西周青铜农具普及状况刍议

Discussion on the Popularization of Bronze Farm Tools in Western Zhou Dynasty

基于器形分析,估测西周一套青铜农具所含的青铜材料重量为1250克。根据金文提供的青铜价格线索,推测仅一套青铜农具所含的青铜材料,就需耗费西周奴隶三个月以上或自由民家庭半年以上的净收入。西周时期青铜农具性价比不高,无法在自由民阶层普及;但在奴隶主的领地内,由于青铜农具对生产力改进及土地管理的规模效应,青铜农具已经基本具备大量使用的经济可行性。而基于西汉铁价分析,发现金属农具完全替代非金属农具的价格条件相当苛刻,西周青铜农具尚不具备普及条件。

Based on the analysis of the instrument shape,it is estimated that the bronze material contained in a set of bronze agricultural tools is 1250 grams.According to the bronze prices provided by the inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty,it is speculated that the raw materials of a set of bronze farm tools are equivalent to the net wage income of a slave for more than three months,or the net wage income of a free farmer for more than half a year.During the Western Zhou Dynasty,bronze agricultural tools did not yet have price advantages and could not be popularized among the free people.However,in the land of slave owners,due to the scale effect of land management and the improvement of the productivity of bronze agricultural tools,bronze agricultural tools were basically equipped to be used in large quantities.In addition,based on the price analysis of copper and iron in the Western Han Dynasties,it is found that the price conditions for metal farming tools to completely replace non-metallic farming tools are quite harsh and that bronze implements were not yet widely available in the Western Zhou.