Zhi Vessel Character

It shifted from a minor cup to a place in formal sets.

Bronze examples date to the mid-Shang. The 觶 was a drinking cup, not a main part of Shang ritual sets. In the early Western Zhou it was paired with 爵 (jué), another wine vessel, and seems to have replaced 觚 (gū), a different vessel, in some sets; the type became rare soon after.

The Book of Rites, a classical guide to ceremony, links it with rank: an honored person raises a 觶 while a subordinate raises a horn cup called 角 (Mandarin jiǎo).