On 22 November, the ‘Fifth Young Teachers Innovation Salon’, sponsored by the University of Science and Technology Beijing Labour Union and the Centre for Faculty & Teaching Development, was held in the second-floor conference room of the institute's labour union. Prof. Chen Kunlong from our institute was invited to deliver a report on the ‘Historical Perspective of Early Chinese Bronze Smelting and Casting Technology’.
Prof. Chen Kunlong expounded on the following four parts in his report:
Part 1 ‘Precursor of the Silk Road’: Early metallurgy in the Northwest. Prof. Chen Kunlong explained the use of natural copper by early men, the subsequent emergence of artificial copper smelting, and the importance of metal to the origin of civilisation.

Part 2 ‘The Dawn of China’: Bronze smelting and casting in the Central Plains during the Erlitou period. Prof. Chen Kunlong provided an overview of the metallurgical production pattern in the Central Plains during the Erlitou period, including the technological, economic, and political landscape. He introduced the excavations at the Erlitou historical site, the significance of the appearance of its bronze vessels, and the main features of the Chinese Bronze Age model casting technology.

Part 3 ‘Only Sacrifices and War’: The development and dissemination of mould casting technology. The bronzeware unearthed from Guojiazhuang M160 and Fuhao Tomb M5 shows the scale of ritual bronzes in the Shang Dynasty. The main driving force behind the expansion of the Erligang period was the acquisition and utilisation of precious resources by the Central Plains dynasty during that period. Their expansion was explained through a comparison of bronzeware unearthed at the Zhengzhou Shang City and the Panlongcheng in Wuhan, combined with the discovery of similar Shang dynasty sites outside the Central Plains region during the Erligang period.

Part 4 ‘The Greatest ‘Bronze’ in the World’: Highly radiogenic lead in Shang dynasty bronzeware. Prof. Chen Kunlong started by introducing the development and usage of lead isotopes in archaeological materials; then he reviewed the use of lead isotopes by Chinese scholars to study the origin of ritual bronzes. The discovery of highly radiogenic lead used in Shang dynasty bronzes is of great significance in studying the origins of Shang dynasty bronze ores.

At the end of the report, the teachers and Prof. Chen Kunlong exchanged and discussed their thoughts on issues such as the relationship between lead isotope research in ancient materials and modern geological surveys, the original colours of ancient ritual bronze moulds, the definition of ‘culture’ and ‘civilisation’ in archaeology, and the naming of ancient ritual bronzes.