Chinese jade

Chinese jade comprises nephrite and, since the eighteenth century, jadeite fashioned in China into ritual, artistic, and practical objects. Its meanings and forms changed across millennia of use.

Confucianism: A Chinese ethical and philosophical tradition centered on moral cultivation, social roles, and humane conduct. Confucian writers likened jade’s physical qualities to virtues such as benevolence and integrity.
Bi disc: A flat, circular jade object with a central hole, made in ancient China. Bi discs are among the clearest examples of jade’s role in ritual and burial.
Nephrite: A tough, fibrous amphibole mineral valued as one of the two stones called jade. Nephrite supplied most Chinese jade objects before jadeite became prominent.
Hongshan culture: A Neolithic culture of northeastern China, flourishing roughly from 4700 to 2900 BCE. Hongshan tombs contain distinctive jade animals and ritual objects.
Chinese burial customs: Practices and beliefs surrounding the preparation, interment, and commemoration of the dead in China. Jade objects in tombs expressed status and beliefs about protecting or sustaining the deceased.
Cong: A Neolithic Chinese jade object with a circular bore inside a square outer form. Cong show the elaborate geometry and ceremonial scale of early jade carving.
Jadeite: A pyroxene mineral that forms one of the two stones called jade and can occur in vivid colors. Its arrival from Myanmar transformed the palette of elite Chinese jade carving.
Liangzhu culture: A Neolithic culture centered in the lower Yangtze region, flourishing roughly from 3300 to 2300 BCE. Its elite burials contain finely worked cong and bi discs.
Jade burial suit: A Han dynasty funerary garment assembled from jade plaques joined with thread. The suits made jade’s association with bodily preservation visible on an imperial scale.
Jade burial suit of Liu Sheng: A Han dynasty funerary suit made from more than two thousand jade plaques for Prince Liu Sheng. This exceptionally well-preserved suit documents elite jade burial practice.

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Shanghai MuseumRelated: Jade objects connect the museum’s art collections with long-standing Chinese material traditions.