Introduction
Long known as the 'Country of Jade', China boasts its tradition of jade carving for up to ten thousand years. Aside from Chinese people, jade is also cherished by ancient Indians of Central America and the Maoris in New Zealand; early jades have been unearthed from regions such as Siberia, Europe, and the Japanese archipelago. However, it is only the Chinese people who have had such a constant fascination with jade, which continues into today.
In ancient China, jade serves as a medium for dialogue with ancestors, deities, and the Heaven, an amulet worn by people both alive and dead for protection against evils, a token indicating the bearer's wealth, power, and identity, and even an elixir of life. Jade has been prized by intellectuals through all ages for its subtle translucency, whiteness, and durability, and these qualities have been moralized to equal the virtues of a junzi gentleman, including benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage, and moral integrity. The jade culture has been deeply embedded into China's national character.
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Bi Disc Incised with a Sign of 'Bird on the Altar'
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Cong Tube with Design of Tiered Humanoid-deity Masks and a Flying Bird
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Awl-form Object with Tiered Masks Combining Humanoid-deity and Animal
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Pei Pendant with Falcon-snatching-human-head Design
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Cong Tube with a Mask Combining Humanoid-deity, Animal, and Flying Birds at Each Corner
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Axe with Design of Humanoid-deity Masks and a Falcon
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Ge Dagger with a Turquoise-inlaid Bronze Handle
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Two Dragons, with one on the other
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Xi (bucktooth) with Stylized-dragon Design
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Huang (arc pendant) with Double Dragon Heads
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Qi (notched axe) with Animal-mask Design
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Handle-form Object with Dragon and Phoenix Design
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Double-ring bi Disc with Comma-spiral Motif
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She (archer's ring)-form Pendant with Phoenix Design
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Zhi (scabbard slide) with Dragon and Phoenix Design
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Zhi (scabbard slide) with Inscription '尚方'
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Sheng plaque with Four-Celestial-Creatures Design
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Xianbeitou (belt buckle) with Dragon Design
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Belt with Carvings of a Dancer, Musicians, and Others
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'Double Fish' zhui Pendant as a Fan Accessory, with a gilded chain
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'Spring Water' Belt Plaque
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Buckle with Carvings of Story Scenes
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Xiapeizhui (pendant for a xiapei scarf)
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Finial with Egrets-in-lotus-pond Design
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'Three chi-dragons' Brush Washer
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Tray-form Case with Floral Inlays
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Carving with Human Figures in a Mountain
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'Three chi-dragons' Gu Goblet
Preface
Long known as the 'Country of Jade', China boasts its tradition of jade carving for up to ten thousand years. Aside from Chinese people, jade is also cherished by ancient Indians of Central America and the Maoris in New Zealand; early jades have been unearthed from regions such as Siberia, Europe, and the Japanese archipelago. However, it is only the Chinese people who have had such a constant fascination with jade, which continues into today.
In ancient China, jade serves as a medium for dialogue with ancestors, deities, and the Heaven, an amulet worn by people both alive and dead for protection against evils, a token indicating the bearer's wealth, power, and identity, and even an elixir of life. Jade has been prized by intellectuals through all ages for its subtle translucency, whiteness, and durability, and these qualities have been moralized to equal the virtues of a junzi gentleman, including benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage, and moral integrity. The jade culture has been deeply embedded into China's national character.
Chapter I The Neolithic period (c. 9,000 to 4,000 years ago)
The Neolithic China witnesses the rise of worked jades in great numbers across its vast land. With typical regional features, these jades are used for either ritual or ornamental purpose, as represented by the objects in animal or geometric shapes from the Hongshan culture in the Liao River basin, the ritual articles from the Liangzhu culture in the Yangtze River delta, such as the bi discs, cong tubes and yue axes, and the zhang and dao blades from the Longshan culture in the Yellow River valley areas. These highly-prized artifacts, with either peculiar shapes or mystic motifs or both, are imbued with rich spiritual significances by Chinese forebears and are concrete proofs of early China.
Chapter II The Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties (21st century—771 BCE)
The Chinese ritual and music system is a social system that originated in the Xia dynasty to maintain the social order. Apart from bronzes, rulers of the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties also had a series of ceremonial jades crafted by following prehistoric traditions and gradually established the hierarchical use of jades. Jade pendants saw a high growth in this period and took the forms of naturalistic animals and celestial creatures such as dragons and phoenixes. These designs, featuring intricate combinations of stylized elements, were manifestations of identity indispensable to the nobility. In particular, Western-Zhou pei sets (grouped ornaments) comprised huang pendants as primary components and served as a salient symbol of ranks. Jade pei sets of this type, in alliance with gui tablets, bi discs, and bronze vessels such as ding tripods and gui bowls, formed the ritual system in Chinese culture.
