1. Prehistoric dushan jade culture is one of the central areas of Chinese jade culture.
Four or five hundred thousand years ago, in the middle of Pleistocene, "Nanzhao ape-man", only 60 kilometers away from Dushan, broke through the flood, established himself in the Central Plains and thrived in this rich land of Nanyang. In Song Dynasty, History of Road, Country Name and Ji Ji recorded that "the world is full of millions, and it is a depressed country". About 10,000 years ago, in the early Neolithic period, there was a Wan tribe in present-day Nanyang. During the long process of hunting, eating fruit, quarrying and making tools, the primitive ancestors living around Dushan gradually got a better understanding of dushan jade and started primitive small-scale mining with natural collection and conscious collection. With the development of primitive handicraft industry and the invention of grinding technology, a group of part-time professional jade carving craftsmen have been created, which greatly promoted the development of jade carving industry. By the middle and early Neolithic age of 6000-7000 years ago, the ancestors around Dushan had mastered the grinding and drilling technology, and were able to separate jade from ordinary stones, select beautiful and moist dushan jade, design and process it by classification, and grind it into production tools such as Yufu, jade shovel and jade chisel, as well as decorative and ceremonial utensils such as jade bracelets and jade yellow, which entered the palace of Chinese jade culture earlier.
1959 65438+ 10, the original cultural relics team of Henan Provincial Bureau of Culture conducted an archaeological excavation of Huangshan Neolithic site about 5 kilometers south of Dushan, and unearthed stone piers, complete jade shovels, jade chisels, jade topaz, jade bottles, unprocessed jade materials, unformed jade bracelets, jade bi, jade rings and other jade carving tools. Duyu shovel is a blue and white dushan jade with a dark yellow side and a perforated upper part, which is extremely round. In addition, in Nanzhao, Xichuan, Zhenping, Xinye and other counties and surrounding areas of Nanyang City, Du Yuhuan, Du Yuying and other artifacts were discovered. According to the location and condition of the unearthed dushan jade, it is proved that in the middle and early Neolithic period, dushan jade used local materials, processed them nearby, and extensively beat or ground jade articles, and the jade workshops around Dushan have begun to take shape. Huangshan site is likely to be a relatively large jade processing base, forming a jade cultural center based on Dushan and radiating the Central Plains. Jade is not only rich in variety, but also advanced in technology, which is in a leading position in the development of Chinese jade culture and has injected infinite vitality into the spread and development of jade culture. More importantly, a large number of dushan jade wares appeared in the dawn of Chinese civilization, which provided valuable material for exploring the origin of Chinese civilization and prehistoric culture, and opened up a new world in this research field.
2. dushan jade culture in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties is the pioneer of Chinese jade culture inheritance.
Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties are three flags shining in ancient China. Xia Dynasty was the first slave country in China's history, and its establishment marked the official entry of China's history into a civilized era. In the exploration of Xia culture, Erlitou cultural site is the most representative site discovered so far, and the unearthed jade can reflect the general appearance of Xia Yu, so the research on Xia Yu so far is mainly about Erlitou jade. A large number of jade articles were unearthed from Erlitou site, most of which were ritual vessels and decorations. Mostly blue-gray, grayish yellow, grayish white, etc. Mixed texture, different shades, mostly dushan jade.
Zhixia generation, dushan jade mining has a history of four or five thousand years. It is the oldest and largest jade producing area in the Central Plains, with complete varieties and advanced technology. Dushan is less than 300 kilometers away from Erlitou site in Yanshi, and the road is smooth. Due to the traffic restrictions at that time, it was difficult for the rulers of Xia Dynasty to get high-quality jade materials from further places. Dushan jade has convenient transportation and delicate texture, so it should be the first choice.
