Chinese ancient jade treasures

Author: (British) Liu Mingqian
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Maurice Pal60logue, the secretary of the French Embassy in Beijing, used the word "iade" in 1887 to describe a beautiful stone called "jade" by the Chinese. At that time, there was sufficient historical literature to allow him to trace the origins of Chinese jade artifacts back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. However, he was unaware that the history of Chinese jade artifacts had begun nearly 7,000 years earlier. In fact, the entire world, including China, was unaware of this fact. The late 19th and early 20th centuries were turning points for interpreting Chinese history. During this period, large-scale railway construction in China led to the excavation of many tombs. After the fall of the Qing Empire in 1911, scientific excavations of ancient sites began, with the aim of understanding past civilizations rather than seizing their funerary objects. Over the past century, modern archaeology has greatly expanded our knowledge in this field, enabling us to rewrite the history of Chinese jade artifacts with greater precision. We can date the division of the history of jade artifacts to the year 220 CE. This was when the Han Dynasty just ended, and China entered the Three Kingdoms period. Before 220 CE, it was common to bury a large number of jade artifacts with the deceased. The higher the social status of the deceased, the more jade artifacts were buried with them. After 220 CE, this tradition disappeared. With the exception of special cases, people no longer used jade for burials and instead relied more on ceramics. The function of jade changed. It became a daily utensil alongside another precious artifact—bronze. This does not mean that before 220 CE, jade had no other uses besides burials. On the contrary, ancient Chinese emperors used jade-made ritual vessels to worship their ancestors and deities. This practice had been in place for thousands of years before the invention of writing, and it was first recorded in the Zhou Dynasty. From the Zhou Dynasty onwards, jade was also used in other contexts, such as court meetings between rulers and officials, marriage engagements, and military campaigns. After the death of the emperor and feudal lords, the jade ritual vessels they had used in life became part of their burials. On a personal level, scholars and officials wore jade pendants outside their robes, which were made by stringing jade pieces and beads together. Confucius (551–479 BCE) compared jade to virtue, describing its smoothness as benevolence, its density as wisdom, and its luster as integrity—qualities that a gentleman should possess. The clinking sound of jade pendants was considered melodious. The number of jade pendants far exceeded that of jade ritual vessels. Similarly, the owners of these precious ornaments also used them for burials after their deaths. The rise of Taoism in the 5th century BCE brought a huge demand for jade. Before Taoism emerged, the religious beliefs of the Chinese were largely "correspondence-based." The living offered regular sacrifices of food and other offerings to their ancestors, heaven, earth, and the four directions, hoping to receive blessings from the deceased and other unseen forces. Taoism was always a philosophy closely tied to nature. Since jade is a natural product—a mineral—Taoists firmly believed that it had protective and longevity-enhancing effects on the human body. They promoted the idea that "those who take jade for a long time are resistant to cold and heat, never hungry or thirsty, and do not age like immortals," and that "if a person takes five pounds of jade before death, their skin will remain unchanged for three years." Dedicated Taoist followers, including emperors and feudal lords, arranged for jade suits to be made years before their death, hoping that their bodies would not decay after being encased in jade. Among the many deities in Taoism, the supreme one was known as the Jade Emperor. Around the late Han Dynasty, the custom of burying jade ceased. There were dual reasons behind this change. First, people's concepts and attitudes toward "death" had undergone significant shifts. Second, it was likely due to the depletion of jade resources. From ancient times to the Han Dynasty, China used soft jade, but the exact locations of its ancient sources remained unclear because the term "jade" in old literature did not necessarily refer to soft jade but could also broadly refer to other colored stones. What we know today is that the Uyghur Kingdom (modern-day Xinjiang Province) was one of the main sources of soft jade during the Tang Dynasty, but the situation before the Tang Dynasty remains unclear. Given the vast geographical range of jade usage in China and the abundance of jade artifacts, it is theoretically unlikely that jade materials were transported from distant places. Therefore, we have strong reasons to assume that most jade materials came from local sources but were depleted over thousands of years. This material scarcity brought about dramatic changes in burial customs. With the exception of special cases, people preferred to leave jade artifacts for their descendants rather than take them into the tomb. During the Tang Dynasty, jade was primarily used to make belts, women's hair ornaments, and eating utensils. Belts were symbols of rank, and only officials of the third rank or higher were allowed to use jade belts. Jade cups and bowls were symbols of wealth, and only affluent families could afford them. Jade cups were also important in Taoist rituals, and these cups were often carved with Taoist motifs. By the Song Dynasty, jade represented the glorious history of the "Three Dynasties." Song scholars firmly believed that the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties were China's golden age, characterized by high moral standards and exceptional craftsmanship. The Song people lamented the fall of the Three Dynasties, attributing it to the tyrannical rule of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (r. 246–210 BCE). His brutal actions, such as burning books and burying scholars alive, led to moral decline and a decline in personal integrity. Song Confucian scholars and government officials strove to recreate the brilliance of the Three Dynasties. Since Confucius held jade in such high regard, and the Rites of Zhou frequently mentioned jade ritual vessels, ancient jade artifacts became a target of active collection by Song scholars. At that time, jade materials imported from the Uyghur Kingdom were already very expensive, and some were even crafted into imitation ancient bi (discs) and huang (rings) by jade artisans. By the 16th century, the supply of jade materials was on the rise. Workers began mining jade from mountains instead of collecting it from riverbeds, as was done in the past. After thousands of years of accumulation, the symbolism and connotations of jade had become both rich and complex. Collecting jade had become a fashionable trend rather than an academic pursuit. Merchants with limited literacy but ample wealth, regardless of their religious beliefs, spent heavily on jade artifacts, hoping to be seen as connoisseurs with both strength and refined taste. In 1760, the Uyghur Kingdom was incorporated into the Qing Empire (the name "Xinjiang" emerged around this time, meaning "newly opened territory"), and the supply of high-quality Uyghur jade was uninterrupted. As a result, some Qing Dynasty jade carvings can be considered the most outstanding and perfect in the entire history of Chinese jade. It was also during the late Qing Dynasty that Chinese jade attracted the attention of Westerners. Unfamiliar with Chinese history and uninterested in the various meanings of Chinese jade artifacts, they appreciated jade solely for its beauty from an objective perspective. In the 20th century, the sheer number of jade artifacts unearthed from ancient sites and tombs was overwhelming. The scale of ancient jade production was far larger than people had imagined. The Chinese took immense pride in their cultural and artistic heritage, preferring ancient jade to new jade. Similarly, jade artisans were impressed by the skill and exquisite designs of their predecessors, and few wanted to create varieties completely different from ancient styles. This led to the 20th-century jade carvings lacking any distinctive style.