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9.

6. Forms.

Some of the forms are universal enough; class I.A. are found in many stone age cultures, in Asia as well as elsewhere. The presence of these forms in the Shang Dynasty remains may indicate a recent emergence of this culture from its neolithic predecessors.

The ringed foot, however, must be taken as a distinguishing feature, Althou its beginning is found already in the Yang-shao culture(An.E.C.C., p.49), it gained its fashion probably only in this period.

The most characteristic form is still the legged group, of which the tripods occur most frequently. Several changing varieties can be distinguished. The tendency is a gradual reduction of the hollowed feet. J.G.Anderson attributed the origin of the Li-tripod as being "invented by merging three vessels with pointed bottom in order to form a household utensile which could stand by itself. While at the same time it offered a very large contact surface to the fire when used for cooking...."(Archaeological Research in Kansu, p.p.46-47)

This theory seems the be fully borne out by the serial development of this particular form. It has been found that earlier li-tripod possess longer feet which are gradually reduced till a flat bottom type is evolved. An actual specimen of the flat-bottomed type (Fig. 18c) was discovered in a burial in Hsiao-t'un of post Shang period. It may be observed that althou the bottom is almost flat, it still remain traces of the hollowed feet like the budding mamma of an adolescent girl. (1)

Fig. 18

[[images - three drawings of different types of ceramic vases]]

 c   b   a