Is jade unique to China since ancient times?

Jade has a long history in China. As early as nearly ten thousand years ago in the late Paleolithic period, the ancestors of China people discovered and began to use jade. It is generally believed that ancient people discovered jade when they made and used stone tools. Because it is harder than ordinary stone, it is used to process other stone products. At the same time, it has a distinctive color, crystal clear and lovely, so people slowly regard it as an ornament. Moreover, because the number of jade articles is small and it is difficult to process, only the leading figures in a few ethnic groups, such as patriarchs and priests, are qualified to wear and use them, which gradually makes them evolve into ritual vessels, sacrificial vessels or totems. It is in this long and slow evolution process that jade has changed from a stone with special properties to a symbol of power, status, wealth and theocracy.

For example, in the late Neolithic period, about 7,000 to 4,000 years ago, people who had the power to sacrifice made "ritual vessels" out of precious jade, which were only used to sacrifice ancestors. They believe that the sky is round, so they chisel round walls and squares to worship God and the earth. They believe that the life of clan ancestors originated from God through sacred objects, so they carved the imaginary ancestors of God on jade articles and even carved symbols with profound meanings to worship them. It is hoped that the unique texture, shape, pattern and symbol of jade will produce the power of induction, communicate with the ancestors of God, learn from their wisdom and be blessed.

In ancient society, personal status depended on the close relationship between man and God's ancestors. The "ritual" of serving God establishes the communication channel between people and God, and also maintains the harmonious relationship between people. "Ruiqi" is a jade symbolizing status. Both "ritual vessels" and "Rui vessels" originated in the late Neolithic period and continued to develop in the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to adapt to different political systems and social structures. It is always called a "ritual vessel" because it plays a metaphysical role in maintaining the ritual system in the ancestral temple festival and the Korean Union.

Seven or eight thousand years ago, in the middle and late Neolithic Age, the earliest real jade articles in China were unearthed at Xinglongwa Site in Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia, Chahai Site in Fuxin, Liaoning, Xinle Site in Shenyang and Hemudu Site in Zhejiang. The cultural, religious and political attributes of jade have been gradually improved in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

With the rise of humanism in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Confucianism enlightened and applied some cultural elements inherited from primitive religions, and advocated the concept that "a gentleman is better than jade". Therefore, Dai Yuzhi's wind is strong and the carving is fine, which is difficult for future generations to reach.

Han Chongyu, the living wears jade and eats jade; The deceased was wrapped in jade and filled with jade. Even silk paintings and tomb bricks are decorated with jade statues. The concept that the round wall helps the soul reach the sky is the best at this time.

From the Six Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, the jade carving art in China declined. Although Li Tang was in its heyday, he still adhered to orthodoxy and held a retreat ceremony. However, it was difficult to use real jade in The Book of Rites, and it was replaced by inferior jade. Jade handed down from ancient times, only combs, pins, accessories, etc. Some of them were also made by craftsmen in the western regions.

Since the Song and Ming Dynasties, jade carving art has flourished again. In addition to using jade in imperial etiquette, scholars' textual research on the etiquette system of Shang and Zhou Dynasties led to the upsurge of folk research and imitation of ancient jade. At this time, the literati class, which integrates knowledge, attaches importance to the taste of life. The display of jade study is not only for appreciation and fun, but also for practical functions. Natural flowers and birds, figures, landscapes, etc. , has also become a decorative theme, showing a soft and elegant literati interest. Because the jade materials used are mostly Yu Zi in the river, jade workers often apply their skills according to their materials. When the finished product is cut, it is often that the picture must be intentional and the meaning must be peaceful.

Confucius said that jade has eleven virtues of benevolence, wisdom, righteousness and propriety, and The Book of Rites said that "a gentleman never leaves his body for no reason", both of which emphasized that people with social status and status should learn from jade and warned them not to leave his body without special reasons. China people's feelings of jade worship, respect and love were even worse in Ming and Qing Dynasties than in Han and Tang Dynasties. The elegance and sacredness of jade have conquered China people from generation to generation. Respecting jade, loving jade, wearing jade, appreciating jade, playing with jade and hiding jade are the true portrayal of jade lovers in the society at present.

From Qin and Han Dynasties to the third generation of Sui and Tang Dynasties, jade has always been the exclusive ornament of emperors and nobles. In the Song Dynasty, the economy was developed and the business was prosperous. Due to the technical progress of handicraft industry, jade processing has become more convenient and fast, and the wind of playing with jade and enjoying jade is prevalent. At this time, a large number of beautifully made, exquisitely processed and wonderfully conceived jade articles and Yu Pei appeared.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the production and appreciation of jade reached its peak, and the varieties were more colorful, ranging from jade head needles and jade buckles to whole jade screens, jade mountains and jade boats. Princes and nobles often use jade to make daily utensils, such as jade bowls, cups and pots. Generally speaking, white jade (especially sheep fat white jade produced in Xinjiang) is the best, followed by topaz, sapphire and miscellaneous jade (such as Nanyu jade and Henan jade).

Jade was introduced into the Central Plains in the early Qing Dynasty, and its breathtaking green immediately won the hearts of Chinese people. Jade ornaments made of jade are very popular and have become a fashion that people are scrambling to chase. But in the eyes of traditional China people, jade ornaments made of jadeite are far less than those made of ancient jade.

According to mineralogical classification, jade can be divided into two types. One is amphibole family in cemented silicate, including tremolite and actinolite, also known as nephrite. There is also a single-chain silicate alkaline clinopyroxene, also known as jadeite (such as jadeite). Traditional ancient jade in China is mostly nephrite, including Xinjiang jade and xiuyan jade. It was only in the early Qing Dynasty that Wu Sangui pursued Emperor Li Yong of Nanming, entered and controlled the mining areas rich in jadeite in Yunnan and northern Myanmar, and jadeite officially entered China and became popular.

Most of the ancient jade we saw in the early prehistoric period were jade knives, yufu, jade needles and other jade articles. Then there appeared jade ritual vessels (ritual vessels), such as jade cong and trident in Liangzhu culture, and some pictographic jade articles, such as Yulong and Jade Pig in Hongshan Culture, which should be made as national totems. Jade in this period is not entirely jade in the modern sense, but can be jade, or just a little more beautiful stone, such as tremolite ore coexisting with metamorphic marble ore. From the late Neolithic Age to the Bronze Age, it was difficult to see jade tools in the mainstream cultural areas of China, and instead, a large number of jade wares and accessories appeared, such as Yulong, Yufeng and Yu He unearthed from Nuwa's tomb in Shang Dynasty. At this time, nephrite has been widely used to make utensils.

In the eyes of ordinary people, jade is a stone, but in the eyes of China people, jade is different. It has gone beyond the category of pure taxonomy and become the spiritual sustenance of the Chinese nation. Today, if we pick up a piece of jade, we will only evaluate its color, texture and production. But when we see an ancient jade and appreciate its shape, dark color and material, we will feel a strong sense of national pride in our hearts. The reason is that ancient jade contains the precipitation of China's 5,000-year civilization and the national spirit of China people.