Neolithic jade articles in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River are represented by Daxi culture in Wushan, Sichuan, Shijiahe culture in Tianmen, Hubei, Xuejiagang culture in Qianshan, Anhui and Lingjiatan culture in Hanshan.
Daxi site is located on the south bank of Qutang Gorge in Wushan. Daxi culture ranges from west to east of Sichuan, east to Hanshui, south to north of Hunan and north to Jingzhou. It started from about 4400 BC to 2700 BC and lasted for 1700 years.
Jade pendants, jade pendants, jade pendants, buttons and other jade articles were found in Daxi site. * * * * is divided into three types: one is earrings, including many block-shaped, trapezoidal, square and round earrings; Second, arm ornaments, namely jade and tin; Third, there are ornaments, such as jade posts, jade treasures and jade pendants.
The urn coffin burial in the late Shijiahe culture and its numerous jades are an important feature of Neolithic jades in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The so-called urn coffin burial is to use containers such as pottery pots, altars, jars and pots as funerary utensils, form porcelain coffins through chain, bury the dead and place funerary objects.
Shijiahe belongs to Tianmen County, Hubei Province. There are many Neolithic sites, especially Xiaojiawuling site, with 16 urn coffins belonging to the late Shijiahe culture. Fifty-six jade articles were found in an urn coffin in Dayun, including six jade figures, five jade tigers, 1 Yulong, 165438 jade Kun, 1 jade carving, two jade tubes and 65438 jade pendants.
The number of jade articles in this tomb actually accounts for more than half of the total jade articles in the tomb of 16, and also includes most varieties of jade articles in Shijiahe culture. Among other urns and coffins, the species found in the same period include jade sheep head, jade deer head, jade brand-shaped ornaments, jade rectangular carvings, jade spinning wheels, jade pots, jade armor and so on.
The overall feature of the tombs in the late Shijiahe culture is mainly jade, or jade burial. According to the observation of Jony J Roof 109 tombs, 77 of them belong to the late period. 16 In the urn coffin, except one tomb with a pottery cup, all the funerary objects are jade, and there are no other living utensils. Some tombs have no jade, but a few pieces of jade or its fragments are put in them.
Most of the jades in Xuejiagang site in Anhui are from the third phase of Xuejiagang Neolithic site, including 80 tombs, including 1 1 jade shovel, 18 Yuhuan, 18 jade root, 85 jade tubes, 2 jade cong and 33 jade ornaments. Among these tombs, there are only two artifacts, and there are few funerary objects. More than 46 pieces, including 30 jade articles.
Xuejiagang culture can be traced back to more than 5000 years ago. At that time, jade was popular and the carving technology was mature. It was a custom to decorate and bury with jade, and the awareness of jade worship was prominent. Xue Jiagang's stone shovel, axe and porous stone A are very eye-catching. 13 porous stone a is 5 1.6 cm long and 0/2 cm wide. Regular shape, sharp blade, equal hole spacing and fine grinding.
In addition, some jade armor and shovels are painted with red flower and fruit patterns around the drill holes, which can be used as both practical tools and etiquette tools, which is rare in the Neolithic Age.
Lingjiatan, Heshan, Anhui Province, located in the east of Anhui Province, is an important site where Neolithic jade was found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. There are 47 tombs and 96 jade articles, the main varieties of which are Yushan, Yubi, Yujun, Yuhuan, Yuhuan, Guanyu, button-shaped jade ornaments, Neolithic jade ornaments, carved jade ornaments, triangular jade tablets, jade spoons, jade fish, jade turtles, jade people and jade-shaped vessels. The jades here are exquisitely made and highly skilled. Tombs reflect the prevailing custom of using jade at that time and have typical religious and ceremonial characteristics.
Jade relics in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are mainly represented by Hemudu culture, Majiabang culture and Liangzhu culture. In addition, it also includes the Nanjing North Yinyangying culture equivalent to the Majiabang culture period. These important cultures spread all over large areas of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai, and a large number of exquisite jade articles were found, showing the grand occasion of jade culture in China at the end of Neolithic Age.
Hemudu Cultural Site is located between Yuyao County and Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, and is rich in cultural relics. There are more than 6,000 pieces of jade, stone, wood, bone and pottery, including thousands of jade articles, including Yuhuan, Yujun, Yuguan and Yuzhu.
Hemudu culture is about 7000 years ago, and jade articles are still in the early ornament stage. The specific features are: first, jade is mixed, and the decoration with the same shape is jade; Second, the workmanship is rough and the prototype is not very regular; Third, the variety is monotonous, except for decorative purposes, there are no other jade articles.
Majiabang culture is a Neolithic culture developed in parallel with Hemudu culture in the area around Taihu Lake. Its age is equivalent to Hemudu culture, 7000 years ago. Its distribution range starts from the coast of the East China Sea in the east, reaches the Taihu Lake basin in the south, reaches Ningzhen Mountain range in the west and reaches the Jianghuai area in the north.
Majiabang Culture Two ivory and ivory jade slips with diameters of 3.2 cm and 7 cm were found at Majiabang Site in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. They were placed next to the skull in the grave and seemed to be used as earrings. In addition, jade articles found in Meiyan Town, Wujiang County, Yuewangcheng in the southwest suburb of Suzhou City, Qiu Cheng in Taihu Lake, Xing Wu County, Xudun Site in the southwest of Qishuyan Town, Wujin County and Panjiacheng Site in the northwest of the town mainly include jade Huang, jade Jue, jade bracelet, jade tube and jade pendant. The jade materials used are white jade, sapphire, serpentine jade and agate.
The jades in Majiabang culture are similar to Hemudu culture and belong to the early stage of jade culture. However, all these have laid the foundation for the future development of jadeite.
