How did the ancient jade culture in China come into being?

The relationship between jade and human beings can be traced back to primitive society. In China, people regard it as the essence of heaven and earth, which makes jade have an unusual meaning. It gradually evolved into an artistic tradition and flourished for more than 3000 years.

"Jade tried to burn for three days and defended for seven years." "Jade is fine, how can it not be strong?" Carving after carving, arachis duranensis, Pian Yu.

In the eyes of China people, jade is a symbol of purity and tenacity. People associate jade with spiritual nobility, transforming it from a hard stone into a symbol of power, status, wealth and theocracy. As emperors and generals, jade is a necessity for literati, which also shows us that jade is a vivid embodiment of the oriental spirit and the material basis of the essence of China cultural tradition.

The Origin and Conditions of Jade Culture

When it comes to the origin of jade culture, we should clearly realize that the origin of jade culture is very different from that of jade, and the ancient jade culture in China and its development are even different from other civilizations. As early as the long Stone Age, jade was processed and utilized because of its hard texture. Jade at this time is only a tool of people's life, and it can't be called jade culture.

Three conditions of jade culture are indispensable. The appearance of human aesthetic feeling. With the development of productive forces, people have gradually ended their life of eating like fur and drinking like blood, and the stability of life has also prompted people to have a hazy experience of beauty. Jade stands out from other stone tools because of its unique translucent color and greasy after polishing, and is favored by ancestors. About 18000 years ago, during the period of cavemen in Beijing, exquisite decorations had become the daily utensils of ancestors at that time, and the concept of beauty had already been deeply rooted in people's hearts.

The development of manufacturing technology. In the long-term production and life of human beings, the processing stone tools have gradually changed from simple hammer rotation to indirect techniques such as hitting, drilling and pondering. The maturity of technology makes the carving of jade more delicate, and the crystal and moist characteristics of jade itself have been fully explored. People pay more attention to carving it into exquisite ornaments and rarely use it in production equipment.

The position of jade in ancient sacrifices and the propaganda of cultural communicators. As early as in ancient society, people have regarded jade as the essence of heaven and earth, so jade has an unusual symbolic meaning of theocracy in ancient times, and jade carved into imperial palaces is regarded as a symbol of rank and status.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a gentleman who "compared jade with derby". When it comes to the promoter of jade occupying an important position in China, we have to say that there was a Confucius. Confucius attached importance to ceremony. Because of this, jade, as a symbol of ancient theocracy, was highly valued by Confucius because of its unique texture, and therefore clearly put forward the theory of jade virtue, which believed that jade had eleven virtues. However, the Confucian jade never leaves his body and insists on influencing his own quality with jade, which further enhances the status of jade in people's hearts.

On the spirit advocated by the ancients from the perspective of jade culture

Jade culture developed into Han Dynasty. On the basis of Guan Zhong's and Confucius' jade virtue theories, Xu Shen became the first person to define jade and put forward the "Five Virtues Theory" of jade.

He said in Shuo Wen Jie Zi: Jade is the beauty of stone. There are five virtues, moist and warm, and benevolent; Kun Li from the outside, you can know, just also; Its sound is soothing, its design is far-listening, and its wisdom is also; Perseverance, courage; Clever and honest, but dishonest, it is also clean.

The inner core material is mild, soft and shiny. Wear jade, have a kind heart, compare jade to a gentle and modest gentleman, and accompany you all the time. After being infected by it, people who wear jade will also change and have a kind heart;

According to the characteristics of jade, it can be seen from the appearance whether there are impurities in jade, and this characteristic just reflects the ancient people's emphasis on loyalty and became an essential moral character of ancient gentlemen;

When wisdom knocks on jade, it will make a pleasant sound and spread far away, which shows that jade is intelligent and good at conveying to people around, which not only shows that a gentleman is good at conveying to the surrounding areas, but also shows that a gentleman is ambitious and far-reaching;

Yongning is broken jade, not full of tiles. This feature of jade represents the courage of a gentleman and a superman. The ancients paid special attention to integrity, so they used an object to express their unshakable quality to people, even if it was broken, and the characteristics of jade made it a representative of courage.

When jade is broken, the edge will break sharply, but touching it with your hands will not hurt us, which is different from any other substance. Even if it is broken, it will cover its edge, which also expresses the characteristics of a gentleman to lead an honest and clean life. These five virtues have laid the foundation for the humanistic value of jade in the history of China, making it synonymous with a gentleman. Because of Xu Shen's Five Virtues Theory, these beautiful and noble qualities have become the core of Chinese jade culture and the most precious treasure in the hearts of China people.

The Relationship between Jade Culture and Contemporary Society

Attaching some natural features such as the appearance of jade to people, praising it as a virtue that a so-called "gentleman" should possess, has become a great creation in the development and dissemination of China culture. Today, jade and its jade culture have gradually moved towards the folk, but in ancient China, jade did not actually "move towards the folk". Most ancient jade articles were worn by the upper class or used for important sacrifices, which caused the illusion that jade articles were no less than ordinary people. Secondly, Zhou Li has detailed regulations on gentlemen's wearing and using jade, which is regarded as the core of jade culture by later generations, so ordinary people have few opportunities to contact jade.

But for modern people, with the popularity of jade, people pay more attention to the material of jade and ignore its original cultural connotation. This practice turns jade bearing important culture into a tool for interest exchange. Isn't this against the jade culture and its purpose of the ancients? Of course, the fine qualities such as benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, cleanliness and courage that a gentleman should have interpreted through jade have also been passed down. Jade, as the carrier of cultural inheritance, has completed its fundamental task, and jade culture has gradually evolved into the culture of the whole country, affecting generation after generation with its beautiful quality, which should continue to be passed down.

Jade is an important part of China culture, which is different from other civilizations in the world. Jade culture, with jade as the central carrier, not only deeply influenced the concept of the ancients, but also deeply rooted in everyone's heart in China with the glittering and translucent jade.