Today to bring you an 8,000-year-old object "jade"
First of all, we must understand the origin of jade and the origin of jade with our Chinese nation, the Chinese nation has been up and down for 5,000 years, which means that the Chinese nation has a historical civilization of 5,000 years. And jade culture it can be traced back even longer, even up to 8,000 years, from the "Heshi Bi" in the Zhao Dynasty that we read in textbooks to the psychic treasure jade of Jia Baoyu in the dream of the Red Chamber, the Chinese nation's understanding of the beauty of jade, the value of jade, and the spirituality of jade can be said to have reached the peak of perfection, which has had a profound impact on Chinese national culture.
Schematic diagram of Heshi Bi
Psychic Treasure Jade Schematic
The history of the Chinese nation's use of jade originated in the era of underdeveloped science and technology, our ancestors in the long-term production and life practice, recognized the difference between jade and stone, hard jade is undoubtedly the best raw material for making original tools. Since they could not scientifically explain the cause of jade, they worshipped it as a divine object given by God, the embodiment of the spirit. The first place to unearth jade is an ancient village in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, which is called "Xinglongwa Culture" by academics. Archaeologists have found more than a dozen tools and ornaments made from jade here, which are nearly 8,000 years old. This is the first jade-making civilization of mankind and an embryonic period of ancient jade culture. But it was in such a budding period that was still close to the original, the ancients had opened an important source for the jade culture of later generations.
When the history of mankind has reached more than 3,000 years ago, the land where prehistoric tribes lived entered an era of kingship, and the jade that exuded mysterious colors in the hands of wizards entered the vision of the emperor, and the ancient jade that has gone through thousands of years has also moved from the age of wuyu to the era of wang jade, and jade has become the exclusive product of the royal family.
In the last years of the Shang Dynasty, the King of Wu fell, and the Zhou Dynasty replaced the Shang Dynasty. After the defeat of the King of Shang, he decided to set himself on fire, and he ordered his attendants to pile the jade artifacts in the palace around him, and then set themselves on fire. It shows that even in the hands of such a cruel emperor as the King of Lu, jade is also the essence given by heaven, which can make his soul ascend to heaven. The "Chronicle of History" records that after the army of the Zhou Dynasty entered the palace of the Shang King, it "captured the old jade millions of Shang". It can be seen how many jade artifacts were in the palace at that time.
The Zhou Dynasty was an era when the etiquette system was extremely standardized, and jade was also incorporated into a strict ceremony, which we call the era of ceremonial jade. What kind of jade should the king and his courtiers use, what size should it be, and where should it be placed when it is used? Everything has rules to follow, there must be no slightest transgression, it is a sign of etiquette, status, and rank, and there is no special reason, jade must be worn on the body, indicating that jade at this time is in the service of the hierarchy.
Schematic diagram of the Western Zhou Jade Face Beast
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, jade was gradually personified, and the gentleman Yude was born. It is said that the story goes like this: One day the great sage Confucius had a student named Zigong ask Confucius for advice: A gentleman is a noble jade and a lowly min, what is it? How evil is mined for the few of the husband's jade? (Meaning: Today's gentlemen like jade and don't like jade-like stones, why is that?) Is it because jade is scarce and there are many stones like jade? Confucius replied, "How many gentlemen are lowly, and what are few and expensive is precious!" The gentleman is better than the gentleman (meaning: Is it true that in today's society, the more the gentleman has, the more his status is inferior, and the less the gentleman's status is noble?). People like jade because jade has the same virtue as a gentleman).) This short dialogue has been repeatedly quoted and interpreted by later generations of followers, and the virtue of jade is better than that of a gentleman, thus laying the core concept of jade culture. Therefore, posterity has said that "the ancient gentleman will wear jade" and "the gentleman has no reason, and the jade will not go to the body".
In the Han Dynasty, the spirituality of jade further evolved into a burial jade culture, in which jade pieces were strung together with gold or silver thread to make gold or silver jade clothes, and jade was made into "nine tricks". They believe that when a person wears a jade robe after death and stuffs the genitals and the seven knots with jade, he can make the soul possessed, the corpse immortal, and the next life to get eternal life. This is actually the continuation of the Wuyu culture, and it also shows that the jade culture of the Chinese nation is constantly precipitated and accumulated in the continuation of history. Including the modern concept of jade use, "warding off evil spirits and protecting the body" is also a continuation of witchcraft culture.
Schematic diagram of a gold skeleton jade coat
When human history entered the Tang Dynasty, with the increasing strength of the Tang Dynasty, the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty was created. The increase in exchanges between countries has gradually faded the mysterious aura of ancient jade, the development of gold and silver and porcelain has gradually replaced jade, and jade that could only be owned by high-ranking officials and nobles has begun to go to the people. By the Song Dynasty, ancient jade could already circulate in large quantities on the market, which meant that jade had completely stepped off the altar, got rid of the royal family and flowed into the people in large quantities. Since then, in the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming and Qing dynasties, whether it is the court or the people, jade is more used as a decoration and art to enjoy or collect.
Therefore, the ancient jade civilization of the Chinese nation, from the wuyu culture, the Wang yu culture, the burial jade culture to the fun jade culture, from the spirit of all things given by heaven to the protective objects that reach the heavens and the earth, from the identity symbol of the gentleman's jade to the artistic treasures appreciated by the elegant customs, after 8,000 years of cultural precipitation, not only has it never stopped, but with the passage of time, the connotation of jade culture has become richer and thicker.
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