Application and development of jade culture in jade carving works

In the eyes of China people, Hetian jade is rich in Chinese cultural spirit and traditional moral concepts, which is a comprehensive reflection of social culture. Chinese jade culture contains the great national spirit of patriotism, unity and friendship, selfless dedication, honesty and trustworthiness and perseverance. The ethics and code of conduct advocated by Confucianism based on jade culture have been deeply rooted in people's hearts and played a positive role in the prosperity of the Chinese nation. Without Hetian jade and jade culture, many social and cultural functions, such as laws and regulations, social morality, beliefs and customs, ideology and artistic style, would not have been formed in the past dynasties.

First, the application and function of jade culture in jade articles of past dynasties

From ancient times to the present, jade culture and China traditional culture come down in one continuous line. Jade is the most important manifestation of Chinese jade culture, which represents the class attribute and political significance of this period.

1, a religious instrument?

In the primitive religion of Neolithic Age, jade was used as a tool to communicate between God and man. At that time, due to the low level of productivity, people's ability to conquer nature and diseases was very weak, and they could not understand many strange phenomena in nature, so they had an understanding of nature and many phenomena in life and death beyond life, society and nature, and a totem culture of worshipping ancestors was formed. The Jade Pig Dragon in Hongshan Culture is the totem image of the tribe, and the human and beast patterns in Liangzhu culture also belong to the tribal totem. ?

2. Political value?

With the development of production, there has been polarization between the rich and the poor, class and country, and hierarchical concept. Slowly, this rare, beautiful and durable jade has become a special item enjoyed by the ruling class and has been given special significance. Jade, as the norm of political hierarchy, was recorded in detail in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For example, the use of "Six Ruins" is stipulated as follows: Wang holds Huan Gui, the public holds Xin Gui, Bo holds Gong Gui, the son holds Gu Bi, and the person holds Pu Bi. These specifications are distinguished by the shape and size of jade articles, with the truest being the largest, the second being around Guangxi, and the third being new Guangxi. The nobles with the lowest status use double-shaped jade articles with pu patterns. After the Qin dynasty, the imperial seal became a symbol of monarchical power. The system of using jade as seal has been followed until the Qing Dynasty. Most of the precious seals of Emperor Qianlong were made of jade. The jade seal is like this, and the jade belt also has grade regulations. The system of officials using jade belts was clearly stipulated in the Tang Dynasty. From the end of primitive society to the Qing Dynasty, some jade articles have always been an important symbol of political rank. ?

3. Moral endowment?

The moral connotation of jade originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty. From then on, a whole set of moral concept of jade was developed, which was conceptualized and systematized after Confucius founded Confucianism. The Confucian concept of using jade runs through the feudal society of China and is deeply rooted in people's hearts. Confucian morality is famous for covering benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith. Based on it, Yude symbolizes noble morality and sentiment in ethics. Among them, there are many jade-related words created by ancient working people, most of which express beauty and loftiness. The Chinese nation's preference and admiration for jade, conceptualized by thinkers, has tenacious vitality and has been used by the ruling classes in past dynasties. The morality and personification of jade are widely accepted by the public, which is an important reason for jade's longevity. ?

4. Etiquette function?

Etiquette jade has always been the mainstream of jade in China. Since the late Neolithic Age, many jade articles, such as inkstone, yellow jade and jade, have been used as ritual vessels. As early as 5,000 years ago, when China just stepped into the threshold of civilization, the etiquette function of jade had already appeared. The famous "Liu Rui" is not only a sign of political rank, but also a concrete embodiment of the ritual system. "With Kurata, Li Di, Qing Dong, Bai Li, and Huang Xuan Li Bei", among which Bi, Cong, Gui, Zhang, Hu and Huang are collectively called the six devices. Liu Rui and Liu Qi are the backbone of etiquette jade in feudal society. Until the Yuan Dynasty, when the imperial palace held a sacrificial ceremony, it also used cangbi, Huangyan, Qinggui, Baihuhe and other ritual vessels, and GUI was also unearthed in the Ming Tombs.

5. Economic value?

The economic value of jade is self-evident. Jade, as a symbol of wealth, was manifested as early as Liangzhu culture and Hongshan Culture in primitive society. In large-scale tombs, there are dozens or even hundreds of jades buried with them, which shows that the owner of the tomb is a powerful and wealthy leader. In slave society, this phenomenon is even more obvious. The famous tomb of Nuwa in Yin Ruins of Shang Dynasty is rich in jade burial. In the Han dynasty, the wind of jade burial was more prosperous, and the famous Han dynasty jade clothes, silver jade clothes and bronze jade clothes all came from this. In addition, the jade coins of Shang Dynasty can best reflect the economic value of jade, and they can be made into shell-shaped coins as vouchers for commodity exchange, or as gifts for direct exchange or tribute to jade. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, jade has become an industry and can be traded.

6. Jewelry appreciation function?

This is one of the original functions of jade, and it is also the most widely used. "An ancient gentleman must wear jade", "A gentleman cannot go without a reason". In ancient times, it was not a simple decoration, but also a manifestation of identity and ethos, which could play the role of emotional and language communication. ?