Liangzhu culture is an important culture in the late Neolithic period in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China. Centered on Taihu Lake Basin, it reaches Zhoushan Islands in the east, Daning Town in the west, Ningshao Plain in the south and Liangzhu Culture in Jiangsu in the north. It shows that the ancestors of Liangzhu created a jade culture that shocked the world with their outstanding diligence and wisdom.
Liangzhu site refers to a large prehistoric site group including Liangzhu, Anxi, Changming and Beihu, with more than 40 sites. The representative of the cloud is the Datan site in Liangzhu site. The anti-mountain Liangzhu cultural altar site is located in Luoshan Village, Mingming Township, Yuhang County, Hangzhou. There are 1 1 tombs within 650 square meters, all of which are located on a man-made "high platform mound".
There are not only a large number of jades in the tomb, but also high quality, among which there are many utensils with royal significance, which are second to none in China. * * * Jade 1 100 (sets).
If calculated according to a single piece, the total number of funerary objects actually reached more than 3,200, with an average of 300 pieces per tomb. This grand occasion is rare not only in Neolithic tombs in China, but also in Liangzhu site tombs.
The varieties of these jades are: 5 jade pieces, 2 1 jade cong, 5 groups of jade cymbals, 4 jade yellow pieces, 12 jade bracelets, 3 jade belt hooks, 9 crown ornaments, 73 cone ornaments, 13 1 piece.
In addition, there are seven-shaped vessels, rod-end ornaments, string control tubes and so on. Single varieties include bamboo tubes, waist-tied color tubes, drum-shaped human beads, beads, waist-tied beads, spherical beads and small round beads; The pendant is decorated with a spherical tube; There are four birds on the string, 1 fish, 1 turtle, 1 cicada. And inlay.
These jade articles listed above are all made of nephrite, with various colors and smooth polishing, which can be described as top grade.
There are not many kinds of jade in the early Liangzhu culture, and the jade surface is simple and the shape is relatively simple. After the middle period of Liangzhu, jade articles were extremely rich in variety, complicated and changeable in patterns, and the consciousness of divine right and kingship became more prominent. For example, Yufu in Liangzhu, with a flat trapezoid, a round lower end and a fixed hole in the axe blade, has a perfect shape. The edge is flat and plain, which impacts people's visual senses with the beauty of jade.
Liangzhu jade also has many colors such as milky yellow, reddish, brownish red, grayish white, light green, yellow brown, black brown and so on. The large diameter is 26 cm, and the aperture is 3.6 cm. Most of them are polished and bright, which shows the beauty of jade.
Liangzhu jade is rich in jade cong, all of which are tremolite nephrite, short cylindrical and inner cylindrical. The outer wall is decorated with image back lines or carved into symbolic back lines. The exquisite degree of Liangzhu jade carving is amazing. A jade cong at Jiasidun site is known as "the masterpiece of prehistoric jade". The valve is 7.2 cm high, 8.5 cm to 6.7 cm in diameter and 6.8 cm to 6.7 cm in aperture.
Shan Shuo carved many extremely fine moire and thunder patterns around his image. These patterns consist of arcs and tiny short straight lines. A 0.2 cm circle is composed of seven or eight small straight lines, and a 0.2-0.3 cm straight line is also carved from several points. The fine grain is only 0.07 cm, which is wonderful. The other, commonly known as "Jade Cong King", is 8.8 cm high, with a shooting diameter of 17. 1 to 17.6 cm and an aperture of 4.9 cm. Yellow and white, with regular purplish red spots. In addition, the shape of the vessel is a flat and short square tube, with an inner circle and an outer circle, the upper and lower ends are round, and there is a round hole in the middle, which looks like a jade wall from above.
The middle of the four sides of the body is divided into two by a straight groove about 5 cm wide and divided into four sections by a horizontal groove. This jade cong weighs about 6500 grams. It is the first jade cong in Liangzhu culture, with a large and huge shape and unique decorative patterns. Cong is a ritual vessel to worship the land god. Look at the jade cong of Liangzhu culture again. Its shape is an inner circle and an outer circle with a round hole in the middle. It may be the embodiment of the world outlook of the primitive ancestors. The circle symbolizes the sky, the square symbolizes the land, and there are Fiona Fang in the cluster, which symbolizes the connection between heaven and earth. At that time, a grand ceremony was held every harvest or festival, and the ancestors of Liangzhu used it to communicate with the gods of heaven and earth. Therefore, Yu Cong is a religious instrument used by Liangzhu people.
The production of these jades reflects the high specifications of the tombs. From the use and symbolic significance of these unearthed jade articles, we can infer that theocracy, military commanders, clan leaders and tomb owners dominate a lot of wealth.
Among the jade articles in Liangzhu culture, the so-called "animal face pattern" characterized by "two eyes and one bite" is eye-catching, which is also the representative decoration of the cloud. This kind of "animal face pattern" is complex or simple, and it changes a lot, which has a great influence on the later decorative patterns, especially the gluttonous patterns of Shang and Zhou bronzes.
There are many vivid bird patterns engraved on the jade articles of Liangzhu culture, such as a jade brand unearthed from the anti-mountain cemetery of Liangzhu culture, with the emblem of Liangzhu God and the image of birds engraved on the sleeves. Another jade cong in this tomb has 16 identical bird patterns. As the symbol of Liangzhu God, the feet of God, man and beast are in the shape of three-claw birds' feet, and the crown hat of God is carved with feathers. Judging from the structure of the jade crown in Liangzhu, Liangzhu people have the custom of inserting feathers into the crown hat. All this shows that Liangzhu people are a clan advocating birds, and birds are the totem of Liangzhu clan.