Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-tsvsl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-28T02:39:10.780Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Liangzhu Culture: Its Discovery and its Jades

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2015

Sun Zhixin*
Affiliation:
34 Linden Lane Princeton, New Jersey 08540

Extract

The discovery of neolithic remains in 1936 at a place called Liangzhu near Hangzhou was the first evidence of a culture which in recent decades has revolutionized the prehistory of the lower Yangzi region. The great antiquity of sites in this region was established in the late 1960s by radiocarbon dating, which overthrew the prevailing theory that the agricultural way of life originated at a single center of innovation in the Yellow River valley and diffused to the east coast only in historic times. Subsequent archaeological work not only established the local sequence of neolithic cultures but also, at a series of major Liangzhu sites, revealed extravagantly furnished burials whose wealth raises puzzling question about the structure of Liangzhu society. Chief among the furnishings of these graves are large numbers of jades — objects remarkable for their strange shapes and designs and even more remarkable for their superlative workmanship. The first section of this essay reviews the history of Liangzhu archaeology, connecting it with the changes of thinking that Chinese neolithic archaeology has undergone in the past half century. The second section discusses a few of the issues raised by Liangzhu jades: material sources, the origin of the bi and cong shapes, and the relation between Liangzhu jades and Shang jades.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Study of Early China 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. In this paper, the term “south China” is not purely geographical. Rather it follows the traditional division of China proper into two parts, the boundary lying between the Yellow River and the Yangzi River. The northern zone has semiarid climate with a millet and wheat agriculture, the southern zone has abundant rainfall with rice farming. For further discussion, see Chang, Kwang-chih, The Archaeology of Ancient China rev. 4th ed.; (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), 1–4 Google Scholar.

2. Juxian, Wei, “Wu Yue kaogu huizhi, Shuowen yuekan bound vol. 1 (1939), 363–394 Google Scholar.

3. Xingzhi, Hu , “Zhejiang guo you xinshiqi shidai wenhua hu, in Wu Yue wenhua luncong (Shanghai: Jiangsu yan- jiushe, 1937), 282–289.Google Scholar Liu Zhiyuan , “Shiqi de xingcheng yu diceng zhi tantao” , in Wu Yue wenhua luncong, 290–294.

4. Wei Juxian, “Zhejiang shiqi niandai de taolun” , in Wu Yue wenhua luncong, 295–309.

5. Xingeng, Shi, Liangzhu (Hangzhou: Zhejiang sheng jiaoyuting, 1938), 4–5.Google Scholar

6. Ssu-yung, Liang, “The Lungshan Culture,Proceedings of the 6th Pacific Science Congress 4 (1939), 69–79.Google Scholar The Chinese translation of this article, entitled Longshan wenhua — Zhongguo wenming de shiqianqi zhi yi, was published in Kaogu xuebao 7 (1954), 5–14.Google Scholar

7. Liang Siyong, “Longshan wenhua — Zhongguo wenming de shiqianqi zhi yi,” 11.

8. Zuanchu, Jiang , “Hangzhou Laoheshan yizhi 1953 nian diyici fajue 1953 , Kaogu xuebao 1958.2,5–16 Google Scholar.

9. wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, Zhejiang sheng, “Wuxing Qianshanyang yizhi diyi er ci fajue baogao, Kaogu xuebao 1960.2,73–91 Google Scholar

10. wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, Zhejiang sheng, “Hangzhou Shuitianban yizhi fajue baogao, Kaogu xuebao 1960.2,93–106.Google Scholar

11. wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, Zhejiang sheng, “Zhejiang sheng Jiaxing Majiabang xinshiqi shidai yizhi de fajue, Kaogu 1961.7,345–351.Google Scholar

12. Fugen, Mei , “Zhejiang Wuxing Qiucheng yizhi fajue jianjie, Kaogu 1959.9,479.Google Scholar

13. wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, Jiangsu sheng, “Jiangsu Wuxi Xianlidun xinshiqi shidai yizhi qingli baogao, Wenwu cankao ziliao 1955.8,48–59.Google Scholar

14. wengongdui, Jiangsu sheng, “Jiangsu Wujiang Meiyan xinshiqi shidai yizhi, Kaogu 1963.6,308–318.Google Scholar

15. bowuyuan, Nanjing, “Jiangsu Yuecheng yizhi de fajue, Kaogu 1982.5,463–473.Google Scholar

16. wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, Shanghai shi, Shanghai shi Qingpu Songze yizhi de shijue, Kaogu xuebao 1960.2,1–25.Google Scholar

17. wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, Shanghai shi, Shanghai Songjiang Guangfulin xinshiqi shidai yizhi shitan, Kaogu 1962.9, 465–469.Google Scholar

