| Abstract |
This article attempts to explain the bronze inscriptions cast on Shen-liow's organized bells, which were unearthed in 1982 from Mainland China. Since then, scholars of China have various interpretations for those inscriptions. However, they were unable to confirm the interpunction of the context. Such phenomenon highlights the uncertain factors in archeology. Therefore, I list the related keywords from those inscriptions and do the textual research. And I try to clarify the interpunction of the context. I suggest that the Chinese character of “尋” (shun) is the given name of the caster who made the organized bells. And the two characters of “甚六” (shen-liow) are the craftsman's designated name. In ancient China, people used to put their given name and designated name together in the inscriptions. My assumption is consistent with such custom. Finally, I propose the “double certification” method and interdisciplinary integration to study the ancient bronze inscriptions.
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