Houmuwu ding

The naming of bronzeware generally follows this principle: the last character is usually the type of the ware, e.g. ding, dou, hu, pan, or zun.

[2] The ding is named for the inscription in bronzeware script on the interior wall, which reads "Queen Mother Wu" (后母戊; Hòumǔwù).

[8] Each side has a blank space in the middle, surrounded by a band of decoration featuring taotie (animal faced creatures) and kuilong (one-legged dragons).

[8] There are two handles, each decorated on the exterior with two tigers facing each other, their jaws closing around a human head in between them, an image which is also found on Fu Hao battle axes.

[11] In 1977, Li Xueqin proposed that the first glyph in the inscription should be read as hòu (后; 'queen'), rejecting sī because simuwu is a verb-object construction rare in the epigraphic record.

[13][14] In March 2011, after the renovation of the National Museum of China reopened, in the special display of "ancient Chinese bronze art", Sīmǔwù has been renamed as Hòumǔwù.