"Jade Road" connects Chinese civilization landscape

The source of the Chinese civilization is long and profound. It is the unique spiritual logo of the Chinese nation, the foundation of contemporary Chinese culture, and the treasure of Chinese cultural innovation. After several generations of scholars' continued efforts, the research results of major projects such as the exploration source project of Chinese civilization have evidenced the history of human history, the cultural history of 10,000 years, and the history of civilization for more than 5,000 years. As far as the origin of Chinese civilization is concerned, from the late Shinkishi era to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, it is a critical stage. This period is also the formation and preliminary development of Chinese jade culture.

The jade articles are first of all the "artifacts" used by wizarding and the "artifacts" used by God, and then developed into "rituals" in important political activities such as national sacrifice, and then developed into a "Bide" personality symbol. This is a process of continuously enriching and promoting the spiritual connotation and aesthetic level. It can be said that jade articles are not only the birthplanes of Chinese civilization, but also witnesses formed by the formation of a wide range of kingdoms, and an experienced person in the "unification of the great" pattern of Huaxia.

The birth of Chinese civilization

In the long historical process, the Chinese nation used the continuous determination and will, and the road was blue, and the mountains and rivers were involved in the mountains.

In the history of several ancient civilizations in the world, the ancestors had regarded "beautiful stones" as sacred symbols, such as obsidian, turquoise, and lapisha. British anthropologist Fraser summarized this: "God or other powerful gods live in stones, and many nations in many places have this concept."

With the evolution of civilization, ancient Egypt, Babylon, ancient India, and ancient Greece abandoned "beautiful stones" one after another, and instead turned gold as the highest value symbol. Only Chinese civilization has always adhered to important symbols with jade as the wealth, status and value.

In traditional Chinese culture, jade culture is unique and unique. It runs through the dual level of material and spiritual, and has multiple significance of philosophy, history, aesthetics, and social anthropology. "The beauty of the stone is jade" is the most basic cognition of Huaxia ancestors. During the Stone Age, the ancestors discovered the special material of jade in the process of making stone tools. The color of jade is more beautiful than ordinary stones, warm in color, high degree of hardness than ordinary stone, and toughness, and it is not easy to break.

In particular, most jade has similar colors to the sky, such as blue jade and white jade. Therefore, jade was in contact with heaven at the beginning of the ancestors' imagination, occupying a significant position in the original religious belief.

According to "Huainanzi", when "the sky is not overwhelming, the earth is not carried", "the son -in -law refined the five -color stone to make up for the sky." Unlike people's intuitive impressions, the materials used by Nuwa to make up the sky are not natural stones, but the "five -color stones" made by refined. This "five -color stone" is the initial understanding of the ancestors of jade. The ancestors believe that jade has a magical function and can repair the sky.

After jade and stone gradually differentiated, the Huaxia ancestors began to process natural jade as production tools and decorations to meet the needs of daily life and primitive aesthetics. Since the middle and late Shinshi era, jade articles have emerged in large quantities on the Chinese land. Some scholars call this period as the "jade era" as a complete era connecting the Neolithic and Bronze Age, with a time span of about 4000 years.

Judging from the results of archeology, from the Xinglongwa culture around 8000 years ago, to the Shijiahe culture around 4,000 years ago, a large number of various types of jade have been unearthed. During this period, the jade articles were basically the "god jade" used by primitive society for sacrifice or communicating with heaven.

The "jade era" is of great significance to the birth of Chinese civilization. During this period, the social class began to appear, and the group of jade was unearthed in the tomb, which meant that the jade wares symbolized power and wealth at that time. Accompanied by it, a larger crowd settlement also appeared, which means that the city has now appeared. At the same time, bronze smelting technology has occurred, which produces the oldest text.

It is particularly important that according to scholars' research, there are also jade culture dissemination of "Beiyu South" (from north to Guangdong), "East Yuxi Biography" (from the eastern coastal area to the Hexi Corridor), as well as The western jade resources represented by Hetian jade, Xinjiang Hetian jade. These "roads of jade" connect the territory of Chinese civilization.

Witnesses of Wide -area King rights country

"Jade" is a pictograph, which is related to the king from the beginning. At the beginning of the use of the word "jade", it was connected to the word "king". Later, in order to facilitate the difference between "jade" and "king", people were added to the right side of the word "king". In the Oracle and Zhong Dingwen of the Shang Dynasty, the word "jade" appeared.

At the end of the Neolithic period, through the monopoly of the divine rights, the Witch Group gradually grasped the regime and military power of the tribal society. The identity of the great witch and the king became one. From Liangzhu Culture to Erlitou culture, this historical process reflects this historical process: at that time, the Chinese land was coexisted by a number of competing political entities from the "Star Fighting" style, and entered the period of the "moon star rare" wide -area kingship. From the diversified state civilization, the dynasty civilization is integrated.

During this period, jade articles gradually evolved into important rituals that reflect the authority and political etiquette from the media that communicated with the heavenly god. It can be said that it is a witness formed by the widespread king's country.

