The Chinese jade carving art before the 3rd century AD

Van Tsi Postgraduate student, Department of Art History, St. Petersburg State Art and Industrial Academy named after A.L. Stiglitz 191187, Russia, Sankt-Peterburg avtonomnaya oblast', g. Saint Petersburg, Solyanoy per., 13. 386944349@qq.com Other publications by this author

The art of jade carving has its roots in the distant past. Jade was discovered by people in ancient times: they studied the mineral, found ways to use it, made attempts to comprehend and cognize it, and then endowed it with ethical, legal and religious meaning. With the advent of the art of jade carving, this stone has become a symbol of tradition, power and divinity, as well as an important component of social culture. In this article, the author will analyze the stages of jade development in different periods based on the artistic characteristics of jade.Currently, there are few systematic and artistic studies of jade in China.      The purpose of this research is: First of all, to introduce into the circulation of Russian art studies new materials on modern developments in the scientific field (gemology), which has acquired international significance today. Secondly, to show the development and prevalence of the art of jade carving in Chinese culture.

The objectives of the article are determined by the main purpose of scientific research: First of all, to concretize (expand) the study and understanding of Chinese art of the modern scientific direction - "gemology". Secondly, to show the specific characteristics of the works of art in it systematically carved from jade in different periods, as well as the special significance of the jade burial culture in the Han Dynasty.

In the history of the development of the ancient Chinese art of jade processing, three key periods can be distinguished before the 3rd century AD: jade products of primitive society, jade products of slave–owning society, jade products of the era of the Fighting Kingdoms (476/403-221 BC) and the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD).

 The earliest examples of jade jewelry, dating back to the period of the origin of jade art, date back to the Early Neolithic era. This stone became widespread in society, and the jade culture was formed in the Middle and Late Neolithic era. It was during this period that a large number of jade artifacts were discovered in the basins of the Yellow River, Yangtze and Liaohe Rivers. Millennia after the origin, formation and transformation of primitive society, at the last stage of its development, the art of jade production revealed to the world the highest samples, such as the jade half-disc huang (Fig. 1, height 5.2 cm, length 10.6 cm, thickness 0.3 cm), jade dragon figurine ^{[3, p.102]} (Fig. 2, height 25.5 cm, width 21.8 cm, length 60 cm, diameter 2.2-2.5 cm). These products are evidence of an increase in the material and cultural standard of living of primitive society.

                                          fig. 1                                              

                                             fig. 2

During this period, for the manufacture of jade products, as a rule, technologies of grinding, perforation, drilling, cutting, polishing and many others were used, works with engraved patterns, reliefs, round sculptures appeared. This proves that at the technological level of that period, the skill of following the originally given form was achieved, and the methods of expression used included techniques of realistic depiction and hyperbolization. The development of the art of jade processing in primitive society was directly related to people's understanding of the surrounding life and reflected the social ideology of that time. With the advent of the private property system, jade has become a sign of culture.

In the era of the slave-owning social structure, jade formed the basis for the formation of handicraft production, which included fairly large craft workshops and teams of craftsmen. The technology of manufacturing jade products was constantly being improved, the processes of modeling and decoration were becoming more complicated. During this period, raw materials used for the manufacture of jade products became widely popular: blue stone, amethyst, malachite, Nanyang jade, Henan jade and dozens of other semi-precious stones.

In the era of the slave-owning system, jade products occupied an important place in the upper strata of society and were held in high esteem by slave owners and aristocratic nobility. With the exception of the decorative function, jade products were used to demonstrate social status, in rituals of sacrifice to deceased ancestors, worship of deities ^{[9, p.179]}. During the excavations of the tomb of Fu Hao (the territory of modern Henan Province) of the Shang Dynasty (about 1600-1046 BC), 755 jade products were found ^{[2, p. 241]}. Among them were round decorative sculptures depicting people and animals, ritual utensils, ceremonial weapons of the honor guard, tools, dishes, etc.

For example, the jade figurine "Kneeling man" (Fig. 3) has a height of 7 cm and a width of 3.5 cm. It represents a sitting man, clasping his knees with both hands, with a long braid wrapped around the top of his head, and a winding drum engraved on his forehead, similar to a flat crown. A long and narrow face, thin eyebrows, a wide nose, eyes shaped like the hieroglyph "?" (dignitary), a small mouth, a strict and respectful expression. The hero is dressed in a long robe with a wide belt decorated with a rhombic pattern, an animal pattern is engraved on his shoulders, an S-shaped snake pattern is on his right leg, and a wide ten-centimeter handle in the shape of cirrus clouds is inserted in the back. The statuette was made using techniques of bas-relief carving and round sculpture.   

                   fig. 3

Most of the round three-dimensional jade products of this period were cylinders or cubes with drawings, hieroglyphs or bas-reliefs engraved on them. In addition, the appearance of bronze utensils in the era of the Shang Dynasty provided new tools and technical support for the manufacture of jade products, expanded the forms of expression of the art of jade carving ^{[6, p. 388]}, brought the scale and technology of production of jade products to an unprecedented level.

