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Phoenix Rising

A 3,000-year-old bronze wine vessel has risen from the ashes to become a cultural ambassador for its native province while inspiring a tasty summertime treat

By Song Yimin , Wang Zhiwei Updated Jan.1

Jinhou Bird Zun wine vessel, Shanxi Museum, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province (Photo by VCG)

The National Day holidays, also known as Golden Week, is a time of celebration in China, drawing crowds for a full week of travel, cultural activities and family outings.　

The first major holiday after the start of the school year, it is one of the peak seasons for tourism in China, and this year, cultural tourism took center stage. According to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, more than 60 million visits were recorded at museums and cultural sites nationwide.　

As most museums in China offer free entry, their revenue is primarily generated through souvenirs. Many of these items are limited releases and carry cultural significance, leading to strong demand and high sales. Shanxi Museum in North China sold more than 40,000 products during Golden Week, and among the refrigerator magnets, postcards and bookmarks, the top sellers featured the museum’s star attraction – the Jinhou Bird Zun of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BCE)

Exquisite Design
Zun are generally ritual vessels for wine that date back as early as the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Standing 39 centimeters tall, the Jinhou Bird Zun was specifically used in sacrificial ceremonies. Crafted in the shape of a phoenix, the bird stands proudly with its tail curved downward to form a tripod base. Its head is raised high, glancing back at a miniature version of itself perched on its back, which also serves as the handle. The vessel features intricate designs of feathers and clouds. Its upper beak opens when wine is poured out.　

Unearthed in 2000 from Tomb No. 114 at the Tianma-Qucun Site in Quwo, Shanxi Province, the Jinhou Bird Zun is one of the most significant artifacts from the Western Zhou era.
　
The nine-square-kilometer site was discovered in the early 1960s between two villages – Tianma and Qucun. However, a discovery made three decades later revealed the site’s true origin as the capital of Jin, a vassal state of the Western Zhou Dynasty.　

Archaeologists have unearthed tens of thousands of relics, many inscribed with the characters for Jinhou, meaning “Marquis of Jin.” To date, 19 tombs in nine groups are identified as belonging to the marquis.　

Three of the relics, including the Jinhou Bird Zun, were listed in 2013 by the National Cultural Heritage Administration among those prohibited from being exhibited abroad.　

The zun’s underside and lid are inscribed with the phrase “treasure made by the Marquis of Jin for worshiping heaven, ”confirming its connection to the Jin State’s early rulers.　

The bird zun, therefore, does not only showcase the technical and artistic achievements of the era, but also embodies important historical information about the ritual culture and social structure of the time.　

The mentions of Jin in the bird zun’s inscriptions are the earliest known written examples of the character. Jin State covered most of present-day Shanxi, where its legacy is still integral to the province’s identity – the character jin is Shanxi’s official provincial abbreviation.

Image Ambassador
The story of the Jinhou Bird Zun is tied to the founding of the Jin State. More than 3,000 years ago, after defeating the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), King Wu founded the Western Zhou. Upon King Wu’s death, his young son, King Cheng, ascended the throne in 1042 BCE. Still a child, King Cheng was placed under the regency of his uncle, the Duke of Zhou, who had assisted King Wu in establishing the dynasty.　

Suspicious that the Duke of Zhou intended to usurp the throne, other members of the royal family colluded with former Shang supporters and eastern tribes in a rebellion. The Duke of Zhou led a three-year campaign to eventually quash the uprising, taking a series of small vassal states, including the Tang State.　

One of the most famous stories from this period is how King Cheng conferred a title of nobility to his younger brother, Shuyu. The two were playing together when the king learned of his uncle’s victory. Overjoyed, he cut a fallen leaf into the shape of a jade tablet, a ritual object at the time. Using it to symbolize the deed to the Tang State, King Cheng gave it to his brother Shuyu.　

This act was recorded by one of King Cheng’s ministers, writing “the king’s words are to be taken seriously.” This story gave rise to the idiom jun wu xi yan, literally meaning “a king doesn’t kid around.”　

Later in his reign over the Tang State, Shuyu developed irrigation systems that significantly boosted agricultural productivity. One year, he presented a robust wheat crop to King Cheng that had grown two ears per stalk, believing it an auspicious symbol of peace and unity in the world. The king praised Shuyu for his harvest and the thriving Tang State.　

Shuyu’s son, Xiefu, succeeded him and renamed the state from Tang to Jin. The earliest known instance of the character jin, discovered on the bird zun, is thought to resemble the two-eared wheat stalk that brought honor to his father.　

Xiefu also founded the Jinci, the ancestral temple of the Jin, a state that remained a dominant power in the Western Zhou for the next 150 years. The Jinci, which was expanded in subsequent dynasties, remains one of Shanxi’s must-see attractions.　

The tomb of Xiefu, located at the Tianma-Qucun Site, was one of the most recent excavations. Unfortunately, the tomb had been looted, and a botched blast set off by robbers shattered the bronze artifacts. Among them was the Jinhou Bird Zun, which was broken into more than 100 pieces. A dedicated restoration team spent nearly two years reconstructing the artifact, cleaning the fragments and piecing the vessel back together.　

However, a significant portion of the zun’s tail was missing, leading to debate among restorers whether it curved inward or outward. When the zun was first exhibited in 2002, the restorers opted for an inward curve, replacing the missing part with a metal component. Years later, researchers at Peking University solved the puzzle, confirming that the tail’s shape was indeed inward, aligning with the ancient artisans’ original design. In 2019, the tail was reattached, completing the vessel in its full glory.　

The phoenix is one of the most revered mythical creatures in Chinese culture, embodying grace, virtue, wisdom and rebirth. Similarly, the restored Jinhou Bird Zun symbolizes the rebirth of the Jin State from the ashes of history. It is housed at Shanxi Museum in Taiyuan, central China’s Shanxi Province where it serves as both a historical treasure and a cultural ambassador for the province.　

In addition to being a historical artifact, the Jinhou Bird Zun now also serves as the emblem of Shanxi Museum. In 2023, the province introduced a virtual digital mascot called “Blue Bird.” Inspired by the phoenix-shaped vessel, the mascot aims to promote Shanxi’s history, culture and tourism, creating a modern link to the past.　

Visitors to Shanxi Museum can now engage with the Jinhou Bird Zun in playful and interactive ways. They can assemble a wooden building block version of it or enjoy a mango-flavored ice cream shaped like the zun. The choice of mango is a nod to the zun’s original hue, reflecting the brightness and warmth of the bronze artifact.

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