What is ''Jade''?' The Shuowen Jiezi says: "The beauty of stone is called jade", that is, jade is essentially just a kind of stone material.
The earliest society of mankind is the ancient stone tool, at least in the Neolithic age, the ancestors mastered the use of natural jade processing to make utensils. In the late Neolithic period, our ancestors invented the method of processing jade using jade sand milling, and artificially processed jade appeared.
One
Since its appearance, jade has been the highest specification artifact, mainly used as a ceremonial vessel and accessory. It includes the jade bi of the heavens, the jade of the sacrificial land, the ritual utensils such as the gui, zhang, amber, and huang of the four squares, and a small part is also used for decoration, including jade pendants, jade rings and other accessories that indicate the identity of the master.
Neolithic ancestors who made tools
By the late Neolithic period, the productive forces had developed to a certain extent, and farming tribes began to appear, and people at that time had a certain ability to transform nature. In order to adapt to the development of productivity, people began to use jade as a material to process some production tools. Because compared with traditional stone tool production tools, jade production tools have a longer service life and are lighter and easier to use. From the excavated Neolithic cultural sites, we can find that at least 5,000 years ago, there were axes, jade clusters and other production tools made of jade. At that time, these production tools had both a production function and a role in killing and injuring the enemy in battle, and were a multi-purpose tool, in a sense, the prototype of Chinese jade weapons.
Of course, the materials used in these jade tools are different from the soft jade that modern people have refined, and if they are classified from the materials, they are only tremolite minerals, chalcedony, agate, quartz, serpentine and other jade in a broad sense, but they still belong to the category of jade tools.
In the Neolithic ruins of Jubaoshan in Zhao County, Jilin Town, 6 pieces of jade axes were unearthed, and their production process was still relatively rough and the wear was more serious, which was formed in the process of long-term use. In the Hongshan Cultural Site, jade tools such as jade axes and jade hammers have also been displayed. These jade axes and jade hammers have holes in the bottom and should be used to bind the handle of the axe with rope, and the entire jade axe body is widened, and the blade is relatively flat and curved, which is a shape deliberately made to enhance the lethality in battle.
Jade axe
If the jade axe can also be linked to production labor, the unearthed jade axe shows that it is a pure weapon of combat. The Jade Hammer is actually the most primitive javelin tip, with a triangular spike at the top and a hole in the bottom, which can be worn with a wooden handle and used to throw damage to enemies from a distance. The jade hammer is much smaller than tools such as axes, easier to make, and has strong long-range offensive capabilities, making it one of the most common weapons in the wars of the Stone Age ancestors.
War is formed with the concentration of human tribes, and the emergence of war is the act of a tribe for its own interests, and this act of obtaining benefits does not hesitate to sacrifice lives. For any tribe, there must be a certain sense of defense and defensive ability. In the early days of human society, the so-called defensive capability had a great relationship with the quality of the weapon.
Due to the lack of archaeological data, we cannot reconstruct a war between two tribes in the Paleolithic period. However, judging from the excavated sites, many jade axes are missing and scarred, which are traces left by cutting bones. The bones of many people in this period were also covered with marks of being cut by weapons. It is not difficult to imagine that in the early human wars, the sharper and lighter jade weapons had a huge advantage over the side that used bulky, blunt-edged stone weapons. This is also the reason why in the various sites excavated in the middle and late Neolithic period, there will always be some jade weapons in those high-standard and high-specification tombs.
Unearthed Jade Go
The jade axe excavated from a high-specification tomb at the Xiaonanshan Cultural Site has even changed its texture, and it is no longer a simple practical weapon, but is made of softer jade, and its symbolic significance is more obvious. This weapon made of nephrite jade is more representative of the status and power of the tomb owner, which is an important symbol of human society moving towards a civilized society.
In the lower Reaches of the Yangtze River in the same era, jade is relatively rare, and the common jade weapon is jade. Because the southern civilization represented by the Liangzhu culture is mainly based on agriculture, hunting is not the main way of survival, so there are fewer jade hammers to throw prey, and jade axes and jade axes that can be used for both agricultural production and combat are more common. Axes and cymbals are both hand-held weapons for close-range combat, indicating that the wars in the south in the Neolithic period were mainly close-range contact warfare, which is also a strong evidence that the production level of agriculture in the southern region reached a very high level of development at that time, with many tribes and frequent wars. From the Liangzhu culture in the south to the Dawenkou culture site, it is the process of the continuous conquest and expansion of the southern ancestors in the Neolithic period, the development of their own tribal culture outward, and it is also a process of human civilization progress.
Two
At the end of the Neolithic period, people gradually mastered the smelting and forging of copper, but in a long historical stage, the number of bronzes was very small, and the frequency of appearance in weapons was very low, and the weapons at this time were still dominated by jade weapons.
Put on a jade axe with ropes
The jade weapons of this period have been greatly improved in both form and practicality. At this time, the jade axe is more straight, the blade is wide and curved, and there are holes in the bottom, which can be worn with ropes. In battle, this jade axe can be used to slash, or it can be used to hold a rope and carry out a long-range attack in the form of a "flying axe". At this time, the jade cluster has been converted from a plane triangle to a triangular shape, and when throwing, it can use the principle of aerodynamics to increase the distance of its throwing, increase the hit rate, and the tip of the triangular cluster is also greatly improved compared to the lethality of the plane triangle. It can be said that this is the peak period of the development of jade weapons.
The end of the Neolithic period was also a historical period in which clan communes collapsed and private property was gradually formed. The number of jade weapons owned by a family or individual, and the degree of sophistication of the jade weapons he possesses, is also a manifestation of a person's wealth and status.
