It is the largest volume of Gong discovered by archaeologists to date, and is revered as the "King of Gong".
Each of its side grooves has a complete "God-Man Beast Face" pattern.
It was unearthed in the tomb number 12 of the Yuhang Anti-Mountain Site, and is the 98th artifact found in the tomb, and its "identity card number" is "Anti-Mountain M12:98".
This 13-pound piece of Liangzhu jade is one of the top ten treasures of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, and in 2002, it was listed as one of the first cultural relics in China to be banned from going abroad (border) for exhibition.
What is the secret of this jade 5,000 years ago?
The "Jade King" was born
(Liangzhu Yuqian Wang Source/Documentary "Liangzhu")
As soon as it appeared, it was given the title of "king".
With a height of 8.8 centimeters and a weight of 6,500 grams, Liu Bin, who had been cleaning up the excavation site (Tomb No. 12 of the Reverse Mountain) for three days, was really surprised, and hundreds of jade objects were taken out from here, Liu Bin had been waiting for an unexpected surprise, and when this jade appeared appeared, he knew that he had waited.
(1986 Liangzhu site archaeological site source/network)
(Liu Bin at the archaeological site of Liangzhu site in 1986 Source/Network)
How is the king of Yuqian king
Jade, produced in the Neolithic period.
Small jade-shaped pieces from the ruins of Xuejiagang in Anhui Province, despite their small size, are considered to be an early form of jade.
At the Liangzhu excavation site in 1986, Liu Bin had already seen many jade cunches, which were tall or flat, with different ornamentations, all of which had the characteristics of inner circle and outer circle.
(All kinds of jade unearthed at the Liangzhu excavation site Source/Network )
And only this one, just lifted is amazing.
Liu Bin's first feeling was - "can't move"! It's a big guy like never before;
When the cleaning is completed, a warm, solid and beautifully decorated jade statue stands quietly;
People can't help but take a closer look, those patterns that were later called "divine emblems", on an area smaller than a matchbox, there are thousands of fine engravings, Liangzhu archaeologists specially counted, within one millimeter, there are as many as five carved lines that do not overlap each other. It is no exaggeration to describe them as what modern people call "miniature carvings".
(Miniature carvings on jade - gods, men and animal faces Source/Documentary "Liangzhu")
(Detailed picture of the emblem of the king of Liangzhu Yuqiang)
Five thousand years ago, the Liangzhu people actually possessed such superb and incredible jade carving skills!
This is an unprecedented, breath-taking object, and its large size, square posture, and fine and ornate carvings dwarf all the jade that has appeared before.
It was in this silence that it was revered as the "King of Jade".
As seen in the Liangzhu people
The owner of the tomb, who slept in the Liangzhu Anti-Mountain Cemetery, put the king of jade on the upper left side of his head and slept for 5,000 years.
The world is full of life, and bones are only like ashes; And the jade buried around is still the same as it was back then, delicate.
In Liu Bin's eyes, the feeling of "meeting the Liangzhu people" is still vivid even after nearly 40 years have passed.
Liu Bin recalled that in 1986, the archaeology of the Liangzhu Anti-Mountain Tomb Group unearthed a dazzling array of jade, as many as 1,100 pieces, only the "Jade King" made him feel "to meet the Liangzhu people", because the decorations on other jade objects were mostly animal faces, and on the surface of the "Jade King", there was a human appearance.
Those are eight drawings of the "God-Man Royal Beasts", which are carved in the straight grooves on all four sides of the Jade Emperor, with fine and smooth lines, and the upper face of the god and man and the face of the beast below are convex.
The god man wears a wide crown of feathers, round eyes, open nose, and two rows of teeth are clearly distinguishable. The two slender and powerful arms stretched wide, and the elbows were bent, as if they were trying to control the beast below;
The beast being ridden, two huge round eyes bulging out, a wide nose and a wide mouth, fangs upturned, entrenched feet like bird's claws, seemed to be ready to bounce up and soar into the sky.
(Restoration of the miniature carving on the King of Yuqian Source/Documentary "Liangzhu")
Once he saw the light of day, he was honored as a "king", and such courtesy and expectation should not only exist in modern times; Dating back 5,000 years, the identity, deeds and destiny of the "Jade King" are also full of unique and noble atmosphere, and even given the highest status of power.
It sits on the upper left side of the tomb owner's head, silent and solemn for many years.
It uses its own special form and pattern to tell the ancient glory of Liangzhu for the owner who has long turned into silent bones.
The Liangzhu Shinto emblem, also known as the God-Man Beast Face, is a man with an inverted trapezoidal face and a feather crown. In every place in the entire Liangzhu culture, as long as it is a precious jade, there will be this image.
