Interpretation of cultural relics symbols of Liangzhu cultural jade

Liangzhu culture is a Neolithic archaeological culture in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, mainly distributed in the Taihu Lake Basin, its southern end to the Qiantang River, north to Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 5300-4000 years ago. After the Songze culture, the Liangzhu culture has become the most magnificent cultural form in the middle and late Neolithic period, and the exquisite black pottery and jade are its outstanding representatives, especially jade. Its rich shapes, numerous quantities, advanced technology, exquisite ornamentation, and complex functions are unique in the world at the same time, and its prominent position in the Chinese jade cultural tradition is self-evident, becoming an irreplaceable and important evidence of the formation of the ancient Chinese ritual system and the Chinese civilization of more than 5,000 years.

　　Judging from the excavation of tombs, the use of Liangzhu cultural jade is strictly divided according to rank, and the large-scale theme decoration is the idol and spiritual belonging of the Liangzhu people's religious worship, indicating the establishment of the Chinese ceremonial system and the unification of the monarchy, and the Liangzhu society has entered the civilized period from the barbaric prehistoric period. The interpretation of cultural relics and symbols is of great value and significance to the study of human life, production conditions and political, economic and cultural development at that time, and this understanding provides research ideas for discussing Liangzhu cultural jade.

　　Aesthetic interpretation of Liangzhu cultural jade

　　The theme ornament presents a connotative beauty and simple beauty. The types of Liangzhu culture jade ornaments mainly include the face of the gods and men, the face of the beasts, the gods and men, the dragon's head, the bird, the vortex, the turtle and so on. These ornaments have a distinction between morning and evening, primary and secondary, and their carriers, engraving methods, connotations and meanings are different. Liangzhu culture jade theme ornament is the use of carved yin line to paint the animal face, the god face of the demeanor, momentum concise, eye-catching, so that the theme ornament is full of creativity and inner spirit of the unified force. The evolution of the motif is vivid in the early days, complex in the middle, and concise in the late period. Its newly produced forms are always derived from the previous form, a process of development from realism to abstraction. It reflects that the ancestors of Liangzhu have a strong imagination and expressiveness, and can grasp the charm of the theme ornament on the basis of making the image of the ornament more concentrated, more condensed and more concise.

　　The art form presents symmetrical beauty and fits beauty. Symmetry is one of the laws of formal beauty, which can give people a sense of stability, regularity, solemnity and coordination. Symmetrical beauty is the traditional aesthetic basis of our country, which has a long history, from the existing excavated jade, jade, jade comb back and other utensils, its shape is dignified and symmetrical. From the perspective of ornamental structure, there are two symmetrical forms: left and right symmetry and radiative symmetry. Left-right symmetry is based on the central axis as the axis of symmetry, and the left and right are configured with the same image. By processing and changing the pattern pattern to a certain extent, arranged within a certain contour line, this decorative design method is called suitable pattern. Most of the ancient decorative patterns used this decorative form, and Liangzhu cultural jade is no exception. On semi-circular or rectangular jade objects such as jade huang, jade card, jade comb back, etc., it can be seen that there are suitable patterns such as god emblems, animal face patterns, dragon head patterns, bird patterns, and vortex patterns, and these basic patterns will be combined and arranged according to the different shapes of the utensils.

　　The expression technique presents the beauty of craftsmanship and the beauty of the lines. Liangzhu culture jade production adopts a number of complex processes and superb craftsmanship, it not only has cutting, cutting, digging, chiseling, scratching, drilling, decorating, polishing, carving, engraving and polishing technology, but also invented with simple mechanical principles of the instrument. There are roughly three methods of liangzhu culture jade carving: yin carving, bas-relief carving, and through carving. Among them, yin carving is the most basic method in the jade patterning process of Liangzhu culture. Liangzhu culture jade ornamentation is based on the use of lines, is the combination of lines to shape the image, is to use the change of lines to create beauty. Its linear types include straight lines, curves, polylines, arcs, etc., and through different changes in line types, such as dense, long and short, thickness, etc., they constitute a variety of images that are smoothly stretched, fine and uniform, and decorative. These smooth lines have their own expressive and emotional meanings, condensing the keen feelings and delicate emotions of the ancestors of Liangzhu.