The era of the Zhou Dynasty (1046 – 256 BC) marks the decline of the slave-owning system of China. Among the jade artifacts found belonging to this period, there are jade half-disc huang, sword-shaped products, jade hare, figures in the form of a dog's head or a tiger ^{[1, p.5-8]}. From a technical point of view, the most popular in the manufacture of jade products was the inke deep engraving, used to create decorative elements of products, carving or relief ^{[4, p.115]}. In the era of slave-owning society, under the Shang and Zhou dynasties, decorative items were usually made of jade, articles in the form of dishes began to appear, decorative elements were made on ritual utensils, weapons, tools, with special attention paid to the beauty of the form. From the point of view of technological development, the techniques of relief images and circular sculpture have been significantly improved. In the slave-owning society, jade served not just as a decorative element, it performed the function of identity identification and language communication. 

The era of the Warring Kingdoms (475 BC – 221 BC) was a period of radical changes that marked the decline of the slave system in Chinese society, as well as the formation and development of feudal society. In the manufacture of jade products, special attention was paid to the detail of engraving, brightness and expressiveness of images designed to enhance the artistic value of the works. As an example, a "Carved jade amulet in the shape of a dragon" found during the excavation of a burial site of the Warring Kingdoms period in Yangong Village of Changfeng County, Anhui Province (Fig. 4, length 21.4 cm, width 10.9 cm, thickness 0.9 cm). The product has a plate shape and depicts a dragon, on both sides of which the same patterns are cut through. The dragon is depicted with an open mouth and a head turned in the opposite direction, the body is decorated with a traditional Chinese ornament in the form of sprouted grains, and there is a round hole in its middle part.    

                  fig. 4

During this period, techniques such as openwork carving, deep engraving of yinke and relief were mainly used. The decor traces the consistency of patterns and their mutability, standard ornaments are supplemented with new elements that stand out from the overall picture. The patterns are distinguished by smooth and light lines and a homogeneous compositional structure ^{[8, pp.240-250]}. Masters of jade carving of the era of the Fighting Kingdoms were able to skillfully combine individual characteristic features of animals. In addition to geometric shapes, they used figures of dragons, phoenixes and other animals as outlines of ornaments, paying special attention to the transfer of eyes, mouth, teeth and claws. Gradually, they went beyond the rules adopted in the art of decorative decoration of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and formed their own artistic style.

In the era of the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), the principles of shaping and decorating jade products of previous dynasties were inherited, jade began to be used for the manufacture of objects not only ceremonial and ceremonial, but also for a broader purpose. In the Han era, rich magnificent burials were popular, so a large number of jade products were discovered during the excavation of tombs of the Han dynasty ^{[5, p.327]}. As an example, we note the "Jade cicada" (Fig. 5, length 2.9 cm, width 2.1 cm, thickness 0.8 cm). The product has a lamellar shape, there is a longitudinal linear pattern under the cicada's abdomen, as well as long wings and protruding eyes on both sides of the head. Putting a piece of jade in the mouth of the deceased is an ancient funeral custom. A cicada-shaped jade figurine was placed in the mouth of the deceased, thereby wishing him rebirth.

                      fig. 5

With the exception of the tradition of using jade in funeral rites, during the Han dynasty, jade pendants for decorating the belts of representatives of the aristocracy became widely popular, attention was paid to the beauty of shapes and lines in ceremonial clothing, decorativeness took an important place. Jade products used as belt ornaments, as a rule, had the shape of a peach, shield-shaped or represented medallions in the form of a chicken egg (Fig. 6) (jade pendant in the form of a chicken egg, Han Dynasty, length 6.8 cm, width 4.3 cm), round, elliptical and other shapes. The external outlines of the products were harmoniously combined with the decor applied to them, the lines of the patterns were simple and concise, and the engraved images became more vivid and expressive ^{[7, p.114]}.

                     fig.6

Jade products from the era of the Fighting Kingdoms and the Han Dynasty emphasized the beauty of the form. The forms of jade products that had developed before the Han era were supplemented with decorative elements, which led to the transformation of the established forms of products, thanks to which it was possible to go beyond the previously rigid, strict and monotonous structure of jade products. Thus, this era became an important period in the development of Chinese jade art. 

The development of jade art is a testament to the historical development of China, it is closely related to the theocratic political regime of the ancient state. With the development of jade culture, Chinese jade has become a cultural symbol of the Chinese nation, has become a carrier of the national spirit and an important part of material culture, their art is of undoubted scientific and practical cultural interest.