The Simuwu Rectangle Ding

As mentioned above, one of the oldest utensils used to cook was the kettle. Since most ancient kettles had a round base, they could not stand upright and were heated directly on the stove. Along the Yangtze River and in some areas near the lower reaches of the Yellow River, people erected a three-legged bracket to support the kettle for cooking food during the New Stone Age. In most cases, they piled up stones to keep the kettle in place and then heated it.

Many researchers believed that the emergence of the ding was closely related to this method of heating the kettle. The ding is actually a three-legged kettle that was popular in the New Stone Age mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.

During the Shang (16-11th century BC) and Zhou (770-221BC) dynasties, the ding became an important utensil used in ceremonial activities. The most famous ding is the Simuwu Rectangle Ding, which was unearthed in Anyang, Henan Province, in 1939. The opening of the four-legged Simuwu Rectangle Ding is 110 cm long and 78 cm wide; its sides are 6 cm thick and its looped handles are 133 cm high. The entire ding weighs 75 kilograms and is the heaviest piece of bronzeware in the world. The casting process of this huge bronze vessel used over 1,000 kilograms of metal and employed 70 to 80 craftsmen.

The Simuwu Rectangle Ding was made more than 3,000 years ago. Dings, which were still used after the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), were particularly refined and exquisite at this time since they were not only used as cooking utensils but also as food containers and even sacrificial vessels that symbolized power and wealth.

** Roasting

Roasting is actually an older method than cooking and the most primitive. Before kettles and kitchen ranges, ancient people roasted food directly on the fire and many hotels and restaurants still use this method to make various foods, such as roast pork, sheep, mutton cubes on a spit, etc. Some pottery roast grates unearthed at New Stone sites feature indentations, and foods, such as meat and fish, could be roasted on them.

A La Family oven was also discovered at the site belonging to the Qi Family Culture in Northwestern China's Qinghai Province. The oven was made of flagstones and supported by a thin flagstone, with food placed over the fire below. It is the oldest oven ever found by Chinese archeologists and boasts fine craftsmanship.

Page:

1

2

3

4

5