About the Beauty of Jade

The Beauty of Jade in China

Jade is a beautiful word in the minds of Chinese people, only "Shuowen Jiezi" contains more than 100 characters of jade, and the vocabulary composed of it is even more countless, and most of them contain cultural meanings of nobility, beauty and chastity, etc. To this day, we often refer to those beautiful things as ice and jade, gold and jade, jade face, jade body, etc. Even when we make up names, we often use the word jade or its initials to refer to those beautiful things. To this day, we also commonly used ice and jade, gold and jade, jade, jade, jade, etc. to call those beautiful things, even the name is also commonly used in the word or the jade part of the word of jade, can be seen in the children of the Yellow Emperor's love and worship of jade.

Generally speaking, any kind of object is loved and respected by people for two reasons: one is that the material and external form of such objects give people aesthetic pleasure, and the other is that the cultural connotations implied by such objects make people identify with and love them. Chinese jade is the most perfect combination of the two. It not only has beautiful texture and shape, but also has deep humanistic concepts, emotions and national spirit. Dr. Joseph Lee of the United Kingdom once praised in his History of Science and Technology in China: "The love of jade can be said to be one of the characteristics of Chinese culture, and for more than three thousand years its texture, shape and color have inspired sculptors, painters and poets". Mr. Zhang Hongzhao, a famous modern scholar, has also exclaimed: "Jade and my people are more and more united with the view of inseparable, where the study of the history of the Chinese nation must be detailed jade of the beginning and end". It can be said that Chinese jade not only contains the national fashion, accumulates the wisdom of the nation, supports the feelings of the nation, and reflects the social structure and philosophical thoughts of different historical periods, but also plays a very important role in Chinese politics, religion, culture, and ideology, playing the social functions and roles that other arts and crafts can not replace. At the same time, jade and precious jade have also become a social trend of the Chinese nation, and Chinese jade is also favored and cherished by the world for its unique artistic characteristics.

I. Material Beauty

In ancient times, jade was synonymous with beautiful stones. Xu Shen of the Han Dynasty said in Shuowen Jiezi: "Jade, the beauty of stone, has five virtues." According to Mr. Yang Boda, "The discoverer of the beauty of jade should be the one who searches for jade and builds jade tools, and these two things are often undertaken by one person at the beginning, who gradually discovers and comprehends the beauty of jade among searching for and grinding jade tools, and develops a sense of beauty and concept of jade. This sense of beauty is a reflection of the color and luster of jade and its hardness and toughness in the mind, and creates feelings and awareness. Those who recognized and loved the beauty of jade processed it into blocks, beads, tubes and other ornaments to dress themselves". From the current archaeological data, the ancient people of the Neolithic Age of jade cognition has a fairly high level, the Hongshan culture, Liangzhu culture, Longshan culture, as well as other prehistoric cultures unearthed by the jade, by the detection and identification of the mineralogy of translucent nephrite jade material. Turbidite, colorless, is a calcium and magnesium silicate containing water and fluorine, and its composition does not contain iron or contains very little iron. The hardness is 6-6.5 degrees, because of its single crystals for fibrous fine interlaced polymerization, so its texture are showing a warm and delicate translucent sense. China's Xinjiang Hotan Jade is the world's best translucent nephrite jade, common colors are mainly white, green, yellow, turquoise, ink and so on. Around the late Neolithic period, high-quality Hetian jade began to be imported into the Central Plains, and after the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, especially the Han Dynasty, Hetian jade became a treasure sought by emperors and nobles by all means. During the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong's love of jade became a fetish, which led to the dosage of Hetian jade reaching a historical peak, with dozens of tons of jade being used by the court alone every year, providing excellent materials for the production of jade wares at that time.

