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In China the Shang Dynasty, which had been in power for over 500 years, was toppled by a new dynasty, the Zhou.
商朝的統治維持了五百年，便被新的周朝取代。
The Zhou came from the west-from the steppes of central Asia.
周朝的統治者來自西部：中亞的干草原。
Like the Kushites of Sudan who conquered Egypt at roughly the same time, the Zhou were a people from the edge, who challenged and overthrew the old-established, prosperous centre.
蘇丹的庫施人征服了埃及，而幾乎在同一時間,來自帝國邊緣的周人推翻了富庶穩定的中央帝國。
The Zhou ultimately took over the entire Shang kingdom and, again like the Kushites, followed it up by appropriating not just the state they'd conquered but its history, imagery and rituals.
他們最終接掌了整個商朝，并如庫施人一樣，在接手國家的同時也接手了前朝的歷史、圖像及儀式。
Central to the ritual of Chinese political authority was the practice of elaborate feasting with the dead, and this involved magnificent bronze vessels, which are both instruments of power and major historical documents.
他們繼續鼓勵不同形式的藝術創作，也延續了對中國政治權力來說極為重要的用青銅器祭祀祖先的儀式，以證明上天會庇佑新的政權。
I'm in the Asia gallery of the British Museum, and I'm with a handsome bronze vessel called a gui.
我現在正身處大英博物館的亞洲藝術走廊,我手里是這件被稱為簋的華麗青銅器。
It is about the shape and size of a large punch bowl, about a foot across, with two large curved handles.
本節中的簋大小如同大潘趣酒杯，直徑約二十七厘米，有兩個大把手。
What you first notice I think, looking at the outside, is the elaborate, flower-like decoration that run on bands on the top and the bottom;
杯沿與底座各有一圈精致的裝飾花紋，
but undoubtedly it's the handles that really are the most striking element, because each handle is a large beast, with tusks and horns and huge square ears, and it's caught in the act of swallowing a bird whose beak is just emerging from its jaws.
但最引人注目的無疑是它的把手,每一個都是一頭長牙尖角、大方耳的猛獸，正在吞食一只小鳥，嘴里還能看見鳥矇。
