The Palace Museum's "Fuchun Mountain Residence Map" mountain peak jade carving.
Gorgeous jade carvings.
Lantian jade carving ornaments.
In the minds of most Chinese, jade is regarded as a stone more valuable than **, the ancients' love for jade is shrouded in a layer of mystery, people regard jade as the crystallization of the essence of heaven and earth, used as an intermediary between the soul of man and god. Worshipping jade, loving jade, and appreciating jade are traditions of the Chinese for thousands of years, and jade culture occupies an important position in traditional Chinese culture. In the seal character, "jade" was originally "king". After the emergence of the feudal imperial system, the emperor's "king" and "jade" are homographs, in order to distinguish them, they add a dot to the word "king" in jade as "jade", and jade and the king have an indissoluble origin.
In ancient times, jade was a status symbol, and was once used exclusively by the emperor and the imperial court, and was forbidden by the people;It is also used as a metaphor for people's morality, the gentleman has no reason, and the jade does not go to the body.
In traditional Chinese culture, jade has always been a symbol of whiteness, beauty, kindness, elegance and luxury. Words containing jade are mostly praise, such as words praising women include jade girl, jade person, jade face, Yan Ruyu, etc.;Those who praise the residence include the jade house, the jade hall, the jade room, the jade building, etc.;The nicknames for the moon include Jade Rabbit, Jade Palace, Jade Toad, etc.;The praise of food and clothing includes: jade clothes, jade silk, jade crowns, jade food, jade fruits, etc.;Calling people's sentiments elegant is ice clear and jade;It is better to call people's adherence to virtue than to be broken, not to be complete. Jade is extremely noble, gold and silver are priceless, jade is priceless, and it is priceless, which can reflect the status of jade in people's minds.
Chinese jade has a long history, with a glorious history of 7,000 years. Seven thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Hemudu culture in the south consciously made ornaments from the selected stones in the process of selecting stone utensils, dressed themselves up, beautified their lives, and opened the prelude to the Chinese jade culture. By the late Neolithic period, jade making may have developed into an independent handicraft sector. In the ruins of Hemudu culture, Dawenkou culture, Liangzhu culture, Hongshan culture and Longshan culture, there are exquisite jade artifacts unearthed. Chinese jade has been meticulously carved by countless skilled craftsmen, used and appreciated by rulers and connoisseurs in the past dynasties, and beautified by etiquette scholars, and finally became a symbolic object, and jade has become an indispensable spiritual sustenance in life. In the treasure house of ancient Chinese art, the one that has endured for 7,000 years since the Neolithic Age is jade;The one that is most closely related to people's lives is also jade. Jade has been deeply integrated into traditional Chinese culture and customs, playing a special role, playing an irreplaceable role in other arts and crafts.
Jade carving ornaments. 
Jade carved bracelet. The art of jade carving is a new and popular special plastic art made of jade. The Chinese aesthetic of jade is an important part of the Chinese aesthetic and is its foundation. If the ancient people did not have long-term and sufficient aesthetic activities on jade, and came to the corresponding conclusions and views - "Wen", then today's Chinese aesthetic view of jade will form another type. The jade aesthetic of the ancients is a mirror, which reflects the overall aesthetic methods and principles of the ancients. Confucius put forward the theory that jade has eleven virtues (benevolence, knowledge, righteousness, courtesy, music, loyalty, faithfulness, heaven, earth, virtue and Tao), which is not only a high summary of the cultural heritage of jade, but also incisively expounds the ideological connotation of jade culture. After the Qin and Han dynasties, due to the high development of literature, ** opera, architecture, painting, sculpture and arts and crafts, the content and expression of the Chinese people's aesthetics were greatly enriched, and the color beauty and sound beauty of jade were re-optimized and gradually deepened, and the appreciation and collection of ancient jade became a new social fashion. New aesthetic perspectives such as mutilated beauty are perceived by jade lovers, but this is only the aesthetic requirements of certain social groups in specific cultural fields, and is nothing more than an exchange for the aesthetics of Chinese, and cannot be compared with ancient aesthetics.
Chinese jade carving culture, a thousand words, summed up in one sentence: jade is the cornerstone of Chinese aesthetics. To be precise, jade should be the cornerstone of the Chinese nation's aesthetics.
