Forgery of archaic Chinese bronze inscriptions : a preliminary investigation of the extent of forgery amongst inscribed bronze ritual vessels of the Western Chou period

Abstract

This survey is written primarily as a record of my investigations on the authenticity of the bronze inscriptions of western Chou for examination as a doctoral thesis; the research involved covers a period of less than two years full-time study of the problems and is still in progress. Final assessment of the nature and the extent of forgery will not be possible for some time, thus the present paper must be regarded only as a preliminary survey of particular aspects of the study. A selection has been made of those items which I consider to be of special significance in indicating the urgency for a complete and through investigation of the bronze inscriptions of ancient China; several statement and conclusions presented in the following treatise are therefore necessarily of a tentative kind and may require certain modification or, perhaps, complete reassessment during the next few years as more archaeological documents are unearthed. Certain results of the survey are, however, not only conclusive but also are of considerable importance in the determination of forgery. The thesis may be summed up in a few words: Amongst the general body of bronze inscriptions numerous inscribed vessels, hitherto accepted as genuine, are actually forgeries of comparatively recent manufacture; the basic criterion of forgery established is one heretofore unknown to forgers and to scholars alike and is here revealed for the first time and its application carefully expounded. Other features which I believe to be indicative of spurious inscriptions are analysed throughout nearly 1,000 bronze texts and their possible value as criteria of fraudulence is considered. <…>