ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 

Artifacts, Antiques & Fine Collectibles

Chinese Ceremonial/Ritual Jade Taotie Plaque

Pictographs of a Mythical Beast--the Taotie

c. Liangzhu Culture

3500 BC—2100 BC

“A Dragon can be unseen or visible, minute or huge,

long or short.  However, always it is great.”

—Shuo Wen (c. 100 AD) 

 
 

NOTE:  William D. Houghton, the President of ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS, a State of Washington Licensed Business, assumes all responsibility for the information contained in this description and for the English translation and transcription of the ancient Chinese graphic characters.  Furthermore, I prohibit the further dissemination of this information in any written, video, or electronic format without my expressed, written approval.  Thank You!

SUMMARY

Item:  Jade Taotie Trident Ceremonial Plaque

Material:  Highly polished nephrite jade

Culture:  Liangzhu Culture

Date:  3500 BC—2200 BC

Measurements:

·        Height:  2.29” (58mm)

·        Width:   3.54” (90mm)

·        Thick:   .76” (19mm)

·        Weight:  5.6 oz. (158gr.)

 

DETAILS

 

This lovely jade pendant dates to the Neolithic Chinese people known as the Liangzhu Culture (3500 BC—2100 BC.)  The Liangzhu are believed to have been the first people in China to ever use jade as a marker of social status—and this jade pendant of two dragons and a ferocious beast called a Taotie, is an awesome example, as all these beasts served as a protective amulet against Evil Spirits that could prevent the man’s soul from reaching immortality in Heaven.

 

This jade plaque has a trident shape with one, center mounting hole that is drilled from the top to the bottom of the plaque.  The mounting hole would have allowed the plaque to be mounted on a wooden pole or on the walls of a tomb or temple.

 

The Immortal Mythical Beast—the Taotie

 

Located at the center of this amulet/plaque is the image of the Taotie, a fierce, mythical creature that was thought to scare away evil spirits.  He is prominently featured on the center, front of the amulet (see macro photo # 2), with his nose in the center, two large circular eyes, and a rectangle shaped mouth that is ready to devour any Evil Spirits that might prevent the soul of this man from reaching his ancestors in Heaven.

 

His oversized round eyes and horizontal mouth have been incised into the hard jade with the finest of cut lines and are utterly amazing.  Some experts suggest that a diamond or even an iron meteorite awl was used by the Neolithic stone masons to make these ultra-thin cut lines, as Neolithic cultures did not have iron tools to incise the extremely hard jade. 

 

As noted above, this pendant has a mounting hole on the very top and through the bottom of the amulet.  Archaeologists classify these holes as “double-bevel holes,” which were one of the common types of holes made during the Liangzhu Culture.  It was necessary to drill from both sides with a hollow, bamboo tube or animal bone that would be dipped into abrasive and then rotated rapidly against the stone to affect a ring-form type of hole, leaving the solid core intact.  Therefore, the meeting place of the two boring holes is not true to a single, straight channel and a curved remnant ridge that is not ground or polished-out remains at the common junction.  The center core was often snapped off by tapping or pushing the center core to one side and thus completing the long hole.