The Liangzhu culture in the Neolithic period in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River belongs to the cultural category of archaeology, and it is derived from the development and evolution of the Liize culture. According to the physical charcoal 14 dating method made on the excavations of the Liangzhu site, about 5300 ~ 4300 years ago, there are also Liangzhu sites later than 4000 years have been discovered.

Liangzhu culture was first discovered in the 30s of the last century, and the earliest discoverer was Shi Xing. In the 50s of the last century, there were many discoveries in the archaeological work around the Taihu Lake, and the ruins of Shangpu Ma Bridge and Wuxi Xianyudun were excavated successively. In 1959, Mr. Xia Nai, director of the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, proposed the naming of Liangzhu culture. In 1973, the excavation of the exquisite jade of the Liangzhu culture in the Straw Shoes Mountain advanced the jade culture of the Yangtze River basin by thousands of years, which can be called the wonder of the splendid civilization in southern China, and has become the ultimate collection coveted by jade lovers all over the world.

However, the imitation of the ancient jade of Liangzhu culture, but also with the shadow, has been bothering the collection of ancient jade in Liangzhu, the early imitation has appeared in the Song Dynasty, the imperial palace museum has a Song imitation of the god and beast face pattern Liangzhu style jade.

Zhang Tianyuan took the jade cong in his hand and said to the treasure bearer: "This is called Yucong, do you know?"

"What is Yucong?" It was clear that the treasure bearer did not understand what he was holding.

Zhang Tianyuan smiled and said: "In ancient times, Yucong was mainly used by the ruling class as a ritual vessel to sacrifice the vast earth, and this kind of sacrificial ritual still existed in the Qing Dynasty. The Western Zhou Dynasty's work "Zhou Li: Examination of Gongji" records that when Cong was used as a ritual vessel, its size and specifications should match its owner's status. This. Archaeologists have confirmed from the many excavated tombs: the more prominent the identity of the tomb owner, the more cong and bi in the funerary goods. It seems to show the glory and wealth of life. The use of jade cong in burials can indicate the original identity of the tomb owner and become a symbol of his power and wealth among the tribes. It also represents a type of burial in the Neolithic period. ”

"Oh, that's right. ”

"This jade is yellowish-white, with regular dark yellow blemishes, and the ornamentation is intricate and delicate. The shape is a square cylinder, the inner circle is outside, the height is 8.8 cm, the upper and lower ends are the shot of the circular surface, the shooting diameter is 17.1 to 17.6 cm, and the middle is a pair of round holes. Aperture 4.9 cm. Weighs up to 6500 grams. It's almost exactly the same as the Jade Cong King once discovered. Zhang Tianyuan continued.

"What, King Yucong?" Ma Yong, who was idle on the side, heard Zhang Tianyuan's words, and hurriedly poked his head to look.

He had seen that Jade Cong Wang when he went to Jiangsu and Zhejiang before, although in terms of craftsmanship, of course, it could not be compared with the works of many descendants, but it was full of mystery, and now he actually encountered the same thing on the Treasure of China program, can he not be surprised?

"Ma Lao, come and see. According to my judgment, this thing should be a work of the Liangzhu culture period, and both the workmanship and the characteristics are particularly consistent with that era. On top of that, it's almost identical to the Liangzhu Yucong King found before, but the pattern on it is slightly different. I think it should be a couple. Zhang Tianyuan explained.

"I'll take a look. Ma Yong took the jade cong, and the rest of the people also came over. Careful appreciation.

Although these experts are not jade experts, they are more characteristic jade like this. They still dabbled in something, and after appreciating it for a while, Ma Yong stroked his beard and said: "Tian Yuan, you are right, this thing is very similar to the Jade Cong King I have seen before, but there is a slight difference in the pattern, it seems to be a real pair, and this jade does not look like a fake, it should be an ancient jade." ”

"I also think so, Teacher Zhang, how do you judge?" Qin Mu asked.

