Hong Kong Palace Museum | HKPM Special Exhibition Talk Series | Between Feasts: Combinations, Evolution, and Influence of Bronze Ritual Vessels for Wine and Food

During the pre-Qin period (before 221 BCE), bronze vessels such as zun, you, ding, and li were cast for use in sacrifices and feasts, embodying the ritual systems of that time. The combinations of these ritual vessels evolved over time, transitioning from a focus on wine vessels, like the jue and gu combinations, to an emphasis on food vessels, such as the lieding (rows of cauldrons) and liegui (rows of food containers) systems. Various bronze wine and food vessels became symbols of the orthodox ritual system of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, treasured by later generations. The Qing (1644–1911) court had a deep appreciation for collecting bronze artefacts. Many bronze wine and food vessels from the Qing imperial collection are displaying at the Hong Kong Palace Museum special exhibition, “A Movable Feast: The Culture of Food and Drink in China”. Through these specific examples, Dr Pengyu Chen, Research Fellow of The Palace Museum, will explore the combinations and evolution of bronze ritual vessels for wine and food, as well as their influence on later generations.

This talk accompanies the special exhibition “A Movable Feast: The Culture of Food and Drink in China”, which will be on view in Gallery 8 at the Hong Kong Palace Museum from 19 March to 18 June 2025. The exhibition is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Palace Museum and The Palace Museum. The exhibits mainly come from The Palace Museum and the Hong Kong Palace Museum. The British Museum, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, and the Hong Kong Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware have also provided a number of loans. The Robert Chang Art Education Charitable Foundation is the exhibition’s Supporting Sponsor.

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