Because of the delicate texture of Hetian jade, the luster is soft but not dazzling, and the whole body presents a kind of subtle and soft beauty, so there is an ancient saying that "a gentleman is more virtuous than jade", and even the jade is personified. The Book of Rites? Hire righteousness" contained: Zigong asked Confucius said: "I dare to ask the gentleman noble jade and * 碈, why? For the jade of the oligarchy and the more and more?" Confucius said: "not for the more of the * of the jade is also, the jade of the less so expensive also. If the former gentleman than the virtue of jade yam: warm and moist and zephyr, benevolence; meticulous to chestnut, know also; Lian and not 60000, righteousness; hanging such as the team, etiquette, also; knocking, the sound of its clear to long, the end of the stuttering, music; flaws do not cover up the Yu, Yu do not cover up the flaws, loyal also; Vu Yin by the side of up to, letter also; gas, such as the white rainbow, day also; the spirit of the mountain and the river, the ground also; Guizhang special to reach, Germany, also; the world is not precious, the Road also. Poetry: 'The words of a gentleman are as warm as jade.' Therefore, the gentleman is precious." Here Confucius, according to the physical properties and social needs of jade, skillfully endowed the precious jade, which is the essence of heaven and earth, with eleven kinds of virtues, thus making jade develop into a kind of "virtue" jade with ethical and political values (filial piety and loyalty to the ruler), and become the carrier and embodiment of truth, goodness and beauty. This glorious image of jade has, for thousands of years, played an invaluable role in shaping the outstanding national character of the Chinese people, cultivating moral values, and promoting the construction of spiritual civilization in the whole society.

After Confucius put forward the idea that jade has eleven virtues, there were Guan Zi's "Jade has nine virtues", Gou Zi's "Jade has seven virtues", etc., whose core contents were mostly based on the benevolence, righteousness, and morality advocated by Confucius. In the Han Dynasty, the rulers "honored only the Confucians", which further refined and strengthened the theory of "Jade Virtue". Xu Shen "Shuowen Jiezi" interpretation of jade said: "the beauty of the stone has five virtues, moist and warm, the party of benevolence, Innocenti from the outside, you can know the center, the party of righteousness, the sound of Shu Yang, dedicated to the far heard, the party of wisdom, not radius and folded, the party of courage, the party of sharp Lian not 忮, the party of the Jie also." If the interpretation is translated into the vernacular, that is, "with a moist color, such as the benevolence of the gentleman; the same as the surface, not false, such as the righteousness of the gentleman; knocking the sound Shu Yang pleasant to the ear, spread to the distance, such as the wisdom of the gentleman; rather broken and not bent, such as the courage of the gentleman virtue; cut and grind the corners of the square and do not hurt people, such as the pros and cons of the gentleman virtue." It can be seen that the ancients attached great importance to the texture and characteristics of jade, especially in the Hetian jade in the sheep's fat white jade, highly respected by the ancients, has long been a symbol of noble character, purity of mind. At the same time, it is not difficult to see that among all the natural attributes of jade, warmth and moistening are its outstanding characteristics, which coincide with the moral code and national character pursued by the ancestors of the Chinese land. In this way, the beauty of jade is combined with harmony and goodness to symbolize benevolence, peace and harmony. The warmth and moistness of jade expresses the good wishes of the Chinese forefathers and makes it the most beloved object of the children of the Yellow Emperor.

Second, the beauty of craftsmanship

The beautiful jade material is mesmerizing, and the exquisite craftsmanship is even more admirable. Historically, whichever piece of jade work is made by master craftsmen with their heart's blood and sweat, it is the crystallization of the cleverness and wisdom of the jade carving workers. In order to carve a jade, really do not know how many people for the labor, busy. For example, the "Jade Mountain of Dayu Ruling the Water" collected by the National Palace Museum took ten years to complete, from the selection of materials and design to the final engraving, and cost countless amounts of silver. Even the making of a small jade artifact requires the artists to think and sketch over and over again, carefully designing and carving the piece according to the limited conditions of the material before it can be completed. Therefore, a successful piece of work requires not only the high craftsmanship skills of the craftsman, but also the thinking and creative talents of the artist, and it can be said that it is a perfect combination of mental and physical labor.

