【Introduction】

  

For thousands of years, our predecessors in the area of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei lived a rich life on fertile land, worked hard ,and created a brilliant ancient civilization ,leaving posterity with a rich and multi-faceted cultural heritage. One of the most brilliant stars of this cultural heritage is the ancient art of working jade.
1. Beijing Area
Archaeological data of Shang and Zhou eras include representative jades from a Shang tomb at Liujianhe in Pinggu and from Western Zhou tombs with in the Stage Yan Cemetery.
During the 1960’s ,excavations began at State Yan Cemetery of Western Zhou period ,and subsequent seasons of excavation continued to reveal jades ,including ritual insignia and ornaments as the primary objects.
Few jades have been unearthed in the Beijing area from the Spring and Autumn through Warring Stages periods. With the Han, a certain number of jades are known from burials at Dabaotai and Laoshan.
Few jades are known from excavations in the Beijing area representing Wei-Jin through Sui-Tang times. The only jade discovered was a set of jade inscribed tablets, in 1980 from a Tang tomb at Wangzuoxiang, fengtai.
Beijing proper was under minority control during the Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, In 1974,a Jin stone chamber burial with a rich number of jades was unearthed at Changgouyu coalmine in Fangshan.
In 1272, the 9th year of the Zhiyuan reign period under Emperor Kublai, when Yanjing was first occupied by the Mongolians as the capital, a Jade Bureau was also created for purposes of designing and crafting royal house ritual pendants and ornamental jades. An outstanding example of the royal jades is the urn(weng) known as “Dushan Dayuhai”
Representing the Ming Dynasty are 51 jades inlaid with gold, unearthed from burials of Ming Emperor Wanli and his two empresses Xiaojuan and Xiaojing .Those representing the Qing ear include a jade vase ,a cup and papilionaceous flower-shaped ornament from a burial at Xiaoxitian in the western suburbs of Beijing. It can be said that the imperial workshops of Qing period reached a peak in the evolution of jade-working and left to posterity and unprecedented rich and varied art.
2. Tianjin Area
Tianjin City, neighboring the Bohai and northeast of the Huabei plain, although historically and culturally rich with remains, excavated jades are few. The earliest jades unearthed, are those in the form of slit rings and spoons, discovered at the Neolithic site of Niudaokou, Baodi County.
3. Heibei Area
A rich number of jades has been unearthed from sites in Hebei datin to the Neolithic period .The earliest jades from this area, including slit rings, ornaments and stone animals, were excavated in 2003 at Beifudi in Yixian County, and date approximately 8,000 years ago. In 1995, Longshan Culture jades, including a spade, a tablet(gui) shaped implement, jade and stone cong (tube) were excavated at Dachengshan, Tanshan.
Shang and Zhou jades from Hebei, although small in number, are best represented by those from the Shang site of Taixi in Gaocheng, the Shang burial at Zhaoyao, Wu’an, and the Western Zhou tombs at Xizhuangcun in Yuanshi, Nanxiaowang and Gezhuang in Xingtai.
The enfiefments (zhuhou) of Spring and Autumn, and Warring States periods in Hebei include Yan, Zhao and Zhongshan. In recent years, despite several seasons of excavation at Xiaodu of Yan in Yixian County, with rich finds, fes jades have been discovered.
Only a small number of jades survive from State Zhao burials, due to heavy looting. In the early 1950’s, an important Warring States tomb was excavated from a cemetery at Baijiacun in Handan.
State Zhoungshan was allegedly “five-hundred li” in size and equipped with “one thousand” warring chariots and a particular power besides the commonly known seven states. In 1974, Zhoungshan royal and accompanying burials were discovered at Pingshan, and had a profound impact. Although the burials had earlier been ransacked and burned, more than one thousand jades were still intact.
Sites with royal jades from Han Dynasty burials in Hebei are comparatively wealthy and include the royal Western Han burial of Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan; the Western Han burial of Liu Xiu, Prince Huai of Zhongshan; and Eastern Han burials of Liu Yan, Prince Jian of Zhongshan and Liu Chang, Prince Mu of Zhongshan.
In 1968, the bombs of Liu Sheng and his wife were discovered at Lingshan, Mancheng County in Baoding. The discovery is major archeological find since the tombs are large and accompanying burials items are vast in number and well preserved.
In 1973, jades, including bi, huan, huang, xi, sword fittings and pendant of ornaments, in addition to 1,203 jade plates, about 2,567 grams gold used to create the gold threaded jade shroud were unearthed from the tomb of Prince Huai, called Liu Xiu, at Bajiaolangcun in Dingxian County.
In 1959, the Eastern Han tomb of Liu Yan was cleared at Beizhuang in Dingxian County. Several beautiful were discovered despite looting and considerable ransacking at an earlier date.
In 1969, jades unearthed from Tomb No.43 of Eastern Han date(recognized as belonging to Liu Chang, the Prince Mu of Zhongshan) at Beilingtoucun, south of the Dingxian County include jade screens, bi, thumb ring-shaped pendants, dancing figurine pendants and sword fittings.
The Wei-Jin and Northern and Southern Dynastic periods were fraught by wars. Individual jade pendants and bead ornaments have been found in Hebei and most are polished types without decoration. After the fall of the Tang, jade discoveries are relatively few. Richer finds are from the Song and after. Upper class jades of Qing Dynasty are represented in several excavations in Hebi.
In summary, jades from the areas of Hebei, Tianjin and Beijing, whether slit rings or ornaments from the 8,000 year old site of Beifudi, Yixian; ritual and insignia jades from three dynasties; sets of pendants of Spring and Autumn through Warring States periods; ornaments of Han-Tang period; or numerous everyday types of Ming and Qing dynasties, the jades are rich and varied, eye-pleasing and precious, and reflect non only jade-working in these areas but at the same time represent on page in the glorious development of Chinese jade-working.

