Song Yuan Ming Qing Volume - Identification of Ancient Jade Knife Craft

Author: Honggu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features:
1. "Hongshan Blade Edge": A distinctive feature of Hongshan culture jade artifacts is that the edges of flat-shaped pieces without grooves are polished thin and sharp, commonly known as the "Hongshan Blade Edge."
2. "Hongshan Tile Groove": Another characteristic of Hongshan culture jade artifacts is the presence of wavy groove patterns ground on the plane of hook-cloud-shaped pendants, commonly known as the "Hongshan Tile Groove."
3. "Hongshan Trumpet Mouth": Most Hongshan culture jade artifacts are drilled with conical or tubular holes. Conical holes resemble "horsehoes," commonly called "horsehoe holes." When drilled from both sides, they leave a "wasp waist" in the middle, or "steps," so they are also known as "wasp waist holes." Such conical drilling leaves a "trumpet mouth" on the surface of the artifact, which the industry calls the "Hongshan Trumpet Mouth." The walls of tubular holes often retain scratches or spiral patterns.
4. "Hongshan Ellipse": The round sculptures in Hongshan culture jade artifacts are highly irregular in diameter, mostly elliptical, with a distinct difference in craftsmanship compared to later styles.
5. "Hongshan Two-in-One": A major structural feature of Hongshan culture jade artifacts is the integration of motifs and shapes, where the structure of the jade piece itself serves as both the motif and the shape.
6. "Hongshan Line-Engraved Eyes": The eyes of animal-shaped Hongshan culture jade artifacts are mostly engraved with concave lines. Common eye shapes include boat-shaped, circular, concentric, and scroll cloud forms, with a small number of perforated eyes.
7. "Hongshan Grinding Marks": The straight lines on Hongshan culture jade artifacts are sometimes believed by experts to have been "drawn" with flexible strips. However, this is not the case. Even with tough (: cowhide) strips and jade-grinding sand, it is unlikely to leave marks on the jade surface. For example, the straight lines on the tail and wings of the famous Hongshan jade plover are made by grinding with stone or bone tools. Due to uneven pressure, the lines appear wide at the base and sharp at the tip. Under high-magnification observation, the "hairs" and continuation marks of the lines are very clear. These grinding marks, which signify the characteristics of Hongshan culture jade artifacts, are collectively referred to as the "Hongshan Grinding Marks."
8. "Line Characteristics": Hongshan culture jade artifacts feature rich lines, including wide concave lines, narrow concave lines, raised lines, string patterns, tooth patterns, and grid patterns. The bottoms of concave lines are mostly curved, with a cross-section resembling a "V" shape. They are shallow and light, all hand-polished. Longer concave lines have segmented grinding marks, while wide concave lines show multiple grinding "hairs." Arc lines are divided into short arcs and large arcs. The former are hand-ground in one go, while the latter require auxiliary arc supports for segmented grinding, leaving clear "continuation marks." Raised lines are created by grinding away the background to raise the lines, commonly known as "carving the ground to lift the line." String patterns include both concave and raised types. Concave strings resemble wide concave carvings connected end-to-end, while raised strings resemble raised lines. Tooth patterns include pointed and square teeth. Grid patterns often appear on the heads and tails of birds and dragon motifs, formed by irregular grids of shallow concave lines.
9. "Form Characteristics": Hongshan culture artifacts are typically shaped like dragons, birds, and animal masks. Hongshan "C-shaped" dragons usually have boat-shaped eyes, closed mouths, upturned lips, sharp tails, and posterior manes; Hongshan "pig dragons" lack manes; and "dragon embryos" have short manes. From "pig dragons" to "dragon embryos" to "C-shaped" dragons, there was a developmental process from no mane—short mane—long mane. Most Hongshan plover birds have small ears.