Liangzhu Culture is distributed in the Qiantang River Basin and Taihu Basin. It is located in Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang. During the Liangzhu culture period, agriculture and handicrafts were relatively developed. The ancestors planted rice, breeding home pigs, and the production of handicrafts such as textiles, pottery, and jade was more specialized. At the same time, the ancestors of Liangzhu used jade wares in social life. The ancestors of Liangzhu represented the gods, military power and king's rights with jade, jade and jade, and forming unique jade systems, reflecting the early state forms of political and religion. The tribal leader in Liangzhu culture, wearing the marked jade crown of the big witch, the jade tube jade bead skewers and jade bird decorations, wearing jade bracelets on the arms, showing the ability of God.

Erlitou culture specifically refers to a type of archeological cultural relic represented by the Erlitou Site of Luoyang Shi Shi, Henan, and is a key research object to explore the summer culture.

Erlitou cultural sites include early site, palace architecture, villages, and tombs, as well as some handicraft workshops with copper casting and stone pottery. A large number of pottery, stone tools, early bronze, jade and lacquerware were unearthed. During the cultural period of Erlitou, crops such as wheat, rice, soybeans, ravioli, and millet have begun to cultivate. As the earliest relics of the East Asia's earliest wide -area kingship, a certain number of etiquette jade articles were unearthed in Erlitou culture, such as jade and jade.

The use of turquoise is a major feature of jade culture during the Erlitou period. In 2002, in a tomb of the cultural site of Erlitou, archaeologists found that a green dragon -shaped device was placed in the chest and abdomen of the tomb. The whole was composed of more than 2,000 small green pine chips. The dragon body was 64.5 cm in length.

It is speculated that the owner of the tomb is a wizard who hosts the sacrifice ceremony. This turquoise dragon shape is likely to be a special scepter. At the same time, due to the special significance contained in the dragon, coupled with the only one in the culture of Erlitou, the owner of the tomb as a king was screaming.

Experience of the "unified" pattern

The Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties were a critical period for the establishment of the "unification of the Great Unification" of Chinese civilization and continuously consolidating. During this period, the rulers of all ages regarded jade as the "heavy weapon of the country", and the literature also repeatedly recorded the events related to the dynasty's highest rulers and jade. It can be said that jade culture not only experienced the establishment of the "unified" dynasty, but also directly spawned the core value of Chinese civilization.

"Mozi" records the war of Xia Yuping San Miao: "The former Three Miao was chaotic, and the destiny of the destiny ... Gao Yang is the Xuan Gong, and Yu relatives to recruit the Miao ... , Later Nai Sui. "Through these conquest activities, he continuously expanded the territory of the Xia Dynasty. In the end, Xia Yu "coincides with the princes in Tu Shan, and the jade is the country."

This is that after the establishment of the king's right, Yu's Tu Shan in Huaishui summoned many leaders of the state and tribes to meet. The leaders of various states are carried by jade to participate in the conference. Among them, the jade princes are the princes and the small princes. Under the arrangement of Yu, he also performed the joy of Daxia and performed the dance of Qi Qi. The ceremony was grand and the scale was large, which made the princes of all parties surprised, admired and fearful. This conference is an important sign of the official establishment of the Xia Dynasty.

At the end of the Xia Dynasty, Xia Yan was brutal and the people's hearts were lost. Shang Tang raised his soldiers to cut summer and defeated the Xia Dynasty army. According to the "Historical Records", Shang Tang and Xia Yan were in the war. The Xia Dynasty army collapsed across the line, and Xia Yan fled to the Sanxiang Kingdom to take refuge. Shang Tang chased the victory and attacked the three nations. The three nations were defeated, the Shang Army broke through the country, captured Xia Xun alive, exiled him, and ransacked the heavyweight national treasure of Sanxian Kingdom.

After Shangtang, after the Pingzhi Sanxiang Kingdom, the princes of the world were surrendered, Tang Jianzi, and history officially entered the Shang Dynasty. In the war of changing dynasties, the ownership of jade articles was a major issue, so the "Historical Records" was specifically recorded.

History books also recorded one thing: When King Zhou Wu was seriously ill, Zhou Gong held a sacrifice ceremony for King Wu, asking the ancestors to extend their lives in the spirit of heaven. Here, the media that talks with the gods is the two jade gigs in the two.

According to the "Shang Shu", Zhou Gongzhu started the altar and the platform, standing on the stage facing the north, putting around, holding Gui, and praying to the ancestors of Zhou people. The next day, King Zhou Wu's illness was fine.

In this record, Ji and Kei are an important artifact to communicate with the soul of the ancestors. At the same time, this passage also reflects the important historical transformation from worship to the ancestors.

In short, jade culture has an important position for the origin of Chinese civilization. Without the influence on Chinese traditional politics, etiquette, religion, belief, customs, aesthetic tastes, no ancient utensils can be compared with jade. Jade culture is enduring, and it has been stretching since the Neolithic era, and with the extension of the long river of Chinese civilization, its vitality will become more and more vigorous. (Author unit: Tongji University)

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