Liangzhu Jade
Jade has been highly treasured and prized by the Chinese people, as a Chinese
saying goes “Gold has a value; Jade is invaluable”.
Liangzhu is one of the two major jade centers of the unique material, type, carving
decoration, working techniques and the distinct culture characteristic, the
unearthed jades are well-known in the world.
Most Liangzhu jade items were excavated in zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province
and Shanghai. The key culture sites include include Caoxieshan, Sidun,
Zhanglingshan, Huating, Fuquanshan, Fanshan, etc.
According to scientific identification, most Liangzhu jade works were made from
local nephrite jade, could classified into ritual and insignia jade types, as well as
implements. They are characterized by the fine work, especially the harmonious
and exquisite carving decoration, The most mysterious is the god pattern. With
the ferocious face, he’s wearing a huge and luxurious crown of feathers and sits
akimbo on a mythical beast. This kind of concrete or abstract mysterious pattern
of clan is regarded as a particular symbol of Liangzhu jade craftwork. The
appearance of the great number of ritual jades with religious color, such as cong
and bi, is recognized as the dawn of the Chinese civilization.
Cong jade is prominent for its unique shape of an oblong, squared tube with a
round hole which symbolized the sovereign metaphysical power. Bi jade is a
circle ring used to worship heaven. It was the token of fortune in Liangzhu Period.
In the ancient times when no alloy implements were discovered, how could such
fine decorations be carved? It’s still a mystery. Some scholars think that the
decoration was carved using shark teeth, while some other scholars estimate
that the instrument used for carving bowlders were made of carnelian and crystal.
Japanese archaeologists deem that the carving instrument should be diamond.
For now, we have no idea of its real situation. However, what we can be sure of
is that Liangzhu jade wares must have a rather close relation ship with the
historical and cultural tradition of the Chinese nation. Being one of the culture
elements unique to the Chinese nation, Liangzhu jade wares contain a great
deal of information about history.