The national treasure "Stork Stone Axe Figure Painted Pottery Jar", which was excavated in 1978 in YanCun, Linru County, Henan Province, is the first of the 64 precious cultural relics stipulated by the state that cannot be exhibited abroad.
Stork stone axe figure faience pot
On this national treasure, there is a 37 cm high and 44 cm wide "Stork Stone Axe" painted pottery ornament. The stone axe with a wooden handle on the picture is a jade weapon made of jade at that time. The holes, symbols and tightly wrapped ropes on the axe are all realistically and meticulously outlined with black lines, which are basically the same in style as the jade axes excavated in other similar periods before, indicating that in the Neolithic period, jade weapons have evolved from the initial rough to the multi-functional direction of exquisite and far-reaching, which is also the main feature of the peak period of jade weapons development.
Three
In the Xia Shang period, bronze smelting technology was further developed, and bronze weapons began to be slowly equipped in war, but jade weapons were still irreplaceable main weapons.
With the development of productive forces, weapons in the Xia and Shang dynasties were no longer a combination of production tools and combat tools, but a special combat tool that was independent. Go is the hook-and-slash weapon that appeared in this period, with two kinds of short handles and long handles. Short-handled goat is a hand-held weapon for close-range combat, and the length of the long-handled gog is generally about 2.5 meters, which is a long-range offensive weapon. Because it can hook, stab, and slash, and weigh moderately, it has gradually replaced axe-cutting weapons such as axes and become the first choice for the army. Especially after the appearance of the chariot, when the chariot charged, Go could reach out from the side of the vehicle to kill the enemy, and the power was even greater.
Yugo in actual combat
In people's minds, the material of Ge is generally bronze, but at least until the middle of the Shang Dynasty, Ge is still dominated by jade. Of the 755 weapons unearthed from the famous Tomb of the Shang Dynasty, 39 were Jade Ge. A Shang Dynasty jade ge excavated from the site of Panlong city in Huangpi, Hubei Province, is known as the "King of Yu Ge". It is 50 cm long, the hook is 38 cm long, the upper blade is nearly flat, the lower blade is curved and retracted like a knife, and it is still sharp when unearthed. The excavation of these cultural relics shows that in the middle and early Shang Dynasty, jade weapons were still one of the protagonists of the battlefield, and played an indelible role in the process of merchants pacifying Siyi and expanding their power.
The jade gun in the jade weapon is another type of jade weapon that is not used in actual combat. In fact, it represents the command of a war. The "Records of History" says, "'Tang Zi took the throne to cut Down Kunwu'", that is to say, Shang Tang was holding a jade hammer in his hand and leading an army to attack Kun Wuguo. The Jade Hammer is actually a scepter that commanders use to command in battle. In the wars of slave society, commanders generally stood on chariots, holding a large flag in their left hand and holding a jade hammer in their right hand, directing the soldiers to charge. For those deserters who do not obey the command, the jade hammer is also a magic weapon for enforcing battlefield discipline, which represents the right to kill granted by the monarch, somewhat similar to the battlefield 'Shangfang Sword'', with the dual functions of the scepter and the staff.
Bronze Gordon
The vitality of jade weapons was very strong, and until the Zhou Dynasty did not withdraw from the stage of history. However, at this time, its main role is no longer to be used for fighting on the battlefield, but to have a more systematic and professional differentiation. Because human society developed into the Zhou Dynasty, the social division of labor became more and more refined, and those generals who commanded battles rarely personally charged, they did not need very sharp combat weapons, more importantly, they needed ceremonial weapons representing military power and royal power. Jade weapons with a long history, especially nephrite weapons with superior texture and exquisite appearance, can maximize the nobility of the status of the upper class, so many commanders have their own special jade weapons. This is somewhat similar to the role of japanese sabers. In the era of hot weapons, the combat effect of the saber was not great, but the Japanese regarded the family saber as a continuation of identity and the continuation of family traditions, still always around, which should be influenced by the ancient Chinese.
Four
After the jade weapon withdrew from the stage of history, it did not disappear, but became a ceremonial instrument representing identity and status.
Jade in ceremonial vessels
China's etiquette system is a culture with Chinese characteristics formed after the development of productive forces to a certain level, which is produced with the refinement of the social division of labor. In the social division of labor, the organizers grasped the surplus wealth and formed classes, and in order to show the nobility of their classes, they formulated a system for emphasizing hierarchical identity. This system has a distinctive feature, that is, ''Shang Yu''. Some high-standard, high-quality jade was used by the ruling class as a sacrifice vessel for the gods of heaven and earth. From the jade hammer, which symbolizes the scepter, to the jade gui, which symbolizes the ancestors, jade has gradually become a ceremonial instrument used in rituals, which is an important reason for the decline of jade weapons.
In the long process of China's historical development, jade weapons, as a combination of production tools and combat weapons, have undergone a long historical evolution. In the Neolithic period, it was a powerful equipment for the production and defense of clan tribes, and made outstanding contributions to the unification of China by our ancestors Yandi and Huangdi. At the same time, as a weapon and ceremonial weapon, it is also a carrier of the joint force of Chinese national culture, and it is the organic unity of the two aspects of the "Great Affair of the Country" in the "Left Transmission", in the two aspects of worship and Rong.
Jade weapons played a decisive role in the early days of human civilization for the conquest of tribes, which led to the emergence of the state. In this conquest, the collision, exchange and integration of different cultures are also the basis for the emergence of Chinese civilization.
References: Li Boqian: "The Cultural Nature of the Erlitou Type", Yang Hong: "A Brief Analysis of the Ancient Chinese Jade Soldiers"