"There is no material to fill the sky, and it will take a long time to enter the world of mortals." A Dream of Red Mansions begins with a stone and takes a piece of jade as the theme, composing a piece of earthly love of jade and wood, and describing a period of human vicissitudes. The protagonists in the book, Baoyu, Daiyu and Miaoyu, are all named "Jade", from which we can see Cao Xueqin's special liking for jade and feelings for characters. Taking jade as the name is the metaphor and personification of jade characters in characters. Baoyu's madness, madness, stupidity and infatuation are all due to the word "truth", which is a portrayal of the pure texture and inner beauty of jade. Daiyu is talented, aloof and aloof, and doesn't eat human fireworks, which corresponds to the icy and noble quality of jade. Wonderful jade is elegant and clean, which coincides with jade's refined and cold, solitary and clean. And take a "psychic Baoyu" as an important clue throughout. There are many jade poems in the book, and there are also various jade articles and jade ornaments. Jade plays the role of guidance, guidance, lyricism, lyricism, metaphor and foil. So some scholars say that A Dream of Red Mansions is a masterpiece of jade culture, and this theory should be correct. We can see that Cao Xueqin knows, cherishes, loves and is crazy about jade. We can also see that Cao Xueqin's writing wisdom is unique and his intention to express things is profound. You can also see the vastness of jade.
? "Jade" was originally called "Wang" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Hebei. Because of its beauty in quality, color and sound, it is the king in stone and the jade is the king's weapon. Different times endow jade with different meanings, connotations and functions.
Yuling
Jade in the mountains and jade in the river. The ancients believed that jade breeds the essence of heaven and earth, gathers the essence of mountains and rivers, and adopts the aura of the sun and the moon. In ancient times, people thought that jade had the function of communicating heaven and earth with ghosts and gods. Wizards use jade as a tool for offering sacrifices to witches. Jade is a gift to God. Through jade, they communicate with the gods and pray for good weather, prosperity of the tribe, victory of the war and the blessing of the gods. Xu Shen once explained in Hanshu: "Spirit is also a witch. Serve god with jade. " Jade is endowed with spiritual and sacred connotation.
Jade gift
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, Duke Zhou entertained himself by courtesy. "Big Bo" contains: "Jade is a six-vessel, and it is a gift to the world. The sky is covered with pale walls, the land with Huangyan, Qinggui in the east, Zhang Chi in the south, Baihu in the west and Huang Xuan in the north. " The Book of Rites stipulates the clothing system of emperors and princes. "The emperor wears white jade and Xuan group, the duke and queen wear Xuan jade and Zhu group, the doctor wears sapphire and group, the prince wears jade and group, and the scholar wears it." As an important ritual vessel and accessory, it has a strict use system, distinct grades and insurmountable. Imagine that in the grand ceremony, the sacred wall of the ancestral temple, Huangyan, Qinggui, Zhang Chi, White Tiger and Huang Xuan stood side by side, solemn and solemn. Princes and ministers dressed in gorgeous clothes lined up in a column, surrounded by flowers, colorful, elegant and harmonious, what a scene.
Yude
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the feudal lords scuffled with each other, and the ritual jade system in the Zhou Dynasty was destroyed. The princes overstepped their duties, the emperor lost his official position, the royal family declined, and the grade and etiquette of jade articles weakened. In Guizhou, jade is precious from royal aristocrats to ordinary people, and it is widely used in sacrificial ceremonies, decorations, funerals and other activities. Since this period, jade has been endowed with new connotations, and jade has been promoted to the height of moral standards. Jade was first endowed with moral connotation and personified by Guan Zhong in the Spring and Autumn Period. Guanzi Shuidi summarizes that jade has nine virtues: benevolence, knowledge, righteousness, behavior, cleanliness, courage, affection, tolerance and words; Confucius put forward the view that "a gentleman is better than jade" and preached eleven virtues of benevolence, knowledge, righteousness, courtesy, joy, loyalty, faith, heaven, earth, morality and Taoism. Unify Confucian ethics such as benevolence, loyalty, softness and elegance with jade, endow jade with personalized connotation, and develop a set of norms for using and wearing jade. "A gentleman has no reason, and jade never leaves his hand." Finally, the Confucian thought system of jade use was formed, which had far-reaching influence.
Yu zhizhong
Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, jade articles in different dynasties have different styles and styles, which reflect the times style and aesthetic taste of different dynasties. The Han dynasty was pioneering and enterprising, with a vast territory and strong national strength. Jade articles are simple in shape, not seeking for similarity, and sharp in knife cutting, showing a bold and natural artistic style, such as the typical "Han Ba Dao" and carved jade cicada, with vigorous, rough and sharp knife cutting. The Tang Dynasty was prosperous, economically developed, culturally prosperous and open. Jade articles in the Tang Dynasty began to live and secularize, with exquisite carving skills, paying attention to the accuracy of the overall shape, working hard on the detail description, seeing the spirit in the big and medium, and seeing the aura in the small, with a plump, sturdy, graceful and generous, romantic and unrestrained atmosphere of the times. The Song Dynasty was prosperous in economy and developed in culture. Poetry, painting, and porcelain have all reached heights that future generations can't reach. Jade carving in Song Dynasty has simple modeling, concise knife work and strong realism. In the Ming Dynasty, handicrafts and commerce flourished in cities, and luxury goods prevailed in society. There are many kinds of jade, and secularization and decoration have become the mainstream of jade carving. Their shapes are rough, with daily life as the theme, thick carcass, widely used in carving, rigid and neat decorative lines, angular and eclectic. In the early and middle period of Qing Dynasty, the political stability and economic prosperity reached the peak of jade development, and its exquisiteness, variety, carving and wide application were unprecedented. Drawing on the achievements of painting, sculpture and arts and crafts, it has created and developed a handicraft and decorative jade art with distinctive characteristics of the times and high artistic attainments.
Jade comes from mountains and is collected from rivers. After China's entry into WTO, it has always been in the hands of famous artists, from the workshops of craftsmen. It is either a seal placed high above the temple, a ritual vessel for ancestral temples, a companion placed on a book case and scroll, a plaything rubbed in the palm of your hand, or an ornament close to your skin. If there are differences between people, their fates are different. Things change and years pass. Some are lost in the loess sediment, some are dusty in the cobwebs of ant nests, and some have survived disasters, and honor and disgrace have risen and fallen like human beings. Jade, if sentient, has gone through many vicissitudes, and finally ends up in A Dream of Red Mansions. Baoyu usually sings loudly when leaving the Taoist priest: "I am Xi's, the peak of the green ridge; I swam in the space of HarmonyOS system. Whoever dies with me, who is with me and who is with me belong to the wilderness. "To the mountains and streams, to the original appearance, drinking wind and absorbing dew, birds and animals as companions, rocks and vegetation as neighbors.