Study On Jade Of Neolithic Age In Northern Region Of China

Jade artifacts and jade culture are important symbols distinguishing Chinese civilization from others.In this dissertation,we will focus on the cultural causes and development process of Neolithic jade artifacts in northern China from the perspective of archaeological investigations on jade artifacts.Chapter 1,Introduction.In this chapter,we will define the chronological and spatial context of this paper,including the geographical divisions and chronological system,clarify the study object,standardize artifact designations,review a brief study history,as well as introduce the background,methodology,and content of the study.Chapter 2,according to the chronological and spatial framework of archaeological culture that has been constructed,the Neolithic jade artifacts unearthed in the northern China will be presented by categorizing them into seven regions,the Heilongjiang basin,the Liaodong region,the Liaodong region,the Haidai region,the Hetao region,the Central Plains region and the Ganqing region.The jade artifacts excavated from the each site along with their contexts will be comprehensively investigated and integrated according to their cultures within the regions.Chapter 3,the typology,evolution and related issues of jade artifacts will be investigated on the basis of their regions.We have divided the development of jade artifacts in each region into two to five different stages,recognizing that jade artifacts appeared at different times in each region,with the earliest appearance of amphibole jade artifacts and beautiful stone artifacts in the Heilongjiang basin and the Central Plains;the evolution of jade artifacts within the region is not consistent,with gaps in the stages except for the Central Plains,especially the Hetao region and the Ganqing region,where the continuity of artifacts is poor;and there are obvious differences in the appearance of Neolithic jade artifacts from different regions.Chapter 4,the Neolithic jade artifacts in northern China are divided into five developmental stages based on a horizontal comparison of the chronological correspondence of jade artifacts in each region on the basis of the chronological study,belonging to the three eras of Chahai,Yangshao,and Longshan.The first stage corresponds to the early Chahai period.The jade artifact collection of the Xiaonanshan Culture in the Heilongjiang basin represents the earliest known jade culture in China,while the turquoise artifacts of the Jiahu yiqi Culture in the Central Plains initiated the cultural tradition for the use of turquoise in the prehistoric Yellow River basin.The second stage corresponds to the middle to late Chahai period to the early Yangshao period.The development pace for primary artifacts in each region was fairly consistent with the diversified characteristics.At this time,the development of jade artifacts in the Liaoxi region was at the forefront in the northeast and even in the entire northern China.The third stage is equivalent to the middle and late Yangshao period.At this stage,the pace of jade artifact development in western Liaoning was significantly faster than that in other regions,completing the transformation to ceremonial artifacts at first,moving from ‘adornment with jades’ to the stage of ‘ceremony by jades’,while continuing to export its influence to the neighboring regions.The fourth stage is equivalent to the early Longshan period.The middle and lower Yellow River region became the pioneer of jade culture in prehistoric northern China,laying the foundation for the development of the jade ritual system in the late Longshan period.The fifth stage corresponds to the late Longshan period until the establishment of the Xia Dynasty.In this stage,which is the final stage for the development of prehistoric jade,jade objects participated in the process of early civilization as a higher-level cultural carrier in the Yellow River basin,providing a strong foundation for the maturation of the jade ritual system in the three following dynasties.Based on the regional and chronological studies,we have sorted out the development process of the Neolithic jade cultures in northern China,and divided them into five major jade cultural systems.Looking at the shape,function and technology,the prehistoric jade artifacts of the Heilongjiang basin are classified into Heiji Jade Culture,located north of the Songliao watershed,including Heilongjiang,Jilin,Hulun Buir region of Inner Mongolia and the northern edge of the Horqin sandy land.Jade artifacts in the western Liaoning region made an unprecedented development during the late Hongshan Culture,which started the precedent of ceremonial jade artifacts in China and led to the creation of a outstanding prehistoric jade culture in northeastern China,called the Liaoxi Jade Culture.The Haidai region has developed a distinctive Haidai Jade Culture based on the integration of raw materials,shapes,techniques and concepts of using from the northern and southern China,combined with the local jade production and application.Prehistoric jade artifacts in the middle Yellow River basin developed rapidly after Longshan era,and mostly as a result of foreign communications;it became an isolated craft sector eventually in the southern Shanxi,where the adjacent jade culture met,which can be called Jinshaan Jade Culture.The Gan1 ing Jade Culture,represented by the Qijia jade artifacts,developed by inheriting the traditions of Yangshao era in the Gan-Qing and Central Plains regions,and then having frequent and close exchanges with the neighboring jade cultures.Chapter 5,it interprets the evolutionary pattern of prehistoric jade culture in northern China in different periods.The jade culture in the early Chahai period was developed firstly in the Heilongjiang basin.At this time,the jade artifacts of each region in the Heilongjiang basin opened up a spiritual communication with jade above the production and daily life.The communication dynamics within the basin was initially revealed among each archaeological culture,and the impact on archaeological cultures outside the basin continued to increase.Until the late Yangshao period,it developed a center for jade culture in the western Liao River basin that could be compared with that in the southern China.At this time,while the western Liao River jade artifacts were in frequent exchange with the other two regions in the northeast China,it continued to influence the outside intensely,across the Yanshan Hills to the middle and lower Yellow River,which became one of the sources for the ideological transformation about jade in the Yellow River basin from the worship of the gods to the worship of the people during the Longshan era.As the center shifted southward during the Longshan period,jade cultural systems both independent of and interacting with each other emerged in the Yellow River basin.At this time,jade artifacts,which was a rare resource,had become a cultural consensus that far exceeded the regional boundaries represented by earthenware in the Yellow River basin.The spread and recognition of jade culture,together with the geographic advantage of being located in the middle of China,accelerated the process of civilization in the Yellow River basin,especially in the Central Plains,and ultimately led to the formation of the unified and stable Xia Dynasty.Chapter 6,Conclusion.Summarizing the results of this research and pointing out shortcomings.