18. Some scholars hold different opinions regarding the functions of certain stone tools. An Zhimin, for example, argues that what I have referred to as plows are too fragile for plowing and that the weeding hoes are probably knives; see Zhimin, An , Guanyu Liangzhu wenhua de ruogan wenti, Kaogu 1988.3, 238–240.Google Scholar For another opinion, see Yongkang, Mou and Zhaolin, Song , “Zhejiang de shili he potuqi —shilun woguo ligeng de qiyuan, Nongye kaogu 1981.2,75–84.Google Scholar

19. Zhejiang sheng wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, “Wuxing Qianshanyang yizhi diyi er ci fajue baogao,” 87. See also Wenming, Li , Guanyu Liangzhu wenhua de liangge wenti, Kaogu 1986.11, 1006.Google Scholar

20. Yongkang, Mou and Zhengjin, Wei , “Majiabang wenhua he Liangzhu wenhua — Taihu liuyu yuanshi wenhua de fenqi wenti, Wenwu jikan 1 (1980), 104.Google Scholar

21. Zhaoyu, Zeng and Huanzhang, Yin , “Gudai Jiangsu lishi shang de liangge wenti, in Jiangsu sheng chutu wenwu xuanji (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1963),8–9.Google Scholar

22. Zanchu, Jiang, Guanyu Jiangsu de yuanshi wenhua yizhi, Kaogu xuebao 1959.4,42.Google Scholar

23. Nai, Xia, Changjiang liuyu kaogu wenti, Kaogu 1960.2,1.Google Scholar

24. Zeng Zhaoyu and Yin Huanzhang, “Gudai Jiangsu lishi shang de liangge wenti,” 21.

25. Xia Nai, “Changjiang liuyu kaogu wenti,” 2.

26. Zeng Zhaoyu and Yin Huanzhang, “Gudai Jiangsu lishi shang de liangge wenti,” 29.

27. Jiang Zuanchu, “Guanyu Jiangsu de yuanshi wenhua yizhi,” 42.

28. Mei Fugen, “Zhejiang Wuxing Qiucheng yizhi fajue jianjie,” 479.

29. Zhejiang sheng wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, “Zhejiang Jiaxing Majiabang xin- shiqi shidai yizhi de fajue.”

30. wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, Shanghai shi, Shanghai shi Qingpu xian Songze yizhi de shijue,, Kaogu xuebao 1960.2,1–25.Google Scholar

31. Jiangsu sheng wengongdui, “Jiangsu Wujiang Meiyan xinshiqi shidai yizhi,” 308.

32. Nanjing bowuyuan, “Jiangsu Yuecheng yizhi de fajue,” 465.

33. Dates of this period represented by the geometric pottery vary from site to site, ranging from the Eastern Zhou to the Han period. For further discussion, see Shifan, Peng , Zhonggua nanfang gudai yinwentao (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1987).Google Scholar

34. Huanzhang, Yin , xinshiqi shidai yizhi, Huadong (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1956), 67,70.Google Scholar

35. Mianji, Wu , “Changjiang nanbei Qinglian'gang wenhua de xianghu guanxi, Wenwu jikan 1 (1980), 127.Google Scholar

36. bowuyuan, Nanjing, Nanjing shi Beiyinyangying diyi er ci de fajue,, Kaogu xuebao 1958.1,7–23.Google Scholar

37. Nanjing bowuyuan, “Nanjing shi Beiyinyangying diyi er ci de fajue,” 18.

38. Shanghai shi wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, “Shanghai shi Qingpu xian Songze yizhi de shijue.”

39. sheng wenwu guanlichu, Shandong and shi bowuguan, Jinan, Dawenkou (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1974).Google Scholar

40. Zeng Zhaoyu and Yin Huanzhang, “Gudai Jiangsu lishi shang de liangge wenti,” 12.

41. Mou Yongkang and Wei Zhengjin, “Majiabang wenhua he Liangzhu wenhua,” 106–108.

42. Shanjing, Wu , Lüelün Qinglian'gang wenhua, Wenwu 1973.6,56.Google Scholar

43. yuekan tongxunyuan, Wenwu, “Changjiang xiayou xinshiqi shidai wenhua xue-shu taolunhui jiyao, Wenwu jikan 1 (1980), 1–7.Google Scholar

44. Honglu, Ma , “Shilun Qinglian'gang wenhua, Kaogu-xue jikan 4 (1984), 252–277.Google Scholar

45. Xuanpei, Huang and Minghua, Zhang , “Guanyu Songze wenhua mudi de jidian renshi, Wenwu jikan 1 (1980), 109.Google Scholar