　　Functional interpretation of Liangzhu cultural jade

　　Ritual vessels. When material and spiritual become a common need, the cultural significance of creation takes on a powerful driving force. In the high-level tombs of Liangzhu culture, Yu Chun, Yu Bi and Yu Qi should be closely related to primitive religions, totem worship, burial customs and the social status of their owners. Yu Chun is the highest status among the Jade of the Liangzhu Culture, and with the passage of time, the number of Yu Chun sections has increased, and judging from the excavations, the Yu Chun has almost no wear and tear, and it is only found in high-grade tombs. The excavation of the jade shows that it has broken away from practical utensils and has become a symbol of sacrifice, divine power, and hierarchy. The interpretation of the jade in the classical Zhou Li is that of a sacrificial vessel, which has a square shape, a round hole in the middle, a columnar shape, and an ornamental pattern on the outside. This structure is completely consistent with the ancient Chinese concept of "heavenly round place", which is a very typical traditional Chinese ceremonial vessel.

　　Some scholars believe that because The Jade Bi and the Jade Qun are both ceremonial vessels used for sacrifice, the owner of their tombs may be a military nobleman who holds the power of tribal sacrifice heaven and earth. Other scholars believe that the jade is a dependent object for the souls of the ancestors of the gods to come down during the sacrifice of the Jongmyo Temple. The souls of the ancestors were summoned and perceived by the priests and descended to the middle hole of the jade. The upper and lower holes are completely opened up, connecting the heavens and the earth and gathering the divine qi. The jade bi is also used as a sacrificial vessel and is placed on top of the jade. A wooden stick is used to penetrate the middle hole of Yuanbi and Yu chun, and combine it into a set of magic tools that reach the heavens and the earth. Yuqi is used before and after the expedition, in order to get or thank the protection of the gods, and to dance with the gods, in order to ask the gods for protection.

　　A symbol of power. In the tombs of liangzhu culture at all levels, the number of jade artifacts excavated from medium and high-grade tombs is large, rich in variety and excellent in texture, while the number of jade artifacts excavated from low-grade tombs is both small and single. It reflects that Liangzhu cultural jade was a "luxury" enjoyed by the upper class figures in the society at that time, and was an absolute status symbol. In the tombs of the Liangzhu cultural magnates, there are some jade objects that are not available in small cemeteries, such as the three-pronged vessel usually equipped with a long jade pipe inserted in it, which itself is placed in the upper part of the ornament of the hairpin as a crown ornament, which is in line with the meaning of the "huang" character in the Chinese character. This crown was called "emperor", which contained the meaning of grandeur, and during the feudal dynasty, it further combined the supreme ruler with the gods into one, called "emperor". The jade jade has been detached from the practicality of the stone, and is a symbol of military command, and is a jade indicator of the specific status of the class of dignitaries. The jade comb back is mostly excavated from the high-level tombs of the Liangzhu culture, and it should be the jade that can only be used by the Liangzhu nobles. In addition, some jade combs also have carved god-like animal face patterns on their backs, which are of a higher level and should be used by the leaders of the Liangzhu Ancient Kingdom. The core of the Liangzhu cultural jade system is to use different types, different quantities, and different combinations of jade objects, and the jade ceremonial ware groups headed by Yu Chun reflect the differences in ranks of different classes, give them divine rights, and initially institutionalize them, so that certain specific types of utensils and artifact combinations become symbols of the identity, status, rank and divine power of the owner.

　　Religious worship. The most common thing on Liangzhu jade is the divine human beast face pattern (also known as the "divine emblem"), which is applied to a variety of jade objects at that time in a complicated or simple way, fully reflecting the mature and developed religious worship and beliefs of the Liangzhu people. In addition, some scholars believe that the divine human and animal face pattern may have evolved from the dragon head pattern, so Mu Yongkang believes that this pattern is actually "a product of a multi-dimensional conception". The large feather crown worn by the god-man on the face of the god-man beast represents "heaven", and the sacred beast below combines the characteristics of animals such as early dragons and pigs, which may be an abstraction of a variety of animals, of which the round eye is the symbol of the sun.

