The Hongshan Culture dates back about 6,500 to 5,000 years. It is a Neolithic archaeological culture in the Liaohe River Basin and one of the important sources of Chinese civilization.
On June 26, the Shanghai Museum will welcome the blockbuster archaeological exhibition "Dragon Soaring in China: Hongshan Culture Ancient Civilization Special Exhibition". The first special exhibition hall of the East Hall of the Shanghai Museum is currently entering the final stage of exhibition. On the afternoon of June 20, "The Paper·Ancient Art" visited the exhibition site and witnessed the unpacking and exhibition process of cultural relics such as one of the most typical representative jade artifacts of Hongshan culture - a jade dragon in the shape of a ring more than 5,000 years ago.
"Dragon Soaring over China: A Special Exhibition of Hongshan Culture and Ancient Civilization" is the fourth exhibition in the Shanghai Museum's "Why China" cultural relics and archaeological exhibition series. It will display more than 300 cultural relics, bringing together the century-old achievements and latest discoveries of Hongshan archaeology.
In the Hongshan culture, which dates back about 6,500 to 5,000 years, jade ritual vessels represented by jade dragons and ritual architecture represented by "altars, temples, and tombs" have a profound impact on Chinese traditional culture. The latest results of the "China Civilization Origin Exploration Project" show that the Hongshan culture represented by the Niuheliang site was the first to enter the ancient country era and gave birth to China's earliest civilization form, fully proving the 5,000-year civilization history of the Chinese nation and reflecting the continuity and innovation of Chinese civilization.
Exhibition site
According to reports, this exhibition at the Shanghai Museum has brought together 20 museums and archaeological institutions in Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Beijing and other places, bringing together a century of achievements and the latest discoveries in Hongshan archaeology. With more than 300 cultural relics, it explains the appearance of an ancient country with unified Hongshan cultural beliefs and an initial ritual system, explores how it embarked on a unique path of civilization development, verifies the 5,000-year civilization history of the Chinese nation, and answers the historical question of "Why China?"
Exhibition site
Exhibition site
The exhibition is located in the first special exhibition hall of the East Hall of the Shanghai Museum. The Paper Art saw that most of the cultural relics have been safely placed in the display cabinets, from painted pottery cylindrical jars, stone sculptures of gods and human figures to jade dragons, animal-shaped jade articles of various shapes, jade ritual vessels, etc. At the entrance of the exhibition hall, two art installations made of stones collected from Hongshanhou, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia are cleverly set up. The entire exhibition line is connected by a "civilization axis" composed of the "C"-shaped jade dragon and the jade dragon in the central display cabinet at the entrance to the goddess statue (replica).
The exhibition site is connected by an "Axis of Civilization" composed of "C"-shaped jade dragons, jade ring-shaped jade dragons, etc.
The jade dragon is one of the most typical jade artifacts in Hongshan culture. This exhibition will present the Hongshan culture as the main theme and dragon-shaped cultural relics as the hidden theme. There are as many as 16 jade dragons on display, including a "C"-shaped jade dragon in the collection of the Palace Museum and 15 jade dragons in the shape of a jade ring. The "C"-shaped dragon is one of the earliest dragon-shaped jade artifacts discovered so far, and the jade dragon in the shape of a jade ring is another representative dragon-shaped jade artifact of Hongshan culture.
Exhibition site
Exhibition site
Three jade dragons in the shape of a ring were unpacked and put on display on the afternoon of the 20th. The most representative one is a jade dragon in the shape of a ring unearthed from Tomb No. 4 of the No. 1 Mound at the second site of the Niuheliang Site in Jianping, Liaoning Province in 1984 (collected by the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology). This is also the first time a jade dragon in the shape of a ring has been unearthed in an archaeological excavation. It will be displayed in the central display cabinet for display. According to Feng Yucheng, the content planner of this exhibition and the Archaeological Research Department of the Shanghai Museum, this jade dragon in the shape of a ring was unearthed in a special position, located on the chest of the tomb owner. The two jade dragons in the shape of a ring were placed back to back, which may be a symbol of the tomb owner's identity.
Hongshan culture ring-shaped jade dragon, collected by Liaoning Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, unearthed in 1984 from Tomb No. 4 of the No. 1 Mound at the Second Site of Niuheliang Site, Jianping, Liaoning
This jade dragon is carved from light green jade with a slight yellow tint. The whole body is finely polished and has a round luster. There is a reddish-brown stain on the back and bottom. The dragon's body is curled like a ring, and the head and tail are cut like a jade ring. The dragon's head is in the shape of an animal head, with erect ears, short, wide and fat, round and slightly bulging eyes, a protruding snout, nostrils, and a slightly open mouth.
It is reported that this type of jade dragon in the shape of a ring is one of the most characteristic jade artifacts in the Hongshan culture. Most of the animal-shaped jade artifacts in the Hongshan culture are very abstract, and it is a big problem to explore their prototypes. The mouth of the jade dragon in the shape of a ring has many wrinkles, and another jade dragon even has fangs. These characteristics are similar to wild boars, so some scholars believe that its prototype is a pig, and it is called a "jade pig dragon." Later, through archaeological discoveries, a large number and type of bear themes were discovered, indicating that the Hongshan people may have the custom of worshiping and worshiping bears. Therefore, some scholars also call it a "bear dragon." At present, there is no clear conclusion on the research on the prototype of this type of jade dragon, so it is collectively referred to as a "ring-shaped jade dragon."
Why do dragon-related artifacts frequently appear in Hongshan culture? What is the meaning of dragon-shaped jade artifacts more than 5,000 years ago? Guo Ming, a researcher at the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, once explained that "dragons are imaginary creatures born in the northern region and were given clear cultural connotations during the Hongshan culture period. Since then, "dragon culture" has gradually formed. The development and changes of this hybrid biological image with different biological characteristics should be a microcosm of the continuous integration and development of multiple cultural elements." "During the Hongshan culture period, dragons began to be expressed in jade artifacts, and this type of jade artifact is also the type of jade artifact with the smallest shape changes and the most consistent composition in the Hongshan culture distribution area of nearly 300,000 square kilometers. The dragon in Hongshan culture is one of the important symbols of Chinese culture and a prominent feature of Hongshan society. It embodies the characteristics of Chinese civilization's tolerance, integrated development, and diversity and unity."
Other Hongshan culture jade artifacts on display at the exhibition
Other Hongshan culture jade artifacts on display at the exhibition
Other Hongshan culture jade artifacts on display at the exhibition
Other Hongshan culture jade artifacts on display at the exhibition