In Shang Dynasty, in addition to the original surface mining, dushan jade began to look for veins in natural caves, dig jade materials and dig deep jade materials, which greatly increased the mining volume. At the foot of Dushan Mountain, a special jade cutting workshop was formed, and a number of skilled slave jade workers emerged. Part of dushan jade was for local nobles to enjoy, and the rest was paid tribute to Shang Dynasty, either as a gift or as a commodity. Most of the jade articles in the tombs of Nu Wa and Hero in Yin Ruins belong to dushan jade in Sanlidui, Guanghan, Sichuan, and some of the jade articles in the tombs of merchants in Oceania in Xingan, Jiangxi also belong to dushan jade. In addition, many dushan jade wares have been unearthed in Huangpi and Nanyang areas of Hubei Province.
In the late Shang Dynasty, the political and cultural center was in Anyang, Henan. Nanyang, as a southern town of Shang Dynasty, belongs to the Central Plains and enjoys convenient transportation. In the middle period of Yin and Shang Dynasties, Nanyang was once a vassal state of Hou Yuan, and it was the gateway and outpost for Wuding to attack Jingchu and control ethnic minorities in southwest China. Before the opening of the Silk Road, there is still no new progress in the research on how Hetian jade was imported into the Central Plains. From the analysis of the geographical location and productivity level at that time, the characteristics of local materials for jade articles in Shang Dynasty are still obvious. Therefore, it should be a fact that most of the jade unearthed from the tomb of the rich belong to dushan jade. As a big country of Yin and Shang, its political, military, economic and cultural influence has extended to distant frontiers and outlands. The jades of Sanxingdui and Oceania Shang Tombs must be made from dushan jade with excellent materials. Compared with Hotan and Xiuyan, Dushan has a special geographical position and provides convenient traffic conditions. The water transportation is developed, and it flows directly to the Yangtze River through Baihe and Hanshui, and flows into Sichuan to the west and Jiangxi to the east. The Yangtze River can also be reached by land from Jingxiang Ancient Road. In addition, the cultural exchanges and ethnic integration between the Central Plains, West Shu and Southeast China have existed since ancient times. Therefore, dushan jade should take it and use it for Sisi Lee.
Jade wares of the Zhou Dynasty include those of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period). Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the use of jade has been politicized, institutionalized and standardized, forming a complete system of rites and music, bringing the achievements of Chinese jade culture into the academic category of Confucianism and formally loading it into the national legal system, which has become a historic leap of Chinese jade culture. From then on, jade is indispensable on the altar of rites and music. It shows kinship and rank, sacrifices gods and laws and regulations, symbolizes ethics and social outlook, and even launches a war for a beautiful jade.
The status of royal jade articles in the Western Zhou Dynasty is unknown, because the tombs have not been excavated. However, thousands of Western Zhou jades were unearthed in Shaanxi and Henan, the centers of Zhou power, which made us have a more complete and comprehensive understanding of Western Zhou jades. Jade unearthed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is very rich. A large number of jades with exquisite craftsmanship have been unearthed in the tombs of Guo State in Sanmenxia, Chu State in Xichuan, Zeng Houyi in Suizhou, Hubei, Sun Yat-sen State in Pingshan County, Hebei Province, Koryo in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, Yuehe Chu in Tongbai City, Ren Yue in Hengyang, Leiyang, Xiangxiang and Zixing, Hunan Province, among which dushan jade accounts for a large part.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were many countries in Nanyang, and the Zhou Dynasty always regarded Nanyang as an important place to stabilize the situation in the southeast. In the seventh year of Zhou Xuanwang (82 BC1), Zhou Xuanwang named his uncle Shen Bo Xie Di (now Nanyang) and Wang Huanan. Shencheng, at the foot of Dushan Mountain, began to set up palaces, and jade people specially managed the storage, processing and manufacturing of jade materials. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Nanyang was a strategic place for the North-South March. This used to be the place where Chu fought for the Central Plains and drank horses from the Yellow River. Nanyang is a famous handicraft industry and iron smelting center, and its iron smelting technology is at the national leading level, which greatly promotes the improvement of jade cutting tools and the development of Nanyang jade carving industry. In particular, Nanyang invented the pedal hammer for the first time, which replaced the backward manual grinding and improved the production efficiency and technological level. In addition to the large workshops run by the government and Hao Min, family workshops and independent handicrafts and businesses began to appear around Dushan. They use local materials and carve them carefully. In addition to paying tribute, they also used jade materials and finished products as commodities to enter the circulation field to meet the needs of other vassal States and brought advanced production tools and technologies.
The prosperity of mining, processing and circulation in dushan jade in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties shows that dushan jade in Xia Dynasty played a connecting role in the development of jade culture (Neolithic Age). The invention of the wheel was a technological innovation in the history of China's craft, which completely separated jade carving from stone carving and formed an independent handicraft category. Dushan jade in Shang Dynasty accelerated the spread of jade culture, and took the lead in inventing techniques such as round carving and pretty colors, which made jade carving technology advance by leaps and bounds. Dushan jade in Zhou Dynasty promoted the integration of jade culture between North and South, provided advanced jade cutting tools and techniques, realized the combination and sublimation of jade culture and Confucianism, and promoted the process of traditional culture in China.
Third, after the Han Dynasty, dushan jade was the leader of Yu Min.
The types and quantities of jade materials in Han dynasty became richer with the prosperity of Han empire and the expansion of its territory. The opening of the Silk Road opened the way for Hetian jade in Xinjiang to enter the Central Plains. Hetian jade is favored by dignitaries. As the main official jade, dushan jade has become the mainstream of folk jade. Nanyang's special political position and prosperous industry and commerce have enabled Du Yu's mining and processing to reach the highest peak in history. During the Western Han Dynasty, Nanyang was the transportation hub between the north and the south, with a large number of wealthy businessmen. It was also known as the six major commercial cities in China, together with Chang 'an, Luoyang, Handan, Linzi and Chengdu in Kyoto, and was known as "business all over the world" and "rich in the sea". Liu Xiu, Guangwu Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, started his "imperial industry" in Nanyang, which is known as the Southern Capital, and its industry and commerce reached its peak. Along with Luoyang, Kyoto, it is also known as the two largest central cities in China. Nanyang is a "beautiful and healthy" music city. Dushan jade carving, as a long-standing handicraft technology in Nanyang, has entered a golden period of development at this time. Shagangdian Village at the foot of Dushan Mountain is a distribution center for processing, carving and selling Duyu. Exquisite dushan jade wares are not only worn by princes and nobles, but also become the favorite of literati.
The period of the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was the low tide of the development of dushan jade wares. Nanyang, a military stronghold surrounded by Jingxiang in the south, is constantly in war, and the "Wang Jie Temple" at the foot of Dushan Mountain has also been razed to the ground. Jade workers with superb jade carving skills were slaughtered or fled to other places. Nanyang jade carving never recovered, and dushan jade's mining and processing entered a trough. Coupled with the spread of the idea of "eating jade", the jade industry, which is already in a downturn, is even worse; Nanyang in Tang Dynasty, with the prosperity of national economy, handicraft industry and commerce gradually recovered. After a long silence, dushan jade walked out of the trough and entered a development track, creating a new style and new technology in dushan jade, which is closer to life and suitable for the needs of ordinary people. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, jade articles have entered the circulation field as commodities and become the favorite of ordinary people. Dushan jade materials are transported to Suzhou and Hangzhou and other jade production centers, and jade carving workshops are spread all over Dushan, Wancheng and Zhenping Stone Buddha Temple, and the products are sold to the southeast coast and overseas. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hetian jade was still the first choice of court jade, especially the favorite jade and love jade of Emperor Qianlong played a role in fueling the situation. Dushan jade has always been the mainstream of folk jade. By the middle of Qing Dynasty, Dushan's "hometown of jade carving" had begun to take shape, and there were more than 65.438 million private jade carving workshops in Zhenping Buddhist Temple.
Therefore, after the opening of the "Silk Road", dushan jade's status as a "civilian jade" was highlighted, which played a great role in excavating and improving traditional jade carving skills, cultivating and reserving superb jade carving talents, expanding the scope of jade use, and promoting and spreading jade culture.
Throughout the development track of dushan jade, it has gone through three stages: magic jade-Wang Yu-civilian jade. Although the mining scale and jade cutting technology are different in each historical period, dushan jade has always played an important role and is the mainstay of jade culture, which will surely play an increasingly important role in the development of jade culture in the future.