46. Zhiheng, Zhang , “Guanyu woguo dongbu yanhai diqu xinshiqi shidai wenhua xitong de qufen, Wenwu jikan 1 (1980), 139.Google Scholar

47. Xuanpei, Huang and Minghua, Zhang, Qingpu Songze mudi dierci fajue Kaogu xuebao 1982.1, 29.Google Scholar

48. Xuanpei, Huang and Minghua, Zhang, “Guanyu Songze wenhua mudi de jidian renshi,Wenwu jikan 1 (1980), 109–115.Google Scholar

49. bowuyuan, Nanjing, “Jiangsu Wuxian Caoxieshan yizhi, Wenwu ziliao congkan 3 (1980), 1–24.Google Scholar

50. Shi Xingeng, Liangzhu, 44.

51. Zhimin, An, Lüelun woguo xinshiqi shidai wenhua de niandai wenti, Kaogu 1972.6,40 Google Scholar; Xia Nai, “Changjiang liuyu kaogu wenti,” 2; Zeng Zhaoyu and Yin Huanzhang, “Gudai Jiangsu lishi shang de liangge wenti,” 20.

52. kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo shiyanshi, Zhongguo, Fangshexing tansu ceding niandai baogao, 1 (—), Kaogu 1972.5,57.Google Scholar

53. Xuanpei, Huang, “Guanyu Liangzhu wenhua ruogan wenti de renshi, in Zhongguo kaogu xuehui diyici nianhui lunwenji, 1979 1979 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980), 129–130 Google Scholar; bowuyuan, Nanjing, “Taihu diqu de yuanshi wenhua, Wenwu jikan 1 (1980), 96.Google Scholar

54. Huang first proposed a date of 2750–1950 B.C. which he later revised to 2950–1950 B.C. See Xuanpei, Huang, “Guanyu Liangzhu wenhua ruogan wenti de renshi,” 130, and also his “Lüelun woguo xinshiqi shidai yuqi” , Shanghai bowuguan jikan 4 (1987), 150.Google Scholar

55. sheng wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, Zhejiang and sheng bowuguan, Zhejiang, Hemudu yizhi diyici fajue baogao, Kaogu xuebao 1978.1,39–94.Google Scholar

56. yizhi kaogudui, Hemudu, Zhejiang Hemudu yizhi dierci fajue de zhuyao shouhuo, Wenwu 980.5,1–15.Google Scholar

57. kaogudui, Luojiajiao, “Tongxiang Luojiajiao yizhi shijue baogao, Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogusuo xuekan 1981, 1–42.Google Scholar

58. shi wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, Shanghai, Shanghai Maqiao yizhi diyi er ci fajue, Kaogu xuebao 1978.1,109–137.Google Scholar

59. Jian, Song , Maqiao wenhua tanyuan, Dongnan wenhua 1988.1,12.Google Scholar

60. A compositional analysis conducted by the Institute of Metallurgy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reportedly shows that the knife contains seventy-four percent copper, two percent silicate and unspecified amounts of other elements. See Shanghai shi wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, “Shanghai Maqiao yizhi diyi er ci fajue,” 123. Although this is believed to indicate a less developed practice of metallurgy than contemporary bronze cultures in northern China, the use of casting instead of hammering suggests the knowledge of the basic processes of bronze metallurgy. Supporting evidence is a bronze axe found in Changxing , Zhejiang, which has a similar overall shape to Maqiao stone axes and bears the checker and wavy patterns commonly found on Maqiao vessels. See Xingnan, Xia , Zhejiang Changxing chutu wu- jian Shang Zhou tongqi, Wenwu 1979.11,93.Google Scholar It is difficult to assess the metallurgy of the Maqiao culture from such inadequate evidence, however.

61. To date, over thirty such sites have been identified, ranging from southern Jiangsu and Shanghai to southern Zhejiang, a distribution largely overlapping with that of the Liangzhu culture. Some sites, however, are further south in Fujian province. See Jianfang, Lu , Chulun Maqiao-Jiantounong wenhua, Dongnan wenhua 1990.1/2,64–66.Google Scholar

62. Zuanchu, Jiang, “Guanyu Changjiang xiayou diqu de jihe yinwentao wenti, Wenwu jikan 3 (1981), 52–61.Google Scholar

63. So far there have been two radiocarbon and five thermoluminescent dates for the Maqiao culture. The two radiocarbon dates are 1780±150 b.c. and 1164±120 b.c. and the five thermoluminescent dates 1030±333 b.c., 1520±382 b.c., 980±322 b.c., 930+318 b.c. and 1310±359 b.c. See Xuanpei, Huang and Weichang, Sun , Maqiao leixing wenhua fenxi, Kaogu yu wenwu 1983.3,58.Google Scholar