The craftsmanship of jade originates from the production of stoneware, but it is different from stoneware, and more delicate and complex than stoneware. The first step is the selection of materials, because only when materials are properly selected can good jade be processed. Secondly, design. The design of a jade object must be absolutely obedient to the specific conditions given by the material itself, and try to make the work an organic combination of the beauty of the material and the beauty of the shape. Thirdly, it must be faceted, which is the most crucial part of jade crafting and the most unique technique in jade crafting. Master craftsmen must, according to the design requirements, implement various techniques such as cutting, hooking, removing the ground, drilling, hollowing, etc., through the use of emery tools, and meticulously carve them bit by bit, so as to achieve the artistic effect of realistic shapes and vivid images. Finally, polishing is done to make the jade more brilliant, but there must not be the slightest damage to the jade, destroying the shape of the jade and the phenomenon of ornamentation. In the Qing Dynasty, Li Chengyao's "Ancient Jade Illustrations" recorded the whole process of the Chinese jade pods at that time, from preparing materials to molding roughly after 13 procedures, and because of the hard texture of jade, and toughness, so the degree of difficulty of the work of the other materials is incomparable.

In addition, after thousands of years of development and innovation, Chinese jade craftsmanship gradually took shape during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the styles of jade work represented by Jingzuo (Beijing), Suzuo (Suzhou), and Fanszuo (Western regions), especially the ingenious craftsmanship in the use of color, which added a brilliant luster to the craftsmanship of jade.

1. Beijing Made

Beijing Made Jade is a style of jade craftsmanship centered in Beijing, and it can also be said to be a representative of northern jade. The shape of Beijing-made jade is thick and solemn. There are more round and relief carvings, and the graphic techniques are more complicated. For example, the various types of antique and time-made jades in the collection of the National Palace Museum show a noble and elegant temperament and a leisurely and generous appearance of the capital. In particular, the animal-shaped round carvings, whether of beasts or birds, are mostly plump and rounded, and the carvings are solid and robust. The vessels are heavier and smoother. Although sometimes also made flowers and plants, the art of coiled branches, but still do not lose its simplicity, dignified local characteristics and the northern style of stretching and cheerful.

2. Su work

Su work refers to the jade craftsmanship represented by Suzhou. Ming Song Yingxing "Tian Gong Kaifu" has been recorded: "Where jade from his Tangtou back or back to the river boat, or driving a camel, by Zhuanglang people Jiayu, and to Ganzhou and Suzhou. To the mutual market to get, East China, unloading collection of Yanjing. Jade workers to identify the Pu high and low pricing, and then faceted. Although the good workers set the capital, the craftsmanship is pushed to Suzhou County." Obviously, in the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou's jade craftsmanship has been pushed to the top of the country. The famous jade artist Lu Zigang is one of the masters of Suzhou jade.

Suzhou jade is generally more small pieces, the pattern is based on the Jiangnan scenery and literati paintings, fine craftsmanship, exquisite and exquisite. It is reported that during the Daoguang period, Xu Hong, a famous jade carver in Suzhou, in addition to being good at carving small pieces of jade, was also good at carving ivory. He was able to one-inch-sized ivory, carved into gourds and peaches, just like the real thing. Skill of the delicate, people sigh for the work of God, this kind of artifacts are often used as jewelry. Another artist, Zhu Hongjin, could carve extremely fine openwork scenes of flowers, birds, platforms, pavilions, bridges, landscapes, etc. in jade, ivory, tortoiseshell, onyx, conch shells and other flakes, which were exquisite. From this, it can be seen that Su-made jade is good at the word "skillful", which is mostly used in small materials and simple shapes, utilizing hollowing, hooking and spreading and other crafts to show their talents and bring into play their specialties, and make people's common things, scenes, and depictions lifelike, with a gentle and mild Jiangnan mood and a graceful and handsome magnificent style, which is a wonder in the Ming and qing dynasties jade works.

