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The Virtue of Jade

     From 2000 B.C.E. to 581 C.E., i.e. 4000 to over 1400 years ago, came and went six different dynastic periods in Chinese history: the Xia, the Shang, the Zhou, the Qin, the Han, and the Six Dynasties. During this long history spanning about 2500 years, except for the short-lived Qin and basically the disunited Six Dynasties, the royal houses of the other four major dynasties emerged in turn from the western and eastern parts of China Proper. They ascended to rule one after another, their power waxed and waned, and over the time their cultures assimilated with each other. By the Han dynasty, ethically and culturally they had come to integrate into an almost indivisible one, ushering in a new era of unification. It was also during this formative process that the superstitious belief in the "spiritual nature" of beautiful jade held by early people was gradually moralized under the influence of humanism and Confucianism as society advanced.

     "Virtue" originally referred to "innate nature", a neutral and amoral concept. Back in the time remote, people believed that the Supreme God (called tian, Heaven, in the Zhou dynasty) sent divine creatures to endow life upon the ancestors of clans. The benefits of wearing jade carvings were therefore many-folded: it joined the vital force of beautiful jade with the magical power of divine creatures, accordingly enabled dialogues between deities and humans, and last but not least manifested the innate divinity of the wearer, i.e. "virtue". By the Eastern Zhou dynasty, however, the original aspects of jade ornaments had been long forgotten; Confucians took a more rational view at the qualities of beautiful jade and associated them with the fine "virtues" of a junzi figure: benevolence, rectitude, wisdom, courage, and integrity. Junzi, initially meaning "rulers", also transformed in the Eastern Zhou dynasty into "gentleman-intellectuals of high virtues".

     Over the long span of time, the pairing of Gui-and-Bi jades by the Zhou people became the core of Chinese jade ritual. The Han royal house came from Pei County in the Jiangnan region where the ancient Yue custom of "Jade Burial" originated; the practice reached its acme during the dynasty. Foreign elements such as bixie (warding off evils) amulets and horn cups, reaching China, also adopted jade carving as the medium to exhibit their beauty and took up additional mystic aura that was distinctively Chinese.

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Virtuous as Jade

  • Huang and Pei set

    • Western Zhou dynasty
    • c. 1046-771 B.C.E.
    • Jade Huang Ornament of the Pei set

Ritual Jades of the Xia and Shang Dynasties

  • Jade Yazhang Blade

    • Xia dynasty
    • c. 2070-1600 B.C.E.
    • L. 38.1 cm W. 9 cm D. 0.8 cm
  • Diagram of a <i>Yazhang</i> with wooden handle restored
    • Diagram of a Yazhang with wooden handle restored
  • Bi Disc with raised rim

    • Late Shang dynasty
    • c. 1300-1046 B.C.E.
    • Diam. 18.8 cm

Ancestral Tablet and Turtledove Staff

  • Jade article carved with ancestral-mask pattern

    • Late Shijiahe Culture
    • c. 2100-1800 B.C.E.
    • H. 3.5 cm L. 6.5 cm
  • Rubbing
    • Rubbing
  • Jade Staff Head in the shape of turtledove

    • Western Han dynasty
    • 206 B.C.E.-8 C.E.
    • H. 2.4 cm L. 6 cm

The Establishment of the Gui-Bi Ritual

  • Jade Ge Dagger

    • Late Shang dynasty
    • c. 1300-1046 B.C.E.
    • L. 29.3 cm W. 7.7 cm
  • Jade Bi Disc

    • Longshan-Qijia System
    • c. 2500-1700 B.C.E.
    • Diam. 16.5 cm

The All-Powerful Jade Bi Disc

  • Bi Disc of Chang Le (forever joyful)

    • Eastern Han dynasty
    • 25-220 C.E.
    • H. 16.55 cm Diam. 13.47 cm
  • Rubbing
    • Rubbing

Realism and Mysticism

  • Jade Bixie Amulet

    • Eastern Han dynasty
    • 25-220 C.E.
    • L. 13.2 cm H. 9.6 cm W. 3.5 cm

Jewelry of the Nobility: Jade and Jade-like Stone
Early to Early-mid Western Zhou Dynasty

  • Pei Ornament set

    • Early to mid Western Zhou dynasty
    • c. 1046-878 B.C.E.
  • Pei Ornament in the shape of fish

    • Late Shang to early Western Zhou dynasties
    • c. 1300-977 B.C.E.
    • L. 5.1 cm W.1.2 cm D. 0.6 cm

Jewelry of the Nobility: Jade and Jade-like Stone Mid-late Western Zhou Dynasty to Late Spring and Autumn Period

  • Jade Necklace

    • Late Western Zhou dynasty
    • c. 877-771 B.C.E.
    • Jade Bi Disc
    • Jade girdle-shaped plaque of the necklace

Jewelry of the Nobility: Jade Warring States Period to Eastern Han Dynasty

  • Pei Pendant with chi tiger pattern

    • Warring States Period
    • c. 475 -141 B.C.E
  • Diagram of a jade set with thread from Warring States Period
    • Diagram of a jade set with thread from Warring States Period
    • Sources of diagrams: archaeological reports of Zhongzhoul.

The Changing Pei Ornament Sets
The Six Dynasties to Tang Dynasty

  • Remains of a Pei Ornament set (one heng and one chong)

    • Late Northern and Southern Dynasties
    • c. the end of 6th Century
  • Eastern Jin Period Diagram of Pei Ornament set
    • Eastern Jin Period Diagram of Pei Ornament set
    • Sources of diagrams: archaeological reports of Gaosong Tomb

Jade Vessels and Other Carvings

  • Jade Horn-shaped Cup

    • Han dynasty
    • 206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.
    • H. 18.1 cm W. 10.1 cm

Ornamental Jades

  • Jade Belt Hook

    • Warring States Period to
    • early Western Han dynasty
    • c. 475-141 B.C.E.
    • L. 4.4 cm W. 3.0 cm
  • Jade She Thumb Ring

    • Late Western Zhou dynasties
    • c. 1300-771 B.C.E
    • L. 4 cm W. 3.4 cm H. 2.8 cm
  • A late-Shang she thumb ring and how it is worn
    • A late-Shang she thumb ring and how it is worn
    • drawing from the Tomb of Fuhao

Jade Weaponry and Jade-Ornamented Swords

  • Jade Ornamented Sword

    • Western Han dynasty
    • 206 B.C.E.-8 C.E
    • Iron sword blade has been attached to lacquered scabbard
    • The ancient iron blade is stuck inside the lacquer sheath, complete with four jade ornamental fittings: pommel, cross-guard, slide, and chape.
    • L. 89.5 cm

Funerary Jades

  • Jade and Stone Face Covering pieces

    • Late Western Zhou dynasty
    • 877-771 B.C.E.
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