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- Jade Bi Disk with Dragon Design unearthed from the King’s tomb at Shizishan Hill.jpg -
Bi with dragon designs, from the Chu King’s Mausoleum at Shizishan Hill, Xuzhou

The bi () is a type of circular ancient Chinese jade artifact. The earliest bi were produced in the Neolithic period, particularly by the Liangzhu culture (3400â€“2250 BCE).Teaching Chinese Archaeology, object 3 - NGA {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508040340www.nga.gov/education/chinatp_sl03.shtm |date=May 8, 2008 }} Later examples date mainly from the Shang, Zhou and Han dynasties. They were also made in glass.

Description

A bi is a flat jade disc with a circular hole in the centre. Neolithic bi are undecorated, while those of later periods of China, like the Zhou dynasty, bear increasingly ornate surface carving (particularly in a hexagonal pattern) whose motifs represented deities associated with the sky (four directions) as well as standing for qualities and powers the wearer wanted to invoke or embody.As laboriously crafted objects, they testify to the concentration of power and resources in the hands of a small elite.

Meaning

Later traditions associate the bi with heaven, and the cong with the earth. Bi discs are consistently found with heaven and earth-like imagery, suggesting that the disk’s circular shape also bears symbolic significance as this description explains:}}

Function

File:Bi with two dragons and grain pattern.jpg|thumb|Bi disc with a dual dragon motif, Warring States period Warring States periodFrom these earliest times they were buried with the dead, as a sky symbol, accompanying the dead into the after world or “sky”, with the cong which connected the body with the earth. They were placed ceremonially on the body in the grave of persons of high social status. Bi are sometimes found near the stomach and chest in neolithic burials.Jade, like bi disks, has been used throughout Chinese history to indicate an individual of moral quality, and has also served as an important symbol of rank. They were used in worship and ceremony â€“ as ceremonial items they symbolised the ranks of emperor, king, duke, marquis, viscount, and baron with four different guis and two different bi disks.In war during the Zhou dynasty period (c. 1046â€“256 BCE), bi disks belonging to the leaders of the defeated forces were handed over to the victor as a sign of submission.Scholars “are unsure of their exact use or meaning”.BOOK, MacGregor, Neil, A History of the World in 100 Objects, Viking Press, 2011, 978-0-670-02270-0, First American, New York, 589, Neil MacGregor, bi“>

Qianlong Emperor and the bi

In 1790 AD, the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty had an ancient bi inscribed with a message. He also wrote a poem entitled: “Verses Composed on Matching a Ding-ware Ceramic with an Ancient Jade Bowl Stand”. It reads as follows: “It is said there were no bowls in antiquity / but if so, then where did this stand come from? It is said that this stand dates to later times / but the jade is antique. It is also said that a bowl called wan is the same as a basin called yu, but only differing from it in size”. He also wrote: “This stand is made of ancient jade / but the jade bowl that once went with it is long gone. As one cannot show a stand without a bowl / we have selected a ceramic from the Ding kiln for it”. He has also included the day, and year on the disc. The Qianlong emperor assumed the bi was a bowl stand, so he found a bowl and engraved it with messages to match the ones he engraved on the disc. This bi disc was also used for the Qianlong Emperor’s funeral, and was also used for high status people’s funerals as well. The bi is now kept in the British Museum’s collection.A History of the World in 100 Objects (object 90).

Influences

The design of the reverse side of the medals given in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China are based on bi disks.Design of the Medal for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080812163040en.beijing2008.cn/spirit/beijing2008/graphic/n214070893.shtml |date=August 12, 2008 }}

Gallery

Jade Bi Ornament, Dragon designs, China - Warring States period, Western Han dynasty, 4th-2nd century BC.tiff|A Western Han dynasty bi, with dragon designs, 4th â€“ 2nd century BCFile:Jade Bi in Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’an.jpg|Jade bi in Shaanxi History Museum, Xi’anFile:Jade disc (Bi). Nephrite jade. Liangzhu Culture, south-east China. Neolithic period, c. 2500 BCE. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.jpg|Jade disc (bi). Nephrite jade. Liangzhu Culture, south-east China. Neolithic period, c. 2500 BCE. Victoria and Albert Museum

References

External links

WEB, A History of the World - Object: Ancient Jade Bi, around 3,000 years-old, inscribed with a poem by its later owner, the Chinese Qianlong Emperor, 22 September 2008, 17 June 2010, BBC and British Museum,www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/f7two-a7R-6OhPFDbJOmIA,
Videoâ€”National Geographic, Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washington, D.C.; September 7, 2013 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228023236video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/history-archaeology-news/jade-mystery-vin/ |date=February 28, 2014 }}

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Bi (jade)

Description

Meaning

Function

Qianlong Emperor and the bi

Influences

Gallery

See also

References

External links