Page 130 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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by two winglike shapes covered with curls and spi- a. Jade rod-shaped fitting
rals, appears to merge into a fearsome monster face
3
Height6(2 A)
below. The monster face has two large bulging eyes,
Liangzhu Culture, Middle Period
two prominent nostrils, and a large mouth, incised
(c. 2800-2400 BCE)
along the bottom edge of the plaque, with neatly
From Yaoshan, Yuhang, Zhejiang Province
aligned teeth. The carving technique is far more
advanced than that of the first plaque: the contour Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology,
is smooth, the engraving fluent, and the openwork Hangzhou
precise. The surface is carefully modulated to ac-
centuate the monster's face and smoothly polished b. Jade rod-shaped fitting
to a soft luster.
Height 18.4 (7 ft)
The function of these plaques remains un-
Liangzhu Culture, Middle Period
known. They have been found exclusively in Middle
(c. 2800-2400 BCE)
Liangzhu tombs at Yaoshan positioned among
4
pottery vessels near the feet of the deceased. Al- From Fanshan, Yuhang, Zhejiang Province
though their half-disk form resembles that of neck Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology,
pendants (huang) found near the chest of the de- Hangzhou
ceased, their position and the absence of suspen-
sion holes indicate that they may have served other Square in cross section and gently tapering to
functions. Small, connected holes on the back of a point, these rod-shaped fittings are decorated
plaques suggest that the objects were probably with face motifs and incised striations that date
sewn onto clothing or sheets of fabric, which de- them to the middle period of the Liangzhu culture
composed over the centuries of burial, zs (c. 2800-2400 BCE). The monster faces on the
1
smaller fitting (a) are in high relief with dished
1 Excavated in 1987 (M 7:55); reported: Zheijiang 19883, 46. eyes and sculpted mouth; the faces on the larger
2 Nanjing 1982, 30, fig. 4:13, for a photographic reproduc- 2
tion, see Zhejiang 1989, pi. 203. one (b) are somewhat abbreviated and cut in
3 Excavated in 1987 (M 10:20); reported: Zheijiang 19883, low relief.
46-47. Rod-shaped fittings were made throughout
4 Zhejiang K)88b, 46 - 47.
the Liangzhu period; the developmental sequence
of the form largely parallels that of the cong. Exam-
ples datable to the early period (3200-2800 BCE)
are round in cross section, taper gradually to a
point, and are drilled through the broad end with a
3
small conical hole. By the middle period, such
fittings become thicker and longer, often square in
cross section, and were decorated with complex
face motifs. The monster-and-human images, simi-
lar to those on the cong, are executed in modulated
relief, and finely engraved lines and characteristi-
cally span the two adjacent sides of the corner. The
butt is often worked down to a stepped tab, which is
drilled with a small hole. Rod-shaped fittings of the
Late Liangzhu period (2400-2000 BCE) are much
longer and more angular in form. One example
found at Fuquanshan in Shanghai measures 34

129 L I A N C Z H U C U L T U R E