A Study Of Jade Bi From The Neolithic Period To Han Dynesty

Chinese jade and jade culture occupied a unique position in the history of Chinese jade cultures.The evolution history of jade bi disks can be considered a microcosm of the history of Chinese jade cultures.The development of Bi disk bears people's observations on the nature,society and ethics in the past ten thousand years.Bi disk is the material form of the cosmology,ideas about life and death,ethics,hierarchy and value system of ancient China.These also reflect the significance of the research theme on jade bi to which this dissertation is dedicated.This research focus on prehistory to Han dynasty bi and explores the history of bi disks from its beginning to apogee.This dissertation starts with disentangling ideas and definitions on ‘bi'.Based on this conceptual understanding,the dissertation gathers information of prehistoric and Han dynasty di disks discovered from archaeological sites and tombs across the country as well as bi disks collected from archaeological sites without scientific excavations.Combining with historical documents and previous studies,this dissertation conducts comprehensive analysis of bi disks from the following aspects: shapes,production technologies,usage and functions.Building the reconstructed history of the shapes,production technologies,usage and functions of bi,the dissertation discusses the origin,naming,and ideological implications of bi in ancient China.The shape of bi disks underwent several major developments from the prehistoric period to Han dynasty.Through these processes,large rounded-shaped bi gradually became the main type of bi disks,whilst multi-holed bi disks and single-holed bi disks such as yabi notched disks,huanglianbi disks composed of several huang semi-circular pendants joined together,and dailingbi disks with collar eventually disappeared.The morphological change of bi disks was manifested initially by the shapes of the objects,and subsequently more by the differences in decorative patterns on the surface of the objects and production techniques.The production of bi disks at the beginning adopted the technologies similar to those for the production of chipped stone tools during the Palaeolithic period.Sawing and tubular drilling were subsequently applied to the production of bi disks and became the technological foundation for the mass production and shape-standardization of bi disks.The fully implementation of these two new technologies relied on the invention of rotary tools.The application of metal rotary wheels in the production of bi disks during the Spring-and-Autumn period was a technological revolution.It stimulated the production of abundant bi disks during the Eastern Zhou period and the succeeding Han dynasty.Accompanying with this mass production was the increased percentage of bi disks with decorative patterns which also became more complicated.Initially,the appearance of bi disks was an outcome of primitive quest for aesthetic.Through the observation and imitation of the natural environment,it might be possible that the origin of bi disks was related to the idea that bi disk was a representation of the sky.From the prehistoric period to Han dynasty,the fundamental functions of bi disks might have experienced the transformation process from being a divine object,a sacrificial object,a ritual object,to a symbolic object.The Shang people's value and emphasis on jade,the Western Zhou people's emphasis and advocation on ritual,the idea of hun and po spirits,the concept of gentleman,the formation and interpretation of esthetic during the Eastern Zhou period,the concepts of immortality and ascending to the heaven during Western Han dynasty,and the popular ideas of superstition and exorcism of evil spirits during Eastern Han dynasty all had profound influence on the invention and transformation of the functions of bi disks.Through a comprehensive examination of jade bi disks from the prehistoric period to Han dynasty,we can divide the development of bi disks in ancient China into four stages.The first stage was the prehistoric period which witnessed the origin of bi disk,and its shape started to be finalized and standardized.The second stage from Shang dynasty to the Eastern Zhou period was when the concept of bi was expanded and its functions became regular.The third stage was the peak of the development of bi disks.The shape and functions of bi became complete.