64. Xuanpei, Huang and Weichang, Sun, Maqiao leixing wenhua fenxi,Kaogu yu wenwu 1983.3,61.Google Scholar

65. Song Jian, “Maqiao wenhua tanyuan,” 18.

66. Lu Jianfang, “Chulun Maqiao-Jiantounong wenhua,” 66.

67. Jianmin, Wu , Changjiang sanjiaozhou shiqian yizhi de fenbu yu huan- jing bianqian, Dongnan wenhua 1988.6, 30 Google Scholar; see also Jianmin, Wu, Subei shiqian yizhi de fenbu yu haianxian bianqian, Dongnan wenhua 1990.5,250.Google Scholar

68. bowuyuan, Nanjing, “1982 nian Jiangsu Changzhou Wujin Sidun yizhi de fajue” 1982 , Kaogu 1984.2,109–129.Google Scholar

69. Shi Xingeng, Liangzhu, 14–16.

70. Zuofu, Chen, Liangzhu guyu tantao, Kaogu tongxun 1957.2,80.Google Scholar

71. Zeng Zhaoyu and Yin Huanzhang, “Gudai Jiangsu lishi shang de liangge wenti,” 2,4.

72. shi wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, Shanghai, Shanghai Fuquanshan Liangzhu wenhua muzang, Wenwu 1984.2,1–5.Google Scholar

73. kaogudui, Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo Fanshan, Zhejiang Yuhang Fanshan Liangzhu mudi fajue jianbao, Wenwu 1988.1, 1–31;Google Scholar yanjiusuo, Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu, Yuhang Yaoshan Liangzhu wenhua jitan fajue baogao, Wenwu 1988.1,32–51.Google Scholar

74. For an illustration, see sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, Zhejiang, shi wenwu guanli weiyuanhui, Shanghai and bowuyuan, Nanjing, Liangzhu wenhua yugi (Hong Kong: Wenwu chubanshe and Liangmu chubanshe, 1989), 6 Google Scholar, fig. 6.

75. Some scholars interpret this image as a human figure riding on an animal; see the following discussion for more detail.

76. Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, “Yuhang Yaoshan Liangzhu wenhua jitan fajue baogao,” 32.

77. Mou Yongkang, preface to Liangzhu wenhua yuqi, iv.

78. bowuyuan, Nanjing, 1987 nian Jiangsu Xinyi Huating yizhi de fajue,” 1987 , Wenwu 1990.2,1–26.Google Scholar

79. bianjibu, Dangdai, “Yuqi shidai: yige xinshidai de chuxian, Dangdai 49 (1990.5), 52 Google Scholar; K.C. Chang, , “An Essay on Cong,Orientations 20.6 (June 1989), 42.Google Scholar

80. Chang, Kwang-chih, The Archaeology of Ancient China, rev. fourth ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), 234.Google Scholar

81. The date of the introduction of jadeite is still under debate. Western art historians generally agree that the importation of jadeite into China from Burma began in the eighteenth century, but recently several Chinese scholars have offered different opinions. Wen Guang argues that jadeite may have been known to the Chinese as early as the fourth century; Guang, Wen, “Zhongguo baoyushi yingyong lishi, Zhongguo baoyushi 1992.1, 21–22.Google Scholar Another date proposed respectively by James C.Y. Watt and Deng Shuping is the seventeenth century; Watt, James C.Y., Chinese Jades from Han to Ch'ing (New York: Asia Society, 1980), 29–30 Google Scholar; Shuping, Deng , “Tan feicui ”, Gugong wenwu yuekan 1984.6, 4.Google Scholar Watt's and Deng's date seems plausible, although it is yet to be confirmed by archaeology.

82. The three scientists involved in these tests are Zheng Jian , Wen Guang and Jing Zhichun . Zheng Jian conducted the first two tests of a total of eighteen Liangzhu jades; Jian, Zheng, “Jiangsu Wuxian xinshiqi shidai yizhi chutu de guyu yanjiu, Kaoguxue jikan 3 (1980), 218–224 Google Scholar; “Wuxian Zhanglingshan Dongshan chutu yuqi jianding baogao” , Wenwu 1986.10, 39–41. Wen Guang and Jing Zhichun together examined some 150 jades in a number of tests and published the results in a co-authored essay; Guang, Wen and Zhichun, Jing, “Chinese Neolithic Jade: A Preliminary Geoarchaeological Study,Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 7: 3 (1992), 251–275.Google Scholar Aided by more advanced testing methods such as scanning electron microscopy and infrared absorption spectrometry, Wen Guang found that Zheng Jian had incorrectly identified a sample of antigorite as nephrite; Guang, Wen, “Zhongguo guyu yanjiu de xinjinzhan, Zhongguo baoyushi 1991.4, 34.Google Scholar

83. Guang, Wen, “Sunan xinshiqi shidai yuqi de kaogu dizhixue yanjiu, Wenwu 1986.10,44.Google Scholar

84. Wen Guang and Jing Zhichun, “Chinese Neolithic Jade,” 259.

85. Wen Guang and Jing Zhichun, “Chinese Neolithic Jade,” 261.

86. Zheng Jian, “Jiangsu Wuxian xinshiqi shidai yizhi chutu de guyu yanjiu,” 222–23; Wen Guang and Jing Zhichun, “Chinese Neolithic Jade,” 259.

87. Wen Guang and Jing Zhichun, “Chinese Neolithic Jade,” 261.

88. Wen Guang and Zhichun Jing, “Chinese Neolithic Jade,” 254–255.

89. Rongxin, Dong, “Songze yizhi chutu shiqi, yuqi de yanshi leixing ji laiyuan,, in Songze , ed. shi wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, Shanghai (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1987), 121–124.Google Scholar

90. Zheng Jian, “Wuxian Zhanglingshan Dongshan chutu yuqi jianding baogao,” 41.

91. Guang, Wen, “Dui ‘Jiangsu sheng Liyang xian toushanshiyan yanjiu’ yiwen de buchong, Yanshi kuangwuxue zazhi 9.2 (1990.2), 136.Google Scholar

92. Although Xia Nai has convincingly demonstrated that the definitions of the traditional terms for annular discs, i.e., bi , huan , and yuan , and the difference of the ratios between the body width and the diameter of the perforation derive from Han scholars’ interpretations and are not supported by archaeological evidence ( Nai, Xia, “Shangdai yuqi de fenlei, dingming he yongtu, >Kaogu 1983.5, 456–457 Google Scholar), archaeologists still employ these terms in their reports. As a result, artifacts listed under the three different names are all similar annular discs and can sometimes be identical. For convenience's sake, I will use the traditional term bi but treat it as an equivalent of an annular disc.

93. See Baojun, Guo , “Guyu Xinquan, Guoli zhongyang yanjiu-yuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo jikan 20 (1948), v. 2,41 Google Scholar; see also Zunguo, Wang. Liangzhu wenhua yulianzang shulüe, Wenwu 1984.2, 25.Google Scholar For a survey of bi in prehistoric cultures, see Shuping, Deng , “Gugong bowuyuan suocang xinshiqi shidai yuqi yanjiu zhiyi, bi yu yabi, Guoli gugong bowuyuan xueshu jikan 5.1 (Autumn 1987), 1–56.Google Scholar

94. Huang Xuanpei, “Lüelun woguo xinshiqi shidai yuqi,” 154.

95. Shanghai shi wenwu baoguan weiyuanhui, Songze, 14, 37.

96. Mou Yongkang expresses a similar view, contending that the bi “may have to do with the concept of wealth.” See, Mou Yongkang, preface to Liangzhu wenhua yuqi, p. vii.

97. Archaeologists have recently found at Zhaolingshan , Jiangsu, that the tomb occupant wore cong on his arms; Feng, Qiang , “Zhaolingshan yizhi fajue huo zhongda chengguo, Zhongguo wenwubao 2 August 1992, 1.Google Scholar Some earlier studies noted an association between cong and bracelets; see Minao, Hayashi , “Chūgoku kōdai no saigyoku, zuigyoku, Tōhō gakuhō 40 (1969), 290–91.Google Scholar

98. Yang Jianfang and Liu Bin have also noted the relationship between the shape and the face motif of the cong. Yang suggests that the cong has a square outer perimeter because it is easier to divide a circle into even-numbered parts than odd-numbered, and four quarters seem to be the optimum proportion for the decorative motifs; Jianfang, Yang, “Yucong zhi yanjiu, Kaogu yu wenwu 1990.2, 62–63.Google Scholar Liu Bin agrees that the cong developed the square shape along with the increasing emphasis on the face motif, but he argues that the cong did not derive from the bracelet. He believes that Liangzhu craftsmen modelled the cong on something like the American Indian totem pole; Bin, Liu, “Liangzhu wenhua yucong chutan Wenwu 1990.2, 32.Google Scholar At this time, however, there is neither archaeological nor textual evidence of the existence of similar totem poles in any known Chinese culture. Moreover, the evidence that Liu uses for his argument, cong with an extremely small central perforation, amounts to an insignificant percentage of the excavated samples, and represents a borderline case.

