Appreciation of Jade Artifacts in Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty

The deer-shaped jade ware of the Western Zhou Dynasty was mostly used as ornaments. Judging from the excavation situation, the known jade articles of the Western Zhou Dynasty were mainly unearthed in the tombs of the Western Zhou Dynasty. There were many tombs of the Western Zhou Dynasty and they were widely distributed. Among them, the capital area of the Zhou Dynasty and the capital ruins of the feudal circles were more concentrated. The jade articles in these tombs included funerary jade and the utensils used by the tomb owner before his death. Among the types of jade articles unearthed, there were more jade articles based on deer. The deer-shaped jade articles of the Western Zhou Dynasty had distinctive artistic features. The jade deers that were seen were even divided into male and female, as well as big and small. Most of them were embossed works, and a small number were round sculptures. Most of the shapes were flat and sheet-like, which might be the result of the scarcity of materials or the development of sheet cutting technology. The proportions of the various parts of the Jade Deer's body were relatively accurate. On the basis of realism, artistic exaggeration was carried out to summarize the overall appearance and exaggerate the local characteristics. The Yin lines outlined the detailed characteristics, such as the eyes, snout, hoofs, and other parts. It showed that the deer was looking up and was ready to attack. It was full of vitality. Some of the jade deer had long and thick horns, or curved backwards, or split into two branches that were flat to the left and right, with the front branch rising up and curling into a round hole. The deer had large eyes, a protruding chest, and a plump body. The muscles or body muscles were expressed succinctly and briskly. Many jade deers had holes carved into their necks for hanging. In terms of collections, the Guo State Museum in Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, the Shanxi Museum, and the Baoji Bronze Museum all had collections of Western Zhou jade deer. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>

The Ming and Qing Dynasties old jadeite had rich appreciation points: ###1. Color - There were many colors, including green, white, purple, blue, yellow, etc. Among them, green was the most common and had a higher value. When appreciating the color, one had to pay attention to its brightness. For example, the old jade with rich color was more attractive. One also had to pay attention to the fairness of the color distribution. The evenly distributed color would make the overall appearance of the jade better. At the same time, one had to check whether there were impurities. The jade with no impurities or less impurities had an advantage in color. ###2. Quality - The quality of the Ming and Qing Dynasty jade was exquisite, and the internal structure was tight. When one touched it with his hand, he could feel the smooth texture of the jade. Its luster was soft, and its surface was oily. This kind of old jade had a higher artistic value and collection value. When appreciating the texture, one had to carefully observe whether there were cracks or impurities in the internal structure. ###3. Craftsmanship - The old jadeite of the Ming and Qing Dynasties had exquisite craftsmanship. When appreciating it, one had to pay attention to its carving skills, polishing techniques, and embedding techniques. The exquisite old jade had smooth and natural lines carved on it, and its surface was smooth and flat. For example, the sculpting style was vivid and realistic, the decorative patterns were exquisite and meticulous, or the embedding process was seamless and unique. ###4. Period - Old jade from different periods had different characteristics. In the early Qing Dynasty, jadeite was thick and generous, with smooth lines, while in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, it paid more attention to detail carving, with delicate lines and various shapes. Through the characteristics of the shape, decoration, and style of the jade, one could judge the period it belonged to, so as to better grasp its historical and artistic value. For example, the jade thumb ring unearthed from Li Lianying's tomb in Enji Village, Haidian, displayed in the Capital Museum. Judging from the color and texture, the water and color were the best at that time. From the perspective of craftsmanship, it also reflected the level of craftsmanship at that time. Moreover, because it was related to historical figures, it also had a certain historical and cultural value. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>

