Secrets of a Neolithic jade cong from China

What can a prehistoric jade cong crafted in Neolithic China tell us about the cosmos? A cong is a tube-shaped object that has a square outer perimeter and a circular, hollow inner perimeter.

In this video, we explore the significance and meaning of an ancient jade cong in the Seattle Asian Art Museum. The Seattle cong was most likely found in a Neolithic tomb in the Yangzi River Delta region not too far from modern-day Shanghai. We can guess this because excavated cong have been found in graves of the elite in Neolithic communities that lived on the east coast of what is today China. These tombs belonged to a community we refer to as the Liangzhu culture, which was one of ancient China’s earliest jade-producing cultures dating to around 2500 BCE.

What was the significance of these objects to the people who produced them and buried them with their dead? Jade cong may be connected to early Chinese views of the universe that consisted of a square Earth and a round (circular) canopy that represented Heaven. However, they have interesting decorations that include mask-like faces and mysterious figures wearing fanciful feathered headdresses that we still question the meaning of to this day.

Speaker: Dr. Cortney Chaffin


CHAPTERS
0:05 How long does it take to carve jade?
0:44 A cong in the Seattle Asian Art Museum
1:14 The Liangzhu (jade) culture of Neolithic China
1:33 Defining “Neolithic” and the characteristics of the Neolithic in ancient China
2:37 Jade, an expensive and precious material, difficult to carve
2:54 Decoration on the Seattle Asian Art Museum Jade cong
4:13 The colors of true jade (nephrite)
4:46 How were jade cong used?
5:44 The meaning of Liangzhu jade cong
5:58 What can we learn from later Chinese written texts about prehistoric jade cong?
6:45 Final conclusions about the Seattle jade cong

Main objects:
1. Cong, Liangzhu Culture, 2800–1900 BCE, nephrite, 2 3/8 x 3 x 3 in. (6.03 x 7.62 x 7.62 cm), China. Seattle Asian Art Museum
2. Cong ("King of Cong"), Liangzhu culture, c. 3300–2200 BCE, Neolithic period, jade, unearthed
from Tomb 12 at Fanshan site, China. Zhejiang Provincial Museum. Note: This object is #7 on the AP Art History Exam in the Global Prehistory content.

LEARN MORE*
Chinese art and architecture playlist:    • Chinese art and history  
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Thumbnail background photo: By Siyuwj - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0