Title: The metamorphic image
Description: This book identifies the meaning of Shang ritual imagery and standardized modes of representation.  Due to modes of representation and paleographic data it is clear that the image is metamorphic in content and based on the image of the masked human.  Four hunted wild animal types (tiger, argali, buffalo, deer) are identified as the major images featured in what is also identified as the royal Shang image of the masked human.
Subjects: Animals in art, Chinese Art, Chinese Bronzes, History, Rites and ceremonies, Symbolism in art
Places: China
Time periods: Shang dynasty, 1766-1122 B.C., To 221 B.C.