Cylindrical pendant with animal mask

Ritual Jades

The largest Neolithic jade finds have been along China’s east coast, from the Yangtze River to the far northeastern province of Liaoning. The earliest objects date perhaps as far back as eight thousand years. The wealth of jade objects found in elite tombs is a strong indication that, even this early in Chinese history, people had been divided into social classes. These objects also show that skilled artisans were already capable of working a stone that is harder than many metals. The Chinese reverence for jade began in this early period.

Due to the difficulties involved in working the stone, most early jade objects have relatively flat surfaces and finely incised decoration. While the function of the earliest prehistoric Chinese implements is unknown to us, their location in tombs and ritual structures indicates they were highly valued. Shapes such as the bi, a flat disk with a hole in the middle, and the cong, a squarish tube with a hole drilled though the center, have a longer history of continuous use in Chinese rituals than any other objects. In later times, the bi and the cong came to symbolize heaven and earth.