| Abstract: |
Recent research has revealed that soldering was an important technique used in the fabrication of ancient Chinese bronzes and its appearance can be traced back, at least, to the Western Zhou period (11th-8th centuries B.C.). In this paper, six solder samples as well as the relevant bronze objects were examined using optical microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray diffraction spectrometry (XRD). The results indicate that the solders dating to the Late Western Zhou period (9th-8th centuries B.C.) are mainly Pb with a small amount of Sn and As
while those dating to the period between the Warring States and the late Eastern Han Dynasty (5th century B.C.-3rd century A.D.) consist of Pb-Sn alloys. It has also been found that soldering methods are distinct in different periods. From the late Western Zhou period (9th-8th centuries B.C.) to the Warring States period (5th-3rd centuries B.C.), the soldering method was as follows: first, to cast a tenon at the relevant position of bronze body
then, to pour molten solder into the mortise in appendage
finally, to connect the tenon with the mortise before the solder solidified. In the Eastern Han Dynasty (1st-3rd centuries A.D.), two bronze parts were directly connected by molten solder, without casting a tenon and a mortise. Interfacial reaction between Sn-Pb solder and bronze substrate is also discussed in the paper.
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