Chinese Jade Ware in Neolithic Age

Chinese Jade Ware in Neolithic Age

The Neolithic Age was 10,000 to 14,000 years ago. The jade ware in the middle and late Neolithic Age was a kind of ritual jade.

Due to primitive humans' confusion and misunderstanding towards various sorts of natural and social phenomena during their long struggle for existence, early primitive worship for the gods developed and gradually led to sacrificial missions executed by designated people holding special tools. In the Neolithic Age, jade was the essential form of ritual ware used to connect humans with the gods. As a result, this period was known as "the time of jade for the gods".

The earliest jade ware discovered so far are those part of the Xinglongwa Culture in northeastern China, which proved that Chinese jade ware and jade culture was initially shaped in the early Neolithic Age around 8,000 years ago. Afterwards, an extensive region of jade culture stretched into all parts of vast Chinese land and flourished. The jade ware culture in the Neolithic Age began from the Xinglongwa Culture and ended in the Longshan Culture and outstanding pieces in this period included the jade ware of the Xinglongwa Culture and Hongshan Culture in the Liaohe River area in Northeast China; jade ware of Lingjiatan Culture in the Yangtze-Huaihe area; jade ware of Qijia Culture in the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Northwest China; jade ware of Shijiahe Culture and Liangzhu Culture in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; as well as the jade ware of Longshan Culture that spread across China.

Jade Ware of Xinglongwa Culture 兴隆洼文化

Xinglongwa Culture that emerged in Northeast China's Liaohe area some 8,000 years ago was named after Xinglongwa site located in the Aohan banner of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. The jade ware of Xinglongwa Culture has been the earliest jade ware ever known in China so far and is regarded as the source of Chinese jade culture.

Why was the jade ware of Xinglongwa Culture considered the source of the Chinese jade culture? Objectively speaking, the area offered abundant jade materials and thus enabled the people to distinguish jade from stones. Also, the people at that time boasted relatively advanced stone processing techniques that could also be applied in jade processing. These were the basis for the presence of jade culture. Jade ware was small both in size and categories, and jade earrings were the significant forms during this period.

Also, the unique aesthetic concepts and jade use of the Xinglongwa people were the subjective reasons why the area was the source of the jade culture. Jade ware was used for social purposes at that time.

Before that, jade production tools unearthed from some sites of the Paleolithic Age showed no essential differences from other stone tools, as they were practical tools. As a result, jade in the Paleolithic Age was still used as stones and not separated from the latter. The presence of jade ware was an individual and accidental phenomenon rather than a common, purposeful social practice. Thus, the cultural features of jade ware couldn't be embodied and further serve as proof of the source of jade culture.

Jade ware of Xinglongwa Culture was different; however, as its purposes were separated from the practical ware and the mature use of jade appeared to help shape a relatively standard jade use system. For instance, jade earrings, one of the main jade ware, was circular-shaped and had a narrow gap on the rim designed to clip onto the earlobe of a woman. Earrings initially might be ornaments for women, but went beyond the ornaments at this time to serve as special tools to connect humans with the gods.

A pair of earrings was unearthed from the Xinglonggou site in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, one of the settlements in the middle period of Xinglongwa Culture. The earrings, when unearthed, were found beside the two ears of the corpse, which showed the use of jade earrings that were clipped on the earlobes. As the matrilineal society was the dominant social form in the Xinglongwa Culture period, females were both the rulers and carriers in charge of communicating with the gods, and the jade earrings clipped on their earlobes were tools used to connect themselves with heaven. When the tribes encountered great events that required significant decisions, jade earrings were considered to help them hear voices from heaven and make corresponding decisions. Therefore, jade wares of Xinglongwa Culture were more than simple ornaments, though they were worn seemingly for beauty. They were also endowed with social and cultural messages and became the medium connecting humans with the gods. The fact that ancient people actively sought jade and distinguished it from stones to make jade ware that carried their spiritual sustenance and cultural ideas showed a brand new jade use concept and helped shape the social and cultural attributes of Chinese jade ware.