Through its statues, we truly realize that the jade of the Liangzhu culture is not carved with animal face patterns, but the object of their worship.
The complete understanding of this sacred emblem pattern by archaeologists was accidentally discovered after discovering it.
Because the pattern carving is extremely delicate and secretive, like a miniature carving, there are 5 or 6 lines in a millimeter of line. If you want to see the entire emblem clearly, you must use a magnifying glass to see it clearly.
Now, it's completely hand-drawn, because every line is not straight. But exactly how it was scratched is still a mystery.
(Detailed picture of the emblem carving of the king of Yuqian Source/Documentary "Liangzhu")
The Liangzhu people, who lived 5,000 years ago, created such a unique form as jade - the outer and inner circles, with a round hole in the center; They also carved fine ornaments on the surface of the jade, resembling humans and beasts.
All this carries the long-standing and mysterious hope of the Liangzhu people, who try to convey the message of a group and give them the heavens, the earth, and the incomprehensible magical power of worship sincerely; Also to us thousands of years later...
The 5,000-year story of the Jade King
"Heaven is round and the sky is yellow" is the basic understanding of the world by the ancient Chinese people.
Therefore, the two jade objects, "Cang" Bi and "Huang" Qiang, were "selected" as worship to the gods and worship the earth.
"Zhou Li" has clouds: "Use jade as the six instruments, salute the four directions of heaven and earth, salute the sky with Cangbi, salute the land with Huang Qi, salute the east with Qinggui, salute the south with Chizhang, salute the west with white amber, and salute the north with Xuanhuang." ”
Zhou Gongdan, who wrote "Zhou Li", presumably based on the reality of his time, recorded and explained the etiquette and etiquette that people regarded as the highest social and cultural norms. However, he did not trace back to posterity, when did these ceremonial ceremonies carried by jade begin?
For a long time, Chinese archaeology has not found accurate field evidence - "worshiping the heavenly gods with the sky and the ground with the yellow qi", seems to have existed since ancient times, the question is, when is "ancient"?
Where did the ancient Chinese cosmology, "Round Heaven Place", which was deeply rooted in the hearts of future generations, come from?
Until the appearance of Liangzhu Yuqi, especially the anti-mountain Yuqian King, people seem to have found the original story from the land 5,000 years ago.
Why did the ancients decide on the "round square set"
This is a kind of "circular square set" structure, the so-called "Qi".
The ancients identified such a structure for "Gong", from the Neolithic period to the Han Dynasty, "Gong" suddenly became longer, sometimes shorter, sometimes ornately ornamented, and suddenly plain and flat, but always remained "outer and inner circle" cylindrical jade.
(Liangzhu Yuqian collected in Zhejiang Provincial Museum Source/Network )
The ancients' attention to "Qi" must have been regulated by strict thinking——
The circle and the square need to run through, for heaven and earth must be connected;
The hole in the center symbolizes the expectations of the ancients: Heaven and earth, man and god can communicate with each other, how to communicate? This is the "passage" located in the center of the "Gong".
In this way, the Liangzhu Yuqian King is really a standard, norm, and has been greatly poured into the hopes of ancient mankind - a major magic weapon that penetrates heaven and earth.
The bones of the witch and the king
Although the bones have decayed, the Jade King on his side is obviously from "his" will, which through such a treacherous and vivid "God-Man Royal Beast Map", travels through five thousand years and reaches the present, conveying the special message of the Liangzhu people.
The god man of the imperial beast should be a wizard.
"Wu, can draw circles and square and master heaven and earth"; "The work of wizards through heaven and earth is helped by animals" - archaeologist Zhang Guangzhi
This king of jade, or once witnessed its master "witch", communicate with the gods of heaven and earth as a virtuous and wise man. The "witch" appreciated the will of God and passed on this supreme and noble will to the masses with majesty and generosity.
Such a sacrificial rite is so sacred and important. So much so that the witch, who occupies the sacrificial throne, does not hesitate to find the "beauty of stone" - the "jade" that is looked at differently by people because of its hardness and crystal, which makes people ponder, endows jade spirituality, and records and carries his own "heaven and earth" work, and finally forms an indispensable glorious magic weapon in sacrificial rites.
(Photo map of religious sacrifice activities of Liangzhu people/documentary "Liangzhu")
The ancestors of Liangzhu had such spiritual beliefs, they needed the protection of the powerful gods, and they also needed the witch with mysterious power to transmit the supreme will of heaven to the world and become their guide for their lives.
And this witch, who was convinced by the Liangzhu people, is likely to be also a king.
Because another "Jade King", following the "Jade King", is also about to be unearthed. It tells the story of the "king".
Decaying bones once had such a glorious ancient past. It uses jade, carrying wisdom spanning 5,000 years, telling the long history and the vast past.
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— Museum Today —