【Introduction】

   Ancient jades from Yunnan, Guizhou and Tibet are most numerous in Yunnan, yet are considerably less than those discovered in the Central Plains. The stone materials worked in ancient times in these areas include nephrite, turquoise, serpentine, agate, amber and crystal, which materials distinguish these areas from others.

Neolithic jades are thus far unknown in Yunnan and Guizhou but are represented in Tibet. During the Spring and Autumn through early Eastern Han periods, when Yuanan and Guizhou had entered the Bronze Age, jade-working flourished and numerous types and large numbers of jades appear. Through 2000, 23 Bronze Age cemeteries out of 30 in Yunnan had burials with jades.

Stone and jade worked raw materials in Yunnan are multiple in types and in this sense the ancient cultures of Yunnan may be identified as belonging to a multi-colored stone and jade-working culture. Most of the jades unearthed in Yunnan are ornamental objects worn by the Dian peoples. Types include slit rings, crescent-shaped pieces, disk-shaped bracelets, plum pit-shaped beads, ear plug-shape. The majority is made locally and expresses the aesthetic of the ancient Dian tribe.

Jades excavated from Bronze Age burials of Gizhou are comparable to those from Yunnan yet in number the jades are less. Types include slit rings, bi, bracelets, tubes, beads and huang.

From Eastern Han through Wei and Jin ears, Yunnan was ruled by the “Major Families of Nanzhong”. Burial types include the large-scale earthen mound type of Han style. Earthen pit burials are rarer and cliff burials are distributed in the area of Zhaotong. Few jades are known from these tombs yet agate beads are known from the site of Heimajing in Gejiu.

Jade and stone types of Eastern Han period from Guizhou tombs are few, with only a small number of amber pendant represented. From 1978 to 1983, over 680 Buddhist artifacts representing the State Nanzhao of Dali were unearthed from the cellar and cache of three pagodas at Chongsheng Temple, Dali, Yunnan.

Ming period jades in Yunnan, although few in number, have been identified in eleven cremated burials at Batatai in Qujing and Sunjiashan in Yiliang. At the end of the Ming and beginning f the Qing Dynasty, this large-scale trade of precious stone increased in production and established Yunnan as one of the centers for precious stone production during the late Qing to the present day. A few Ming and Qing tombs have been unearthed from Guiyang in Guizhou and there jades are mostly pendants featuring popular motifs and themes of auspiciousness.

