"Qi Jia Culture" Jade In the jade fine Qi Jia Jade appreciation

Following the Hongshan culture jade in Northeast China, the Liangzhu culture jade in East China, and the Longshan culture jade in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, 4,000 to 3,800 years ago, on the vast Loess Plateau centered on central and southern Gansu, including the surrounding northern Shaanxi, Ningxia and east of Qinghai Lake, the Qijia cultural jade bloomed like a brilliant fanghua, glowing with vitality, showing a prosperous scene of purple and red. Although the Qi family culture lasted only two or three hundred years, it was like a touch of morning light, illuminating the threshold of Chinese civilization. Qijia jade has written a chapter in the history of China's jade culture, which has had a far-reaching impact. Because the Qi family invented copper smelting, they were able to cast copper mirrors and some production tools, which greatly improved social productivity. At that time, it became possible and necessary to create more wealth and make more and larger jade, which naturally promoted the concentration of wealth and the change of the original social structure. The chiefs, who wielded theosophical sorcery and the authority of the people, as their wealth grew and their territory and power expanded, through annexation and differentiation, the most powerful of them gradually ascended to the throne of the "human king" of the ancient kingdom. What they need is a more complete system of etiquette and a more professional and diverse jade ceremonial instrument to coordinate and regulate this new relationship between people, so as to continuously strengthen and consolidate their authority and position. Therefore, the achievements of the Qi family jade are remarkable, far ahead of the ancients, and shine brightly, which is the inevitable and logical thing of historical development.

It is undeniable that scientific field archaeology is far less rapid than the destruction of cultural relics caused by the large-scale construction, excavation and natural scouring that bloom everywhere, so that a large number of Qi family jade objects have been accidentally unearthed, scattered among the people, unknown and even unknown, which is particularly deplorable. A few years ago, based on some Qijia jade artifacts I had seen for Tibetan friends, I wrote an article entitled "New Qijia Cultural Jade", which was published in Collection, No. 5, 2005, and was reprinted by a jade book. Because of the medium of this article, I was able to get acquainted with several Qi family jade collectors in Lanzhou, and at their invitation, I visited Lanyuan three times over the past two years, admired its collection, was refreshed, and was strongly shocked. Facts show that the folk collection, there is no Dongtian, the Qi family culture jade seen here, its size, the variety, the essence of craftsmanship, the beauty of jade, as well as the magnificence of ornamentation and the unique shape and carving art, not only for Chinese jade monographs published at home and abroad, but also as far as I know, at least some or most of them are also not found in the National Museum, for the first time and unique here. As far as I saw it, I took the essence of it and wrote this "continuation" article, and I will share it with you.

