The bronze vessels of Six Dynasties period recorded so far are not comparable with those of Han period in number and using scope,but in cultural content,they show clear multiplicity and chronological division owing to the geographical and political difference between the six dynasties.The available bronze vessels of the Six Dynasties period can be divided into two classes:traditional types and newly created ones.The former had prevailed in the Han period,including the washer,bowl,jiaohu tripot,mao food container,double-eared cauldron,fu-zeng cauldron-steamer,fu large cauldron,eared cup and kui spoon,while the latter emerged or prevailed in the Six Dynasties period,such as the jiaodou tea-boiling vessel,bottle,spittoon,three-legged basin,dang wine-heating tripod,chamber pot,ink slab,saucer and goblet.The evolution of Six Dynasties bronze vessels is reflected mainly in the morphological change and typological rise and fall of the two classes of objects,with the Eastern Jin period as the general demarcation,which is roughly the terminal line of the first class and the starting line of the second one.The whole developmental course can be divided into three stages.The first stage covers the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin periods,when bronze vessels were morphologically similar to those of the late Han period,with cooking and traditional wine vessels as the main types and with the distributing pattern following that in the Eastern Han.The second stage corresponds to the Eastern Jin and early Southern Dynasties periods,when cooking,containing and wine vessels decreased sharply,newly-created types became the main stream,with the tea-set accounting for the largest proportion,the ink slab and chamber pot emerged sporadically,and the southern Yangtze River valley,eastern Liaoning and Korea as the main areas of distribution,while the Central Plains lacking such products.The third stage is in the mid and late Southern Dynasties period,when traditional types disappeared on the whole,newly-created ones emerged in large quantities,imported wine bottles and goblets appeared,and the distribution demarcation between the north and the south faded away.The change of bronze vessels reflected the complex social and historical background of the Six Dynasties period.In the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin periods,owing to disparity in the system of government,there appeared different patterns of manor economy;and in the southern valley of lower Yangtze River,as the big landowner’s economy continued to advance,the corresponding economic pattern developed further,and traditional types of bronzes were still used.In the Eastern Jin period,the trend for airy philosophical discussions and dissociation from politics led to the change of bronzes,and the confrontation between the north and the south and their difference in foreign policy exerted deep-going influence upon the distribution pattern of bronzes.Until the late Northern and Southern Dynasties period,with the growth of economic and cultural exchange,the above-described situation was altered. The bronze vessels of Six Dynasties period recorded so far not not comparable with those of Han period in number and using scope, but in cultural content, they show clear multiplicity and chronological division owing to the geographical and political difference between the six dynasties. Available bronze vessels of the Six Dynasties period can be divided into two classes: traditional types and newly created ones. The former had had prevailed in the Han period, including the washer, bowl, jiaohu tripot, mao food container, double-eared cauldron, fu- zeng cauldron-steamer, fu large cauldron, eared cup and kui spoon, while the latterready or prevailed in the Six Dynasties period, such as the jiaodou tea-boiling vessel, bottle, spittoon, three-legged basin, dang wine-heating tripod chamber pot, ink slab, saucer and goblet. The evolution of Six Dynasties bronze vessels is reflected mainly in the morphological change and typological rise and fall of the two classes of objects, with the Eastern Jin period as the general demarcation, which is roughly the terminal line of the first class and the starting line of the second one. the whole developmental course can be divided into three stages. the first stage covers the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin periods, when bronze vessels were morphologically similar to those of the late Han period, with cooking and traditional wine vessels as the main types and with the distributing pattern following that in the Eastern Han. second-stage correspondence to the Eastern Jin and early Southern Dynasties periods, when cooking, containing and wine vessels decreased sharply, newly-created types became the main stream, with the tea-set accounting for the largest proportion, the ink slab and chamber pot emerged sporadically, and the southern Yangtze River valley, eastern Liaoning and Korea as the main areas of distribution, while the Central Plains lacking such products. The third stage is in the mid and late Southern Dynasties period, when traditional types disappeared on the whole, newly-created ones emerged in large quantities, imported wine bottles and goblets, and the distribution demarcation between the north and the south faded away. change in bronze vessels reflected the complex social and historical background of the Six Dynasties period. the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin periods, owing to disparity in the system of government, there are different patterns of manor economy; and in the southern valley of lower Yangtze River, as the big landowner’s economy continued to advance, the corresponding economic pattern developed further , and traditional types of bronzes were still used. in the Eastern Jin period, the trend for airy philosophical discussions and dissociation from politics led to the change of bronzes, and the confrontation between the north and the south and their difference in foreign policy exerted deep -going influence upon the distribution pattern of bronzes. Until the late Northern and Southern Dynasties period, with the growth of eco nomic and cultural exchange, the above-described situation was altered.