Chapter III The Spring and Autumn & Warring States periods ( 770—221 BCE)
In the Spring-and-Autumn and Warring-States periods (aka. the Eastern Zhou dynasty), hierarchy was wrecked and social norms not followed. While ritual jades declined, ornamental ones rose in new forms and significances. Under the influence of Confucianism, jades were gradually moralized to represent 'virtue', the innate divinity of the wearer. This zeitgeist led to the emergence of the pei miscellany that comprised diversified pendants in a group as a must for junzi, gentleman-intellectuals of high virtues. Besides the pei miscellany, other forms of jade, such as belt hooks and sword fittings, increased in number over time, and these jades signified not only the code of conduct but also social mores. Dragon designs were prevalent, represented by either coiling or interlocked ones; such romantic interpretation of divine creature echoed the 'Hundred Schools of Thought' in this flourishing era.
Chapter IV The Han and Jin dynasties (206 BCE—420 CE)
The Han traditional spirituality lied in the theory that the dead would live a carefree and myriad life in the underground world and the state of immortality could be achieved after death. This theory bred a variety of jade carvings, to which classical concepts such as yin and yang (the negative and the positive), the Five Elements (wuxing), and theologized Confucianism, were imparted. In this context, jade amulets were made divine and lavish burial of jades reached an unprecedented level.
Due to the chaotic divisions of China in the period of the Three Kingdoms, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, sourcing jade raw materials became hard and therefore jade carving industry paused.
Chapter V The Tang, Song, Liao and Jin dynasties (618–1279)
In the Sui and Tang dynasties, jade carving evolved to embrace the themes attracting ordinary people, which included fauna, flora, human figures, and mountains and forests. The introduction of these themes, in the forms of utilitarian objects, indoor decorative items and personal ornaments, injected fresh vitality into the aged Chinese jade. Tang-dynasty jade belt plaques, engraved with musicians and dancers, denoted the contact, impact, and influence from foreign cultures. Life of the Northern and Southern Songs was vividly depicted in the patterns of birds and flowers as well as children holding lotus; Free-spirited themes of 'Spring Water' and 'Autumn Mountain' aptly represented the seasonal hunts of Liao-and-Jin nomadic peoples in North China. Diversified aesthetic expressions were characteristic of the era.
Chapter VI The Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271–1911)
The jade industry witnessed a boom in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, when palace jades outdid all of their predecessors in diversity and number. At the same time jades also won a wide popularity among ordinary people. Artifacts combining mixed mediums, such as gold, jade, and gems, took the fancy of more and more people. Under the patronage of the jade-loving Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty, jade carvings enjoyed an unprecedented growth and peaked, due to the steady inflow of raw materials from Hotan alongside the Kunlun range and the finest artisans active both inside and outside Qing palaces. In this context, jadeite came as a raw-material option for carving and new types of jade vessels exemplified by Hindustan works also landed in China, both well received by the Chinese market.
Dot for exhibits, pentagram for description
Highlights
Humanoid-deity
Zhang Blade
Dragon pei Pendants
Jue (slit ring)
Huang (arc pendant)
Bi Disc Incised with a Sign of 'Bird on the Altar'
Bird
Cong Tube with Design of Tiered Humanoid-deity Masks and a Flying Bird
Yue Axe
Awl-form Object with Tiered Masks Combining Humanoid-deity and Animal
Pei Pendant with Falcon-snatching-human-head Design
Dao Blade
Cong Tube with a Mask Combining Humanoid-deity, Animal, and Flying Birds at Each Corner
Axe with Design of Humanoid-deity Masks and a Falcon
Ge Dagger with a Turquoise-inlaid Bronze Handle
Two Dragons, with one on the other
Xi (bucktooth) with Stylized-dragon Design
Huang (arc pendant) with Double Dragon Heads
Qi (notched axe) with Animal-mask Design
Handle-form Object with Dragon and Phoenix Design
Double-ring bi Disc with Comma-spiral Motif
Double-bodied Dragon
She (archer's ring)-form Pendant with Phoenix Design
Zhi (scabbard slide) with Dragon and Phoenix Design
Zhi (scabbard slide) with Inscription '尚方'
Sheng plaque with Four-Celestial-Creatures Design
Gangmao Amulet
Deed of Land
Xianbeitou (belt buckle) with Dragon Design
Dragon Dish
Belt with Carvings of a Dancer, Musicians, and Others
'Double Fish' zhui Pendant as a Fan Accessory, with a gilded chain
Child Holding Lotus
'Spring Water' Belt Plaque
Tiger Plaque
Flying Apsara
Chi-dragon Plaque
Buckle with Carvings of Story Scenes
Xiapeizhui (pendant for a xiapei scarf)
'Avalokiteśvara' Hairpin
Paper Weight
Finial with Egrets-in-lotus-pond Design
'Three chi-dragons' Brush Washer
Tray-form Case with Floral Inlays
Carving with Human Figures in a Mountain
'Three chi-dragons' Gu Goblet
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