【Main Contents】


Contents

Jades Unearthed from the areas of Yunnan, Guizhou and Xizhang
Chronology
1. Three Slit Rings (jue)
2. Two Slit Rings(jue)
3. Collared Disc(bi)
4. Collared Disc(bi)
5. Collared Disc(bi)
6. Collared Disc(bi)
7. Two Bracelets
8. Two Flat Bracelets
9. Pair of Bracelets
10. Pendant in the Shape of a Human Head
11. Drill Core
12. Drill Core
13. Five Tubes
14. Three Buttons With Pointed Centers
15. Two Tubes
16. Bead
17. String of Beads
18. Pendant in the Shape of a Beast Head
19. Collared Disc(bi)
20. Bracelet
21. String of Beads
22. String of Beads
23. Twenty Slit Rings(jue)
24. Collared Disc(bi)
25. Collared Disc(bi)
26. String of Tubular Beads
27. String of Beads
28. String of Beads
29. Four Slit Rings(jue)
30. Seventeen Earrings
31. Eighteen Buttons
32. String of Beads in the Shape of Earrings
33. String of Beads
34. Two Strings of Beads
35. Two Strings of Tubular Beads
36. Four Pairs of Slit Rings(jue)
37. Two Pairs of Slit Rings(jue)
38. Collared Disc(bi)
39. Collared Disc(bi)
40. Collared Disc(bi)
41. Three Collared Disc(bi)
42. Collared Disc(bi)
43. Four Bracelets
44. Bracelet
45. Bronze Sword With Jade Pommel
46. Sword Pommel
47. Sword Pommel
48. Scabbard Chape
49. String of Tubular Beads
50. Four Buttons With Pointed Center
51. Two Spindle Whorls
52. Object in the Shape of a Horse Fitting
53. Two Slit Rings(jue)
54. Beads
55. Beads With Etched Decoration
56. Five Buttons
57. Shroud
58. Twenty-Eight Slit Rings(jue)
59. Six Slit Rings(jue)
60. Thirty Slit Rings(jue)
61. Eleven Comma-shaped Pendants
62. Collared Disc(bi)
63. Collared Disc(bi)
64. Collared Disc(bi)
65. Ring
66. Two Bracelets
67. Sword Guard And Scabbard Slide
68. Sword Pommel
69. Sword Pommel
70. Pendant
71. Pendant
72. Belt Hook
73. Pendant
74. Six Buttons
75. Pointed Pendant(xi)
76. Pointed Pendant
77. Face Cover
78. Shroud Made of Beads
79. Seventy-Three Beads
80. Two Strings of Tubular Beads
81. Bead Separators
82. Rectangular Objects
83. String of Beads
84. Seven Beads
85. Three Buttons in the Shape of Cicadas
86. Four Beads in the Shape of Birds And Animals
87. String of Buttons
88. String of Beads in the Shape of Earrings
89. String of Beads
90. String of Beads in the Shape of Earrings
91. String of Beads
92. String of Beads in the Shape of a Gourd
93. Four Beads in the Shape of Bronze Drums
94. Two Beads in the Shape of Bronze Drums
95. Two Strings of Beads Two Beads
96. String of Tubular Beads
97. Two Beads
98. String of Tubular Beads
99. String of Tubular Beads
100. Button in the Shape of a Cicada
101. Thirty-Nine Buttons
102. Ornament
103. Set of Buttons With Pointed Centers
104. Set of Buttons With Pointed Centers
105. Pendant in the Shape of a Bull Head
106. Tubular Bead With Etched Decoration
107. Bead Separators
108. Collared Disc(bi)
109. Object With Bronze Handle
110. Pendant in the Shape of a Beast
111. Five Beads
112. Three Slit Rings(jue)
113. Bead
114. Seated Buddha
115. Seated Avalokitesvara
116. Pestle
117. String of Beads
118. String of Rosary Beads
119. Three Beads
120. String of Beads
121. String of Beads
122. Pagoda
123. Ornament
124. Eight Beads
125. Pendant in the Shape of a Feline Dragon
126. Sword Guard
127. Two Scabbard Slides
128. Belt Plaque With Bronze Mounting
129. Pendant
130. Disc(bi)
131. Disc(bi)
132. Pendant
133. Pendant in the Shape of a Feline Dragon
134. Belt Hook
135. Belt Plaque
136. Pendant in the Shape of a Chrysanthemum
137. Pendant in the Shape of a Chinese Character “寿”
138. Disc(bi)
139. Pendant
140. Pendant in the Shape of a Peach
141. Pendant
142. Three Plaques With Rotatable Cores
143. Gourd-shaped Pendant
144. Plaque With a Chinese Character“寿”
145. Gourd-shaped Pendant
146. Belt Buckle in the Shape of a Chinese Character“喜”
147. Belt Hook in the Shape of a Bat
148. Two Belt Hooks
149. Two Thumb Rings
150. Scabbard Slide
151. Three Plaques in the Shape of Chinese Character“喜”
152. Fish-shape Pendant
153. Fish-shape Pendant
154. Pendant in the Shape of a Chinese Character“喜”
155. Scabbard Slide
156. Pendants in the Shape of Two Peaches
157. Bracelet
158. Pendant in the Shape of Cicada
159. Plaque
160. Plaque
161. Pair of Bracelets
162. Hairpin
163. Pendant With Tiger And Floral Motifs
164. Pendant in the Shape of a Chrysanthemum
165. Pendant in the Shape of a Flower
166. Two Finger Rings
167. Pendant in the Shape of a Lotus Leaf
168. Button
169. Two Finger Rings
170. Two Triple-Linked Rings
171. Disc(bi)
172. Pendant in the Shape of a Buddha’S Hand
173. Pendant With a Seated Buddha
174. Scabbard Slide
175. Pendant in the Shape of a Flower Basket
176. Dragon Head
177. Disc(bi)
178. Pendant in the Shape of Peaches
179. Pendant
180. Thumb Ring
181. Hairgrip
182. Pendant in the Shape of a Buddha’S Hand
183. Belt Buckle
184. Gourd-shaped Pendant
185. Pair of Pendants
186. Pendant
187. Gourd-shaped Pendant
188. Pendant in the Shape of Two Fish
189. Pendant
190. Belt Buckle
191. Two Chrysanthemus-shaped Pendants
192. Two Flower-shaped Plaques With Rotatable Cores
193. Pendant in the Shape of a Lock
194. Two Plaques With Chinese Character“喜”
195. Belt Hook
196. Disc(bi)
197. Pendant
198. Pendant in the Shape of a Lock
199. Disc(bi)
200. Six Gourd-shaped Beads
201. Two Hairpins
202. Twelve Hat Ornaments
203. Six Finger Rings
204. Seventeen Hat Ornaments
205. String of Beads
206. Thirty-One Earrings
207. Thumb Ring
208. Three Pairs of Bracelets
209. Disc(bi)
210. Bracelet
211. Pair of Bracelets
212. Nine Tubes
213. Tubular Pendant
214. Five Slit Rings(jue)
215. Slit Ring(jue)
216. Slit Ring(jue)
217. Collared Disc(bi)
218. Pair of Square Slit Rings(jue)
219. Slit Ring(jue) With Notches
220. Two Arc-shaped Pendants(huang)
221. Necklace
222. Necklace
223. Belt Buckle
224. Plaque
225. Pendant in the Shape of Bean Shells
226. Pendant in the Shape of Two Budgers
227. Belt Hook
228. Rectangular Plaque
229. Pendant in the Shape of a Gourd
230. Pendant Representing Analysis Eagle Hunting a Rabbit
231. Plaque
232. Axe
233. Adze
234. Two Adzes
235. Chisel
236. Chisel
237. Adze
238. Adze
239. Adze
240. Axe