Jade Cong

[Jade Cong]

Jade Cong, Liangzhu culture of the Neolithic Age, has a total height of 7.3 cm, an internal diameter of 8.9 cm, and an external length of 11.7 cm
It is made of turquoise jade, and the outside has been soaked into reddish brown. The whole shape is round inside and square outside. It is divided into two sections, each of which is engraved with human face patterns. The human face has round eyes, and two sharp eye tips are incised in the shade, and the crown part is simplified to a horizontal line. The mouth is embossed and the upper part is embossed. The inner wall of the jade cong is straight and smooth, and a poem inscribed by the Emperor Qianlong is inscribed in the shade: “Rim head is not heavy in ancient times, but is heavy enough to last for thousands of years. Things are also called treasures at present, and people should know the sages after catching them. Just look at the blood soil after immersion, and have seen the vicissitudes of life. Zhang Shi’s words are really understandable, and he can recite the meaning and plough the nature.” After that, there are “the imperial inscriptions of the late summer of 1898”, and the round seal with the word “Qian”, and the square seal with the word “Long”
Jade Cong is a typical tool of Liangzhu culture in the Neolithic Age. There are many interpretations of its significance, such as symbolizing the round sky and the place, and sacrificial ritual tools. After the Zhou Dynasty, jade cong gradually lost its original function as a ceremonial weapon and gradually became unknown. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was not known that it was an ancient jade cong. It was recognized as the rim of a car and was designated as the object of the Han Dynasty. This jade cong was re-straighted by the Qing Dynasty, and was equipped with an enamel copper bladder for use as incense. Due to the failure to identify the external decoration of the implements, this poem titled Han’s Jade Rim Head Bottle by Qianlong was carved in the opposite direction to the external decoration. The same verses were also written on the enamel copper gallbladder


玉琮内壁