Jade articles of the Western Zhou Dynasty were an important part of the development of ancient jade articles in China. There were many types of jade in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The following were some of the common types: - ** Jade Bi **: In the early days, there were many plain jade pieces. The edges were irregular and there were cutting marks and damages. The surface was thick inside and thin outside. There was a deep straight line cut, and the middle hole was single-sided. In the later period, there were decorative patterns such as dragon patterns, phoenix patterns, and cloud patterns carved by negative lines. The lines were softer and smoother than those of the Shang Dynasty, and the composition was more rigorous. - ** Jade Cong **: Most of the shapes are square pillars of different heights. The round hole in the center is larger, and the corners are straight and strong. Most of the surfaces are smooth without patterns. Very few of them are carved with bird patterns or other decorations on the four surfaces of the square body. - Gui: It was an important ritual vessel of the Western Zhou Dynasty. It was flat and rectangular, with an equinocratic triangle at the top. It was well-made and generally had no decorative patterns. - ** Huang **: Half-wall or fan-shaped, with holes on both ends. Other than the light element ones, the dragon patterns and phoenix patterns were usually carved with light dark lines. The lines were smooth and there were also some that were directly in the shape of animals, which was more vivid and unique. - ** Ge **: Most of them inherited the shape and characteristics of the Shang Dynasty Ge. There are also small and exquisitely made small jade Ge ornaments. Some are decorated with phoenix and divine beast (human) patterns. The design is ingenious and the shape is unique, increasing the sacred and noble atmosphere. - ** Handle-shaped ware **: flat body, different shapes and sizes, most of them are the same as the handle-shaped ware of the Shang Dynasty, a few of them have bird patterns and cloud patterns on the surface, and the end is inlaid with decorative objects made of turquoise and jade strips, which may have ceremonial or symbolic significance. - ** Jue **: Oblate round, shaped like a ring or a piece of jade but with a gap. It is a popular earring. Most of them are light and have no patterns. A few of them have phoenix patterns or dragon patterns carved by Yin lines. The lines are smooth and the craftsmanship is exquisite. - ** God, Man, and Beast Face Ornaments **: A flat embossed shape. The face is engraved with the style of the Shang Dynasty. The word "minister" is written on it. It has a cloud head and a nose. It wears a flat hat. There are curly horn-shaped ornaments on both sides of the head. The back is flat and smooth. There are holes under the neck. It may be inlaid jewelry. - ** Dragon **: Its shape is basically similar to the dragon of the Shang Dynasty. There are many pieces. The decorative lines have become smooth and smooth from the square folding of the Shang Dynasty. In the later period, the dragon body is thin and long. The carving of the horns is not obvious and even becomes cloud-shaped ears. The word "minister" is gradually replaced by round eyes. - ** Bird **: flat cuboid, mostly with circles as eyes, short horns on the top of the head, wide mouth with protruding tips at the upper and lower ends, wide drooping tail, less complex geometric patterns of the Shang Dynasty on the body, with a small number of Yin lines to represent the wings and long tail, two claws lying down, a round hole in the chest. - ** owl **: It glides with flat wings. Its beak is curved at the chest and has a hole. It has round eyes and a dense herringbone line on its forehead. The double hook lines on its back are engraved with the pattern of clouds and thunder. The line on the short tail is more dense. There is a special structure under the abdomen. It may still be a god worshipped in the Western Zhou Dynasty. - ** Ox **: Standing posture, four short limbs with simple hoofs, round body, smooth without any patterns, drooping tail, head ratio slightly smaller than the Shang Dynasty, has a certain realistic meaning. - ** Tiger **: There are many flat plates. The shape is the same as that of the Shang Dynasty. It is lying down. The tiger head is flat or drooping. The cloud-shaped ears are raised upwards. The mouth is open and the teeth are exposed. The tail is upturned or curled. The early decoration is similar to that of the Shang Dynasty. In the later period, only a single Yin line is used to represent the outline of the limbs. - [Deer]: There are models such as turning back, looking forward, lying down, standing, etc. They are generally in the shape of a sheet. They are light and have no patterns. They only have a simple outline, but their antlers are exquisitely carved. - Fish: Inherited the shape of the late Shang Dynasty, flat, or straight or slightly curved in a semicircle, the circle is the eye, the mouth is wide and pointed at both ends, there is a short shadow line carved on the back fin and the lower abdomen dividing fin, the tail part is a small fork, the fish body is light or decorated with curved scale patterns, the shadow line is carved shallow and thin, the mouth is often pierced. These Western Zhou jades had a unique artistic style in terms of craftsmanship, shape, and decoration, reflecting the culture, etiquette, and aesthetic concepts of the time. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>

Based on the information he had, he only knew that there was a book called " Yin Shang Jade Appreciation and Fake Identification: Research and Exploration of Yin Shang Jade Artifacts ". However, he did not know the specific content of this book, such as the key points of Yin Shang Jade Appreciation and the methods to identify fakes. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>

