Yu Yanjiao, curator of the "Jade Soul - Ancient Chinese Jade Culture Exhibition", is explaining jade to the audience.
Rednet Moment reporter Yuan Silei reported from Changsha
"This jade plaque of the fangs god face in the preface hall is the only statue of the fangs god face found in Hunan at present, dating from 4100 to 3700 years ago, which was used by the ancients to communicate with the gods during sacrifices." In the exhibition hall of the "Jade Soul - Ancient Chinese Jade Culture Exhibition" (hereinafter referred to as the "Jade Soul" Exhibition" that is being exhibited at the Changsha Museum, curator Yu Yanjiao is guiding the audience to look at a palm-sized exhibit in the display cabinet, telling about the distant past between human ancestors and jade, and little by little lifting the fog in people's hearts: Why do we love jade and worship jade?
The first jade exhibition in Hunan completely presents the development process of Chinese jade culture
"Jade God", "Jade Ceremony", "Jade Bide", "Jade Nourishment", "Jade Soul" exhibition is divided into four units to exhibit a total of 410 pieces (sets) of exhibits, the vast majority of which are exhibited for the first time, the degree of excitement is self-evident.
In the exhibition, there are not only jade pendants that symbolize status and power, jade plaques of fangs that worship gods and represent primitive religious beliefs; jade pendants with unique and exquisitely made Nanyang Xia Xiangpu jade pendants, which are used to step and show identity; and jade sword ornaments that embody the grace and dignity of gentlemen.
Audience viewing. (Photo by Chen Jianjie)
"This is the first time since the founding of New China that Hunan has held a jade exhibition of this scale, and it is also one of the few exhibitions in China that completely presents the history of China's jade culture in the past 9,000 years." Yu Yanjiao introduced that the "Jade Soul" exhibition takes the cultural connotation and social values embodied in Chinese jade as the narrative subject, showing the audience the characteristics of sacredness, etiquette, morality and aestheticization in the development of Chinese jade, and reflecting the unique Chinese jade culture.
The jade objects that appear in the "Jade Soul" exhibition are mainly excavated in Hunan Province, but because there are fewer jade artifacts unearthed in Hunan during the Xia, Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn periods, it is necessary to use jade excavated from other regions to fully present the history of Chinese jade culture.
"In the past, jade exhibitions held in China were basically concentrated on displaying jade from a certain period of time, and most of them were broken history jade exhibitions, and these exhibitions were less presented from the perspective of jade's cultural connotation and social value." Yu Yanjiao said that there are many kinds of Chinese material culture, such as bronze and lacquerware, which flourished at a certain stage in Chinese history and later ceased to be the mainstream. However, only the jade culture is a material culture that has been alive from the emergence to the present, "jade culture can be said to be the only material culture in China that has not been interrupted." ”
"People's understanding and application of jade has gone through four stages, from the first appearance as ornaments and tools, to the late Neolithic era to the evolution of objects with divine attributes, to the Spring and Autumn Warring States period began to be given personification characteristics, and then to the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties to become human ornaments and daily necessities." Through the "Jade Soul" exhibition, Yu Yanjiao presented the research results of many years to the public, allowing people to "jade" to see 10,000 years of China.
From material to spiritual reverence Chinese love jade has a long history
Mr. Ji Xianlin once said: "If you use a substance to represent Chinese culture, it is jade!" Yu Yanjiao is deeply impressed, in more than twenty years of research, she has gazed at pieces of jade that are either exquisite or simple, and have seen their impact on human life, and also read the cultural connotations, social systems, and spirit of the times contained in them.
The "Jade Soul - Ancient Chinese Jade Culture Exhibition" exhibited a total of 410 exhibits in four units, the vast majority of which were exhibited for the first time. (Photo by Chen Jianjie)
Chinese jade culture has a long history. (Photo by Chen Jianjie)
The beauty of jade is not only reflected in its materials, ornaments, craftsmanship, shape, etc., but also in its cultural connotation. (Photo by Chen Jianjie)
"The origin of jade is synchronized with the differentiation of stone tools." Yu Yanjiao said that in the early Neolithic era, the ancestors had great development in the production process of grinding, drilling, polishing, etc., and consciously selected the beautiful stone processing with good color, toughness and hardness, and on the basis of practicality and beauty, the early jade form was produced. The hard stone was made into the shape of a chiseled axe and shovel, which was used as a tool for production, while the stone with the best color was polished and polished, and the perforated rope was worn for people to wear, and gradually evolved into an ornament.
In the middle and late Neolithic period, jade became a symbol of the status of the leader of the settlement and the clergy, and at the same time it was a god that communicated between gods and men during the ritual of sacrifice, and 'jade god' became a feature of this period. The "Jade Soul" exhibition exhibited a number of pieces (groups) of jade artifacts excavated at the Sunjiagang site in Lixian County. Among them, whether it is the jade plaque ornament of the fangs god statue with mysterious and exaggerated ornamentation, or the cleverly conceived bird's head jade, or the exquisitely carved jade tiger head... These jades once existed as "relics" of human beings to the world of gods, constructing the spiritual world of their ancestors.
"In the Shang Dynasty, jade came down from the altar and went from the stage of divine jade to Wang Yu." Yu Yanjiao further explained that during this period, various acts of worshiping natural gods and ancestral gods were more frequent, and the sacrificial utensils were mainly bronze and pottery, and there was no shortage of jade in the sacrifices. For example, in the Huangwu area of Ningxiang, Hunan Province, a large number of bronzes full of various jade objects have been excavated.
Comparing jade with a gentleman is the most widely spread interpretation of the connotation of jade culture today. Yu Yanjiao said that this social atmosphere flourished in the Spring and Autumn Period, "during that period, due to the collapse of etiquette, there were fewer and fewer jade objects used for etiquette, and jade was gradually personified by Confucian scholars." "Gentleman is better than jade", Peiyu has become a symbol of gentleman's virtue, the so-called "gentleman without reason, jade does not go to the body" "humble gentleman, gentle as jade", this social trend is still accepted and praised by people to this day.
The long-standing Chinese jade culture reflects the inclusive Chinese civilization
"The beauty of jade is not only reflected in its materials, ornaments, craftsmanship, shape, etc., but also in its cultural connotation." Yu Yanjiao, who has been involved in the field of ancient Chinese jade research since 1998, has been constantly retracing in the long river of history, exploring the reasons why Chinese love jade as fate, and revealing how material civilization affects the spiritual world. She found that the reason why jade can be cherished for a long time is closely related to its evolving cultural connotation and social values in the changing times.
"From ancient times to the present, the function and value of jade have been continuously superimposed. Now we look at a piece of jade, which can interpret different meanings in different scenes. In Yu Yanjiao's view, jade has gradually become diversified through the changes of the times, and has both uses and values such as ceremonial sacrifices, symbolizing positions of power, displaying virtues, displaying aesthetic tastes, and pinning good wishes.
Jade acts on the spirit and thought of human beings in the form of material forms, thus forming an inclusive cultural connotation and allowing Chinese jade culture to have a long history.
"On the banks of the river, the stones are lightless, tempered over the years, and warm and generous." The first people will not think that the imagination of beautiful things in their minds, the stone that was first used to build tools in their hands, will continue to be deduced and polished by future generations, and bloom in the ten thousand years of grinding to bloom the glory of future generations, becoming the carrier of Chinese culture, telling the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization, and constantly writing the spirit of the times that keeps pace with the times.