The marks around the rim were probably meant to orient the pot for ritual use. 盘缘的纹饰可能是 祭器的表征 Despite its fragility, 陶瓷虽然脆弱易碎 pottery is often the only material to survive the ravages of time, 却是唯一经得起 时光考验的质材 and reveal valuable clues to the nature of vanished cultures. 且为消逝的文明 提供了珍贵的线索
Scholars today are only beginning to unravel the mysteries 当前的科学家才刚开始 揭开中国史前陶艺的秘密 of prehistoric Chinese pottery, and its ritual significance. 以及它在祭祀上的重要性
This is about 5,000 years old, 这只高足杯约有5千年历史 and it's a Longshan stem cup.'' 尸于龙山时期的作品 It was thrown on a potter's wheel in several parts... 分几部份用手拉坯制成 probably to give it a little bit more significance in some sort of ritual.'' 这或许是要凸显它 作为祭器的重要性 And these stem cups have been found buried with their owners, alongside oracle bones and ritual jades.''这些高足杯和甲骨 及祭祀用的玉器 都是陪葬品
In 3000 BC, 公元前3千年 the various Neolithic cultures of China were conquered by a warlike people called the Shang. 骁勇善战的商朝人征服了 新石器时代的多支文化 The tyrannical kings of the Shang dynasty replaced the clay pots on their altars with magnificent ritual bronzes. 暴虐的商朝君王 以美仑美奂的青铜器 取代了祭坛上的陶罐
These miraculous works of art would be treasured by the Chinese people for thousands of years to come. 往后数千年的中国人 都将这些艺术极品视为瑰宝
Bronze. 青铜器 The visible symbol of power for the ancient kings of China. 古代中国帝王权力的具体象征
The shapes of very early bronze vessels like this ding 最早的青铜器，例如这只鼎 were based on the shapes of early earthenware cooking pots. 造型均仿自早期先民的陶罐 But they weren't just used for cooking - 但青铜鼎不只是用来烹煮 they had tremendous ritual significance... for the nobility and imperial court of the mysterious Shang dynasty 在神秘的商朝贵族和宫廷眼中 更是不可或缺的祭器
They cast huge numbers of these exquisite ritual vessels in precious bronze. 他们以青铜铸造了 无数个精致的祭器 In them they would offer tribute to the gods, including wine offerings. 用以向诸神献祭，奠酒
Finely decorated, they were symbols of the divine right of Chinese kings 精雕细琢的青铜器 正是君权神授的表征 that would in later centuries be called 'the mandate of heaven'. 此后，中国都称君王为天子
