國立故宮博物院 National Palace Museum (New window)
Title: The Spirit 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.

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 Yazhang with wooden handle restored
Bi Disc with raised rim (New window)
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
Jade Staff Head in the shape of turtledove (New window)
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 (New window)
Jade Ge Dagger
Late Shang dynasty
c. 1300-1046 B.C.E.
L. 29.3 cm W. 7.7 cm
Jade Bi Disc (New window)
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

Realism and Mysticism

Jade Bixie Amulet (New window)
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 (New window)
Pei Ornament set
Early to mid Western Zhou dynasty
c. 1046-878 B.C.E.
Pei Ornament in the shape of fish (New window)
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 shield-shaped plaque of the necklace 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
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
Sources of diagrams: archaeological reports of Gaosong Tomb

Jade Vessels and Other Carvings

Jade Horn-shaped Cup (New window)
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 (New window)
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
drawing from the Tomb of Fuhao

Jade Weaponry and Jade-Ornamented Swords

Jade Ornamented Sword (New window)
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 (New window)
Jade and Stone Face Covering pieces
Late Western Zhou dynasty
877-771 B.C.E.
Huang and Pei set (New window) Jade Huang Ornament of the Pei set (New window) Jade Yazhang Blade (New window) Diagram of a Yazhang with wooden handle restored Jade article carved with ancestral-mask pattern (New window) Jade article carved with ancestral-mask pattern Rubbing Bi Disc of Chang Le (forever joyful) (New window) Bi Disc of Chang Le (forever joyful) Rubbing Jade Necklace (New window) Jade shield-shaped plaque of the necklace Jade girdle-shaped plaque of the necklace Pei Pendant with chi tiger pattern (New window) Diagram of a jade set with thread from Warring States Period Remains of a Pei Ornament set (New window) Eastern Jin Period Diagram of Pei Ornament set Jade She Thumb Ring (New window) A late-Shang she thumb ring and how it is worn