Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin and a small amount of lead. Tradition ascribes the first casting of bronze to the legendary Xia Dynasty of 5000years ago. Its appearance marked the advancement of human culture from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age.

Generally, based on function, Bronze can be divided into three main categories: ritual vessels, luxury items and sometimes placed in tombs and weapons. In ancient time, bronze was rare and precious. It fully demonstrated the rich imagination. From the 17th century BC to the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD200), Chinese people used bronze to cast large quantities of ritual vessels, musical instruments and weapons that were well-designed, finely decorated and clearly inscribed with Chinese characters, which showed the great creativity of the ancient Chinese people.

In Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century BC), bronzes are marvelous specimens. The symbolic design, known as the "tao-tie" or "beast of gluttony"—a type of fierce animal design—has been used on Chinese sacrificial bronze with 3,000 years history. During this period, the "beast of gluttony" design was the most prominent. In Zhou Dynasty (11th century to 771BC), bronze vessels tend to have long messages in ideographic characters: they describe wars, rewards, ceremonial events and the appointment of official.

Bronze mirrors, one typical China's ancient bronze, were used as early as the Shang Dynasty and had already developed into an artistic form by the Warring States periods (475-221BC). The backs of bronze mirrors were inscribed with wishes for good fortune and protection from evil influence.

Today, you can easily find the beauty of Chinese traditional bronze art in incense burners and sacrificial vessels in temples, in statues on display in schools, or in decorative pieces in homes. The art of Chinese ancient bronze plays an important role in Chinese modern architecture.