Yu Chun There are differences between large, medium and small, and large chun can be divided into plain surface, inlaid turquoise and yang carved pattern figure vertical length type and plain surface horizontal and wide type, multi-prism and horizontal length type; the body has an arc surface, a plane division and a direct fold and arc fold from the perimeter to the four corners of the body; the animal head shape, the triangular allogeneic Qun and other shapes are diverse and wonderful, with weights ranging from more than 100 grams to more than 50 kg, which puts forward new considerations for us to explore its use of the Qun system. Vertical long inlaid turquoise large jade 3 pieces. The body is tall and majestic, the jade is crystal moist, yellow-green, there are large areas of dark brown and gray-white erosion, the shell is old, the pulp is calm and natural, and the cracked stone patterns are darker in color due to the erosion immersion, crisscrossing like a network. The inner wall of the body is slightly extravagant to the mouthpiece, and the four corners of the mouth to the body are curved. The whole body is polished and shiny, and the four sides of the Qun are slightly arced. The first piece is 58 cm high, 4 cm high at both ends, 24 cm in outer diameter of the perimeter, 19.5 cm in aperture, and weighs 100 pounds. The inner wall of the cavity is also polished and polished, and it is felt like a wave. On the four sides of the body, the corresponding two sides of the midline are inlaid with 3 turquoise stones, and the other two sides are phototropic. The second and third pieces are of the same style as the first piece. 5 turquoises are set on one side and phototropes on the other three sides. The turquoise is arranged in a plum blossom shape with 2 upper and lower and 1 in the middle, and the other 5 turquoises are arranged in two vertical rows. The dichotomy is 54 cm tall and 55 cm high and weighs about 40 kg. The different arrangements of turquoise, the meaning is not clear. The broad dwarf plain face is 11 cm high, curved, and the width is 27 cm, the maximum diameter is 29 cm at the perforation, and the aperture is 25.7 cm. The four corners of the projectile to the body are 90 n straight fold. Weighs 8.5 kg. Dark green jade, light brown erosion surface has a dense white pit. The body is polished up and down and on all four sides. Although the hole wall is also polished and smooth, the multiple scratches left by the jade sand during drilling are still clearly visible. Hexaprism is 57.2 cm high, 2.5 cm high, 16 cm aperture, 12.7 cm aperture, and the perforated port is curved to the angle. 9.3 cm wide on each of the six sides. The thickness of the wall is 1.3 to 2 cm. Turquoise jade, crystal clear, with small gaps at both ends due to erosion edges. The body is tall and long, the spirit is straight, the arc surface is hexagonal, the refinement is fine, and the light is without lines. The hole walls are polished and the drill marks are faintly visible. The photophylloid cube is 8 cm high, 1 cm high and 6,5 cm shot. The turquoise jade is ochre-red, the four sides of the body are flat and unpolished, the round shot is regular, and the four corners from the firing port to the body are straight folded. The surface is finely polished, and the pulp is moistened with glass light. In the middle of the cavity there are docking marks of two ends of the drill. Sheep's head and Tian Qingbai jade are carved into the shape of a sheep's head. It is 10 cm high, 8.6 cm wide and 7 cm thick, with an oval perforation of 6.2 cm at the upper end and 4.2 cm below, weighing 800 g. The upper and lower ends of the body are flush, there are perforations through, the holes are large and small, and the hole walls are arced out, forming) (shape. The texture of the Qun is delicate and transparent. The round carved sheep's head has a ridged midline and a flat bottom, and the cross-section of the body is slightly triangular. The horns of the sheep's head are extended, the roots are thick, and the tip is rolled back. Ears and eyes, eyes bursting. The nose is expressed in a two-helix yang pattern. The use of the perforation of the chin instead of the sheep's mouth, coupled with the accent of the outer drum cheek, not only shows the vigilance and cleverness of the sheep, but also adds a little terror and mystery to this docile herbivorous animal. The cun is locally flawed and stony, and a small layer of peeling off at the root of the right corner. The flat surface of the chin has gray spots and several blue-black seaweed stripes. Polished throughout, excellent polishing, natural sizing, and a glassy luster on the surface, which is pleasing to the eye. "Zhou Li Chunguan Dianrui": "With Cang Bi li tian, with Huang Rui li di." "The ritual of worshipping the gods in support of The Qibi has been prevalent as early as the Stone Age, except for the Hongshan culture, which has not yet found the jade, the Liangzhu culture and the Longshan culture have square pillar-shaped Qun. When it comes to the Qi family culture, the shape of the Qun is wonderfully diversified and large-scale. The Qi family cultural enclosure is wide and thick, suitable for animal husbandry, and the sheep breeding industry has been very developed from ancient times to the present. It is not surprising that the ancestors made the jade into the shape of animal heads that they were familiar with, loved and aweed. As for what use it is, whether it is used for the ritual of blessing the sheep and the rest of the sheep? It remains to be studied.