Second, the main connotation of contemporary jade culture

In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Hetian jade in a broad sense was taken as an Olympic medal, which is a great event in the history of contemporary jade culture. It made Hetian jade go from China to the world and turned national culture into world culture. Summing up the role and value of jade culture in the history of jade carving, and combining with the characteristics of today's culture, Mr. Yu Ming, a famous jade expert, put forward the following six main connotations of contemporary jade culture.

1, material culture

Material culture is the foundation of Chinese jade culture, and all other jade cultural phenomena are cultural phenomena formed on the material basis, which is an independent cultural expression without material and is not the content of real jade culture.

2. Moral education

Jade in history has risen from the beauty of stone to the beauty of human nature, which has produced the idea that a gentleman is better than jade and has been passed down to this day. Today's jade culture naturally contains the connotation of moral culture, and the concept of "first priority and second symbol" has penetrated into the hearts of China people. Therefore, moral culture is based on material culture and expresses the content of material culture.

3. Life culture

It is everyone's pursuit to prolong the limited life and make it more meaningful. Longevity and happiness are the common ideals of people today. The conception and form of Hetian jade must show this idea. The life culture thought of jade culture praises the spirit of life; Push the individual's eternity to the eternity of life, and then achieve the eternity of the nation.

4. Inherit culture

The material of jade is immortal, the best carrier of cultural inheritance and the most convincing carrier of China culture. No matter what it expresses, it may be passed on to future generations. The cultural inheritance of a single individual will eventually converge into the inheritance of national culture.

5. Ideal culture

All kinds of religious forms answer the end of life and the longing for a better future in a dreamy situation. This beautiful ideal has been embodied in jade culture. In particular, jade articles of ideal culture combine real life with myth and religion, showing a strong flavor of life and a mysterious feeling of alternation between ideal and reality, achieving a state of physical and mental peace and tranquility at all times, expressing views on life, ideals, the world and the universe, and thus achieving the harmonious effect of the whole society.

6. Auspicious culture

Jade auspicious culture is a comprehensive expression of the above culture. The highest expression of auspicious culture in jade culture is the embodiment of auspicious thought in jade articles. These auspicious thoughts are the combination of history, myth, religion, philosophy and aesthetics, and the consistency of life reality and rational pursuit expressed on the basis of myth, religion and folklore. The auspicious culture of jade culture expresses the highest interest of life value in the form of freedom, romance and harmony.

Thirdly, the inheritance and innovation of jade culture in contemporary jade carving.

Through the above analysis and research, we can know that jade culture has played an important role in the development of Hetian jade. Hetian jade is one of China people's favorite ornaments in the aesthetic culture of the Chinese nation. In contemporary jade carving, a new generation of jade sculptors also realized this, and made full use of jade culture and its extension in their works, putting the inheritance and innovation of jade culture on the agenda.

1, copy and restore the traditional jade culture

In the early 1980s, the works produced by jade carving factories in various places were basically traditional carvings, and some patterns and utensils were imitations and copies of traditional Hetian jade.

2. Innovating on the basis of traditional jade culture.

A typical example is the "Three Precious Stones and Three Treasures" by Mr. Jiang, a Suzhou jade carving master. He improved and innovated the Jade Pig Dragon in Hongshan Culture, the Eight Knives Cicada in Han Dynasty and Weng Zhong, and added more details to the antique works with typical style characteristics. On the basis of not losing his spirit, he tried to innovate, trying to be concise, more in line with the aesthetic concept of modern people, and showed Jiang's understanding of jade culture and his attempt to inherit and innovate.

In addition, there are works about Buddha statues by Mr. Wang Yibu, a famous jade carving teacher in Suzhou. He skillfully applied the Buddha statues in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to jade carving works, and added lines and ethereal spirit to traditional calligraphy, which made his works have an ancient and quiet artistic style, with lofty atmosphere and rich artistic conception, and was especially loved by young players today.

3. Customize products according to different jade cultures.

In view of the fact that today's jade-playing groups tend to be younger and younger, the requirements for Hetian jade works are increasingly driving new forms. For example, in recent years, more and more high-end studios have begun to undertake the high-end customization business of Hetian Jade. According to the needs of the audience, according to different jade cultures, differentiated creation is carried out. For example, Mr. Yang, a jade carving master in Suzhou, once customized a pair of "Jiangnan Dupai" for customers. This pair of cards is made of 46 cards of the same material, on which are carved a round fan for ladies and a skirt for men, which is inspired by the regional culture of Jiangnan. Duiban is a traditional jade carving device, which symbolizes a pair of happy love and family reunion.

Today, jade carving is still a vibrant and energetic art. While inheriting the traditional jade carving culture, we should innovate with advanced artistic concepts and techniques to learn from others, so as to show the elegance, exquisiteness and beauty of jade carving works.

Fourth, summary.

The application and development of jade culture in Hetian jade works cannot be summarized in the above aspects. Hetian jade, from simple production tools to decorations to beautify life, has been integrated into various ritual contents and ethics, becoming a symbol of wealth, the worship of religious totems and synonymous with good luck. All these reflect the traditional jade culture in China and the psychology that China people like and love jade. Chinese jade culture has strongly supported national virtues in an orderly accumulation, and its far-reaching influence will surely make it stand among the nations of the world in the near future.