Great Compendium of Chinese Cultural Relics: Gold, Silver, Jade, and Stone Volume

Author: Wang Shichang / et al.
Editor-in-Chief: Shi Shuqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-04-01
Features: This book collects precious artifacts ranging from the Paleolithic Age to the Opium War in 1840. It selects renowned and representative movable cultural relics published in mainland China, taking into account the characteristics and categories of artifacts from different dynasties, regions, and ethnic groups. The book includes over 5,500 artifacts (items) and over 5,500 illustrations, divided into four volumes: Ceramics, Bronzes, Gold, Silver, Jade, and Stone Artifacts, Calligraphy and Painting. This volume is the Gold, Silver, Jade, and Stone Artifacts volume, containing 1,466 artifacts (items) and 1,466 illustrations.
The artifacts in this book are classified by material and nature, divided into 21 categories: Stone Artifacts, Bronze Artifacts, Ceramics, Porcelain, Iron Artifacts, Gold and Silver Artifacts, Jade Artifacts, Stone Carvings, Oracle Bone and Bamboo Slips, Seals, Ivory and Bone Artifacts, Glass Artifacts, Lacquer and Wood Artifacts, Bricks and Tiles, Textiles and Embroidery, Coins, Paintings, Calligraphy, Documents, Rubbings, and Others (such as stationery, folding fans, clocks, cloisonné, leather, etc.).
Each entry in the book is organized by artifact name and arranged chronologically by era or dynasty. The descriptions generally include the artifact's name, era, material, size, weight, production features, historical value, artistic value, discovery location, provenance, and current collection institution. Several specialized terms and author biographies are included in the appendices for reader reference.
Excerpt:
Neolithic Age. Bronze Age
001 Jade Head (Neolithic Longshan Culture). Milky white with local brown discoloration. Flat in shape, with a side-view human head design. A concave line carves an olive-shaped eye, an oval-shaped hair bun at the top, a hooked nose, slightly open mouth, and an outward-curving ear-like ridge at the back of the head. A neck is below the head, with a circular hole at the corner of the mouth for hanging. Excavated from Shenmu, Shaanxi. Currently housed in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum.
002 Pierced Jade Axe (Neolithic Dawenkou Culture). Light yellow. Flat in shape, with a slightly curved top, straight sides, a wide blade, double-edged, and sharp. A circular hole is drilled through the top. The edges are thin, while the center is thick, and the entire artifact is polished. Exquisite craftsmanship with no signs of use, symbolizing power or wealth, owned by tribal leaders. Discovered in a tomb at Dawenkou Site, Tai'an, Shandong, in 1959. Currently housed in the Shandong Provincial Museum.
003 Pierced Jade Axe (Neolithic Dawenkou Culture). Greenish. Rectangular, with a flat top, straight sides, a wide blade, double-edged, slightly curved, thin edges, and thick center. The entire artifact is polished, with a circular hole near the top, drilled through both sides. Exquisite craftsmanship, symbolizing power or wealth, owned by tribal leaders. Discovered in Qufu, Shandong, in 1960. Currently housed in the Qufu Municipal Cultural Relics Administration Committee.
004 Jade Ring (Neolithic Dawenkou Culture). Milky white jade. Flat in shape, with a circular hole in the center, resembling a deformed ring. The outer edge has three identical, rotating sawtooth-like ridges, with four sets of sawtooth groups of three teeth each between the ridges. The artifact has three large convex teeth and twelve groups of 36 small convex teeth, evenly distributed. Used for astronomical observation or as a part of a loom, its purpose is yet to be determined. Discovered in Tengxian, Shandong, in 1978. Currently housed in the Tengzhou Municipal Museum.
005 Human Face Jade Pendant (Neolithic Dawenkou Culture). Dark in color. Flat in shape, with slightly outward-curving square sides. A vertical ridge with a horizontal hole runs through the center for hanging. The front carves a human face, with a frontal view, an olive-shaped eye socket with a horizontal line inside for the eye, a triangular pattern for the nose, and a horizontal string pattern for the mouth. Though the proportions of the facial features are not well-balanced, the outline is clear, making it an early human face-shaped jade ornament of the Dawenkou Culture. Discovered in Jinxi, Shandong. Currently housed in the Tengzhou Municipal Museum.
006 Beast-Face Jade Bi (Neolithic Longshan Culture). Greenish-yellow, polished throughout. Originally broken into two pieces, with surface discoloration due to soil exposure. Flat in shape, rectangular, with a flat back, a slightly wide blade, and one side with a wider beveled edge than the other. Both sides near the back are incised with single-line beast-face patterns, characterized by rotating eyes and special head decorations, with fierce and intricate, yet powerful, lines. Beast-face patterns first appeared on Neolithic jade and pottery artifacts. Such patterns flourished during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. This jade bi symbolizes the power of tribal leaders. Collected from the Liangcheng Town Site, Rizhao, Shandong, in 1963. Currently housed in the Shandong Provincial Museum.