinguished from ground patterns marked a watershed in history of bronze decoration. The mask motif, taotie, from a fangding vessel, was common to other media and objectsand thatthe mask could be realized by true relief, by inlay, or by graphic renderings with a dense ground pattern (usually squared spirals) for contrast." (Thrope & Vinograd, pp. 77). The work of Thrope and Vinograd also discusses the matter of oracle bone texts and translations - as does Wang Tao's work, as discussed later on in this dissertation - and with Thrope and Vinograd they believe that this issue severely carries on into that of how the taotie motifs "seem to have very ancient roots in prehistoric traditions" (Thrope & Vinograd, pp. 79). Their point of view is basically that there has to be some sort of significant meaning behind the taotie motifs, as "Masks involved the realm of the powers and the king's circleandThey reinforced the fundamental social and political gulf between those who would communicate with the spirits and those who could not. This interpretation, mask imagery played a role in validating the definitions, practices, and social consequences of royal authority." (Thrope & Vinograd, pp. 79). Basically, or in other words, the opinion of Thrope and Vinograd is that there had to be some sort of influential and important meaning behind the taotie motifs on the Shang Dynasty bronzes, largely in part due to the fact that they incorporate royal and validating reinforcements. Other people believe that these motifs have no purpose except decoration-wise, and one person in particular who feels this way is Robert Bagley, and he insists that "the design of ritual utensils is ornamental and cannot be traced back to Shang religion or mythology" (Bagley, pp. 34-55). Bagley's interpretation really follows many different routes and is certainly one of the most complex, and one of the most powerful statements that he makes is: "But to say that the bronzes had potent associations or that they became powerful symbols is quite different from saying that Shang decoration somehow encoded Shang religion" (Bagley, pp. 36). Bagley believes that although Shang bronzes were certainly loaded with significance, that the taotie motifs on them however are not necessarily the same way, and he truly and firmly believes that "No inventory of meanings will ever be enough to explain the appearance of the Lindisfame page or the appearance of a Shang bronze. The page has an infinitely ramified history behind it, and meanings are only a part of that history" (Bagley, pp. 38). As well, he considers many other scholars and commentators to be rather repetitive, and wonders why, if there is meaning behind the taotie motifs on the Shang Dynasty bronzes, there cannot just be straight answers given. He takes many assumptions in his work Meaning and Explanation and makes his own comments on them, such as the assumption that the decoration on these religious objects must contain religious symbols; to this he basically makes his opinion that there are such designs as dogs and cats which he does not see as being religious, and therefore makes a point as to if there is really meaning to these designs, then why would there be random and meaningless designs here and there He really confronts the opinions of those people who are strong in believing that there is actually meaning to the taotie motifs on the Shang Dynasty bronzes, and then makes his own rebuttal against each assumption that each of these people has made. Then we go on to another particular scholar, by the name of Jessica Rawson, who speaks most particularly of the actual taotie motif itself - which is a creature that has large staring eyes and, rounded horns, and a body that is repeated on both sides of the face - and she speaks much a bout Allen's argument, and about how Allen "suggests first that the animal motifs on Shang bronzes can be interpreted in terms of the ancestor worship for which the bronzes were employed. The taotie, she argues, refers to power, eating and the passage to the other world, all ideas that enlisted independently, we may suppose, of bronze design" (Rawson, pp. 67). Lawson also discusses - in regards to Allen - about how she argues about the ways in which the actual creatures themselves happen to appear in ritual vessel design. Lawson believes that for the most part it is the historians of ancient China who tend to argue that there is a more iconographic interpretation of the taotie motif, and in regards to this she states that "However, they do not generally distinguish between those elements of motifs which they regard as determined by religious beliefs and those which they accept must be the outcome of craft traditions" (Rawson, pp. 67). Rawson makes the strong point that there are many different issues that need to be taken into consideration when discussing a matter such as this, and she also believes that there are several steps in particular that need to be taken in order for someone to be able to make a proper analysis and conclusion in regards to something like this. To be more specific, she believes that "The first step in any such judgment is to pick out the objects on which we need