中国青铜时代开始于公元前2000年，经夏、商、西周、春秋、战国和秦汉，历近15个世纪。是我国文化的重要组成部分，具有重要的历史价值和观赏价值，其中商周时期的青铜器最有价值。青铜器文化是夏商周时期的文化核心，其中商周时代的礼器既有文化价值，又有极高的艺术价值。 中国古代的青铜器是用来让奴隶主把青铜器作为宴享和放在宗庙里祭祀祖先的礼器。 青铜器不是一般人可以拥有的，它作为一种权利和地位的象征、一种记事耀功的礼器而流传于世 。青铜器上的纹饰主要是怪兽其中最多见的也是这个时期刚刚出现的饕餮纹。饕餮纹是重组变形法则最集中的体现。饕餮是传说中的一种贪食的恶兽。古代钟鼎礼器上多刻其头形作为装饰。夏，商、西周、春秋战国时期的饕餮形象不尽一致。 人兽共生图案的演变显示出上古观念演变的逻辑阶段。艺术与文化从原始向理性演化有一个漫长的过程，在原始社会的彩陶上，普遍采用的纹饰是把具体形象抽象化了（如人面鱼纹），而在殷商和西周，则是人兽合一、人兽共存的图案。总的来看，商周时期青铜器皿上的纹饰是以怪兽为主的。不同时代的青铜器具有不同的艺术风格。商代的青铜器形质繁缛华丽，纹饰多兽面纹，充满了神秘、威慑的气氛。西周中期到春秋晚期，风格趋向简朴，追求朴素、典雅之美。春秋后期到战国，器形奇巧，轻灵，纹饰易于理解。秦汉时期向轻便、精巧方向发展，往往以独特的造型取胜。

The Bronze Age of China began in 2000 BC and lasted for nearly 15 centuries through Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States, and Qin and Han Dynasties. It is an important part of Chinese culture and has important historical and ornamental value. Among them, the bronzes from the Shang and Zhou periods are the most valuable. Bronze culture is the cultural core of the Xia, Shang and Zhou periods, and the ritual vessels of the Shang and Zhou periods have both cultural value and extremely high artistic value. Bronze wares in ancient China were used to allow slave owners to use bronze wares as banquets and rituals in ancestral temples to worship their ancestors. Bronze ware is not something that ordinary people can own. It is used as a symbol of rights and status, and a ritual instrument for memorizing things and glorious achievements. The decorations on the bronzes are mainly monsters. The most common one is also the "TAOTIE" pattern that just appeared in this period. The "TAOTIE" pattern is the most concentrated expression of the law of reorganization and deformation. "TAOTIE" is a greedy beast in the legend. The shape of its head was often carved on ancient bell and ceremonial vessels as decoration. The "TAOTIE" images of Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States are not consistent. The evolution of the symbiosis between humans and beasts shows the logical stage of the evolution of ancient concepts. There is a long process for art and culture to evolve from primitive to rational. On the painted pottery of primitive society, the commonly used ornamentation is to combine the concrete image. It is abstracted (such as the fish pattern on the human face). In the Yin Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties, it was a pattern of the unity of humans and beasts and the coexistence of humans and beasts. The body is a pattern of dragons and birds. Obviously this is the pattern of the integration of man and beast. Generally speaking, the decorations on bronze vessels during the Shang and Zhou dynasties are dominated by monsters. Bronze wares of different eras have different artistic styles. The bronzes of the Shang dynasty are magnificent and rich in shape and quality. The animal face pattern is full of mystery and deterrence. From the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the late Spring and Autumn Period, the style tends to be simple, pursuing the beauty of simplicity and elegance. In the late Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, the shape of the vessel was exquisite, light and agile, and the decoration was easy to understand. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, lightweight and sophisticated, they often win with unique shapes.