Baoji

Baoji, in China's Shaanxi Province, preserves an important collection of ancient bronze objects at the Baoji Bronze Ware Museum. Its displays illuminate the history and material culture of the Zhou and Qin periods through vessels whose shapes, decoration and inscriptions reveal the ceremonial uses of bronze.

Among the museum's best-known objects is the He zun, a ritual wine vessel from the early Western Zhou period. Its inscription contains the earliest surviving written occurrence of the characters now used for China. The vessel was made for the nobleman He and belongs to a tradition of offerings to ancestors and deities. Its importance lies in the relationship between writing, ritual and political history, making the museum a significant destination for understanding early Chinese civilisation.