【Main Contents】


Contents

Jades Unearthed from the Areas of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.
Chronology

1. Pendant in the Shape of a Monkey
2. Pendant in the Shape of an Owl
3. Pendant in the Shape of a Fish
4. Dagger-axe(ge)
5. Object in the Shape of a Handle
6. Necklace
7. Pendant with animal Mask Decoration
8. Recumbent Horse
9. Pendant in the Shape of a Tiger
10. pendant in the shape of a locust
11. Pendant in the Shape of Fish
12. Five Rings
13. Pair of Arc-shaped Pendants(huang)
14. Pendant in the Shape of a Heart
15. Pendant in the Shape of a Heart
16. Pendant with Feline Dragon Decoration
17. Pair of Pointed Pendants(xi) in the Shape of Phoenixes
18. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
19. Dancer
20. Arc-shaped Pendant(huang)
21. Belt Hook
22. Ornament in the Shape of a Feline Dragon
23. Ring
24. Ornaments in the Shape of Doves
25. Coin
26. Funeral Slip
27. Ornament in the Shape of a Mountain
28. Ornament in the Shape of a Stag
29. Coin
30. Round Container with a Mandarin Duck-shaped Handle
31. Pendant in the Shape of Two Cranes Holding Magic Fungus
32. Pendant in the Shape of an Entangled Bamboo Stem
33. Hairpin in the Shape of a Peacock
34. Pendants in the Shape of Flowers
35. Pendants in the Shape of Flowers
36. Pair of Pendant in the Shape of Magpies
37. Pair of Pendants with Turtles On Lotus Leaves
38. Pendant in the Shape of a Bird Resting in Flowers
39. Round Container with Peacock and Flower Decoration
40. Set of Inkslabs with Floral Decoration
41. Belt Ornament with Two Ladies Decoration
42. Set of Belt Plaques
43. Pendant in the Shape of Flowers
44. Pendant in the Shape of a Peacock
45. Knob of an Incense- Burner
46. Vase
47. Belt
48. Set of Belt Plaques
49. Set of Belt Plaques
50. Set of Belt Plaques
51. Four Pendants ( heng) with Phoenix Decoration
52. Disc(bi) with Feline Dragon Decoration
53. Recumbent Ram
54. Flying apsaras
55. Bowl with Lid and Stand
56. Vessel(jue) with Stand
57. Cup with Stand
58. Jade Washer in a Gold Container and Cover
59. Basin
60. Container
61. Vessel(zun)
62. Cup
63. Two Set of Cups and Stands in the Shape of Chrysanthemums
64. Ewer
65. Ewer
66. Writing Brush
67. Sword Guard
68. Paper Weight in the Shape of a Beast
69. Lion Figures
70. Pendant in the Shape of a Fish
71. Pendant in the Shape of a Fish
72. Belt Hook
73. Belt Hook
74. Belt Hook
75. Two Sets of Pendants
76. Two Sets of Pendants
77. Clasp
78. Coiled Dragon-shaped Ornament Inlaid with Gold
79. Hairpins Inlaid with Jewels
80. Gold Inlaid Belt Ornament with Dragon and Phoenix Decoration
81. Two Scepters(gui)
82. Gold Earring with Jade Pendant
83. Belt Hook
84. Pendant in the Shape of a Heart
85. Pendant in the Shape of a Heart
86. Pendant with Leaf and Grapes Decoration
87. Container
88. Human Head
89. Vase in the Shape of a Flower
90. Carving in the Shape of a Pot, a Vessel(you) and a phoenix
91. Brush Pot
92. Carving in the Shape of a Dragon and a Phoenix
93. Seal with a Knob in the Shape of a Dove
94. Bracelet
95. Scepter(ruyi)
96. Fragments of a Vessel
97. Carving with Shallow Relief
98. Finial of a Stick
99. Seal
100. Two Slit Rings(jue)
101. Pendant in the Shape of a Dagger
102. Ornament in the Shape of a Human Face
103. Coiled Dragon
104. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
105. Pig
106. Fragments of a Face Cover
107. Plugs
108. Ring
109. Two Model Pagodas
110. Four Pendants
111. String of Beads
112. Pair of Pots
113. Bowl
114. Plaque in the Shape of a Hawk Hunting a Swan
