In ancient Chinese history, there are many unexpected legends, such as the "Yaotai Jade Gate". Experts have been working on the search for the "Yaotai Jade Gate", but they have not been satisfied with the results until the experts in the discovery of the Shi'an site see hope. Experts said that there are mysterious jade artifacts on the walls of the Shi'an site, which may be the legendary "Jade Gate". What kind of jade is it? If you are also curious, the following Xiaobian will reveal the secret to you.
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Located in Gaojiapu Town, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, the site was first discovered around the 1950s and was not excavated by archaeologists until 1976. Studies have shown that the Shi'an site is an urban site of the Yongsan culture period, dating back about 4,000 years. During the same period, urban ruins from the primitive society period were found in many places, such as the Shanxi Tao Temple site and the Zhejiang Liangzhu site, but the area of these sites was not large, unlike the Shi'an site, which covered an area of more than 4 million square meters. Therefore, experts say that Shi'an may have been the center of political, economic and cultural exchanges throughout the north at that time.
Experts said that the discovery of the mysterious jade was purely accidental, because it rained heavily in the days of cleaning up the site, so many of the excavated stone wall sites were washed away by the rain, and the mixed mud inside the stone crevices was also washed away. One afternoon when the rain stopped, several experts walked to the site to investigate, and stumbled upon a section of stone wall with yellow and off-white things exposed. Therefore, an expert went forward to check out of curiosity, and found that it was jade, but it was not a finished jade, but some semi-processed jade, so the shape was irregular, and it was impossible to see what the artifact was.
It is well known that bronzes have appeared in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, so bronzes are not only practical tools, but also a ceremonial vessel used to divide status and rank, as well as to sacrifice gods. However, bronze ware had not yet appeared in the primitive social period, so it was jade as a ceremonial vessel at this time, which has been proved in many sites, such as the ruins of Lingjiatan in Anhui and the ruins of Liangzhu Ancient City in Zhejiang. Experts said that the jade artifacts found in the ruins of the ancient city of Shi'e are also ceremonial tools, so the Shi'an people put jade in the stone wall is a kind of sacrificial behavior, indicating the status of the holy spirit of Shi'an City and praying for the protection of the gods.
In later further research, some experts have put forward a different view, arguing that the jade in the stone wall is not a sacrifice, but only an architectural act. In the Spring and Autumn Period history book "Bamboo Book Chronicle", it is recorded that "(Lu Di) built a palace, decorated Yaotai, made a Qiong room, and established a jade gate". In this passage, "Lu Yan" is the last monarch of the Xia Dynasty, that is, the absurd Xia Jie in history, who did four things, two of which have always puzzled experts, namely "adorning Yaotai" and "Li Yumen". In ancient mythology, Yaotai is the residence of the gods, and the jade gate is the gate of the gods to enter and exit, legend has it that they are all carved from beautiful jade, and Xia Jie also imitates the treatment of the gods "decorating Yaotai" and "Liyumen", which is enough to see its absurdity.
In real life, the possibility of "decorating Yaotai" is unlikely, but the "Liyu Gate" is still possible, only a large enough jade can be. Experts said that they have been searching for Xia Jie's jade gate for many years, but there has been no result, and now they have found jade in the stone wall of the stone barrier, so they are associated with the "Liyu Gate". It can be seen that the so-called "Liyu Gate" may not be carved with jade, but put jade into it when the door is built, so it becomes a jade gate. By analogy, the so-called "ornamental Yaotai" may have been put into the jade during the construction of the palace, but unfortunately it has not yet been discovered.
The Shi'a site is a huge cultural treasure house, and its discovery can not only explain the unknown prehistoric history, such as the "Yaotai Jade Gate", but also allow us to have a deeper understanding of the style of ancient society, and hope that experts can have greater discoveries in the near future.
Resources:
"Shi'an Kingdom" by Yang Rui, Publisher: Shaanxi People's Publishing House Co., Ltd
Wenlan Hairun Studio Editor-in-Chief Wen Xiucai, this article is written by: Special History Writer: Liu Lijiang's