　　Human beings should be very sensitive to the power of nature, especially after the rise of agriculture, they are more concerned about the changes in the sun and the four seasons, and it is most normal to personify or deify nature before it is impossible to systematically explain natural phenomena. There are many legends about the sun. For example, "Beyond the East China Sea, between the sweet springs, there is Xi and the country." There are women named XiHe, who are the wives of Emperor Jun, who are born for ten days, and often bathe in Ganquan", "Beyond the East Sea, in the great wilderness, there are mountains with great words, the sun and the moon", while the "Records of History" records that "it is the fate of Xi, he, shun Wu Tian, counting the law, the sun, the moon and the stars, and the time of honoring the people". In the Hongshan culture that predates the Liangzhu culture, jade bi-like jade has appeared, implying the worship of the sun and the observation of heaven and earth.

　　Decorative accessories. The social nature of the Liangzhu culture period determined the existence and continuation of jade shapes and ornaments, which enriched the spiritual needs and material supplies of the ancestors. In addition to the sacrificial jade, other jade objects are used for decoration according to the status level. Among the many Liangzhu jades, except for jade, jade bi, and jade bracelets, most of which are composite pieces that need to be combined, matched or inlaid with each other. According to the wearing position, it can be divided into head, neck, arm and kimono ornaments. Worn on the head are three-pronged instruments, cones, semicircular crown ornaments, etc., and the wearers are considered to be the upper echelons of Liangzhu. The jade in the tombs of high-ranking men is the most complex with the tiara, mainly including groups of cones, tridents, crowns, and semicircular instruments, and the combination of these jades usually represents the identity and status of the owner of the tomb.

　　The emotional interpretation of Liangzhu cultural jade

　　In the Sequence of Liangzhu Culture, people's concepts and beliefs are a continuous and huge chain. Some of the jade in the Liangzhu culture has been separated from real life, it is a product of the ceremonial society, it is the basis for the hierarchical division of the ruling class; it is also a relic of the religious worship of the Liangzhu people, and it is a symbol of people's spiritual belonging. The wonderful and exquisite ornaments such as the divine and human animal face patterns, animal face patterns, dragon patterns, bird patterns, and vortex patterns carved on the Liangzhu cultural jade reflect the political, economic, religious, cultural, ceremonial and other aspects of Liangzhu society. These important contents reflect the beginning of Chinese civilization, Chinese society has gradually moved from a primitive society to a feudal society, the state system has initially taken shape, and the royal power has begun to be established. Liangzhu cultural jade reflects the ancient ancestors' pursuit of beauty. The most basic aesthetic characteristics of jade are the essence, texture and natural color of jade, in the plastic arts and decorative techniques, there are internal laws, symmetry, contrast, balance, mutual contrast and other artistic techniques, most of which are huge and majestic, complex and diverse in shape, giving people a sense of solemnity and solemnity. Modeling standards, based on square and circular two programs, have made great achievements in plastic arts.

　　As one of the most splendid treasures of China's prehistoric culture, Liangzhu cultural jade carries the mysterious and precious cultural heritage of Liangzhu society and is the most powerful endorsement of the transition from prehistoric barbaric culture to civilized culture. The large number, variety, excellent craftsmanship and exquisite decoration of Liangzhu jade have reached the highest peak in the design and production of ancient Chinese prehistoric jade. Liangzhu cultural jade reflects different symbolic meanings, and the ritual system and wearing rules formed by it directly illustrate the mastery of royal power and divine power by the upper elite, thus realizing the control of the state, society and economy. A large number of jade ceremonial vessels excavated from the high-level tombs of Liangzhu culture epitomize the nobility of the king and the division of labor between male and female nobles. The jade ceremonial system, hierarchical concept, divine right of kings, and the idea of the unity of heaven and man formed by the use of jade in Liangzhu culture have also been continued and developed by later generations of culture.

　　(This paper is the phased result of the "Interpretation of Cultural Relics Symbols and the Design of Cultural and Creative Products: Taking Liangzhu Cultural Jade as an Example" (2019SJA1107) of the Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, and the "Research on the Transformation of College Design Education Based on the 'Design Four Orders'" (B-b/2020/01/1), a key topic of the "13th Five-Year Plan" of Jiangsu Provincial Education Science)

　　(Author Affilications:School of Fine Arts and Design, Changzhou University)

Source: China Social Science Network - China Social Science Daily Author: Zhang Mingyue Yang Weihua

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