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Abstract The discovery in a large number of unearthed documents associated with Zeng State has recently received extraordinary attention from the academic community. A comprehensive study of the inscriptions on the surfaces of bronze artifacts from Zeng State can further clarify the sources of the written materials and facilitate the exploration of the history and social relations of Zeng State. In particular, the excavation results in Wenfengta cemetery, Yejiashan cemetery, and Zaoshulin cemetery in Suizhou, not only enrich the diversity of archaeological research in Zeng State but also makes up for the lack of the handed-down literature records. Sorting out the inscriptions on bronze artifacts of Zeng State involves using approaches such as analysis of the structure and radical of characters to interpret the characters from three aspects, including their forms, sounds, and meanings. In addition, it can also involve an integrated study on the historical background by comparing unearthed documents and handed-down literatures. Therefore, it is beneficial not only for a more comprehensive archaeological observation of the history of Zeng State but also for further improvement of the study of Western Zhou history. There are extensive written records associated with “the Nangong clan” (南宫氏) in the handed-down literatures. Although there is no mention of “the Southern Duke” (南公), it can be confirmed from many unearthed bronze artifacts such as “Dayu Ding-tripod” (大盂鼎), “Nangong Hu Bell” (南宫乎钟), and “Marquis Yu of Zeng’s chime-bells” (曾侯编钟) that “the Southern Duke” is another name for “Nangong” (南宫). Combined with the newly unearthed bronze artifacts such as “Marquis Yu of Zeng’s chime-bells” and “Duke Qiu of Zeng’s chime-bells” (zenggong qiu bianzhong 曾公编钟), as well as related unearthed documents, it can be inferred that “Bo Kuo” (伯括), also known as “Nangong Kuo” (南宫括), was the ancestor of Zeng State. He once assisted King Wen and King Wu of the Zhou dynasty and participated in the war against the Shang dynasty, and the fact can also be proved by “granting sacrificial vessels” (分器) phenomenon in Yejiashan cemetery. The “granting sacrificial vessels” observed in Yejiashan cemetery are mainly wine vessels from the Shang period, and multiple clan-sigh inscriptions have been found. From the content of clan-sigh inscriptions, it can be seen that these clans had no relationship with Zeng State, such as having the same surname, marriage alliance or union. Furthermore, the unearthed bronze artifacts from Tomb M111 with inscriptions such as “the Southern Duke” and “Taibao” (太保), and the phenomenon of inscribing “Father Yi” (父乙) in the Marquis of Zeng’s bronze vessels provide new evidences for further exploration of the relationship between Zeng State and Zhou royal family, as well as “the Southern Duke” family and “the Shao Duke” (召公) family. This article combines the relevant literature and then finds that there are many similarities between Zeng State and “the Shao Duke” family, such as the use of Riming (names using celestial stems), close relationship with “the Southern States”, and the discovery of a large number of bronze artifacts with similar clan-sign inscriptions. Thus, we will re-explore the issues related to The Book of Songs: Odes of Shaonan and clarify some issues such as “Shaobo” (召伯) is “the Shao Duke Shi” (召公奭), and “South” refers to “the Southern States”. Our research provides new insights for further exploring the relationship between Zeng State and “the Shao Duke”, as well as the origin of bronze artifacts with clan-sign inscriptions. By sorting out the newly unearthed clan-sigh inscriptions, it can be inferred that “the Southern Duke” family should have two branches, one serving in the Zhou Dynasty and the other being enfeoffed with lands in Zeng State. Both “the Southern Duke” family and “the Shao Duke” family were stationed in “the Southern States” and had the important task of managing the southern territory. It is highly likely that the bronze Yue-battle axes with the inscription of “Taibao” unearthed from Tomb M111 of Yejiashan cemetery was gifted to Marquis Li of Zeng by “the Shao Duke”, which provides a basis for further exploration of the relationship between “the Shao Duke” and Zeng State.
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Published: 02 March 2024
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