Waiting to be cherished:Inside the storehouse of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, the method for saving excavated treasures, such as jade tsungs, is to wrap them up in white cloth, then place them in steel lunch boxes. Compared with the careful, meticulous storage methods of both public and private museums in Taiwan, this manner of collection is certainly crude. Wang Mingda, who has spent many years with these articles, explains with a little embarrassment, "These are still wrapped in the original packings they were put in at the time of excavation. They haven't been organized yet. I'm terribly sorry that we're mistreating the objects of ancient peoples like this."
Perhaps this task can not be accomplished so quickly. But all can rest assured that some day in the future these thousand-year-old treasures of Liangzhu jade will receive the heart-felt care and adoration they deserve, just like all famous ancient pieces of art in the world.
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Peach trees, rice paddies, factories, houses. . . a commonplace scene in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, and it is the entire view of the Fanshan ruins. Nevertheless, the walled-in field in the center of this picture is where the famous Liangzhu jade was dug up.
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The special characteristic of the Liangzhu pi is its uniform brightness and transparency. Its crafting suggests a relation to such customs as the worship of the heavens, with the warding off of evil, and with ornamental burial of the dead.
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In the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, it is not permitted to photograph the precious Liangzhu jade- -at close range. This is the most typical form of Liangzhu jade the tsung. A beast with eyes of concentric circles adorns each of the four corners of this tsung. The ja de stone is translucent.
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The most famous of Fanshan artifacts, the "king of Tsung Jade." Carved with miniaturized etching techniques is a tiny god sporting a feather cap. The head wear of this god is similar to that of the buried person. Quite possibly this ornament copies the likeness of the deceased before his death.
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Four dragon heads adorn this bracelet. This pattern, known as Chi-you, appeared from the Hsia to Han dynasties.
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A three-pronged jade object excavated from Yaoshan. The upper part forms the Chinese character for "mountain." A hole has been drilled through the top; very likely this piece was meant to be worn as jewelry.
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A tapered pike excavated from Fanshan. The part closest to the bottom is decorated with animal faces.
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There are still several excavation sites in progress in Liangzhu towns hip. However, when artifacts are being disinterred, outside visitors arenot allowed to approach. Work was already in progress when the photo was taken.
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In front of the house with gray bricks and white walls, the summer ricehas already been harvested. The Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, usually known for its fish and r ice, formerly was not the focus of attention in the realm of archaeology.
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Whenever construction infringes on ancient ruins, work must cease immediately. The major task of the world of mainland archaeology in recent years is to "rescue" such ruins discovered by construction.
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When spring turns into summer in the Yangtze river valley, the peaches are already ripe.
There are still several excavation sites in progress in Liangzhu towns hip. However, when artifacts are being disinterred, outside visitors arenot allowed to approach. Work was already in progress when the photo was taken.
In front of the house with gray bricks and white walls, the summer ricehas already been harvested. The Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, usually known for its fish and r ice, formerly was not the focus of attention in the realm of archaeology.