Wu Yue Jade Research

This dissertation collects and collates jade articles of Spring-Autumn and Warring States Periods excavated from Wu-Yue Area comprehensively, analyzing the structure, decorations and craftwork of those jade articles from Wu and Yue. It also research the pedigree, origin and development of jade articles from Wu and Yue and the exchanges of culture factors, and also probe into the jades use system, notion, function of Wu and Yue in the period of Spring-Autumn and Warring States. Basically, this dissertation resolves the national identity of jades excavated from lord graves in Wu and Yue, concludes characteristics and also puts forward some problems in the basis of resolving some problems, thereby, filling in the empty gaps of research of jades in Wu and Yue.Main contents of this dissertation are as follows:The first chapter is prolegomenon. This part states reasons for the selection of the title, current research state of this academic area and also introduces my own research approaches. In the periods of Spring-Autumn and Warring States, the development of Chinese jade articles show a trend of diversification. High-grade jades are popular in that days from central nations around Yellow River to Wu, Yue and Chu states around Yangtze River. Researches about Wu-Yue Jade is not so complete compared to jades of other kingdoms. It is of great importance to open a topic, focusing on jades of that period of time and area. This paper takes its views from the points of archaeology, cultural relics study, documentation study and use stratigraphy, typology approaches to analyze Wu-Yue jades.The second chapter discusses the discovery of jades and its spatio-temporal analysis. To begin with, this article defines Wu-Yue Jades. Then I collects and collates information from 26 graves, archaeological sites situated in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai provinces. Apart from information of grave structure, coffin kinds, combination, layout and number of funeral objects, I consider the place of zone bits, space between graves to define whether they belongs to the same series of grave. This dissertation also combines files of Wu-Yue Jades from Chu state and other areas of Warring States period, Qin and Han Dynasty.The third chapter mainly elaborates on cultural characters of jade articles. First of all, I differentiate the territory of Wu-Yue area and then discriminate lord graves of Wu-Yue. Finally, I discuss the identity of national origin of those 26 grave and relic sites and indicated jades'state of bury, especially the layout connection of jades and coexisted bronzes and potteries. We can recognize state identity from the relationship between jade articles and other funeral objects through these researches. After distinguishing Wu graves and Yue graves, I start to take a good study about typical jades and jade combinations and reached a conclusion about the feature of Wu-Yue jades.Next Chapter is about the discussion of cultural elements of those excavated jades. This paper investigates the source and root of Wu-Yue jades from aspects of pattern making, decorations and craftwork on the basis of a chronological order. I explore features of Wu-Yue jades by comparison of them with prehistoric jade ornament, especially Liangzhu jades; Wu-Yue jades and Chu jades and Central Plains jades. We can find out that the cultural characteristic of Wu-Yue jades is not very typical and it has a certain connection to the early Liangzhue jades and contemporary Central Plains jades.The fifth chapter is some investigations about Wu-Yue jades. Firstly, I generalize the connection between excavated Wu-Yue jades and those documented etiquette and custom of pre-Qin Days by referring to documentation. This research gives an answer to whether those custom is shown in Wu-Yue jades. Secondly, I discuss the attitude toward jade usage and regulation by comparing Wu-Yue jades to Main Plains jades. Finally, the dissertation investigates the evolvement of Wu-Yue jades and probes the motivations and cultural communication trend represented in this process. These researches show the status which Wu-Yue jades enjoyed in the history of Chinese jade development.In a word, the period of Spring-Autumn and Warring States is an important transition joint in the development of Chinese jade articles. No matter it is in Main Plains area of Yellow River basin, or in Wu and Yue area of Yangtze River basin, the manufacture and exchange of jades is relatively exoteric, the structure and breeds of jade is comparatively abundant. In the process of avocation of "inside saint, outside king" notion which is reinforced by thinkers such as Confucius and statesmen, jade turns into a moral in the internalization as a symbol of status, performs a role in preserving rule and reinforcing domination. Jades of Wu and Yue, which are far away in the southeast of the Central Plain, also soak the characteristic such as ceremony, signify, politicization of jades from the Central Plain, become a symbol of identity, status and authority.Although the regional features of structure, decoration and craftwork are not very obvious, and there is not a strict distinct between jades of Wu and Yue, but height class graves appear in the area of Wu and Yue, therefore have a high place in the development of Chinese jades. Research of jades of Wu and Yue can help us understand the problems such as jade used system in East Zhou, culture pattern as unity of pluralistic, the cause and development of Wu and Yue society and exchange of Wu, Chu and Yue. From this perspective, the research of this dissertation fill in the gaps of the research about Wu and Yue culture. Moreover, base on archaeologic data, this dissertation put forward problem, set up assumption, amend conclusion, construct new cognition, adopt the research method such as combining induction and deduction, combining typology and culture factors analysis, combining archaeology and ordinary social sciences, create the research method about jades in the research of the jades in Wu and Yue, these are innovations of this dissertation.