How did the jade culture in ancient China take shape?

The relationship between jade and mankind can be traced back to primitive society. In China, it was regarded as the crystallization of the essence of heaven and earth, which gave jade an unusual significance, and it gradually evolved into an artistic tradition that has flourished for more than 3,000 years.

"To test jade, you need to burn it for three days, and to argue about talent, you need to wait for seven years."

"Gold and jade have essence, how can they not be strong?"" Carve and carve again, piece of jade ten thousand gold."

The Chinese concept of jade is a symbol of purity and toughness, and people associate jade with spiritual nobility, transforming it from a kind of hard stone into a symbol of power, status, wealth, and divine right, and it has been used as a must-have for emperors, generals, and literati throughout the ages, which shows us that jade is a vivid physical embodiment of the oriental spirit, and also the material foundation of the essence of the Chinese cultural tradition.

Origin of Jade Culture and its Conditions

When it comes to the origin of jade culture, we have to clearly understand that there is a great difference between the origin of jade culture and the origin of jade and stone, and that the jade culture and its development in ancient China were even different from those of other civilizations. As early as in the long Stone Age, human beings processed and utilized jade because of its hard texture, and at this time, jade was only a tool used by people for living, and could not be called jade culture.

The three conditions for the emergence of jade culture are indispensable. The emergence of the human sense of beauty. With the development of productivity level, people gradually ended the life of drinking blood, and the stability of life also prompted people to have a hazy experience of beauty, and jade because of its unique translucent color, polished to a fat-like luster, which makes it stand out among other stone tools, favored by the ancestors. During the time of the Shanding Caveman in Beijing, around 18,000 years ago, elaborate decorative objects had already become the daily utensils of the ancestors of that time, and the concept of beauty had long been y rooted in people's hearts.

The development of production technology. In the course of mankind's long-term production and living process, the processing of stone tools gradually transitioned from simple hammering to the use of indirect percussion, drilling, faceting and other techniques, and the maturity of the technology made the carving of jade more refined, and the crystalline and warm qualities of the jade itself were all explored, and people paid more attention to carving it into exquisite accessories and rarely used it in the production of instruments.

The status of jade in ancient rituals and the propagation of culture purveyors. As early as in ancient times, people already regarded jade as the essence of heaven and earth, so jade had an unusual symbolic significance of divine power in ancient times, and the jade products that were used to carve and sculpt the jade products for the imperial palaces were regarded as symbols of hierarchical status.

As early as in the Spring and Autumn Period, the gentleman "compares virtue with jade", and when it comes to jade in China to occupy an important position in the promoter, we have to say a? Confucius. Confucius is a gift, because of this, in ancient times with the symbol of divine power of jade because of its unique texture and is very much valued by Confucius, and therefore clearly put forward the jade virtues said that jade has eleven virtues. The Confucian practice of keeping jade close to one's body and insisting on influencing one's own qualities with jade has further enhanced the status of jade in people's hearts.

The spirit that the ancients revered from the jade culture

Jade culture developed into the Han Dynasty, Xu Shen combined the jade virtues of Guan Zhong and Confucius on the basis of the development of jade in the Han Dynasty, and became the first to define jade, and put forward the "five virtues of jade".

He said in Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining the Characters in Chinese): Jade is the beauty of stone. There are five virtues, moist to warm, the party of benevolence; Kun Li from the outside, you can know in, the party of righteousness; its sound Shu Yang, dedicated to the far heard, the party of wisdom; indomitable, the party of courage; sharp and clean and not drunk, the party of cleanliness.

Ren? The material is gentle, soft and shiny. Wear jade, to have the heart of love, to jade compared to the gentle nature of the modest gentleman at all times with you around, through its infection, wear jade will also be transformed, the heart of the idea of benevolence;

Yi? According to the qualities of jade, you can see whether there are impurities inside the jade from the outside, and this characteristic precisely reflects the ancient people for the loyalty and righteousness of the heart of the importance of the ancient gentleman must be a virtue;

Wisdom? Knocking on the jade stone will make a pleasant sound and spread to a faraway place, which shows that jade is wise and good at conveying to the people around, which not only shows that the gentleman is good at conveying to the surrounding, but also the performance of the gentleman's ambition in the four directions;

Bravery? This characteristic of jade represents a gentleman's courage. Ancient people attached great importance to their integrity, so they would use an object to express their unwavering quality to the people, and even if it breaks, it will not be bent, and the characteristic of jade makes it a representative of courage;

Cleanness? When jade breaks, the edge will have a very sharp break, but it will not hurt us when we touch it with our hands, which is different from any other substance, and even if it breaks, it will cover its sharpness, which also expresses the characteristics of a gentleman's cleanliness. These five virtues have established the humanistic value of jade in Chinese history, making it synonymous with a gentleman, and because of Xu Shen's doctrine of the five virtues, these beautiful and noble qualities have become the core of Chinese jade culture, and have made jade the most precious treasure in the hearts of the Chinese people.

Relationship between Jade Culture and Contemporary Society

It was a great creation in the development and spread of Chinese culture to compare the natural characteristics of jade, such as its physical appearance, to human beings, and to honor and praise them as virtues that a so-called "gentleman" should possess. To this day, jade and the jade culture it carries are gradually moving towards the people, whereas in ancient China, jade actually did not "move towards the people". In ancient times, jade was mostly worn by the upper class or used in important rituals, which created the illusion that jade was not inferior to the common people. Secondly, the Zhou rituals had detailed regulations on the wearing and use of jade by the gentlemen, which were regarded as the core of jade culture by later generations, so the opportunities for the common people to come into contact with jade were very few and far between.

However, for modern people, with the popularization of jade, people have focused more on the material of jade, ignoring the cultural connotations it originally represented. This practice has turned jade, which carries an important culture, into a tool for profit-making, which is contrary to the jade culture of the ancients and its purpose, is it not? Of course, the good qualities of benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, cleanliness and courage that a gentleman should possess, as interpreted through jade, were also passed down. Jade, as a carrier of cultural inheritance, accomplished its fundamental task, and jade culture gradually evolved into the culture of the entire nation, influencing generations with its good qualities, which should continue to be passed down as well.

Jade is an important part of Chinese culture that distinguishes it from other civilizations in the world. Jade culture, with jade as its central carrier, not only y influenced the ideology of ancient people, but also contained the temperament, quality, national ethos and spirit that have been rooted in the hearts of every Chinese person, and have been inherited along with the crystalline jade.