Information on the History of Jade in China

Chinese Jade Civilization

China is the world's major jade-producing country, which not only has a long history of mining, but also has an extremely wide geographical distribution and rich reserves. According to the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", there are more than two hundred jade-producing sites in China. After thousands of years of exploitation and utilization, some jade mines have been exhausted, but some famous jade mines are still being exploited in large quantities, providing an endless supply of raw materials for the forward development of the art of Chinese jade carving. For example, the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" recounts that the Medical Wuluk Mountain in the northeast region produces Gelu Ru, the name of which remains unchanged after thousands of years, and Yingkou in Liaoning Province, which now produces talc. The most famous jade-producing region in China is Hotan in Xinjiang. Hetian jade is the richest, the most colorful, the best quality, the most expensive, is an important source of jade raw materials in ancient China, successive generations of the royal family love to use Hetian jade mill, the ancient Silk Road is the earliest of the Jade Road, and then extended to the west into the. In addition to Hotan Jade, Jiuquan Jade from Gansu, Lantian Jade from Shaanxi, Dushan Jade and Mixian Jade from Nanyang, Henan, and Xiuyan Jade from Liaoning were also commonly used as raw materials for Chinese jade.

Jade in the eyes of the Chinese is distinctive, and has transcended the realm of mere taxonomy to become the spiritual anchor of the Chinese ethnic group.

As early as the Late Paleolithic period, nearly 10,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Chinese people discovered and began to use jade. It is generally believed that people in ancient times discovered jade as a mineral when they were making and using stone tools. It is harder than normal stones, so people used it to process other stone products. It also has a distinctive color and luster, crystal and translucent, attractive, so people slowly used it to make decorations, so it is said that the initial "beautiful stone for jade". In the long-term practice of life, people gradually realized that some of the "beautiful stones" had special properties, so they were separated from the "stones" and called "jade". The carving of jade also has a unique nature. Before the invention of metal craftsmanship, jade was carved by indirect grinding methods, i.e. the use of artifacts to drive jade sand to grind jade. With the development of productivity, as jade was not available in large quantities and was difficult to process, only a few leading figures in the community, such as clan chiefs and priests, were qualified to wear and use this labor-intensive object, which in turn gradually evolved into ceremonial, ritual or totemic artifacts. It is in this long and slow process of evolution that jade was transformed from just a special stone into a symbol of power, status, wealth and divine right.

Compared with Liangzhu jade artifacts, the Hongshan culture is characterized by fewer rigid square jade artifacts, but animal-shaped jade artifacts and round jade artifacts. Typical objects include jade dragons, jade animal-shaped ornaments, and jade hoop-shaped objects. The most important feature of the jade carving techniques of the Hongshan Culture is that the jade craftsmen could skillfully use jade to grasp the characteristics of the object's shape, and with just a few knives, they could portray the image of the object in a lifelike manner, which was very vivid and evocative. The most important feature of ancient jade from the Red Mountain is its "divine resemblance". Hongshan ancient jade, not to win big, but to the exquisite.

From Liangzhu, Hongshan jade from large and medium-sized tombs, the Neolithic jade in addition to sacrifices to heaven and earth, accompanied by several uses such as mortuary, and to ward off evil spirits, symbolizing the power, wealth, nobility and so on. At the beginning of the Chinese jade, with a mysterious color.

The legendary Xia Dynasty was the first class society in China. With the accumulation of archaeological data, the legend gradually becomes reality, and the culture of the Xia Dynasty is being revealed. The style of jade in the Xia Dynasty should be the transitional form of Liangzhu culture, Longshan culture and Hongshan culture jade to Yinshang jade, which can be glimpsed from the jade unearthed at the Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan Province. Erlitou unearthed seven-hole jade knife, modeling source of the late Neolithic period of porous stone knife, and engraved with the abuses of the Shang dynasty jade double line outlined, should be the Xia dynasty jade.

The Shang Dynasty was the first slave state with a written script discovered in China. The Shang civilization was known not only for its stately bronzes, but also for its many jade objects.