3. Fan for

Fan for, also known as Xifan for. Refers to China's western frontier and its neighboring countries bordering the jade production process. It mainly includes jade from North India, West Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, and is also known as Trace Duristan Jade. As the region is very different from mainland China in terms of religious beliefs, living customs, etc., the production of jade, with a strong exotic flavor.

Around the twentieth year of the Qianlong reign, jade wares made in the region began to enter the Central Plains and were favored by the emperor, and as a result, jade wares made in the region began to flourish. Its craftsmanship is generally more regular, exquisite, modeling mostly for the plate, bowl, box and other daily utensils. But the wall is as thin as paper, crystal fine and moist, decorative techniques are often inlaid mainly. There are not only inlaid gold, silver wire, gold foil, but also inlaid with various colors of gemstones and glass, etc., thus making the warm jade more gorgeous and colorful. At the same time, the pattern on the surface of the vessel is mostly dominated by the full and rich passion flower, which is unique and refreshing.

4. Artistry

Artistry, also known as colorful. It is a special craft in which jade workers, relying on the natural color and texture of the jade material, skillfully design and apply faceting techniques suitable for the jade material, so that the shape and color of the work can achieve a natural and perfect artistic effect.

With the available information, it can be seen that as early as the Shang Dynasty, the ancients had already mastered this technique. For example, the two jade turtles unearthed at the Yinxu Ruins in Anyang were ingenious works that made use of the differences in the color and luster of the materials and were elaborately designed and faceted. After the Tang Dynasty, the jade artifacts were more mature, such as the onyx ox-head cup unearthed in Hejiacun, the QiuShan jade of the Yuan Dynasty, the "TongYin Ladies" of the Qing Dynasty, and the jadeite cabbages in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, all of which are considered to be the finest crystals in the world.

It can be seen that the Chinese jade craft, both with a strong oriental art characteristics of the special craft technology, but also thousands of years of Chinese people's cleverness and wisdom of the embodiment of its ingenious skills and full of the kind of unspeakable, moving interest in life, so that the Chinese jade art more colorful.

Third, the beauty of symbolism

The reason why Chinese jade has been y rooted in people's hearts and has continued to develop up to now, so that the love of jade by the Yellow Emperor and his grandchildren and the tradition of precious jade have never ceased to exist, the reason for which is that, in addition to the charm of the jade material itself, it is still more important for the cultural significance given to it by the people. It is mainly manifested in:

(1) Jade is a symbol of religious spirits: the ancients believed that jade was the essence of rocks and mountains, with spirituality, and regarded it as a sacred object. Not only did people make jade serve as a communication between people and gods in primitive religions, and used it to offer sacrifices to the heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, and the ancestors and gods, but they were also convinced that jade had a special function of dispelling epidemics and warding off evils, and hustling away calamities. Thus, for a long time, jade has been the protector of the children of the Yellow Emperor, and at the same time, it is also a spiritual object that blesses one's life. The concept of wearing jade to ward off evil spirits has long been y rooted in the hearts of Chinese people.

(2) Jade is a symbol of political power: with the emergence of class, Chinese jade has been given a new meaning and a systematic system of jade use has been formed, according to the type of jade, size, ornamentation, color, texture, quantity, etc. to indicate the embodiment of its status, so that jade has become a kind of clear identification of the noble *, marking the status of symbols of deep power and political significance.

(3) Jade is a symbol of character and morality: Jade in traditional culture, or a Confucian idea of virtue embodiment, "the beauty of jade, there are five virtues" laid the theoretical foundation of Confucianism with jade, and became a gentleman in the world, cleanliness and self-love of the standard, so all generations have been to wear jade as a fashion, whether it is the son of heaven or the common people, are all to wear jade as personality perfection, character and morality. The jade was worn as a symbol of perfection and nobility of character.

