Dragon openwork bronze altar, Spring and Autumn period (770-475 BC), Eastern Zhou dynasty (770-221 BC), 21.9 cm high, 35.5 cm long, 21 cm wide. Excavated from Tomb No. 2, Xiasi, Xichuan, Henan, 1978. Collection of the Henan Museum

The surface is nearly rectangular and curved, with the ends slightly upward and the long sides slightly curved inward. The surface and feet are decorated with an openwork abstract dragon design.

The chopsticks were used as a table for cutting meat. In the Dialects, "chopsticks" are also used for cutting meat. The Book of Words, as quoted in All Scriptures Yin Yi, reads, "The chopping block is also a meat table." During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, while everyday chopsticks were often made of wood or stone, bronze chopsticks were used for ceremonial activities such as rituals and feasts. During the rituals, the meat cooked in the tripod was fished out, initially divided, and then placed on the bronze chopping block for the ancestors to enjoy. The design of the bronze chopping block is ingenious and dynamic, and the openwork dragon motif is distinctly Zhou in style.