簋 (guǐ) - Gui — an ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel

簋Tone 3

guǐ ｜ 17 strokes ｜ radical:

枫惠

簋 · guǐ

Gui — an ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel used for holding cooked grain, especially millet, during ceremonial offerings and banquets in the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Gui — an ancient Chinese ritual bronze vessel

Usage highlights

Bronze guiRitual vessel guiZhouGui with inscriptionGui and ding vesselsFour gui and eight ding

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • 鼎— ding (bronze cauldron for meat, as opposed to grain)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The bronze gui vessel was used in ancestral rites (青铜簋).
  • Archaeologists unearthed a Zhou-dynasty food vessel (周代簋器).
  • This museum displays an inscribed ritual gui (带铭文的礼簋).
  • The set of eight gui vessels signified high rank (八簋).

Collocations

  • Bronze gui(青铜簋)
  • Ritual vessel gui(礼器簋)
  • Zhou-dynasty gui(周簋)
  • Gui with inscription(簋铭)
  • Gui and ding vessels(簋鼎)
  • Four gui and eight ding(四簋八鼎)

Idioms

  • Referring to lavish feasts(列鼎而食, 击钟陈鼎, 簋簠不饬)
  • Describing proper ritual conduct(簠簋之风)
  • Criticizing corruption(簠簋不饰)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Gui vessels were central to the 'ding and gui' system of ritual bronzes that defined aristocratic rank in the Zhou dynasty.
  • The number of gui and ding vessels a noble could use was strictly regulated by sumptuary laws.
  • Gui typically had a rounded bowl with a wide mouth, two or four handles, and often sat on a square base or stand.
  • Inscriptions on gui vessels provide crucial historical information about early Chinese politics, genealogy, and land grants.

FAQ