Owl-shaped bronze vessels, referred to as "Xiao You" in Chinese, is a term coined by modern Chinese archaeologists. These vessels represent a unique subset within the category of "you" vessels in ancient Chinese bronze vessels. Despite their rarity, with a total of 45 owl-shaped bronze "you" known to be collected in museums, institutions, and by private collectors in China and abroad—comprising both scientifically excavated pieces and those passed down through generations—their presence is rarely noted in the bronze catalogues authored by epigraphists of Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties. And it is clearly suggested through these catalogues that epigraphists shared a different understanding of the owl-shaped you vessels from contemporary archaeologists. However, even modern and contemporary scholars have not conducted extensive research on them, with their studies primarily confined to typological analysis.
From the standpoint of traditional classification, the owl-shaped "you" belongs to the broader category of "you"; in terms of form, it is also considered an animal-shaped vessel. Yet, to date, there has been no specialized discussion dedicated to these vessels. Their emergence, development, chronological sequence, and origins have not been thoroughly investigated, nor has their role and influence within the broader categories of "you" and animal-shaped vessels been adequately explored.
This study focuses on the Shang Dynasty owl-shaped "you," compiling a total of 45 known pieces that have been unearthed and collected, as well as those documented in ancient texts, for a comprehensive examination. Beyond the compilation and review of materials, through formal and technical analysis, as well as discussion on the inscriptions, this research delves into the classification, the provenance, its connection with the Shang court, and its significance as a distinctive type of vessel that emerged, flourished and then rapidly vanished from the reign of King Wuding to the end of Shang Dynasty.