There are not many early Shang jade artifacts to be found, and the faceting is generally crude. Late Shang Dynasty jade wares are represented by the jade wares unearthed from the tomb of Wuhao in Anyang Yinxu, ****755 jade wares were produced, which can be categorized into six major categories according to their use: ritual wares, ceremonial wares, tools, living utensils, decorative wares and miscellaneous wares. Jadesmiths of the Shang Dynasty used Hetian jade in larger quantities. Jasper gui (gui ghost) and green jade gui and other practical vessels imitating bronze Yi (yi yi) vessels appeared in the Shang Dynasty. Animal and human jade wares greatly exceeded geometric jade wares, with jade dragons, jade phoenixes, and jade parrots in various shapes and forms. Jade people, either standing, kneeling or sitting, in various postures; it is difficult to recognize whether they are masters, slaves or captives. During the Shang Dynasty, the earliest colorful jade artifact in China, the jade turtle, already appeared. What is most admirable and successful is that the Shang Dynasty had begun to have a large number of round carvings. In addition, the jade craftsmen also utilized the double-line parallel yin carving line (commonly known as the double-hooked line), consciously presenting a yang pattern in the middle of the two yin lines, so that the yin and yang lines would play a strong and powerful role at the same time, and change the whole pattern to the fullest extent. Both eliminate the monotony of the complete use of negative lines, but also enhance the pattern pattern lines of three-dimensional sense.

Western Zhou jade in the inheritance of Yinshang jade double line outlining technology at the same time, the original side of the slope of the thick line or fine yin line skeletonization of the jade cutting technology, which in the bird-shaped jade knife and animal-faced jade ornaments on the great shine. On the whole, however, Western Zhou jade is not as lively and varied as that of the Shang Dynasty, and appears to be a bit dull and overly formalized. This is not unrelated to the strict patriarchal, ritual and customary system of the Western Zhou.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was political rivalry among the vassals, academic controversy among a hundred schools of thought, and a blossoming of culture and art, and the art of jade carving was glorious, which was comparable to the stone carving art of Greece and Rome in the Mediterranean basin at that time.

The royal family of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the various vassals, for their own interests, took jade as the embodiment of themselves (the gentleman). They wore jade ornaments to show that they were benevolent gentlemen with "virtue". The saying, "A gentleman has no reason to wear jade, and jade does not go to his body", made every scholar and official have a series of jade ornaments from his head to his feet, especially the series of jade pendants under his waist was more complicated. That is why jade pendants were particularly developed at that time. The spirit of the times is reflected in a large number of dragons, phoenixes, tiger-shaped jade pendants, styled with dynamic beauty of the S-shaped, with a strong Chinese style and national characteristics. The decorative motifs appeared to be hidden valley patterns, with hollowing techniques, and the ground was covered with a single-line or double-line leaf pattern, which appeared to be saturated and harmonious. Jade ornaments with human head and snake body, parrot head and arch-shaped jade ornaments reflect the level of jade cutting and jade wearing situation of the vassal states in the Spring and Autumn Period. The multi-section jade pendant unearthed in the Zenghouyi Tomb in Hubei Province and the large jade Juan pendant unearthed in Guwei Village, Huixian County, Henan Province, use several sections of jade to form a complete pendant, which is the most difficult craftsmanship among the jade pendants of the Warring States period. Jade belt hooks and jade sword ornaments (jade with sword) are new jade objects that appeared at this time.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Hetian jade was imported into the Central Plains in large quantities, and the royal families and lords competed with each other to use Hetian jade. The jade lamps in the Forbidden City's collection of hooks with a pattern are standard Hetian jade, and at this time, Confucian scholars combined the science of etiquette with the study of Hetian jade, and Hetian jade was used to embody the ideology of etiquette. In order to adapt to the ruler's fondness for the psychology of Hetian jade, the Confucian traditional concepts of benevolence, wisdom, righteousness, etiquette, music, loyalty, faith, heaven, earth, and virtues than attached to the physical and chemical properties of Hetian jade on a variety of characteristics, followed by "the gentleman than the virtues of the jade," jade has five virtues, nine virtues, eleven virtues, and other doctrines came into being. "The attributes of jade were interpreted and assigned to philosophical thought and moralization; the forms of jade were arranged and assigned to yin and yang thought and religiousization; the scales of jade were compared and assigned to rank and politicalization." (Guo Baojun, "New Interpretation of Ancient Jade") is a highly theoretical summary of the study of ritual and jade at that time. This is the theoretical basis for the enduring art of Chinese jade carving, and the spiritual pillar of the Chinese people's 7,000-year love of jade.

