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Chinese jade refers to the jade mined or carved in China from the Neolithic onward. It is the primary hardstone of Chinese sculpture. Although deep and bright green jadeite is better known in Europe, for most of China's history, jade has come in a variety of colors and white "mutton-fat" nephrite was the most highly
[2] In Chinese culture jade represents purity, beauty, longevity, and immortality. [5] Historically, jade was thought to have magical properties and was believed to grant its owner immortality. [1] Jade was hard to find in China, and its rarity may help explain its popularity as a gemstone.
[2]: 18 Jade culture is an important component of Chinese culture, [1] reflecting both the material and spiritual culture. [3]: 18 Jade is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture and played a role in every aspect of social life; [3]: 18 it is also associated with positive qualities and aspects such as purity, excellence, and harmony.
A bi is a flat jade disc with a circular hole in the centre. Neolithic bi are undecorated, while those of later periods of China, like the Zhou dynasty, bear increasingly ornate surface carving (particularly in a hexagonal pattern) whose motifs represented deities associated with the sky (four directions) as well as standing for qualities and powers the wearer wanted to invoke or embody.
The Liangzhu (/ ˈ l j ɑː ŋ ˈ dʒ uː /) culture or civilization (3300–2300 BC) was the last Chinese Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta.The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery was more commonly found in the burial plots of poorer individuals.
An important early example of jade carving were the circular disks known as bi, generally understood to represent the heavens in some fashion. By 3000 BC, jade was referred to yu (玉). By 206 BC, Xu Shen—a Chinese scholar under the Han—listed the Five Virtues of Jade as benevolence, honesty, wisdom, integrity, and bravery.
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Royal jade cong is exceptionally massive, with 8.9 centimeters high and 6.5 kilograms in weight. According to museum site it is "the most impressive of all the jade cong of Liangzhu culture". [3] Because of its large weight, it has been dubbed the "king of cong". [4]