Ancient jade has spirituality, and the winner must be a destined person
Chinese people have a special preference for jade since ancient times. The ancients said that the most beautiful stone is jade. Someone once vividly compared jade to the relics of the earth. Ancient jade, known as the first cornerstone of Chinese civilization, has an unfathomable and mysterious color.
"Archaeological Pictures" by Lu Dalin in the Song Dynasty, "Ancient Jade Pictures" by Zhu Derun in the Yuan Dynasty, "Gegu Yaolun" by Cao Zhao in the Ming Dynasty, and "Ancient Jade Picture Research" by Wu Da in the Qing Dynasty. It is a treatise on ancient jade collection and research.
In ancient times, a gentleman would not remove jade from his body for no reason, and there was no relationship between a gentleman and jade. The warm color of jade symbolizes kindness, the hard texture symbolizes wisdom, and the harmless edges and corners represent fairness and justice.
Folks believe that jade can protect the body, ward off evil spirits, and represents righteousness and spirituality. For ancient jade, it can be collected according to the criteria of fine workmanship, high quality, clever color and strange shape.
Generally speaking, the identification of new jade focuses on the authenticity of the jade material, the quality of the texture and the fineness of the carving; while the identification of old jade requires the identification of the jade's production era, historical role and The identity of the occupier, etc.
Ancient jade generally has more exquisite knife skills and simpler patterns. When appreciating ancient jade, more attention should be paid to its cultural connotation and historical value.
The Chinese nation has a long history of loving and respecting jade. From the ancient ancestors to modern times, people have a special liking for jade. In each period, China has retained a number of historical characteristics and historical research. Representative artifacts of high value generally include ancient pottery from the Xia Dynasty, bronzes from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, lacquerware from the War and Han Dynasties, gold and silverware from the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and porcelain from the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Although these artifacts have each taken the lead in the long history, none of them can last as long as jade and have been so favored by the people for a long time. This is unmatched by any other country and region in the world. .
The Kunlun Mountains are the source of dragon veins
Chinese jade culture, with Hetian jade as the highest level, had entered the royal treasure house of the Central Plains as late as the Shang Dynasty. The Kunlun Mountains where Hotan Jade belongs is considered by Feng Shui circles to be the ancestor of all mountains in the world and the source of the Great China Dragon Vein.
The famous Feng Shui book of the Tang Dynasty, "Shaking the Dragon Sutra", says: "Mountain Xumi is the bone of heaven and earth, and the heaven and earth in the middle are giant things. Like the back and neck beam of a human being, the limbs of dragons are born out of nowhere." Here is Mount Xumi , according to research, it is Kunlun Mountain. The so-called dragon veins are the transmission channels for the energy of heaven and earth.
Jade comes out from here, absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, and is formed by condensation of life energy. Therefore, in the "Book of Changes: Gua Shuo Zhuan", the Qian hexagram of the Eight Trigrams corresponds to jade, and the six lines of the stem are all yang. It is a pure Yang symbol.
At the same time, many myths in ancient China are related to Kunlun Mountain: the Yaochi of the Queen Mother of the West, the Yuxu Palace of Yuanshi Tianzun, the capital of the Emperor of Heaven, and various immortal palaces and mythical beasts.
No matter the names or plots mentioned above, they are often inextricably linked with jade. Therefore, for thousands of years, jade has been equated with beauty and auspiciousness in the minds of the Chinese.
For thousands of years, jade has been used as a symbol of rank
In the past, jade articles were made and polished in the form of sacrificial, sun-facing, sky-reaching, and spiritual instruments. exist. Channeling is a privilege, and privileges must be monopolized. Therefore, jade has become a privilege and "rigorous need" for princes and generals, which is what "Book of Rites Tamamo" calls "a gentleman in ancient times must wear jade" and "a gentleman will never leave jade without a reason."
Before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the trading of jade was prohibited. Even if it could be bought and sold later, it was still not affordable for ordinary people. After the Han and Tang Dynasties, although the overall civilization of artifacts became secularized, the characteristics of jade as a symbol of hierarchy remained unchanged.
In the public service system of past dynasties, jade was often one level higher than gold. "Zuo Zhuan" records the conversation between Zichan and Zhao Jingzi in the seventh year of Zhao Gong, which mentioned: "The more refined things are, the stronger the soul will be, so the essence will be as refreshing as the gods." Essence, in the final analysis, is life energy, and essence The carrying objects, according to "Guoyu" and others, should be made of jade and silk.
The only things that will remain immortal for thousands of years are jade and gold!
The concept of jade as the first essence of things has been further promoted in the Taoist immortal thought and alchemy culture since the War of the Han Dynasty. You can become an immortal by taking jade chips. In the immortal home, no matter the name of the place, the name of the god, or the magical weapon, jade is everywhere.
Taoists believe that a person will not die if he has a bit of yang energy, and the permanence of the jade material itself clearly shows the method of harvesting yang. Jade is the medium leading to eternity, from death to life. The Dharma is the trust in the immortality of the soul.
Although we cannot know where the souls of Taoist masters like Ge Hong who advocated taking food will eventually go, at least the current archaeological discoveries have indeed proved that the only things that can last for thousands of years are jade and gold. ——What a powerful life energy!
The most prolific person who played with ancient jade—Emperor Qianlong
From ancient times to the present, those who acquire ancient jade will be blessed. At the earliest, King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty presented jades from the Xia dynasty to his relatives. Later in the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the trend of collecting ancient jade became prevalent. From the king to the powerful ministers, all the jade collectors regarded them as treasures. The one who had the most fun was Emperor Qianlong, who gave ancient jade from the Qijia culture a base and engraved imperial poems. Looking at the condition of this "perfect old man" in his later years, he was obviously very blessed.
As for modern private collectors of antique jade, internationally renowned collectors such as Sackler and Ellsworth have never seen anything but wealth and glory, and have never heard of any bad luck.
According to what some collectors in China who do not want to appear in public say, ancient jade has spirituality. Once upon a time, the Songhai Sea was in trouble. If you think about what kind of characters these thousand-year-old spiritual creatures have worn, you will know how they will choose a new owner in this life and continue to perform their functions of seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune.