The Origin of Jade Bracelet

Jade bracelets are so popular nowadays, but do you know the origin of jade bracelets? It turns out that jade bracelets originated from jade ritual objects from the late Neolithic period - jade bi and jade cong. Flat bracelets originated from the deformation of jade bi and jade bi, such as jade yuan and jade ring; thick bracelets originated from jade cong.

Bracelet prototype - jade bi

Bi is a flat, round jade artifact with a hole in the middle. "Erya Shiqi" says, "If the flesh is twice as good as the real thing, it is called a bi; if it is twice as good as the real thing, it is called a yuan; if the flesh and the real thing are the same, it is called a ring." "Flesh" refers to the oblate solid part; "good" refers to the hole in the center.

To this day, in southern my country, bracelets are still called "bracelets". It can be said with certainty that the bracelets currently worn by Chinese people are derived from jade bi in shape. It gradually evolved from the ritual vessel of the Neolithic period - bi, to ai, and finally to ring; from a sacrificial ritual vessel to wearable jewelry, its evolution process lasted thousands of years.

Bracelet prototype - jade cong

Not all scholars attribute the origin of jade bracelets to jade bi. Some scholars believe that bracelets evolved from cong of Liangzhu culture in the late Neolithic period. Cong can be roughly divided into four categories: wide and short type, tall and long type, thin type, and square column plain type.

The formation of the wide and short type is related to the miniature bracelet, and the tall and long type is formed by gradually adding height to the wide and short type. The small type is commonly known as "square le", also called "lezi", which gradually evolved into a jade lezi used to ward off evil spirits.

Some bracelets have a circular inner diameter, but a square outer shape with edges and corners. This is taken from the image of the ancient jade cong, which is round inside and square outside. It is likely to represent the ancient concept of "the sky is round and the earth is square".

Because the ancients believed that the universe was round: "The earliest written record of the four directions is the oracle inscriptions." The oracle inscriptions do contain content about "four directions", "four winds", "four directions receiving grain" and "four soils receiving years".

The bracelet with a round inner circle and a square outer circle may have originated from the jade cong, which is also round inner circle and a square outer circle, because the jade cong is the earliest and most typical ceremonial jade used by the Chinese to worship (Mantong) the gods of heaven and earth.

Jade bracelets are made from strictly selected materials, and once they are cut, their quality and shape will never change. After being passed down for thousands of years, their symbol of love and affection will never change.

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