The ge of the Shizhaishan Cultural Complex

Abstract

Ge was one of the most widely used weapons during the Bronze and early Iron Age of China. It was common from the later 2nd millennium BCE until the end of the pre-Christian era in northern China, and remained in use until the late Western Han Dynasty in southwestern China. This paper discusses the chronological distribution, functions and possible stylistic origin of ge from the Shizhaishan cultural complex, a Bronze-Iron Age culture distributed over central and northeastern Yunnan. The analysis indicates that this weapon was first adopted from the beginning of the Spring and Autumn period in northeastern Yunnan and then peaked during the late Warring States period and Western Han in the Lake Dian region. The ge of the Shizhaishan cultural complex possibly had more functions than their northern counterparts, and the Shizhaishan people possibly transformed them in size, shape and decoration in order to meet the local tastes. Furthermore, the typological evidence suggests that the stylistic origin of Shizhaishan ge was Sichuan.