115. Necklace
116. Pendant in the Shape of a Chinese Character“寿”
117. Hexagonal Ornament
118. Tube
119. Slit Ring(jue) and animal Head
120. Double-Headed Figure
121. Coiled Dragon
122. Coiled Dragon
123. Disc with Notches
124. Two Objects in the Shape of Handles
125. Pendant with Human Face Decoration
126. Dagger-axe(ge)
127. Slit Ring(jue)
128. Axe(yue)
129. Dagger-axe(ge)
130. Tube
131. Ring
132. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
133. Armout Plates
134. Two Pendants in the Shape of Dragons
135. Two Pendants in the Shape of Phoenixes
136. Bird
137. Two Pendants in the Shape of Phoenixes
138. Pendants in the Shape of Phoenixes
139. Two Pendants in the Shape of Dragons
140. Fragment of a Disc(bi)
141. Disc(bi) with Openwork Feline Dragons
142. Disc(bi)
143. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
144. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
145. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
146. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
147. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
148. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
149. Pendant in the Shape of Four Dragons
150. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
151. Pendant in the Shape of a Tiger
152. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
153. Pendant in the Shape of a Tiger
154. Pendant in the Shape of a Phoenix
155. Comb
156. Comb
157. Pair of Cicadas
158. arc-shaped Pendant(huang)
159. Ornament
160. Face Cover
161. Nail Covers
162. Ten Ornaments in the Shapes of Frogs
163. Slip
164. Three Female Figures
165. Three Female Figures
166. Thumb Ring
167. Pendant in the Shape of a Phoenixes
168. Sword Pommel
169. Two Tubes
170. Ornament
171. Ornament
172. Board
173. Pendant with Three Openwork Dragons
174. Pendant in the Shape of a Dragon
175. Slab
176. Slab
177. Slab
178. Pointed Pendant(xi)
179. Disc(bi) with Openwork Dragons
180. Arc-shaped Pendant(huang)
181. Oval-shaped Disc(bi) with Openwork Dragons
182. Gilt Bronze Knocker with Jade Inlaid
183. Scepter(gui)
184. Pair of Hand-Held Pieces
185. Pair of Ornaments in the Shape of Phoenixes
186. Seated Human Figure
187. Gilt Bronze Pillow with Jade Inlaid
188. Gilt Bronze Pillow with Jade Inlaid
189. Sword with Jade Fittings
190. Dice(bi) with Openwork Dragons
191. Pendant in the Shape of a Heart
192. Pendant in the Shape of a Heart
193. Belt Hook
194. Hairpin
195. Seal
196. Seal
197. Gold Threaded Jade Shroud
198. Gold Threaded Jade Shroud
199. Set of Pendants
200. Disc(bi)
201. Ring in the Shape of a Dragon
202. Arc-shaped Pendant(huang)
203. Pendant in the Shape of a Heart
204. Gold in the Shape of a Horse Hoof with Jade Inlaid
205. Belt Hook
206. Sword Pommel and Scabbard Slide
207. Disc(bi) with Openwork Dragons
208. Table Screen
209. Pair of Disc(bi)
210. Pendant in the Shape of a Heart
211. Pair of Dancers
212. Two Arc-shaped Pendants(huang)
213. Sword Guard and Scabbard Slide
214. Shroud Plates
215. Pillow
216. Disc(bi) with Openwork Feline Dragons
217. Belt Hook
218. Cicada
219. Pig
220. Amulet(Gangmao)
221. Pointed Pendant(xi)
222. Dancer
223. Cicada
224. Belt Chape
225. Container
226. Fish
227. Gold Hairpin with Jade Phoenix Finial
228. Cup
229. Belt Hook
230. Cup
231. Arc-shaped Pendant(huang)
232. Pendant in the Shape of a Peach
233. Pendant in the Shape of a Buddha’s Hand
234. Vase in the Shape of a Magnolia
235. Container
236. Pendant
237. Pendant
238. Thumb Ring
239. Vase
240. Incense-Burner