Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms: Utensils, Volume One original: 三才圖會 (Sancai Tuhui). This was a major Chinese encyclopedia published in 1609 during the Ming dynasty, illustrating everything from astronomy to ancient artifacts.

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The Lei Ritual Vessel original: 罍 (lei). The lei is a large ritual wine container used in ancient Chinese ancestral rites. It is typically larger and more bulbous than the trumpet-shaped zun. According to classical ritual texts, the lei was used to hold clarified sacrificial wine or water.

Terminology featured on this page: Ritual Bronze Vessel (Liqi); Wine Vessel; Antiquarianism—the study of ancient artifacts through illustrations and inscriptions.

The accompanying woodcut illustrates a classic bronze lei. The vessel is characterized by its wide, flared mouth, swelling shoulders, and prominent vertical flanges—ridge-like decorations that run down the sides of the vessel. The body is densely decorated with a geometric "diaper" or trellis pattern, a motif common in later woodblock depictions of ancient bronzes. These vessels were essential components of the ritual sets used by the nobility during the Shang and Zhou dynasties (c. 1600–256 BCE) to offer libations to the spirits of their predecessors.

Ritual Bronze (Liqi): A category of sacred objects used in Chinese antiquity for ceremonial offerings. These were not household items but powerful symbols of political authority and spiritual connection.

Wine Vessel original: 酒器 (jiuqi). This indicates the functional classification of the vessel within the ritual system.