China has a 7,000-year history of jade use and a 2,500-year history of jade research, which has earned it the reputation of being the "Land of Jade". China's ancient jade history is so early, so long, so widely distributed, so many shapes and forms, so exquisite in its workmanship, and so profound in its influence, that it is beyond the reach of any other country. The Chinese people have formed a deep-rooted national psychology of respecting and loving jade in the course of their long history, and the concepts of the deification of jade and spiritual objects, and the viewpoint of special power are all rooted here, while jade culture itself, as an important part of Chinese civilization, has had an immeasurable and far-reaching impact on China's civilization over thousands of years of history. The famous scholar Joseph Lee even said in his History of Science and Technology in China, "The love of jade can be said to be one of the cultural characteristics of China, inspiring the sculptors, poets, and painters with unlimited inspiration."

Jade in Chinese cultural science has a broader connotation. Han Xu Shen said in "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" that jade, the beauty of stone and the five virtues. The so-called five virtues, that is, refers to the five characteristics of jade. Any beautiful stone with tough texture, crystalline luster, brilliant color, dense and transparent organization, and soothing and far-reaching sound is considered to be jade. According to this standard, the jade in the minds of the ancients included not only real jade (hornblende) but also serpentine, turquoise, malachite, agate, crystal, amber, ruby and other colored stones. Therefore, in the appreciation of ancient jade, we can not only use modern scientific knowledge to identify the advantages and disadvantages, but also must have a historical perspective.

There is a Chinese saying, "The stone of another mountain can attack the jade", which reveals the true meaning of jade making. As a matter of fact, the jade artifacts are not carved out, but rather, they are made by utilizing the hardness of adamantine, quartz, garnet, etc., which is higher than that of jade, and supplemented by water to grind the jade, which is then made into the designed finished products. Therefore, in the jargon, jade making is not called jade carving, but jade treatment, or jade cutting, jade grinding, and jade polishing. While the skills of jade cutting are highly sophisticated, the tools of jade treatment are simple. Until recent times, the Chinese used traditional tools such as wire saws, discs made of steel and cooked iron, round wheels, drill presses, half discs and wooden lathes to make jade. In the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, before the invention of iron, most of the tools were made of wood, bamboo, bone and sandstone. It is truly a miracle on earth that such primitive tools could carve out such wonderful jade.

Most of the ancient jade we see today from early prehistory are jade tools such as jade knives, axes, and needles. Then there were jade ritual vessels (sacrificial vessels) such as the jade cong of Liangzhu culture, trident-type vessels, and some hieroglyphic jade vessels such as the jade dragon and jade pig of Hongshan culture, which should have been made as the totems of the ethnic groups. Jade objects of this period were not entirely made of jade in the modern sense; they could be jade, or simply a prettier stone, such as tremolite raw ore that was born with metamorphic marble mines***. By the late Neolithic to the Bronze Age, it was difficult to see jade tools in the mainstream cultural areas of China, and what emerged instead was a large number of jade plutonium, jade accessories such as jade dragons, jade winds, and jade cranes unearthed in the Shang Dynasty's Muhao Curtain. At this time, nephrite was widely used to make artifacts.

By the old three generations through the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, jade has always been the exclusive decorative items of royalty. During the Song Dynasty, the economy was developed and commerce flourished. Due to the advancement of handicraft technology, the processing of jade became more convenient and quicker, and the wind of playing and appreciating jade flourished. At this time, there appeared a large number of well-made, delicately processed and wonderfully conceived jade ornaments and jade pendants.

Ming and Qing Dynasty jade production and appreciation reached its peak, and the varieties were more colorful, from small jade headpins and buttons to large jade screens, jade mountains and jade boats. Jade was also commonly used by princes and nobles to make daily utensils such as jade bowls, jade cups, jade pots, etc. Generally speaking, the quality of jade was white (white), white (white), and white (white). Generally speaking, the quality of jade to white jade (especially Xinjiang produced sheep fat white jade) for the top, followed by yellow jade, green jade again, mixed jade (such as southern jade, Henan jade) for the next.

Jadeite was introduced to the Central Plains in the early Qing Dynasty, and its stirring turquoise color immediately won the hearts of the people of China. Jade ornaments made of jadeite were popular and became the fashion of the times. But in the eyes of the traditional Chinese, jadeite jade jewelry is far inferior to ancient jade. Until today, if we pick up a piece of jadeite, we will only evaluate its color, its texture, its production. But when we see a piece of ancient jade, appreciate its shape, its color, its texture, when the heart of the oil rose will be a strong sense of national pride, the original reason, is because the ancient jade is pregnant with the precipitation of five thousand years of Chinese civilization as well as the national spirit of the children of the Yellow Emperor.