Tentative Analysis On Jades And Jade Culture In The Pre-Qin Period

Ancient Chinese jade holds the world's attention with its long history. Chinese people have used jade and advocated it since the ancient time. They were not only cognizant of jade's fineness and mildness but also endowed it with plenty of symbolic meanings and multi-layers of culture. It is endued with people's beliefs, spirit and art.On the basis of analysis and summary of former achievements and data which is combined with the related archaeological reports on unearthed jade sites as well as other literature on related jade culture, this thesis analyzes the origin and development of the jade, local characteristics of the jade during prehistory and Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty and Zhou Daynasty, its artistic characteristics and multi-purposes. The article is exploring the significance of jade during the process of forming Chinese traditional culture in pre-Qin Dynasty.It is drawn from the conclusion that the ancients came to know the ores containing jade as early as the Paleolithic Period, but there was no difference between the ores and other paleoliths in their modeling, crafts and functions. The jade utility still stayed at the stage of Stained Stones during the Neolithic period, however, the technique of making jades approached maturity. The jade making in Lingzhu and Hongshan cultural system typically, gained lots of experience in the technique of selecting materials, checking the shape, cutting, polishing and drilling. Especially the shape and decoration of the jade turned complex and funerial jade emerged. It stepped onto the first crest in jade history. Erlitou cultural jade is a connecting link between the preceding and the following in jade history. It was Bronze Age in Yin Dynasty, when the unearthed jade from the tomb of "Virtuous Lady" showed that Hetian jade had become the monarch of all the jade, the jade faded mysteriously and the function of ceremonial jade was reinforced. In West Zhou Period, the jade from Guoguo tomb in Shangcun Mountain range represented that the system of jade making has made great progress. Finer jade was used, floral adornment turned more mellow and graceful and the system of jade utility had almost achieved perfect, which proved that the development of Chinese slavery and ceremony had reach the peak in Spring and Autumn Period. During Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods, ceremony and music was ignored, but jade is still the symbol of fortune and power. A further step was took to perfect the ethics that man of honor should cultivate his moral character referring to jade characteristics.A personification of Jades is the most prominent feature during this period. It laid a foundation for anthropomorphizing the jade in Spring and Autumn Period. A solid foundation was laid for the continued development of our Jade Culture.