China is a country that loves jade, and the inheritance of jade culture runs through our 5,000-year civilization history. The so-called "jade" by contemporary people is a variety of specific, warm and lustrous beautiful stones, including Hetian jade, jade, Xiuyu, Nanyang jade, etc., jade is carved from these beautiful stones. The ancients explained jade like this: "The beauty of stone has five virtues." "The beauty of stone" is the natural attribute of jade, and "those with five virtues" refer to the meaning of people borrowing things, and the jade has a gentle luster, consistent inside and outside, crisp voice, tough texture, soft and rigid, and the five qualities that people should have are benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, courage, and cleanliness, which are the social attributes of jade. It can be seen that the reason why jade can become a beautiful stone in the eyes of today's people is because it conforms to the aesthetic standards in people's hearts, and the formation of this standard is based on the Chinese nation's understanding of the beautiful characteristics of jade. The ancestors of the Chinese nation have been dealing with stone for a long time since the Stone Age, and after millions of comparisons and identifications of jade and stone, they have a clear understanding of the characteristics of jade, and finally select all kinds of jade with a texture superior to stone to condense the essence of heaven and earth. In contemporary art, there is nothing more beautiful in itself than jade. The concept of jade as the most beautiful material in the world is the cognitive foundation for the construction of Chinese jade culture. Jade, delicate texture, soft refraction, bright color, wonderful sound. The beauty of jade is natural beauty and eternal beauty.
Jade carving ornaments. 
Jadeite jade carving bracelet.
Jade has the following characteristics of beauty:
The jade is beautiful. The jade material has a fine particle size, delicate texture, hard and meticulous, and has the beauty of "firm and delicate".The jade material is moist and shiny, soft and shiny, and has the beauty of "warm and luster";There are fewer impurities in jade, and some even reach the level of flawlessness, and there is the beauty of "beautiful jade flawless". The beauty of jade gives people the feeling of dignified, warm and pure.
Jade is beautiful. Jade has high hardness, strong toughness, strong wear resistance, and is not easy to break. The jade material is translucent and soft, mostly translucent, which can fully demonstrate the hazy feminine beauty of jade. The chemical properties of jade are stable, not easy to be eroded by acid and alkali, and can be preserved for tens of millions of years without decay. The physical properties of jade are unique and the thermal conductivity is low, so it is inert to changes in heat and cold, and is suitable for wearing and playing.
Jade beauty. Because jade contains different elements, it presents a variety of colors. Yuyin is beautiful. The texture of the jade material is fine, and the sound of knocking is far away. The sound of the jade chime is melodious and melodious, clear and long, and the "sound of jade vibranium" is the best interpretation of the beauty of the jade sound. Chinese love jade, no one knows, no one knows. Its appearance is beautiful, soft and affectionate, and its long-standing cultural charm has attracted countless Tibetan friends to bend their waists. Precious jadeite works have practical, ornamental, artistic and collectible value, which can add elegance to life and bring auspiciousness.
Jade carving was developed from jade tools, from the Neolithic Age to the Ming and Qing dynasties, from the formation of jade to maturity, all showing a unique style and craftsmanship. In 1958, in Nanyang, Huangshan Yangshao Cultural Site, the Gui-shaped jade shovel can be seen as a symbol of the birth of jade. During the Yin Shang era, jade carving made a large number of ceremonial utensils and various ornaments. The characteristic of Western Zhou jade is the appearance of ritual vessels such as Cong, Bi, Huang, and Gui. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, jade tools were improved, and the carving process was also continuously improved, and relief, semi-relief and exquisite openwork techniques appeared. Finished jade products are commonly found in jade huang, jade cong, jade bi, jade bracelet, jade ring, jade sword ornament, dragon-shaped pendant, paired jade-shaped jade pieces, etc. Most of the jade materials used are green jade and topaz, white jade is rare, and "Dushan jade" is also used.
The Western Han Dynasty inherited the shape characteristics of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and at the same time added new varieties, and Xinjiang nephrite jade flowed into the Central Plains in a steady stream. In addition to the appearance of white jade jade, jade rings, chicken heart pendants, sword pendants, and hooks in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were also a large number of "dead vessels" used for burial, various containers, and ornamental varieties. The quality of jade includes green jade, topaz, black jade and white jade, and white jade has become the top grade of jade.
During the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, the style of stone carvings and the production of jade were less valued. There are very few artifacts handed down, but the patterns are clear and beautiful. There are green jade, topaz, and very little white jade. In the Tang Dynasty, jade appeared with flowers, birds, and figures, and the utensils were full of a strong atmosphere of life, and cups, bowls, and cups with practical value were added. The jade pattern adopts a large number of entwined flowers, melons, fruits, birds and beasts, figures flying into the sky, insects and fish as the main themes.
The knife technique is not chaotic, the layout is uniform, thin and heavy, it is the unique style of the times of jade carving in the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty also reflected national and local characteristics in the production of jade. The jade is dominated by flowers, birds, and beasts, and there are many auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes. Practical items include cups, washes, and plates, and furnishings mainly include beasts and fish. At that time, it was popular to make ancient jade. Antique ware has bronze ware, wearable pieces, such as sword ornaments, belt plates, ornaments, etc., jade materials mainly include white jade, black jade, green jade, the most of which are green jade and white jade.
The Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties were the prosperous periods of jade carving in China. The carving of the Yuan Dynasty did not have the legacy of the Tang Dynasty utensils, but also broke through the Song Dynasty carving work. The carving is thick and fine, but the rough knife technique is profound, quite ancient, surprisingly meticulous, the hair carved on the beast piece, the knife technique is smooth, and the carved moire is tumbling up and down, and the momentum is magnificent. During this period, there was a "embossing method" and a "openwork carving method", especially the embossing and grinding techniques, which were unprecedented.
Jade carving ornaments. 
Sheep fat jade carving.
Chinese jade carving master Fan Junmin's work - autumn.
Jade carved incense burner. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a large jade in Yangzhou and a variety of delicate jade carved in Suzhou as the center, and due to the large number of jade materials in Xinjiang into the customs, the jade carving techniques continued to improve, the workshops were numerous, the talents came out in large numbers, and there were many masterpieces, and there was an unprecedented prosperity in the history of jade making in China. The jade carving knife method has appeared "three-layer openwork method", and the carving is very fine and artistic. There are also many themes, such as pine, bamboo, plum, flowers and fruits, pine deer, figures, birds and beasts, and entwined flowers.
During the Qing Dynasty, especially in the middle period, the jade carving process reached a new peak. During the Qianlong period, Beijing City was the center of jade-making in the country, and brought together all kinds of skilled craftsmen to perform their arts, and there were various methods such as "beautiful color practice", "semi-relief carving" and "openwork carving". The jade carvings of the Qing Dynasty are very lovely, and the large and small devices are exquisite, and the image is realistic. The selection of jade materials is also quite strict, but as long as the jade materials meet the requirements, whether it is white jade, jasper, black jade, topaz, etc. The Palace Museum's "Treasure Hall" collection shows the essence of jade carving in the Ming and Qing dynasties, among which the large-scale jade carving "Dayu Water Control Map" is particularly eye-catching. The small pieces of jade that are circulated among the people, whether they are landscapes, flowers, people, flowers and birds, birds, or animals, are all carved vividly.
The art of modern jade carving is another heyday since the Qingming Dynasty. There are three types of jade carvings: the first type of antique, imitating the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Warring States period and the Han Dynasty, this kind of jade is almost completely similar in terms of modeling, ornamentation, knife technique and material selection;The second type imitates the Ming and Qing dynasties, most of these works are creatively carved, and the traditional themes imitate the Qingming Dynasty and the knife technique is thick and simple, and the lines are smooth, similar to the Ming and Qing dynastiesThe third type is designed with a new concept, and the work runs through the author's thoughts and personality, which is the publicity of personal emotions. Some of these carving works integrate some techniques of Western sculpture, and even explore abstract themes, showing them in front of people's eyes with a new look, and the jade carving works transition from a single work to a more artistic charm creation, which is the perfect combination of art and art, and gives people an infection through the shock of the soul. Art is the sublimation and summary of life, and a new generation of jade carving artists are striving to create excellent jade carving works of art to meet the needs of jade lovers who like to collect.
China has a history of 5,000 years of civilization, and in its long history, Chinese jade culture has played a pivotal role in it. As its carrier, the art of Chinese jade carving has continued from the Neolithic Age nearly 10,000 years ago to the present, creating countless magnificent and magnificent jade carving art masterpieces, which amazes the world. After the reform and opening up, along with the national peace and security, China's jade carving industry has made great progress, and a large number of outstanding talents in jade carving have emerged, who have boldly innovated on the basis of inheriting and carrying forward the traditional national skills, integrated new aesthetic elements and characteristics of the times, and driven the creation of Chinese jade carving art to a broader field. In order to encourage outstanding jade carving talents to continue to forge ahead, support the growth of jade carving talents, and promote the development of jade carving culture with the characteristics of the times, China Jewelry and Jade Jewelry Industry Association has carried out the evaluation of the honorary title of Chinese jade carving master in the industry since 2004. As of 2011, a total of 4 sessions of judging have been organized, and 146 Chinese jade carving masters have been selected nationwide. The start of this work has a great role in promoting the healthy development of China's jade carving industry, and also has a very high demonstration effect. In particular, it has become an influential and authoritative evaluation activity recognized in the industry in terms of eclectic selection of talents and rigorous fairness.
Chinese jade carving art inherits the ancient skills of the Chinese nation, has the dual characteristics of tangible cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage, itself is a cultural symbol, carrying a lot of information from the past and the present, it is the art of life, is the "living fossil" of history and culture, both historical and modern, is a complex of historical culture and real culture, is the memory and symbol of the ancient national cultural accumulation. The works of jade carving artists, just like writers writing books, family compositions, and painters painting, are and will become an important material object for the audience to acquire ideas, interpret society, and understand history. (Wen Shen Haibin).