to focus our attention from their surroundings. The relevance of this ability to survival is made very clear by devices adopted by creatures in the wild to help or hinder this process." (Rawson, pp. 69) One of the best things about Rawson's work is the fact of how much time she spends discussing the taotie, and she believes that the most striking aspect of all in regards to the taotie is that of the variety of it, and she also makes very serious note about the different types of taotie motifs, and how they are separated from one another by the use of ornament, as are they separated from one another by the different individuals within any one category, and furthermore that "These differences distinguish all the individuals within an enormous body of surviving ritual vessels. Scholars have, indeed, been able to show that there are no exact duplicates." (Rawson, pp. 77). She believes that the eyes are one of the most important parts of all in regards to the taotie motifs, and that it is truly the eyes that produce the most meaning of all in regards to the taotie motifs on the Shang Dynasty bronzes. Then there is the issue of the argument of Li Xeuqin, and his argument is one which is most similar to the thesis of this dissertation, in that he believes that there is in fact meaning behind the taotie motifs and that due to the incredibly long history of these motifs, there is thus an incredible amount of information that would have to be thoroughly examined and discussed in order to come to a proper and proven conclusion. He speaks adamantly about how dragon motifs are incredibly popular on the Shang Dynasty bronzes, and he also believes that there is a seriously profound reason for these taotie motifs existence; he states that "When the taotie motif was inherited in the Shang from pre-historic times, it was not simply a case of continuing an artistic tradition, but one of inheriting beliefs and myths. This is certainly an important problem in the research of ancient Chinese cultural history." (Xeuqin, pp. 65). Again, I sincerely agree with this point of view, as I believe, after looking at all of the available opinions on this matter, that there is definitely at least some remote form of significance to the taotie motif, and in fact, I believe that there is a great deal of significance here. Yet another scholar who had a substantial opinion in regards to the meaning of the taotie motif on the Shang Dynasty bronzes is that of Wang Tao, who classifies the taotif motif as being "primarily characterized by two eyes, was a decorative feature of archaic Chinese bronzes during a certain period, predominantly from the Erligang period to the Western Zhouand thatIt is not difficult to distinguish the motif, but what the motif says to people varies. The first response of a modern observer is usually to ask: does it mean anything If so, what is that meaning" (Tao, pp. 102). He looks much into the bone structure of the taotie, as well as into the definitive characteristics of it - much like the other scholars here - and makes note in particular of such qualities as the eyes in particular, and considers these as indefinitely being one of the most distinctive and important parts of all in regards to the taotie. He translates oracle bone inscriptions as a preliminary experiment into his analysis on the meaning of the taotie motif, and these translations prove to be significantly domineering to his overall viewpoint. Overall from this dissertation we can conclude many things. We can first clearly see that there are many different opinions and stances which have been taken on this issue, and as well that there are many different views that can be taken on this matter. There can really be no proper answer, as there is no real proof to any suggestion, however through integrating different peoples' analysis with our own personal viewpoint, then we are able to come to a personal and more knowledgeable understanding and conclusion, although not definitive. Whether or not there will be any concrete proof in the future, this is obviously yet to be known, however with the views that have already been taken on this subject matter, we have already come quite far in regards to truly concluding what the actual meaning of the taotie motif on the Shang Dynasty bronzes is. This particular motif is the one which is without a doubt the most intriguing and interesting and yet confusing of all, and this is why so much extra attention has been paid to this particular motif, especially in comparison to some of the others that appear on the Shang bronzes. From this dissertation we have been able to come that much closer to understanding not only the different views of different personalities and scholars, but as well to reaching a further and more detailed conclusion in regards to what the meaning of the taotie motif on the Shang Dynasty bronzes actually is. Bibliography Allen, S. "Art and Meaning." Bagley, R. "Meaning and Explanation." Rawson, J. "Late Shang Bronze Design: Meaning and Purpose." Tao, W. "A Textual Investigation of the Taotie." Thrope & Vinograd. "Chinese Art & Culture." Xueqin, L. "Liangzhu Culture and the Shang Dynasty Taotie Motif." Read More