The jade ware of Xinglongwa Culture marked the start of the glorious history of Chinese jade ware, and also laid a solid foundation for shaping the prehistoric northern jade ware centre represented by jade ware of the Hongshan Culture.

Jade Ware of Hongshan Culture 红山文化

Hongshan Culture, a representative of the Neolithic Age culture some 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, derived its name from the Hongshan site located in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. The period of Hongshan Culture saw rather developed religious activities and the jade ware during this period featured a kind of art dominated by animals made with round carving techniques, which were used to serve the primitive religious activities.

Jade ware of Hongshan Culture played a crucial role in the progress of Chinese civilisation. The Hongshan Culture period witnessed the transition of humans from a primitive period to a civilised one. With the increasing number of clan tribes, there was an urgent need to unite the scattered forces within the tribes, and such kind of cohesion was achieved mainly through sacrificial activities paying respects to heaven and ancestors. Jade ware of Hongshan Culture helped connect humans with heaven and their ancestors at sacrificial ceremonies. Combined with primitive beliefs and totem worship, the jade ware at the time was shaped into animals like birds, pigs, dragons and tortoises that were stitched on witches' robes that would be worn when such major events as a foreign invasion and sudden natural calamities happened. At that point, the witches began to pray, communicating with the gods and ancestors and listening to their orders, and the jade ware on their robes became the ties linking the gods, ancestors and humans. 

So, those who owned jade ware had the privilege of communicating with the gods, which further transformed into accumulating the the great power of conveying orders of the gods and deciding the fate of tribes. The primitive people in the Hongshan period devoted lots of effort to jade making and applications as they considered jade extremely sacred. It was the presence of jade ware that helped the tribes bravely face wars and disasters. This helped promote the integration of tribes and the development of a civilized society. Jade ware of Hongshan Culture, therefore, was seen as the catalyst of human civilisation.    

Most of the jade materials in this period were tremolites that were mainly produced in jade mines located in Xiyugou, Xiuyan of Liaoning. Although jade mines were mostly exposed on the top of the mountains, exploitation was not an easy job at that time and required extremely advanced exploitation techniques. Primitive people first found cracks in jade mineral deposits, inserted a piece of wood and lit it, then cooled the wood with water when it was heated to a high temperature. This process, known as thermal expansion and contraction, made jade materials split and exploited. Though primitive, the extraction was very practical.

Dragons, pig-dragons, birds and cloud-shaped pendants made of jade were unearthed in several areas from Hongshan Culture, with shapes and styles amazingly identical. Take the jade pig-dragons for example. Though over 10 pieces of the jade ware were unearthed from different areas that were thousands of kilometres away from each other, they had the same shape that surprised sociologists. Different in size, they all had pig heads: big ears, round eyes, twisting bodies and tiny holes on the backs. This was almost the same with other items, which showed that jade ware made at that time strictly followed a certain set of rules, for example in the Hongshan Culture period, rigid requirements were imposed on the shapes and patterns of jade ware that were designed to link humans with heaven. Two possibilities might account for the similarity of shapes: (i) All jade ware was made by one of the tribes and passed onto other tribes via certain forms; (ii) result of the mutual exchange of jade ware made by different tribes.

Jade ware was so precious in this period that the ultimate treatment for the dead was to bury jade ware with them, rather than others, which was the phenomenon of "exclusive interment of jade" typical of Hongshan Culture. The number of buried jade ware also represented the social status of the tomb occupant. Pit No.5 at the Niuheliang site in Jianping County of Liaoning was a typical tomb of "exclusive interment of jade" from Hongshan Culture. The tomb occupant was a man, with two big jade rings on both sides of his head, a cloud-shaped jade pendant and a flat- bottomed cylindrical ornament with an oblique mouth in front of his chest, a jade bracelet around his left wrist and one jade tortoise in each hand. These jade pieces must have been sacrificial jade and witchery jade he often used when he was alive, and he was thought to be a tribal head or a great witch. Given his high social status and great power, only jade was chosen to accompany him after his death, and this also showed the important role of Jade.