Zhang Tianyuan thought for a while and said, "You probably know it, I was born in archaeology, so I'm good at archaeology." ”

"Yes, does this have anything to do with archaeology?"

Zhang Tianyuan nodded and said, "Of course it matters." A large number of archaeological discoveries show that the earliest jade cong was found in the third phase of the Xuejiagang culture in Qianshan, Anzhou, about 5100 years ago. The prehistoric Yucong has been unearthed the most Liangzhu cultural sites and tombs in the south of the Jiangsu River and the northern part of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and has even become an important feature of the Liangzhu culture. In addition, the Neolithic remains in the northern part of the Sujiang River, the Xuejiagang culture in Anzhou, the Longshan culture in Dongshan, Beihe, Jinzhou and other provinces, as well as the Shixia culture in Dongguang and other prehistoric site tombs, have also occasionally found Yucong, but the number is far less than that of the Liangzhu culture. It can be seen that the distribution center of Yucong is in the Jiangnan area, and most of them come from the Liangzhu culture. ”

"Luozhou Yanshi Erlitou site has unearthed a remnant jade cong, because it is too broken and the plate is not clear enough, the shape and ornament are difficult to distinguish. Some archaeologists refer to the Erlitou culture around the Xia and Shang periods as Cong, which is obviously inappropriate. The jade artifacts found in Hongcheng, Shaanzhou are not limited to Cong, but there are also other types. However, all of them belong to the collection and vary in age, which may include the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. The shape of the Hongcheng jade cong is close to the Liangzhu culture jade cong, so it may be a relic of the Xia Dynasty, of course, it is not ruled out that it is an earlier relic. ”

"The discovery of Shang Dynasty jade cong comes from the Shang Dynasty tombs or sacrificial pits in Luozhou, Xishan, Dongshan, Sichuan and other places, among which the Yinxu women's tomb and the Guanghan Sanxingdui sacrificial pit were unearthed a little more. If we take into account the large number of excavated Shang Dynasty tombs and cellars, the number of Shang Dynasty jade conques unearthed is insignificant in comparison. This fact shows that in the Shang Dynasty, Yucong was no longer popular. In other words, Cong, as a type of jade, was already in decline during the Shang Dynasty. There are fewer Western Zhou Yucong unearthed than in the Shang Dynasty. The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Jade Cong are also rare, and it can be said that they are rare. ”

"Thousands of tombs in the Han Dynasty have been cleaned up, but so far only in the tomb of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan in the Western Han Dynasty in Beihe Mancheng and the tomb of a prince in the Western Han Dynasty in Lianshui Sanlidun, Sujiang, each unearthed a jade cong. The former is approximately cylindrical, and there are still unclear animal face patterns on the outer surface, which is a relic of Liangzhu culture. The latter is round inside and square outside, and is in the form of Shang and Zhou Yucong. More uniquely, there is a gilded silver lid with a crystal bubble embedded in the cover, and a gilt silver base with hoop feet underneath, supported by four silver eagles with outstretched wings. These two examples fully show that Cong has become an 'antique' in the early Western Han Dynasty, and even used for other purposes after processing. Apparently. Cong has become a resounding sound in the Western Han Dynasty. ”

"In the tombs after the Han Dynasty, although there are still occasional jade cong unearthed. It's just a burial with heirloom antiquities. As for the copper or porcelain jars that appeared in the Song Dynasty, they are antique handicrafts. The use is the same as the bottle or for furnishings, and its function is not related to the prehistoric and three generations of jade, which can be said to be incompatible. From the end of the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the pseudo-ancient jade imitated the plain face of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and there were also imitation Liangzhu cultural jade. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the antique jade cong was particularly bad. Due to the different processing tools and habits, most of the counterfeit products appear to be more sleek and less ancient, and it is more difficult to make the old Cheng dù realistic. ”

"Basically, I can tell. The most prosperous era of Yucong was in the Liangzhu cultural period, and with the characteristics of this Yucong, it can basically be judged that it should be something from the Liangzhu cultural period. ”

"I didn't think archaeology would be of such use. Ma Yong laughed.