99. For an illustration, see Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi, 6, fig. 6.

100. Many scholars interpret the two clawed legs as belonging to the mask and thus describe the mask as an animal in a squatting posture. A close examination seems to exclude this interpretation. The mask is not proportional to the legs as the human form is. It is only superimposed upon the legs and does not join them at all. It does not even have a face or a neck. In fact, the mask never goes beyond eyes, a nose, and/or a mouth, though it occasionally occurs with either the upper or the lower part of the half human figure in the same composition.

101. Chang, K.C., “An Essay on Cong,Orientations 20.6 June, 1989), 39.Google Scholar

102. Yongkang, Mou, “Liangzhu yuqi shang shenchongbai de tansuo, in Qingzhu Su Bingqi kaogu wushiwu nian lunwenji , ed. bianjizu, Bingqi kaogu wushiwu nian lunwenji Qingzhu Su (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1989), 193.Google Scholar

103. Deng Shuping, “Gugong bowuyuan suocang xinshiqi shidai yuqi yanjiu zhi yi—bi yu yabi,” 37.

104. Bing, Xiao , “Liangzhu yuqi ‘shenren shoumian wen’ xinjie, Dongnan wenhua 1992.3/4, 54–56.Google Scholar

105. Ren Shinan , “Changjiang Huanghe zhongxiayou xinshiqi wenhua de jiaoliu” , in Qingzhu Su Bingqi kaogu wushiwu nian lunwenji, 70–76.

106. bowuyuan, Nanjing, “1987 nian Jiangsu Xinyi Huating yizhi de fajue,Wenwu 1990.2, 1–26;Google Scholar Zaizhong, Du , “Lun Wei Zi liuyu de yuanshi wenhua, in Shandong shicjian wenhua lunwenji , ed. bianjibu, Shandong sheng Qi Lu kaogu congkan (Jinan: Qilu shushe, 1986), 141.Google Scholar

107. Long rectangular blades with a beveled edge, traditionally designated as gui, have been otherwise referred to as chan (spade), ben (adze), and fu (axe). Although evidence suggests that the gui derived from the axe, it eventually became a distinct type. I prefer the traditional term here because it has long been associated with the type and is more precise than other descriptive terms. The English term “blade,” used by some writers, risks confusing it with other types, such as long narrow knives.

108. Guangzhi, Zhang [Kwang-chih Chang], Zhongguo qingtong shidai (Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 1979), 40–44 Google Scholar; Ruzuo, Wu , “Xia yu dongyi guanxi de chubu tantao”. , in Hua Xia wenming , ed. Changwu, Tian (Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe, 1987), 199–202.Google Scholar

109. See, for example, bianji weiyuanhui, Wenwu, Wenwu kaogu gongzuo shinian: 1979–1989. : 1979–1989 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1991), 128–131 Google Scholar; sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, Anhui, “Anhui Hanshan Lingjiatan xinshiqi shidai mudi fajue jianbao, Wenwu 1989.4, 1–9 Google Scholar; Jingguo, Zhang and Debiao, Yang , “Anhui Hanshan chutu yipi xinshiqi shidai yushiqi, Wenwu 1989.4, 95–96 Google Scholar; sheng Xiaoxian bowuguan, Anhui, “Xiaoxian Jinzhaicun faxian yipi xinshiqi shidai yuqi, Wenwu 1989.4, 18–21 Google Scholar; sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, Anhui, “Anhui Qianshan xian Tianningzhai xinshiqi shidai yizhi, Kaogu 1987.11, 974–983 Google Scholar; sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, Anhui, “Susong Huangshanzui xinshiqi shidai yizhi, Kaogu xuebao 1987.4, 451–469 Google Scholar; sheng wenwu gongzuodui, Anhui, “Qianshan Xuejiagang xinshiqi shidai yizhi, Kaogu xuebao 1982.3, 283–324.Google Scholar

110. sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, Zhejiang, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi, 42, fig. 53 Google Scholar; Xuhang, Kan , “Dingyuan Houjiazhai xinshiqi shidai yizhi, Zhongguo kaoguxue nianjian (1986), 128.Google Scholar

111. Ren Shinan, “Changjiang Huanghe zhongxiayou xinshiqi wenhua de jiaoliu,” 75.

112. shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo, Zhongguo, Yinxu Fu Hao mu (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980), pl. 132.Google Scholar

113. Qiong, Su , “Zhaolingshan chutu de liangjian yuqi, Zhongguo wenwubao 2 August 1992, 1.Google Scholar

114. These lines are not exactly the same as the thread relief on bronze vessels which were raised above a uniformly level background. They are actually flush with most of the surface because the carvers removed only a small part of the surface that was adjacent to the lines.