The jade dragon was the most precious item left over from Hongshan Culture. The dragon, the symbol of the Chinese nation, has been a god worshipped by the Chinese for thousands of years. In ancient folklore, the dragon was the god in charge of clouds and rain as well as one of the most powerful and influential animal gods and heaven gods. As ancient people longed for favourable weather and great harvests, they would leave no stone unturned to offer sacrifices to the god of the dragon.

The discovery of the jade dragon from Hongshan Culture was accidental. South of one of the mountains that lie to the north of a village named Sanxingtala, Wengniute banner, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia is a vast stretch of hilly land. On a spring day in 1971, local villagers came to plant trees. The shovel of a peasant who was digging the soil touched something hard. It was a piece of jade ware, but the peasant didn't take it for granted and gave it to his children as a toy to play with. When the local authority of cultural heritage was informed of this piece, it was sent to the State cultural heritage department. This was the earliest Chinese jade dragon to be discovered. The 26-cm-tall jade dragon is made of a whole piece of green Xiuyan jade with round carving techniques. With a twisting C-shaped body and a mane on its back, the dragon has a long head, tightly closed mouth extending straightforward and moving slightly upward, its nose with a flat front end and two symmetrical round nostrils, two shuttle-shaped eyes with the ends raised, and its forehead and jaw both with fine grid patterns. All these make it appear powerful and energetic. With all parts in perfect harmony, the extraordinary jade dragon reflects the awe and worship of the primitive people in the Hongshan Culture period towards the mythical animal. Its primitive style and unsophisticated carving techniques are of great historical value for the people to learn more about the Chinese dragon in the early period, and it is thus called "China's No.1 Dragon."

Jade wares of Hongshan Culture boasted profound connotation and reflected the social-spiritual phenomena at that time. As a period with an extremely brilliant jade culture, Hongshan Culture laid a foundation for Chinese jade culture.

Jade Ware of Lingjiatan Culture 凌家滩文化

Lingjiatan Culture, a branch of the Neolithic Age culture in South China's Yangtze-Huaihe the area was named after the Lingjiatan site in Tongzha Town, Hanshan County, Anhui Province. Existing about 5,500-5,300 years ago, it was the same with Hongshan Culture situated in the northern areas and was another important discovery reflecting the Neolithic Age culture.

Among all prehistoric jade ware, those of Lingjiatan Culture had the richest styles, as well as the most representative figurines, dragons, tortoises, carved rectangle plates, flat-bottomed cylindrical ornament with oblique mouths and trumpet ornaments made of jade. The numerous shapes and styles greatly enriched and advanced the evolution of Chinese jade. In particular, a 76-kg jade pig was among the prehistoric jade ware. Jade ware of Lingjiatan Culture was made with very advanced tools that included both Tuoju tools specifically made for hard materials like agate and hard, as the thin and sharp tools are ideal for pattern carving. Techniques such as intaglio, relief, round carving and openwork, as well as cutting, drilling and polishing techniques had all reached a very high level in this period. Exquisite Lingjiatan jade ware was mainly those of small sizes. The jade trumpet ornament is an ideal example, which was regular shaped and earnestly processed, with the diameter of the tiniest hole being 0.1 cm and approaching the rim of ware, showing the finest craft.

Jade ware of Lingjiatan Culture, with various shapes and diverse styles, definitely embodied rich cultural connotations. Similar to jade ware of Hongshan Culture, those of Lingjiatan also had the connotation of primitive witchcraft culture that prevailed in the Neolithic Age when activities to predict the future were frequently held in daily life. The jade flat-bottomed cylindrical ornament with an oblique mouth was a jade fortune-telling tool unearthed from the Lingjiatan Culture site in 2007; the area still contained many jade fortune lots when it was unearthed. Such jade ware as carved rectangular plates, tortoises, eagles, dragons and figurines, with innovative shapes and mysterious meanings, implied rich messages involving primitive Eight Diagrams, sun worship, primitive astronomy as well as rites, witchcraft, funeral customs and civilisation, and vividly displayed the social life at that time. Jade ware of Lingjiatan represented another peak in prehistorical jade use.

