Two jade cong found in the Liangzhu site are exhibited in the National Museum of China. Photo: Ren Guanhong/CSST

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In ancient China, jadeware was valued by its quality of material, craft and design. The earliest example of jade culture around the lower reaches of the Yangtze River appeared in the Lingjiatan site approximately 5,500 years ago. Remarkably sophisticated jade sculpture appeared in the Liangzhu culture between 5,300 and 4,500 years before present, during which the production and use of jade were systematized. In the Liangzhu society, the management of jade resources and craft was incorporated in with the early beliefs of the Chinese people, thus pioneering the traditions associated with Chinese rites and the use of ritual vessels.

 

Distinctive man-animal mask motif
Most of the Liangzhu jade pieces are embellished with finely engraved, highly stylized zoomorphic masks, engravings of humans and animals. A characteristic form of Liangzhu jade is known as cong, hollowed-out cylinders that are round on the inside and square on the outside. These are probably the best examples of the distinctive man-animal mask motif.

The “King of Cong” is the largest jade object that features some of the most sophisticated carvings of the time. It was excavated from Tomb 12 of the Fanshan burial complex. There are eight carvings that can be found in the grooves on its four square sides. Interpretations of these motifs vary; the most common interpretation is that of a wizard riding an animal. In each of the motifs, the face is carved into a reverse trapezoid shape. On the face there is a pair of eyes that are detailed by distinct ovals or swirls encircling two sockets, and tiny triangles attached to the sockets represent the corners of eyes. A mouth is indicated by 16 teeth on the upper and lower jaws. The figure wears headwear that is huge and apparently made of feathers, riding on an animal with his hands leaning on its back. The animal, with its eyes open wide, has the similar nose and mouth as its rider. The two pairs of fangs extruding from its mouth distinguish the animal from the rider, giving the animal an oddly menacing look. Another difference between the rider and the animal is the bridge-shaped band across the eyes of the animal that suggest the forehead. The animal poses in a threateningly crouching gesture, with swirls on its forelegs that suggest joints that are bending. Its three-toed claws curling up threaten attack.

Similar motifs are found on the four corners of the “King of Cong,” carved into eight symmetrical patterns around the corners of the sculptures. Each carving displays the faces of a human and an animal without mouths and without bodies. The human face is carved with the aforementioned characteristics, including a pair of eyes that are detailed by swirls encircling two sockets with thin lines indicating the corners. A wide nose also protrudes, and a variant of the aforementioned feather headwear is suggested by two horizontal bands across the top with dense lines and curly motifs. Under the human face is the face of an animal with the same eyes, forehead and nose as the previously mentioned animals.

The zoomorphic décor on the corners of the “King of Cong” is a commonly-used type of design in the Liangzhu culture. Almost every piece of cong has a similar style of carvings. They also appear on other jadeware. Some pieces of jadeware are decorated with the images of humans or animals only. The combined human-animal images are always arranged such that the human face with the feathered headwear is above the animal face. When the animal appears on jadeware as the only motif, the animal wears feather headwear. From the use of the man-animal mask motif, it may be concluded that the images of humans and animals are connected and interchangeable with each other.

The carvings of the Liangzhu jadeware mirror the united beliefs of Liangzhu society. Not only jadeware, but also some ivory objects, lacquerware and pottery are incised with the motifs themed on the man-animal mask. There has not yet been any conclusive theory exploring the meaning behind this distinctive motif. The Shuowen Jiezi (Discussions of Writings and Explanations of Character) of Xu Shen defined the character “wu” (witch or wizard) as follows: a person offering jade as tribute to the gods. Perhaps the elite caste in Liangzhu society, a group of people in charge of the production and use of jade, were the earliest people who believed in the use of witchcraft through the use of jade in ancient China.

 

Use of jade
The production of fine jadeware was labor-intensive, particularly during the early stages of history. Therefore, the control upon the production and consumption of jade was a representation of social power.

Cemeteries can be regarded as static communities. The scale and structure of cemeteries as well as the goods in the graves provide us with chances to know these ancient societies. Liangzhu society can be divided into four classes based on jadeware unearthed from the Liangzhu burials.

The finest tombs are usually equipped with platforms that are artificial. The interior of the tombs were planned in an orderly fashion, with separations between male and female. The dead were buried with the most sophisticated jadeware, such as the cong, bi (a jade object carved in the form of a flat disk with a hole in the center) and yue (jade yue refers to jade axes for ritual use only). Jadeware excavated from the high-ranked burial sites share these similar styles and compositions. The kings’ grave located in Liangzhu City was better-appointed than others, with sets of sophisticated headwear and ornaments.

Jadeware in lower-ranked burials couldn’t form a complete set as known in higher burials, but there were a few pieces that bore the recognizable man-animal mask motifs, that have been located in certain places in important tombs. These jadeware enjoyed the same cultural significance in Liangzhu society and represented the ability of the community to acquire social resources belonging to a higher class. Archaeologists haven’t found any forms of fine jadeware from archaeological findings of common villages. Jade was occasionally discovered amongst some ornamental pendants, but most of these were not nephrite, just attractive rocks.

The use of jade in the Liangzhu culture reflected its highly developed and concerted monotheistic beliefs. It also hinted at the concentration of power in the hands of the central authorities, because only in this way could the elite castes of Liangzhu society instruct laborers to continue and maintain the production and circulation of jade products.

What made Liangzhu society special was that there was no direct evidence which showed that social power was gained by basic sources like those of livelihood (exchange and allocation of agricultural products) which increased opportunity to achieve cultural identity within the society at the time. It was the use of jade that communicated a sense of belonging to groups around the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Hence, to a large extent, the social power of Liangzhu society rested on the control of jade resources and the establishment of a belief system sympathetic to the production and use of jade.

Although rich water resources and rice farming along the Yangtze River Basin made it possible for the Liangzhu culture to develop a complex society, it didn’t necessarily stimulate centralized social power. The upper class in Liangzhu society and associated networks were based on control over scarce resources and related crafts. Elaborate jadeware, ivory objects and lacquerware are complex types of crafts, many of which communicate an apparent lack of practical usage. This suggests that the owners of these objects were probably people with immense wealth of resources and craftsmanship at hand. The handicraft industries and the systems of belief behind them are regarded as a major source of social power in the Liangzhu culture.

 

The article was edited and translated from Guangming Daily. Qin Ling is a PhD supervisor from the Archaeology and Museology College at Peking University.

​edited by REN GUANHONG