"Although archaeology is not the same as treasure appreciation, it has taught me a lot of knowledge about ancient culture, in fact, many treasures, as long as you combine the cultural conditions of the time, it is easy to judge. If you add excellent identification ability, then you become an excellent treasure connoisseur. It should be very good. Zhang Tianyuan said with a smile.

"Well said, well said! Your thoughts are the same as ours, and we also think that this jade cong should be genuine, of course. We only judge from the jade cong itself, which belongs to ancient jade, which has a history of about 5,000 years. Your judgment is even more comprehensive. Ma Yong laughed.

"Is this thing worth anything?" asked the treasure bearer.

"Jade is originally good jade, plus this thing has a certain historical value. It's definitely valuable, so keep it in your collection. If you're not particularly short of money, it's better not to sell it casually. Zhang Tianyuan said with a smile.

"But what is this thing for, I just listened to the function of Mr. Zhang, but I still haven't figured it out?" The old man asked again, "Can it still be used now?"

"Hahaha, you've stopped me from asking this question. In fact, the use of Guan Gan Yucong when it first appeared has not yet been unanimously understood by the archaeological community. Some people think that it is a part of an ancient textile machine, some say that it is the epitome of ancient architecture, and some archaeologists believe that Yucong is a peep tube for astronomy. In 1915, the French scholar Gisra published an article arguing that Cong was a ritual vessel for the worship of 'Zhonghai', a chimney in the center of the house during the ancient cave dwelling, and an object of family sacrifice. In 1928, Ankers considered Cong to be the female yin who symbolized Mother Earth. In 1930, the Swedish scholar Gobenheim believed that Cong was the letter of the man's sexuality. In 1931, Ankers further believed that Cong itself symbolizes the female yin and sexual organs, represents the ancestors of women, and is related to the dead in the earth, and Cong is a ritual instrument for worshipping ancestors, and it is easy to think of the womb of the earth mother, and the destination of the dead soul..."

"This one named Anx is really weird. "The old man was happy.

In fact, what he said may not be wrong, but usually, scholars believe that Yu Cong is 4000 to 5000 years old, and her function and significance are mainly the following two points: First, Yu Cong is one of the great ritual vessels used for sacrifice, "Zhou Li" 'to the sky with the sky, to the yellow cong to the earth', the jade cong has become the ruling class to sacrifice the vast earth, but also the wizard's magic weapon. In the ritual of worshiping the gods and gods, wooden pillars are interspersed with jade congs at the upper end, which is used as a 'sacred pillar' to worship the gods and gods or symbols of ancestors.

The shape of the jade cong is the inner circle (hole) outside, which seems to confirm the truth that 'the bi circle is like the sky, and the cong square is like the earth', and its through hole represents the communication between heaven and earth. Wizards also often use inferior jade, stone, or burned jade cong to suppress evil spirits, collect corpses and embalming, and avoid evil spirits

Second, jade cong is also a symbol of power and wealth. When the jade cong is unearthed in the tomb, it has the following characteristics: the tomb is of high specification, large scale, and the burial goods are rich; the owner of the tomb is mostly male; the cong is often accompanied by the wall, and there is a phenomenon of martyrdom in some tombs.

From the excavation site, it can be seen that the more prominent the identity of the tomb owner, the more Cong and Bi in the burial goods, it seems to show a qiē before his death, and the burial with the burial just shows the original identity of the tomb owner, and the Cheng dù who enjoys wealth and power in various tribes, also represents a burial system in the Liangzhu culture period. ”

"Anyway, it's amazing?" said the treasure bearer, scratching his head.

"You can also think so, this thing is definitely very good, you can keep it well, let alone an heirloom, this thing is no problem as a national treasure, of course, if you are in urgent need of money, you can come to me, I will definitely buy it at the right price." "Zhang Tianyuan has taken a fancy to another treasure. (To be continued......)