115. For earlier studies, see Dohrenwend, Doris, “Jade Demonic Images from Early China,Ars Orientalis 10 (1975), 55–78 Google Scholar; Dunyuan, Liu , “Ji Liangchengzhen faxian de liangjian shiqi, Kaogu 1972.4, 56–57 Google Scholar; Hong, Wu , “Yizu zaoqi de yushi diaoke” — , Meishu yanjiu 1979.1, 64–69 Google Scholar. Recent studies include Minao, Hayashi, “Inkyo Sō Kō moku suido no gyokuki jakukan nitai suru chushi, Tōhō gakuhō 58 (1986), 1–70 Google Scholar; Jianfang, Yang, “Shijiahe wenhua yuqi jiqi xiangguan wenti, in Zhongguo yishu wenwu taolunhui lunwenji , ed. gugong bowuyuan bian weiyuanhui, Guoli (Taipei: Guoli gugong bowuyuan, 1992)Google Scholar; sHung [Wu Hong], Wu, “Bird Motifs in Eastern Yi Art,Orientations 1984.10, 30–41.Google Scholar

116. Liu Dunyuan, “Ji Liangchengzhen yizhi faxian de liangjian shiqi,” 56–57.

117. gongzuodui, guojiang shuiku zhihuibu wenwu Shilong, “Hubei Jingshan, Tianmen kaogu fajue jianbao, Kaogu tongxun 1956, 3, 19 Google Scholar; Dunyuan, Liu, “Ji Liangchengzhen yizhi faxian de liangjian shiqi,Kaogu 1972, 4, 56–57 Google Scholar; Xinyang diqu wenguanhui, Henan and xian wenguanhui, Guangshan, “Chun-qiu zaoqi Huangjun Meng fufu mu fajue baogao, Kaogu 1984.4, 302–332 Google Scholar; Changshou, Zhang , “Ji Fengxi xinfaxian de shoumian yushi, Kaogu 1987.5, 470–473 Google Scholar; diqu bowuguan, Jingzhou, “Hubei Jingmen, Zhongxiang, Jingshan, Tianmen sixian guyizhi diaocha, Wenwu ziliao congkan 10 (1987), 44–54 Google Scholar; diqu bowuguan, Jingzhou and xian bowuguan, Zhongxiang, “Zhongxiang Liuhe yizhi, Jiang Han kaogu 1987.2, 1–31 Google Scholar; Xiaoneng, Yang , Zhongguo yuanshi shehui diaosu yishu (Hong Kong: Dadao chuban youxian gongsi, 1988), 48 Google Scholar; sheng bowuguan, Hubei, “Hubei Dangyang Jijiahu xinshiqi shidai yizhi, Wenwu ziliao congkan 10 (1987), 1–15 Google Scholar; sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, Anhui, “Anhui Hanshan Lingjiatan xinshiqi shidai mudi fajue jianbao, Wenwu 1989.4, 1–9 Google Scholar; sheng Xiaoxian bowuguan, Anhui, “Xiaoxian Jinzhaicun faxian yipi xinshiqi shidai yuqi,Wenwu 1989.4, 18–21 Google Scholar; gongzuodui, Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo Shandong, “Shandong Linju Zhufeng Longshan wenhua muzang, Kaogu 1990.7, 587–594 Google Scholar; sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo, Jiangxi, sheng Xin'gan xian bowuguan, Jiangxi, “Jiangxi Xin'gan Dayangzhou Shangmu fajue jianbao, Wenwu 1991.10, 1–21 Google Scholar.

118. A few of these jades found in Zhou contexts suggest that the face motifs probably survived the Shang. One is a small face carved in relief lines which was found in a looter's tunnel to an early Western Zhou tomb. It closely resembles the jade face from a Shang site at Xin'gan , Jiangxi. The two rings from an Eastern Zhou tomb have a peculiar feature. Three of the four faces on the rings were executed in the contemporary bevel cuts, whereas one was done in relief lines, a technique not found on any other known Eastern Zhou jades. For illustrations, see Changshou, Zhang, “Ji Fengxi xin fanxian de shoumian yushi,Kaogu 1987.5, 470–473 Google Scholar; Xinyang diqu wenguanhui, Henan and xian wenguanhui, Guangshan, “Chunqiu zaoqi Huangjun Meng fufu mu fajue baogao,Kaogu 1984.4, 302–332 Google Scholar.