The jade flat-bottomed cylindrical ornament with an oblique mouth was a piece of representative work of Lingjiatan Culture. Despite some jade, flat-bottomed cylindrical ornaments with an oblique mouth of Hongshan Culture were unearthed, too, they had long been considered crown-like ornaments as their purposes remain unknown. The jade ware discovered at the Lingjiatan site with a slightly oblique mouth, vertical bottom and hollow body, however, still contained jade fortune lots when unearthed, which proved it was a fortune-telling tool used by witches. In the past, nothing was discovered that had been used continuously by the Chinese nation that boasts a continuous civilisation of 5,000 years, but the discovery of the jade flat- bottomed cylindrical ornament with an oblique mouth proved such a continuous process. Even today, we still draw a lot in the fortune-telling containers in the hope of praying for peace when we step into some temples. This is very similar to the scene some 5,000 years ago, with the difference in the fact that current people draw lots just for fun, while in the worshipping atmosphere back then, witches in robes drew lots to determine the fate of tribes. Though great changes have taken place in the world, Chinese culture remains the same as before.

A jade a carved rectangle plate, another piece of artwork of Lingjiatan Culture, has profound astronomical meaning. A round hole was drilled on each of the four sides of the jade plate, with concentric circles of different sizes carved in the centre. In the smaller circle is a square pattern with an outer octagon; In the area between the bigger circle and smaller one were radial arrows, and in the area between the bigger circle and the four angles were four arrow-like patterns. In ancient astronomy, the big circle represented changes of the universe and seasons.

Just as the Xici chapter in Zhouyi (The Book of Changes) said, "The universe was first in a chaotic state called Taiji, or Tianyi, which generated two Yis; Then the two Yis generated four Xiangs that further generated the Eight Diagrams" Here, the Taiji, or Tianyi, refers to the North Pole in the astronomical calendar that was endowed with a supreme position by the ancient people. The two Yis refer to heaven and earth that were also called Yin (earth) and Yang (heaven). Given the theory of "Round Heaven and Square Earth" mentioned in the ancient books, the circles on the jade plate probably symbolised heaven and the square pattern earth. The four sides, eight angles in the centre of the jade plate, as well as the eight arrows and four arrows coincide with the concepts of four Xiangs and Eight Diagrams mentioned in Zhouyi and the theory of "Round Heaven and Square Earth" in ancient books. Furthermore, the four Xiangs and Eight Diagrams relate to ancient Chinese seasons, equaling the "four seasons and eight festivals" in the Chinese lunar calendar. Therefore, it can be concluded that the patterns on the jade plate were most likely the intuitive description of astronomy and geography by the primitive people in Lingjiatan, and this also proved the presence of a Chinese calendar as early as 5,000 years ago.

Jade ware constituted the most wonderful part of Lingjiatan Culture. Jade with a mild sheen more than entertained the gods and enriched lives of nobility; they were objects longed for and pursued by the vast numbers of ordinary people. Jade ware buried together with figures of great power and wealth numbered hundreds of pieces, which showed how the entire society valued jade in the Lingjiatan Culture period. The time of jade for the gods in China reached one of its peaks at this time.

Jade Ware of Liangzhu Culture 良渚文化

Liangzhu Culture was a branch of the Neolithic Age culture in the Taihu Lake areas in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Existing about 5,000 to 4,500 years ago, it was named after the Liangzhu site located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. As a kind of art dominated by geometric shapes, jade ware of Liangzhu Culture had many more decorate patterns on the surface, making it more attractive than previous jade ware that lacked aesthetic appeal. The magnificent and fine badge patterns, in particular, greatly enhanced the artistic and visual effects of the jade ware and inspired another brilliant chapter in Chinese jade ware history during the Neolithic Age.

