The Preliminary Research On The Jade Unearthed From Han Period

China is a country with ten thousands years history in the kingdom of jade, jade culture in China is an important part of culture. Jade in the Han Dynasty had developed to the fourth peak, the unity of political, the economic development, the prosperity of culture and the technological progress had provided a favorable background conditions for the jade. As the longest history, the most number and the highest position of jade in China’s history, jade Bi also along with the progress of the society to the development of the heyday. This period of jade Bi inherited the traditional style from the Neolithic age to the warring states period and has the new changes. With its fine material, exquisite craft and rich decorative pattern, extensive use of the range, and its largest number, this period of jade Bi became a classic.Bi is a kind of round artifacts with a hole in the middle, the difference of Bi, Ring and Yuan lies in the proportion of the siding and the hole. This paper will define Bi as a kind of sheets and circular jade whose bore diameter is less than half of the whole aperture.The article collects Bi from the archaeological sites and the tombs since1950s.Then divides Bi’s grade, region, type, the time of period and the unearthed position from the analysis on the basis of the data. According to the unearthed material, Han Dynasty Bi appears in large numbers in the attendant tombs of imperial mausoleums of western han dynasty, and the vassal mausoleums in Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and Guangdong. The shapes of Bi can be divided into three type:circle flaky Bi, profile Bi and engraved Bi. The development of Bi can be divided into three stage:early period of Western Han Dynasty, middle and late period of Western Han Dynasty, Eastern Han Dynasty. The position of Bi in the tombs also can be divided into three situation:outside the coffin, inside the coffin, in the middle of the coffin and the outer coffin.Base on the archaeological materials systems research, this paper combines the results and the literature material, analyses and does some research on the origin and the development of Bi from the Neolithic times to the Han Dynasty, the social function, level characteristics, symbolism and funeral concept of the Bi in Han Dynasty.