Lead poisoning from use of bronze drinking vessels during the late Chinese Shang dynasty: an in vitro experiment

Abstract

Introduction. Bronze drinking vessels famous for their intricate carvings and used by the aristocracy in the Chinese Shang dynasty (1555–1145 BCE) are known to have been fabricated with alloys containing soft metallic lead. The contribution of lead leaching from such vessels into the fermented grain wines drunk by the Chinese nobility in ancient times has not been previously estimated. Methods. Three bronze vessels containing 8% lead by weight were fabricated to resemble the late Shang bronze goblets. Shaoxing drinking rice wine was purchased locally and placed in the vessels, using a white grape wine and water as comparisons. Sampling was performed at baseline, 2 min, and then at days 1, 2, 4, and 7. Lead concentrations in the liquid matrix were measured using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results. Significant amounts of lead leached into the liquid within one day: 13,900 μg/L in water, 45,900 μg/L in rice wine, and 116,000 μg/L in white wine. Lead continued to leach into both the grape and rice wines with the passage of time. Discussion. Significant lead contamination of Shaoxing rice wine was detected when it was left in bronze goblets fabricated to resemble the Shang dynasty vessels. If a liter of contaminated wine was drunk daily, the daily intake of lead could have been as high as 85 mg. Such a high degree of contamination could cause chronic lead poisoning, affecting the health of the Shang nobility who used bronze beverage containers, before lead was excluded from the manufacture of bronze.

Keywords:

• Lead poisoning
• Poisoning
• Toxicity
• Intoxication

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Ms. Emma Hawley and Christina Bellamy in facilitating this project and to the support and resources provided by the Granada Media Group, ITV Productions, and Anglia Factual Productions, all in London, Great Britain, without which the project could not be accomplished. Funding for the fabrication of the vessels was provided by Anglia Factual Productions. The authors would like to thank Ms. Alison Clapp, the librarian at the Children's Hospital, and Ms. Julia Whelan, reference librarian at the Countway Library at Harvard Medical School, for their invaluable help in researching previous publications. Mr. Paul Cavanagh of the Paul King Foundry in Johnston, Rhode Island, kindly fabricated the bronze vessels. We also thank Amy Kellogg for her thorough editing and suggestions to the manuscript.

This work was supported in part by a grant from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry with additional support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, administered through the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC), Washington, D.C.