(4) Jade is a symbol of treasure and wealth: Jade not only plays an important role in religion and politics, but also has a very high status in economy. Because of its excellent texture and scarce production, jade has been regarded as a precious treasure since ancient times. Guanzi once said, "Jade is the top coin, gold is the middle coin, and knife and cloth are the bottom coins." The word "treasure" in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty means shells (currency) and jade hidden in the house, and the records of the Warring States period about He Shi Bi further illustrate the status and value of good jade in people's minds. Therefore, the concept of jade as a treasure not only stimulated the development of jade, but also played an extremely important role in the political interactions of ancient societies.

(5) Jade is a symbol of good luck and fortune: Chinese jade is not only of excellent texture, but also rich in connotations and symbols. Especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties, most of the works were characterized by "intentionality and auspiciousness". Some reflect the ancient idea of ascension to immortality, some reflect the concept of regeneration, and more are the expression of people's aspirations for a better life and the pursuit of auspicious blessings. Such as the big monkey climbing on the back of a small monkey, meaning "generations of feudal lords"; Lotus and fish carved together, for the "Years of surplus". In addition to those colorful, containing auspicious symbols of the pattern picture, such as happy, pine and crane, five blessings, five sons, etc., is to say that people look forward to good luck, longing for the future of the ideological feelings. Here they are not only a kind of decoration, but also a reflection of the soul, while also revealing the good wishes and optimism, with a wordless charm and all the words can not replace the function. It can be said that it carries the harmony of society, condensing into harmonies, symbols, signs, symbols and other Chinese unique auspicious allegorical artistic language, so that the creators and appreciators can enjoy and satisfy from it, and leap out of the modeling and picture into a three-dimensional, fuller and more fulfilling world. In particular, when jade was introduced to people's homes and closely integrated with local culture, it became a symbol of wealth, peace and good fortune, thus making the traditional concept of respecting and loving jade y rooted in the hearts of Chinese people.

The Book of Examination and Works (考工記), which was once published, says: "There is a time in heaven, a time in earth, a time in material, a time in beauty, and a time in skill in work". Among them, the beauty of the material and the cleverness of the work have always been the principle of the ancient and even the modern people in the treatment of jade, and they have made amazing achievements. Looking at the jade works of the past generations, although their respective functions are different and their shapes are also different, they all shine with brilliant light in every chapter of the history of the development of jade. How can one not be enamored by the dense, fine and moist materials, the distinctive shapes, and the superb skills of the craftsmen? At the same time they are also in its magnificent stature, reflecting the characteristics of the times and national personality, some thick and solemn, some exquisite, some of the texture material is not flashy, the production is not fine quite with the knife and axe marks, but also shows a great deal of cleverness as the temperament of clumsiness.

In addition, the decorative patterns of Chinese jade also reveal the ingenuity and creative ability of jade workers of all generations. Whether it is geometric patterns, natural realistic patterns, or abstract mythological and animal patterns, the artifacts are all characterized by flexible strokes and vivid lines, which are rich in interest in their simplicity, and vivid in their spirituality in their robustness, and which are handled with ease and ease. However, as mentioned above, the sense of beauty caused by Chinese jade does not only come from the form, but mainly from the specific factors that constitute it, i.e. the human factor. It is the human being who gives it all kinds of ideological concepts and cultural connotations, which makes the talented masters of art skillfully bring together natural beauty and spiritual beauty into one, permeate humanistic concepts and social functions into jade, and implicitly synthesize and embody the profound and profound national culture into works of art that care about the ordinary. At the same time, it is also this humanistic concept, which is more vivid and attractive than natural objects, that makes people appreciate and play with it, stirring up a spirit from the bottom of their hearts, provoking a more colorful longing than life, and inducing hope and love. That is to say, the beauty of jade has long exceeded the beauty of simple modeling, craftsmanship and materials, and it is a kind of regenerated beauty, sublimated beauty. It is a regenerative beauty, a sublimated beauty, a beauty that, like spring rain penetrating into the earth, buries value and energy in the human spirit. Therefore, it not only wins people's indissoluble love for jade, but also shows the artistic charm that pulls the heart and moves the soul.