Preliminary Research On Glass Eye Beads

Glass eye beads appeared in China about 5 B.C. After the middle and late of warring states period, the number of glass beads and sites in which the glass eye beads were found increased greatly. These glass eye beads concentrated in Chu cultural regions .In these regions , the most glass eye beads were found In Hunan and Hubei provinces . With materials and the chemical composition of the glass beads , we can say early glass eye beads came from foreign countries. It is the most possible that these beads came into China by way of South Asia and the North Steppe. Some glass beads took way of India and entered into Yunnan province then reached Chu country . At same time some glass eye beads arrived at Shanxi province through the North Steppe. With glass beads coming , Chu people soon mastered the glass manufacturing technique and made glass beads with their own characters which blong to lead barium glass. Soon after glass eye beads became very popular in Chu country. But in the Qin and Han Dynasty, the glass eye beads declined with Chu culture disappearing as a whole culture. Finally the glass eye was gone at the beginning of Han Dynasty . Through the studying of the eye beads in China, we can see the Chu country's traditional conventions fading process. At the same time Chu people gradually accepted the Central Plain culture. At last Chu culture and Central Plain culture merged into an integral whole one. Through that we also can see the foreign culture how to spread to china, the foreign and East Culture exchanging, colliding and mixing together.