Yi (vessel)

A yi is a shape used in ancient Chinese ritual bronzes. It has the shape of half a gourd with a handle (often in the shape of a dragon) and usually supported by four legs. It is believed it was used to contain water for washing hands before rituals like sacrifices.

An yi in the collections of the Shanghai Museum.

Yi
Chinese	匜
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin yí Wade–Giles i2 Middle Chinese Middle Chinese *laj

References

• http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/30Arts2067.html
• http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/30Arts2015.html Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine

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 yi