Nine Tripod Cauldrons

The Nine Tripod Cauldrons (Chinese: 九鼎; pinyin: Jiǔ Dǐng) were a collection of ding in ancient China that were viewed as symbols of the authority given to the ruler by the Mandate of Heaven.

Members of the scholarly gentry class were permitted to use one or three cauldrons; the ministers of state (大夫, dàfū) five; the vassal lords seven; and only the sovereign Son of Heaven was entitled to use nine.

[4][5] However, by the time Qin Shi Huang had eliminated the other six Warring States to become the first emperor of China in 221 BCE, the whereabouts of the nine tripod cauldrons were unknown.

[4] The Records of the Grand Historian recount that once Yu the Great had finished taming the floods that once engulfed the land, he divided the territory into the Nine Provinces and collected bronze in tribute from each one.

[citation needed] In 2006, the National Museum of China in Beijing cast Nine Tripod Cauldrons which are now on permanent display as a tourist attraction.

[16] Baopuzi mentions "Records on the Nine Cauldrons" (Jiu ding ji 九鼎記), an alleged description of the vessels commenting on their protective function.