Page 65 - China, 5000 years : innovation and transformation in the arts

This rich tomb also documents that there was a ^AViVflS,j
specified manner of decorating the corpse with
jade. The burial mask (cat. 12), for example, is « <&Y <S d o
composed of fourteen jade pieces, and the pectoral L
running from the corpse's neck to its knees is <
composed of seven huang (arc-shaped) jades that <]
are interconnected with agate and faience beads t>
(fig. 10). Flanking the corpse were two jade dagger- 4 &.
ax-like blades at chest level, two pair of bi, and two
U vtf ty rn?
handle attachments at foot level. Additional stone
cowries (hari) were placed in the corpse's mouth, m^ DO
and round post-shaped jades (wo) were placed in
Q fcS> &d?
the corpse's hand. Two further sets of eight small
jade inlays were found on the feet. The excavators ^7

explain that these jades lay on top of what appear Sg7
to have been over ten layers of red and yellow
decorated silk cloth. 4 ' The jade face mask was sewn
to a silk cover, while the pectoral ot jades formed a
necklace that lay on the corpse's chest. The practice
of decorating a corpse with jade necklaces may be

traced back to the Liangzhu period, when multiple
strands ofjade beads were commonly placed on

both male and female corpses.

The fourteen jades of the Sanmenxia burial mask o flQfl c
(cat. 12) mark pairs of eyebrows, eyes, temples, ears,
and cheeks and individually mark the forehead, ^s
nose, mouth, and neck. This type of jade face mask
with elaborate jade pectoral and mouth and hand Fig. g. Jade face masks from the Spying and Autumn
plugs may be compared with various others period: From tomb Nos. g2—gj,Jin cemetery, Qucun,
identified recently not only elsewhere in Henan, Tianma, Shanxi Province; From tomb No. 651, Shaogou,
Luoyang, Henan Province; From tomb Nos. 637, 1316,
but also in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei, dating to 1723, 2717, 22og, at Zhongzhoulu, Luoyang, Henan
Province. Eastern Zhou, Spring and Autumn period
the Western Zhou and later Eastern Zhou
periods. 4 ' The latter burials derive from cemeteries (770-476 BCE).
identifying Zhou enfiefments belonging to the
ancient states ofjin (Qucun,Tianma, Shaanxi), Ying the Soul" in the Chuci ("Songs of the South").
(Pingdingshan, Henan), Guo (Fengxi, Xi'an, Thus, the purpose of these jade masks is not only
Shaanxi), Jing (Zhangjiapo, Shaanxi), Yu (Baoji, aesthetic but profoundly religious.
Xi'an, Shaanxi) andYan (Liulihe, Fangshan, Hebei).
The rich and decorative sway ofjade that peaked
Evidently, the practice of burying the elite with as a revived art during the Eastern Zhou (770-
jade face masks and pectorals was standardized at 256 bce) is amply illustrated by its widespread use
in pectoral and girdle ornament decorating the
this point in Western Zhou history. robes of the literati. The exhibited jades

In addition, jade was used to plug the orifices of (cats. 13—16) representing small plaques, dragon
the corpse. These jade investments protected the pendants, disks, and rings tall into this category ol
corpse from disintegrating while allowing the spirit decorative object. Competitiveness in the arts was
(him) to continue living, as described in various
at a premium during the Waning States period
texts of Eastern Zhou and Han date. 4 ' In the Yi Li This was the time of "The Hundred Schools."
when roving philosophers plied their trade in
("Ceremonial Rites"), there is reference to the
mingmu (the spirit mask that covers the head), with trying to win the support of an overlord. Confucius
the commentary that the invoker of the spirit wore allegedly worked the literati crowd ol' 1 u in
Shandong. By the seventh century BC1 . the central
this jade covering at funerals in order to summon Zhou state was reduced to puppet status and was at

up the departed spirit which relatives and friends
sought to keep from drifting fir away. 44 After the
invocation rite, the jade face mask would then be
buried with the corpse. (In archaeological literature,
this face mask is commonly described as a "sewn
jade face guard" [zhuiyu mianzhao].) The interest in
invoking the spirit is well known as the objective ot

the shaman that inspired the poem "Summons ot

JADE AS MATERIAL AND EPOCH 63