Yu Bi Plain face bi nail, diameter 51.9 cm, pore diameter 10.7 ~ 9.5 cm (hole wall oblique straight), thickness 1.2 ~ 1 cm. Yellow-green jade, Qin erosion is heavier, never qin erosion of several bi surface observation, jade material is superior, polishing is also good. One side of the bi is slightly raised, the highest point is in the good (middle hole) part, and the other side is slightly concave like a lid. The good part of bi and the zhou contour are full of rules, and the old understanding of "Qi family culture jade bi is not very round". Plain bi B, diameter 49.2 cm, pore diameter 10.3 ~ 9.7 cm, thickness 2.2 cm, circumference 1.4 ~ 1.2 cm. Green jade, smooth surface full of flakes of white Qin, the perimeter has a large area of reddish-brown Qin and gray white Qin, Qin color is deep and calm, is thousands of years of natural changes, not human falsification can be caused. Inlaid turquoise bi, bi diameter 47 cm, good diameter 8 ~ 8.5 cm, thickness 0.7 cm. The jade turquoise color has natural cracks, the surface of the cloth is brownish gray and gray-white Qin, embedded in 3 turquoise around the good part, in the shape of a glyph, 15.5 cm apart. The head of the beast is shaped like a silhouette, with a height of 62.2 cm, a diameter of 44.5 cm, a good diameter of 10.2 to 9.8 cm, a round diameter of 2.3 to 1.8 cm, and a thickness of 1 cm. Gray-green jade, flat body, the two sides of the body are covered with tan and gray Qin, the animal head lip snout is calcified into chicken bone white. The outer part of the bi silhouette is decorated with a beast head, a round head and a short neck, the nose and the upper jaw are integrated and upturned in a hook-shaped shape, the mouth is open, the eyes are penetrated, and the back of the head and the back of the neck are connected with the outer edge of the bi, and the look seems to lead the neck to look, alluding to the still, and the aura is alive. The teeth are flattened, 0.6 cm after the good perimeter wall, with thin edges and equidistant three teeth, shaped like a wind wheel. Diameter 12 cm, three teeth and two height 1.6 cm, good diameter 3 ~ 2.8 cm Sanhuang is a green jade with heavy erosion and is a chicken bone and brownish red. Diameter 20 cm, thickness 0.6 cm. The length and width of the three lamina are quite inconsistent, but the butts are compactly run-in, and the adjacent parts of each end are worn.

Tooth Zhang It is 52.5 cm long, 15 cm wide and 0.5 cm thick. Ink jade, flat body, polished and shiny, white spots densely flaky. The end of the stalk is asymmetrically arc-shaped, and the micro-arc inner bundle on both sides, like a torch, is worn. On both sides of the bar there are two symmetrical sets of three-toothed spears, with a long body width and length, and the two waists are obliquely straight forward, and the end is sharpened into a crescent-shaped inner arc blade. The shape is regular, the style is unique, and the solemn style is magnificent. It is 42 cm long, 15 cm wide and 0.7 cm thick. The dark green jade has a grayish white Qin, and the smooth surface is covered with a glassy light. Arc back, both sides of the inner bundle into a slip shoulders, wide body two waist inner arc, the inner arc blade two sharp angle asymmetrical. Wear it in the middle of the handle. In addition to the blade, a thin line is carved at the edge near the surface, and three thin lines are carved into a grid pattern on the handle, which is constrained by two parallel lines above and below. The shape is chic, the ornamentation is plain, and it is very rare.

Jade knife Straight-back five-hole knife, length 59.5 cm, width 12.5 cm, thickness 1 cm. Dark green jade has white and brown Qin, straight back, diagonal on both sides, blade at the long end, double-sided edge. The equidistant drill 5 near the back of the knife face is threaded into a line, there are grind marks under the slope of the hole wall, the perimeter is smooth and standard, and the process is meticulous. Seven-hole knife, length 66.5 cm, width 21.5 cm, thickness 1 cm. Green jade, flat body on both sides covered with tan Qin. Straight back, double-sided long blade with low angles at both ends. Drill 7 wear near the back. Three-hole knife with handle, length 50.8 cm, width 12 cm, thickness 0.9 cm. Dark green jade has gray and white Qin. Flat back, oblique front end, stalk at the end, one in the handle, and slightly up the upper side of the near back. The double-sided long blade is folded straight to the end and connected to the shank arc. The handle is decorated with 5 three-dimensional lines. Three-hole mesh knife, length 47.7 cm, width 12.6 cm, thickness 1 cm. Dark green jade, with large areas of dense white calcification spots. The straight back and the long blade have a low horn each. Drill three times near the back, and the hole in the middle is particularly large. The two sides of this large hole are carved with three-line grid patterns. Arc-back three-hole knife, length 48 cm, width 13 cm. Dark green jade, flat body, gray and white at the edge. The back is shaped like a wave with 3 inner arcs. The two ends are also concave in an arc, and the double-sided edge is also slightly curved at the long end. The curvature of each arc is different and interconnected, which is very artistic. The whole body resembles a two-piece spring silkworm with its open mouth foraging, which is both abstract and concrete, giving people a sense of reverie and beauty. Drill three times near the back, with a slightly larger hole in the middle. Arc back five-hole knife, length 61 cm, width 13.2 cm, thickness 0.8 cm. Turquoise jade has white erosion, and the color of the stone grain is linear. The 4 inner arcs on the back are connected in a wavy shape with a square handle. The tip of the blade intersects the dorsal side on the arc. Drill four times near the back and wear one on the handle. The five holes vary in size and are matched with curves of different curvatures, making this flat body more lively, beautiful and spiritual. Turquoise three-hole knife, height 30 cm, length 50.2 cm, thickness 1 cm. Jasper with large brown patches. The flat body is slightly semi-circular, convex and curved, with a long straight edge. The knife face is drilled through 3 round holes and inlaid with 3 turquoise stones. The three holes and turquoise are arranged in a positive inverted arrangement of two "pin" glyphs. Bear-shaped knife, height 60.7 cm, blade end width 36 cm, aperture 6.5 to 7 cm. Bear's eye hole 2 to 2.5 cm. Jasper has gray and tan qin. The flat body of the knife is polished into an animal figure, with a round head and a short snout, the tip of the nose is upturned, the mouth is half open, and the eyes are worn. The blade is at the wide end, and the knife body is worn in the middle. The animal resembles a cub looking sideways, with a cute attitude. Pig-shaped knife, height 52 cm, blade width 37 cm, aperture 4 ~ 5 cm, small eye, diameter 1.5 ~ 1.8 cm. The green jade is covered with brown Qin, and the style is similar to that of the previous knife, but the neck is thicker and fatter like a pig. Turtle-shaped knife, 54 cm through length, 15 cm long and 18 cm wide. The turquoise jade is covered with tan Qin, the back is arced, the long blade is arced, and the tip of the knife is upturned. The crank is worn and the end is obliquely out. Inverted, it resembles a turtle crawling with its head held high.

Jade axe The open-mouthed toothed axe is 17.6 cm long, 12 cm wide, 3 cm thick and weighs 1 kg. Green and white jade, the original polished smooth axe surface due to long-term wind and sand erosion and many small notchs, ochre brown Qin, slightly trapezoidal, upper and lower ends and a waist blunt thick, the side of the opening is slightly thin and sharp, but because of the opening of the teeth and can not be used, when it is blunt jade. Wear it near the back. Also ~ wear to communicate with the mouth. Looking at it, the composition looks like a human or animal face. The axe lord kills and fights, which is a symbol of royal power. This jade axe with its teeth out of its mouth is actually an indiscriminate use of the copper axe of the great beast face in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Three-hole, three-bead hand axe, height 41 cm, width 78 cm, thickness 3.5 cm, weight 14.8 kg. The jasper is covered with coffee-colored Qin, and the inner bundle grows at both ends of the long arc back, and the blade is at the long end, with a double-sided edge. Open a horizontal elongated strip near the back to allow you to hold the axe back. The axe face is set with 3 turquoise and diamond three circles, and the gemstones and round wear are arranged in rows.

Jade Plain face, height 50 cm, blade end width 38.8 cm, thickness 0.9 cm. Wearing diameter 5 to 5.5 cm. Green jade, light ochre, smooth surface has a strip of "out of the sky" phenomenon, that is, these places are particularly bright, with a faint sense of bulge when touched by the hand. The arc is low-angled on the back, the inner arc of the two waists, the blade is at the wide end, and the double-sided edge is slightly curved. Wear a round near the back. Square inner cymbal, height 34.2 cm, double-sided edge end width 24.2 cm, thickness 1 cm. The jasper has a grayish brown color, especially the blade end. The inner end of the square is slightly arced, and the two waists are asymmetrically arced, and the blade is arced out. Drill inside a round to wear. There is a large hole in the middle of the face. It is 50 cm long, 36 cm long and 1 cm thick. Aperture 4.2 cm. Jasper has white chunks and the blades are grass-yellow. The tip is upturned, the interior is equal to the width of the body, and the near end is drilled in a circle. The jade specimens listed above are only a small part of this batch of Qijia cultural jades, but they have shown their historical value, scientific value and cultural and artistic value with their unique shape and artistic style. They are the historical witnesses of the rise of china's ancient civilization from primitive clan society to class society, and can be regarded as another important discovery of ancient jade in China in recent years. As for the carved sun, moon, stars, seawater, land and character activities, the ceremonial jade that reflects the cosmic concepts, religious beliefs and social life patterns of the ancestors of the Qi family, and other zodiac jades of various kinds, as well as some problems caused by this batch of jades, will be discussed in another article!