Fangyi
Sign in to saveright|thumb|Fangyi dated to the 12th century BCE (Shang dynasty) A fangyi (; 'square bronze') is a type of Chinese ritual bronze container typical of the Shang and early to middle Zhou periods of Bronze Age China (circa 1800-900 BCE). It takes the shape of a square or rectangular casket with a cover that resembles a hip roof, surmounted by a knob of a similar hipped appearance. The lower edge is typically indented with a semi-circular notch.
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right|thumb|Fangyi dated to the 12th century BCE (Shang dynasty) A fangyi (; 'square bronze') is a type of Chinese ritual bronze container typical of the Shang and early to middle Zhou periods of Bronze Age China (circa 1800-900 BCE). It takes the shape of a square or rectangular casket with a cover that resembles a hip roof, surmounted by a knob of a similar hipped appearance. The lower edge is typically indented with a semi-circular notch.
They are usually lavishly decorated, often with taotie patterns representing mythological beasts. They were sometimes connected to create a twin container or oufangyi. Their form differed somewhat over time; those produced during the Shang typically had straight bodies, those of the early Zhou bulge at the sides and mid-Zhou ones have handles that look like an elephant's trunk. The Sinologist Carl Hentze suggested that the shape of the vessel represents an ancestral temple of the period, with sloping roofs, projecting beams and a square or rectangular base.