The Western Zhou Dynasty implemented the enfeoffment system and the patriarch system, and the hierarchy was strict. This had a great impact on the jade system of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The ritual jade of the Western Zhou Dynasty had clear rules on the use of grades. Gui was an important ritual vessel in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It was flat and rectangular, with an equinoceros triangle at the top. It was well-made and generally had no decorative patterns. Cong was shaped as a square pillar of different heights. The central hole was larger, and the corners were straight and strong. Most of the surfaces were smooth and without patterns. Very few were carved with bird patterns or other patterns on the four surfaces of the square body. In the early days, there were many plain jade, with irregular edges and cutting marks and damages. The surface of the jade was thick inside and thin outside, with deep straight cuts, and the middle hole was single-sided drilled. In the later period, there were dragon patterns, phoenix patterns, cloud patterns and other decorations carved by negative lines on the surface of the jade. Huang was in the shape of a half-wall or a fan, with holes on both ends. In addition to the plain ones, there were usually dragon patterns and phoenix patterns carved with shallow Yin lines, and there were also those directly shaped like animals, which were more vivid and unique. These jades played an important role in the etiquette system of the Western Zhou Dynasty. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>

He could find some authentic pictures of ancient jade from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. These pictures showed the exquisite craftsmanship and unique design of the jade articles from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. However, the specific pictures of the ancient jade of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties and the information of the authentic product were not found in the search results provided. Therefore, it was impossible to provide a specific answer about the authentic picture of the ancient jade of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

The Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) was a powerful empire established by the Mongolians. Its jade ware had the following characteristics: ** 1. Production Center and Production Management ** 1. ** Production Center ** - Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, set up the Gold and Jade General Manager Office in Hangzhou, which was under the jurisdiction of thousands of skilled jade carving craftsmen in the south. He made Dadu in the north (now Beijing) and Hangzhou in the south become the production center of jade carvings in the north and south. 2. ** Production Management ** - The official jade production center was strictly managed. It specialized in providing jade for the royal family. It mainly produced large-scale fine jade carvings, precious jade carvings, and large-scale jade mountains that could reflect the achievements of the Yuan Dynasty jade carvings. Their decorative patterns, carving methods, and production techniques were quite exquisite. They had the characteristics and style of the Yuan Dynasty jade carvings. Moreover, the number of carved jade carvings was considerable and widely used. According to the regulations, the small jade carving workshops were only allowed to make decorative jade articles and small jade articles. ** 2. Type and Representative Jade Artifacts ** 1. ** A wide variety ** - There were jade seas (such as the jade sea of Dushan Mountain), jade hat tops (such as jade hat tops carved with double dragon patterns, jade hat tops carved with lioness patterns, jade hat tops carved with human patterns, etc.), jade belt rings (such as jade dragon belt rings with white jade beads), jade stove tops (such as white jade carved human stove tops), jade walls (such as jade walls with phoenix and peony patterns), jade rings (such as jade rings with dragon patterns), jade books, and many other types. 2. ** Representative Jade ** - [Dushan Mountain Jade Sea] was a type of jade carving object that belonged to the Jade Sea category. Its history could be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. In ancient times, it was used as a ritual vessel to represent good fortune and power. The jade carving technique was complicated. It required the selection of high-quality jade raw materials and then carving and polishing. When making, factors such as the texture, color, and texture of the jade had to be considered. It had extremely high artistic value and collection value. - ** Yuan carved double dragon pattern jade hat top **: It is a kind of jade hat top among jade carving objects. Its history can be traced back to the 13th century. In ancient times, it was used as a noble costume to represent noble status and noble status. It uses the hollowed-out carving technique and has a fine craftsmanship. It chooses high-quality jade raw materials for carving and polishing. The shape is exquisite and the carving is exquisite. It has a high artistic value and collection value. - ** White jade bead pattern cloud dragon ring **: It is a jade ring jade carving object. Its history can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. In ancient times, it was a noble's clothing item, representing noble status and noble status. The craftsmanship was exquisite, and high-quality white jade was selected to be carved and polished. The shape was simple and elegant, and the carving was exquisite. It had a high historical and cultural significance. ** 3. Craftsmanship ** 1. ** Drawn by literati painting ** - Craftsmanship was influenced by the well-developed literati paintings. 2. ** Combination of various crafts ** - For example, the top of the jade hat with figure patterns was a combination of round carving, open carving and flat carving, and there were obvious traces of pipe drilling, which was unique to the Yuan Dynasty. The top of the jade hat with dragon patterns was a combination of multi-layer open carving, round carving and flat carving. The craftsmen also used the color of jade skin to carve leaves and flowers, which was one of the typical works of the Yuan Dynasty. ** 4. Art Value and Collection Value ** - Many of the jade works in the Yuan Dynasty had very high artistic value and collection value. For example, the jade sea of Dushan Mountain had exquisite carving skills and beautiful shapes, and the jade hat top of the Yuan Dynasty had exquisite shapes and exquisite carvings. They all had very high historical and cultural significance. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>