At present, jade ware of Liangzhu Culture unearthed by archaeological excavation numbers more than 10,000 pieces and totalled about 20,000 pieces worldwide if those held by overseas museums and private collectors are included. Such a big number was unparalleled in the whole prehistoric jade culture, which not only shows the huge scale of jade processing and application but also reflects the far-reaching influence of jade ware upon society at the time.

Craftsmanship during the Liangzhu Culture period reached the peak of prehistoric jade ware making and represented the ultimate level of jade ware making techniques in South China. Jade Cong (tube) and jade bi (ring) made of bulk jade imposed very high requirements on jade extraction and cutting. Jade ware of Liangzhu Culture absorbed the techniques for jade ware of Lingjiatan Culture, boasting fairly mature carving techniques. Precise lines on jade surfaces, dense and intricately arranged, are as thin as a hair. For example, jade workers could engrave a complete divine badge composed of hundreds of lines within a very small area (3cmx4cm), which showed the superb jade ware making techniques that couldn't be recreated even with modern tools.

The people in the Liangzhu Culture period were extremely engaged in jade making techniques simply for complex and mysterious pattern carving and further applications of such patterns to communicate between humans and the gods. Nothing else in the jade wares of Liangzhu Culture could be more mysterious then the "god with an animal face" patterns that had similar basic structures - the god, with an exaggerated face and a tall, magnificent feather crown riding a mythical beast. The patterns expressed the ancestors' wishes that humans could ride horses to heaven and communicate with the gods and implied the concept in the Neolithic Age that humans were linked to heaven with jade ware, thus serving as the best interpretation of the "jade for the gods" concept. The abstract clan divine badges could be found on all jade wares like tubes, axes and wimbles and, as a result, Liangzhu jade ware became the soul of Liangzhu Culture. The primitive people incorporated all their reverence to the gods and ancestors into the jade ware they made and expressed their wishes to communicate with the gods through the "god with an animal face" patterns engraved on the precious and magic jade materials, as they hoped that the gods who they offered sacrifices to could hear their inner voices and satisfy their needs.

A world-famous Jade Cong, unearthed from Pit No.12 at the Fanshan Liangzhu site located in Yuhang, Zhejiang Province in 1986, was crowned as "the King of Jade Cong.” It is 8.8 cm in height and 4.9 cm in diameter. The square Jade Cong is circular shaped on the top and bottom ends, with a round hole in the centre. On its four sides are two groups of "god with an animal face" patterns, both the same: the upper part is the image of a god who had a converse trapezoid-shaped face, big eyes and noses and a wide mouth, and wore a crown with radial feather patterns and curling cloud (both the face and crown were carved with the bass relief technique), and the lower part is an image of a beast with two big eyes connected via a short line, a wide mouth with two pairs of bucked teeth, squatting lower limbs and three- claw feet. On the four comers of the Jade Cong were simplified "god with an animal face" patterns.

The shape mentioned above fully integrated the jade-using concept held by the primitive people. Based on the theory of "Round Heaven and Square Earth" which prevailed in the Chinese prehistoric period, the Bi used to offer sacrifices to heaven was round like "heaven," and the Cong used to offer sacrifices to earth, was square like the earth and had a flute on each side that divided the surface into eight parts. This piece of jade Cong had four square circular-shaped sides designed to symbolize earth, and two round ends to symbolise heaven, which showed that the primitive people in Liangzhu Culture period might already have known that the space above the earth was heaven. The round holes running through the centre of the jade Cong were probably the way of connecting earth and heaven in the eyes of the primitive people. All these vividly described both the concept of earth and heaven and existence as advocated by the people in the Liangzhu Culture period.

The discovery of so many jade ware makes people today feel strongly about Liangzhu Culture and the amazing beauty of primitive religious art. Intricate designs and exquisite craftsmanship contained in the jade ware brings the world an entirely new understanding of prehistoric Chinese jade ware.

