〖Cultural relic name: Lingjiatan jade plate age: about 5000 years ago (late Neolithic) Volume: length 11.4 cm, height 8.3 cm, thickest 1 cm Land point: Anhui Province Hanshan County Lingjiatan Site Collection Unit: Palace Museum〗
Magical jade version
The Lingjiatan site was discovered in 1985, and the first test excavation took place in May 1987. During this test excavation, four probes of 5×5 meters were opened, and this jade plate was found in the tomb M4. When this jade plate was unearthed, it was not lying alone in a tomb, but sandwiched among a jade turtle. The excavation of jade turtles and jade plates at the Lingjiatan site has attracted great attention from the academic community. Mr. Rao Zongyi, a famous master of Chinese sinology, once wrote: "This is the result of the victory of the Chinese archaeological revolution and a historical milestone discovery." The jade plate is carved with complex and exquisite ornaments: the main body is two concentric circles, the center of the circle is carved with a cross-shaped octagonal pattern, eight "gui" shapes are carved between the large and small circles, and at the four corners of the jade plate outside the large circle, a "gui" shape is engraved respectively.
▲The jade turtle unearthed at the same time as the jade plate in the ruins of Lingjiatan . (Image source: Hanshan County People's Government official website)
What does such a complex pattern represent?
Some scholars have analyzed: the octagonal pattern in the center of the jade plate may represent the sun, the eight "gui" shapes between the two circles represent eight directions, and the "gui" patterns at the four corners of the jade plate represent four dimensions. Four dimensions and eight directions, that is, "the four dimensions have been determined, and the gossip looks at each other" recorded in the "History of Turtle Celie". Scholars deduced from this that the jade plate of the Lingjiatan site may be the original "Bagua Map" representing the four-hour calendar.
One of the earliest cities in China
Where were the first cities in China? The ruins of Lingjiatan give an answer.
Located in Hanshan County, Anhui Province, the Lingjiatan site, dating from 5800 to 5300 years ago, is the largest and most well-preserved Neolithic settlement site found in the Chaohu basin in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and is considered to be one of the important sources of China's 5,000-year civilization. With the continuous development of archaeological excavations, little by little it has been revealed a clear and deep connotation of the city.
The ruins of Lingjiatan show a preliminary urban planning pattern:
▲Lingjiatan 2020-2022 excavation location map. (Image source: Wenbo China WeChat public account)
The first area is a tribal residential area, with obvious traces of planning and layout design of houses, and a large number of living relics such as pottery chips have been unearthed;
The second area is the square sacrifice area, which is used for tribal alliances, sacrifices, gatherings and other activities, and is also the location of the palace of the tribal leader. According to geological experts, this well is the earliest well found in China in the true sense, and it is a "holy water" well with sacrificial significance, which shows that this square area is the political, military and cultural center of Lingjiatan Ancient City;
▲Aerial photo of the Lingjiatan tomb sacrificial area. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Duan)
The third area is a large burial area, with an altar in the center, and a large number of jade, stone, pottery and other funerary objects have been unearthed. In addition, architectural remains such as stone walls have been found in this area.
The Lingjiatan site has also unearthed more than 3,000 pieces of jade ritual vessels, stone tools, pottery, etc., especially famous for exquisite jade tools, such as jade people, jade eagles, jade dragons, jade turtles, jade plates, etc., and their exquisite craftsmanship level is breathtaking. Among them, the relief jade man shows the complete physical characteristics of the original man for the first time; Jade hat ornaments, accessories, etc., reflect that people have mastered relatively advanced textile technology at that time, forming a more fashionable clothing culture.
In 2022, when Beijing hosted the Winter Olympics, the back of its medal "Tongxin" adopted the double jade bi style unearthed at the Lingjiatan site, designing a medal body composed of a ring and a circle.
▲Jade double bi unearthed at the Lingjiatan site and medals from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. (Image source: Hanshan County People's Government official website)
Archaeological experts believe that the Lingjiatan site and several surrounding small settlement groups constitute a star-arched moon-style social structure, and the hierarchical differentiation between the center and the surrounding area is very obvious. The people living in the ancient city have developed handicrafts and have urban cultural connotations, and it is one of the earliest cities in China that has been discovered by archaeology so far.
Fuxi and gossip
Lingjiatan culture, together with Liaoning Hongshan culture and Zhejiang Liangzhu culture, is known as the three major prehistoric jade cultures in China. Lingjiatan jade ritual ware reflects the thought and wisdom of the Chinese ancestors more than 5,000 years ago. This jade plate sandwiched in the jade turtle can especially represent the profound philosophy carried by Lingjiatan jade.
Ancient legend holds that "Zhou Yi" and "Hong Fan" came from Hetu and Luoshu. Legend has it that in the Fuxi era, a dragon horse appeared from the Yellow River and carried a river map; In the Xia Yu era, a sacred turtle appeared from Luoshui and carried Luoshu. "Zhou Yi" contains: "Yi has Taiji, which is to give birth to two yi, two yi to give birth to four elephants, and four elephants to give birth to eight trigrams." "The four corners and eight "gui" graphics of the Lingjiatan jade version are reminiscent of the concept of four elephants and gossip. Therefore, it is possible that the ornaments on the jade plates represent ancient Luoshu and the earliest Bagua graphics.
In the land of China, the story of Fuxi's founding gossip is widely spread. The earliest record was made in the "Yi Chuan" of the Warring States period: "The king of the ancients Bao Yu clan is also the world, looking up at the sky, looking down at the earth, watching birds and beasts and the text of the earth, taking all the body near and everything from afar, so he began to make gossip, with the virtue of the gods, with the love of all things." "As the first humanistic ancestor of the Chinese nation, the image of Fuxi has also remained in the ancient memories of many ethnic groups in the southern region of the mainland. Interestingly, the legend of the Fuxi Nuwa brothers and sisters getting married and surviving in the flood to reproduce human beings has become an important mythological motif for various ethnic groups in the southwest region, which has been replaced by their respective ancestors in different ethnic groups and widely circulated in different versions.
Thus, from the jade turtle jade version of Lingjiatan, to the record of Fuxi's gossip, and then to the legend of various ethnic groups in the marriage of Fuxi Nuwa's brothers and sisters, this trajectory reflects the depth and breadth of cultural exchanges and blending among various ethnic groups in various regions in the early stage of the formation and development of the Chinese nation. (End) (Original title: Lingjiatan Jade Edition: The Earliest Cities and the Philosophical Thoughts of the Ancestors)
Author/Zheng Qian