119. Archaeologists of Anhui have excavated about ten major sites in the last decade and have discovered several new archaeological cultures. While recognizing their contact with the Xuejiagang culture, they believe these cultures to be relatively autonomous local developments but have not yet named them. See Wenwu bianji weiyuanhui, Wenwu kaogu gongzuo shinian, 128–131.

120. Wenwu bianji weiyuanhui, Wenwu kaogu gongzuo shinian, 128–131; Ren Shinan, “Changjiang Huanghe zhongxiayou xinshiqi wenhua de jiaoliu,” 70–76.

121. Salmony, Alfred, Carved Jade of Ancient China (Berkeley: Gillick Press, 1938), pl. XXXI:2–3 Google Scholar.

122. Rawson, Jessica also attributes these spirals to Liangzhu influence; Jessica Rawson, Ancient China: Art and Archaeology (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1980), 78 Google Scholar.

123. Salmony, Alfred, Chinese Jade through the Wei Dynasty (New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1963), pl. XII:3 Google Scholar.

124. For an illustration, see meishu quanji bianji weiyuanhui, Zhongguo, Zhongguo meishu quanji, Gongyi meishu bian 9: Yuqi (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1986), 26 Google Scholar, fig. 49. Two scholars have noted the Liangzhu elements on this baton, but they do not associate it with the Jiang-Huai jades; see Wei, Wang , “Shang wenhua yuqi yuanyuan tansuo, Kaogu 1989.6, 831 Google Scholar; Bin, Liu, “Liangzhu wenhua yucong chutan,Wenwu 1990.2, 36 Google Scholar. This baton has been used as pivotal evidence linking Liangzhu jades with Shang bronzes. Though its existence at Erlitou argues for the knowledge of face motifs in the early Shang, the designs on early Shang bronzes seem too vague to have been specifically based on such a jade design, and on present evidence it is difficult to argue for more than a rather loose connection between the Liangzhu jade and Shang bronze motifs. For arguments favoring the connection between Liangzhu face motifs and the taotie, see Jessica Rawson, Ancient China: Art and Archaeology, 78; Kesner, Ladislav, “The Taotie Reconsidered: Meanings and Functions of the Shang Theriomorphic Imagery,Artibus Asiae 51.1/2 (1991), 29–53 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Yang Jianfang by contrast argues that the taotie and Liangzhu face motif are not related because they were modeled on different animals; Yang Jianfang, “Yucong zhi yanjiu,” 60.

125. For illustrations, see Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo, Yinxu Fu Hao mu, pl. 162: 2 (item no. 942); pl. 165: 3 (item no. 1299). Another Jiang-Huai import among Fu Hao's jades is a flat pendant in the form of a bird, often referred to as a pheonix, which Bagley, Robert and Jianfang, Yang have also judged to be from the Hubei area; see The Great Bronze Age of China, ed. Fong, Wen (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1980), 187 Google Scholar; Yang Jianfang, “Shijiahe wenhua yuqi jiqi xiangguan wenti.” For an illustration, see Yinxu Fu Hao mu, color pl. 32:3 (item no. 350).

126. The large diversity and wide time range shown in Fu Hao's jades suggest that Fu Hao acquired the jades from various sources rather than having them all carved during her lifetime. A considerable number of them are unmistakably imports from regional cultures that predated the Anyang period. See below for further detail.

127. For an illustration, see Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan kaogu yanjiusuo, Yinxu Fu Hao mu, pl. 144:2 (item no. 399). A less obvious example of Shang adaptation of Jiang-Huai jades is an eagle with open wings in Fu Hao's tomb (Yinxu Fu Hao mu, pl. 145:5 [item no. 390]).

128. For examples, see the striation on most of the cong, and also the carving on a cong from Yaoshan, a trapezoidal fitting, and tubular beads from Fanshan, in Liangzhu wenhua yuqi, figs. 17, 112, 172.

129. Shang jade carving had several sources. Some coiled dragons and two other pieces from Fu Hao's tomb, which are undoubtedly imports, point to the influence of Hongshan jades of northeastern China. Compared with that of the eastern coast, however, the influence of Hongshan jades seems to be small. The Hongshan culture was about two thousand years prior to the Shang and its jade carving appears to have left little imprint on the succeeding cultures in northeastern China. To date, discoveries of jades in this region in post-Hongshan cultures have been very rare. Investigation of the relationship between the Shang and Hongshan cultures is, and will remain, difficult until the situation in field archaeology improves. For the two jades in Fu Hao's tomb that I believe to be Hongshan imports, see Yinxu Fu Hao mu, pl. 162:1 (item no. 948) and pl. 164:1 (item no. 964).