Jade Ware of Longshan Culture 龙山文化

Longshan Culture was a branch of the Neolithic Age Culture in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Named after the Chengziya site in Longshan Town, Zhangqiu County, Shandong Province where it was first discovered, it existed around 3,500 to 4,000 years ago when human beings developed into a primary civilised society. The period saw a fundamental change in ancient Chinese society and unprecedented progress in social productivity.

As the Longshan people mastered bronze smelting techniques and applied them to jade processing, jade ware became finer, and techniques were similar to those in later periods as well. Embedding techniques emerged too. The jade axe with an embedded turquoise in its upper part unearthed in Shandong was proof of that and served as the piece of evidence in Chinese jade adopting such a technique.

Central China was an area ruled by the legendary Emperor Yellow and Emperor Yan. The Longshan Culture period in Central China was a time of ancient kingdoms that saw many wars and castles. Most of the ancient cities were more than villages with ramparts; they were political, military, economic and religious centres as well. Jade ritual ware like jade axes in Longshan Culture carried primitive religious beliefs and political concepts. Sacrificial tools evolved into symbols of hierarchy and power, and most of them had no signs of use through their shapes were almost the same as the stoneware in the same period. These jade ritual wares were separated from labouring tools and enjoyed a high status in terms of symbolism, which proved the presence of a social class with privileges in production and military fields. Jade tools and weapons, as tokens of power, typically had complex patterns on their surfaces, which was the way people fully expressed their wishes on jade and showed that jade ware descended from the world of the gods to that of humans, but exclusively to families of royalty and nobility.

Jade ware of Longshan Culture, both in shapes and styles, generally showed signs of integration of the two great jade cultures in Northeast China and areas south of the Yangtze River. Meanwhile, jade ware appeared in shapes never seen before, with jade tablets as the most representative one. The jade tablet, a ritual tool used by primitive people when offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors was considered to be capable of both entertaining the gods and ancestors and reassuring ordinary people, and hence thought to have a crucial role in connecting humans with heaven.

In 1963, workers engaged in cultural heritage collected a jade tablet from two urban families in Rizhao, Shandong. The bar-shaped jade tablet is 18 cm tall, 4.9 cm in its widest part and 0.85 cm in its thickest part, with the top end shaped like a flat blade with a slight arc and like a stone adze. Made from a piece of beautiful jade, it has an incised abstract pattern of a god with extremely clear round eyes on its lower part. The pattern represents the wishes of the Longshan people that the omnipotent gods and ancestors could bring good luck to their clans and protect them from calamities forever.

The Palace Museum boasts a well-known piece called "Eagle Clutching Human Heads." The pendant, 9.1 cm long and 5.2 cm wide, was carved from a plate of grey jade. Its upper part is an eagle with round eyes, a hooked nose and a long crest, looking to one side and unfolding its wings, and in the claws of the eagle is a side face of a person who is good-looking and longhaired. The jade pendant probably reflects the scene that Longshan people offered sacrifices to the totem with human heads. According to ancient literature, the totem was used in such areas as Shandong during the prehistoric period. Sites of Longshan Culture in Hebei and Shaanxi provinces all saw discoveries of dismembered human bodies buried in abandoned wells and cellars. The pits might be those used to offer sacrifices with human heads, which were those of people in local tribes or captives in wars, but the true explanation remains unknown.

Nevertheless, the phenomenon proves that the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors and totems with human heads existed in the Longshan Culture period.

Prehistoric jade ware with a mild sheen silently recorded history without written languages, and pieces of jade ware engraved with mysterious patterns of antiquity represent the pious belief of the primitive people in the gods both in heaven and on earth. Jade ware in the Neolithic Age went beyond simple decorative meanings for aesthetic purposes in the early development period of jade ware and carried the sacred mission of connecting humans with the gods and ancestors. Veiled in mystery, they became the medium helping humans communicate with the gods—thus, the jade for the gods. They constituted the foundation of the traditional Chinese culture and served as the witness to the 5,000-year-long Chinese civilisation.