The jade wares of the Han Dynasty inherited and developed the tradition of the jade wares of the Warring States Period. In the Han Dynasty, ceremonial jade articles (the so-called "auspicious jade") were less than before, and daily necessities and decorations made of jade developed greatly. Jade plates belonged to the category of daily necessities made of jade. For example, the Palace Museum had a jade plate with a dragon handle from the Han Dynasty. In terms of craftsmanship, the Han Dynasty had more round carvings, high embossed, open-cut jade carvings, and jade inlaid objects than before. The decorative style changed from abstract to realistic. In addition, there were also Han Dynasty jade plates on sale, such as the Hetian jade Han Dynasty jade plate on sale on September 13th, 2024. The price was 23,688 yuan, and the quality was 95 grade. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>

The development of jade in the Qing Dynasty could be roughly divided into three stages: 1. ** Early Qing Dynasty (1644 -the end of the 18th century, including Shunzhi, Kangxi and Yongzheng dynasties)** - In the early days of the Qing Dynasty, due to political changes and social unrest, the production and inheritance of jade ware were affected to a certain extent. - The emperor advocated simplicity, so there were relatively few jade articles made. For example, in the Palace Museum in Beijing, except for the imperial palace jade seal, which was mostly made in the early Qing Dynasty, there was almost no jade directly engraved with the Shunzhi or Kangxi years, and the number of jade that could be judged to be in the early Qing Dynasty was very small. In the tomb of the granddaughter of the first-grade official Soni in the early Qing Dynasty, although there were dozens of jade articles, most of them were made in the Ming Dynasty or before. Only a few were made in the early Qing Dynasty. - At that time, although most of the territory of the country had been incorporated into the Qing Dynasty, before the 24th year of Qianlong (1759), due to the frequent rebellion of the upper nobles in Xinjiang, it was not effectively controlled. Hetian jade rarely entered the mainland, and most of them were smuggled, which also restricted the production of jade. The jade wares of this period mostly inherited the style of the Ming Dynasty, focusing on simple lines and exquisite shapes. At the same time, the palace craftsmen began to invent and introduce new techniques and crafts to make the jade wares more diverse. 2. ** Mid Qing Dynasty (Mid-18th century-early 19th century, including Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties)** - With the stability of society, the economy entered the "Golden Age of Qianjia", the integration of Manchu and Han cultures, especially the preference of Emperor Qianlong for ancient jade, the jade-cutting industry that had entered a low point in the early Qing Dynasty gradually recovered and flourished, forming another peak in the history of China jade-cutting. - In the 24th year of Qianlong (1759), the rebellion in Xinjiang was put down, and Xinjiang was under the control of the Qing government. A large number of Hetian jade was transported into the mainland, which promoted the rapid development of jade craftsmanship. - At that time, there were a lot of jade articles made, ranging from jade mountains that weighed ten thousand catties to exquisite and transparent ornaments. It was well made, the materials were of high quality, and the style of the era was distinct. It represented the highest level of jade in the Qing Dynasty. In the middle of the 18th century, the economy and culture of the Qing Dynasty reached its peak. During this period, the production of jade articles was more exquisite, and innovative designs and complex carvings became the characteristics. The demand for jade articles by the court and the rich people promoted the development of craftsmanship. For example, the Painting of Jade Hundred Treasures showed the variety and exquisiteness of jade articles at that time. 3. ** Late Qing Dynasty (Mid-19th century- 1912, including the Daoguang to Xuantong dynasties)** - With the decline of the Qing Dynasty in the mid-19th century, social unrest and external pressure led to changes in jade production. - Although the palace craftsmen still made exquisite jade, social unrest and economic difficulties affected the inheritance and innovation of jade craftsmanship. <a href="/?from=ask_words" style="color:red" target="_blank">Read more exciting novels for free</a>