body. Function and Usage In some examples the two symmetric hemispheres could be used individually or as a bowl with lid when facilitating the ritual process. Lidded varieties are evidenced by the lack of supporting structure on each bowl. The vessel might be displayed prominently within a temple or hall but also found use during feasts commemorating ancestors. At times, the vessel was produced solely for burial. In later periods the vessel became a symbol of societal prominence and the religious aspect receded. Historical Development The dui functioned and was created in the Late Zhou dynasties and Warring States period in early China. The dui is one of the earliest types of near-spherical shape of vessel. In the middle of the Spring and Autumn period, people gradually began to use the dui as a warming and serving food vessel. According to scholar K.C. Chang, the term "dui" was said to have been written in the catalogue incorrectly by cataloguers from the Song dynasty. First seen in Eastern Zhou, "dui" means "gobular vessel", but in Shang and Western Zhou, this particular vessel was called "gui". "Dui" was transcribed into the modern equivalent of "gui". Some dui vessels were inspired by nomadic Steppe art with sophisticated designs and colorful exteriors. After the Eastern Zhou dynasty, the dui might have been seen as a status symbol or used in various rituals. It was most popular during the Late Zhou Dynasty, but later it was replaced by another food container named "sheng" that was used during the Qin and Han dynasties. In the Warring States Period, the form was changed to an oval and the lid was transformed to reflect the body in a mirror image. They are sometimes marked as "watermelon ding" which were dated back to the early Warring States Period. Important specimens The Chen Hou Yinqi dui (陳侯因齊敦), cast by King Wei of Qi (r. 356–320 BCE), bears an inscription containing the earliest attestation of the Yellow Emperor in the historical record. In 2004, there was a dui vessel discovered in tomb M6 in Zhenghan Road, Xinzheng City by the Xinzheng Work Station of the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute. References Works cited External links The great bronze age of China: an exhibition from the People's Republic of China, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on duis "dui."