ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 

Artifacts, Antiques & Fine Collectibles

Chinese Jade Statue of the Supreme God of Heaven

A Ritual Offering by the Emperor’s Sons and Grandsons to “Shang Di” 上帝 and Their Ancestors in Heaven (Tien)

English Translation Provided of the Neolithic Characters

Hongshan Culture

c. 3,500 BC

 

“As the Sun Rises and in the Presence of the Supreme God of Heaven Shang Di and My Ancestors, We the Sons and Grandsons of the Emperor Offer Our Prayers and these Sacrifices of Precious Jade, a Libation of Poured Wine, and both Raw and Cooked Meat from Sacrificed Animals to Honor Shang Di and the Souls of Our Ancestors Who Eternally Live in Heaven (Tien).”

~Translated by W.D. Houghton

 

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

 

The museum quality statue is made of nephrite jade and measures approximately 7.71” tall x 3.48” wide x 1.64” thick (196 mm x 88 mm x 42 mm) and weighs 1.86 lb. (844 gr).  

 

It dates to what modern archaeologists call Neolithic China’s Hongshan Culture that existed from about 4,500 BC to 2,900 BC on the banks of the Liao River basin in northeast China in what is now the modern province of Liaoning.  Because of the style of the statue and the type of extremely early, Neolithic Chinese graphic characters found on this statue, we estimate it was made by an imperial Hongshan craftsman in about 3,500 BC or 5,500-years-ago!

 

The Neolithic owner who commissioned this exceptionally large statue of the Supreme God of Heaven, Shang Di as an offering to the omnipotent God was almost assuredly a member of the royal family, as both the jade and bronze production in Neolithic China was very carefully controlled by the warlords, kings, and emperors.  Jade was considered more valuable than gold and no ordinary commoner or even a wealth merchant would ever have been allowed to commission such a sacred offering.    

 

This, kneeling jade statue that has the arms, legs, and four-fingered outstretched hands of a man/god is believed to be an abstract representation of the Chinese Supreme God of Heaven called “Shang Di.”  One theory is that this statue represents Shang Di as he gives birth to a rising Sun and the long succession of Emperors in China that were thought to be “Sons of Heaven” (Tianzi).  The characters on this statue state that it was presented at a ritual offering to Shang Di during a ritual sacrifice of many animals. 

 

NOTE:  Some experts believe this statue represents the Hongshan Culture’s Sun God, but in Hongshan society the Supreme God of Heaven Shang Di was the one god that was most often worshiped, and the Sun God was considered a minor character.  In addition, all emperor’s and warlords received their power to rule on Earth from their father—Shang Di.  So, I believe this incredible statue was meant to symbolize and honor him and not the Sun God. Besides, there are no Sun God characters on the statue that I can find, where there are characters that confirm that Shang Di was the recipient of this priceless jade statue.

 

The statue is made of a solid piece of nephrite jade that has turned a fantastic burnt orange color from the iron in the soil that has been absorbed into the once green jade after being buried in iron rich soil for thousands of years.  The total design is well designed and has a mystery effect. Antiquity evidence includes diffusive markings and calcification and a wide variety of characters that could only be found on ritual Neolithic Chinese jade.

 

This statue has a total of four drilled holes that are all period correct.  There are two larger holes (15.53 mm and 16.70 mm in diameter) that pierce the center of the sculpture in the center; these bi-conical holes are believed to represent the Heavens and the Sun.  The two larger holes may also represent the rising and setting Sun. 

 

There is an additional hole in the top portion of the statue that serves two purposes.  It serves as the slanted eye of Shang Di and it also serves as a suspension hole that has an angled cut to hold the silk cord that once held this stunning jade masterpiece firmly in place in the temple of tomb of a high-ranking member of the Hongshan society.  

 

And finally, there is one additional small hole—between the ankles and at the base of the figure’s body.  This attachment hole is believed to have supported the statue on a stationary platform, base, or wooden pole in the tomb or temple.

 

TRANSLATION

 

We know that all written languages developed from primitive picture-writing. Others went the way of phonetic alphabets and nearly total abstraction. Chinese pursued a different course as its evolution was from pictograms to ideograms and phonograms. For example, the original character for Sun (Ri) was a circle with a dot in the center—as shown in the large character that is located on the lower right side of this jade amulet.

 

It is likely that this jade statue was presented a ceremony to honor Shang Di that was held during a Rising Sun, as of the image of a rising sun that also symbolizes characters cut into the jade represent a “Bright, Rising Sun.”  Ritual ceremonies were also frequently held during setting Suns, but according to the inscription, this statue appears to have been presented to the Ancestors during a Rising Sun.  Could the two large holes symbolize both the rising and setting Sun—it is certainly possible?

 

This first written Chinese characters are called “oracle bone inscriptions” (called Jiaguwen 甲骨文 or "plastron bone inscriptions") and they are remnants of archival documents from the late Neolithic China upon which records of royal divinations were carved or inscribed. The material is the plastrons (breastshields, gui fujia 龜腹甲) of tortoises or scapulae (shoulder-blades shou jiagu 獸胛骨) of different cattle. The oracle bone inscriptions are the oldest extant Chinese texts written in a perfectly developed script. Unfortunately, there are no older stages of the Chinese script preserved (except some clan insignia and examples of logographs of uncertain meaning), but it appears in full maturity on the Shang oracle inscriptions and on jade amulets.

 

This lovely amulet contains both small and large, Neolithic Chinese pictographic characters that have been pecked, painted, and carved in low relief and incorporated into the design of this amulet. 

 

NOTE:  I assume 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!

 

The following are just some of the many characters on the front (obverse) side of the statue, the one with the human like figure facing right:

 

·       On the right edge, in the middle, (See photo # 5} there are several pictographic characters.  One is Chinese Kung that shows the two hands facing upward and making this offering of raw meat to Shang Di.  The character that looks like a long letter “Y” is the hide of a sacrificed animal.  And the tiny stick figure of a man that is below the letter “Y” is actually the character for “Ancestor.” There is also the character for ritual wine that was poured onto grass by the Sons and that accompanied every ceremonial tribute to the Ancestors and the Gods.  The grass would then be burned, and the rising smoke would carry the prayers and sacrifices to the Heavens.  Therefore, an expanded, literal translation of these characters could be translated as follows:

“In the presence of my Ancestors, I offer raw meat that is presented from the skinned hide

of the sacrificed animal on a stake and that is accompanied by a libation of poured wine.”

·       Above the shoulder of the symbolic character of a man/god is a large (1.2” tall) black, painted figure {See photo # 6} that appears to be the character for the Son or Grandson who has sacrificed the smaller character for an animal that is right above the man.  It is a compound character, and the man appears to be holding a flint blade on an axe.  This man is likely the Son of the departed man who is being honored at the temple above his tomb. Therefore, we now know that it is the son who is offering raw meat to the Ancestors and Shang Di.

·       There are approximately 12 exceedingly small characters on the one upper arm of this man/god.  { See photo # 7} There appears to be a Grandson holding a flint blade, which indicates that yet another animal was sacrificed—this time by an adult Grandson—and its raw meat was offered to the Ancestors and Gods.  Again, other figures are so small (only .26” or 7 mm tall) that I cannot make them our clearly enough to translate them. 

·       There are another 12 or so painted characters on the man’s upper leg.  I see the character for “Speak” or to announce a man’s name, but again I cannot see the other characters clearly enough.  These characters are only 3 mm tall and were clearly only meant for the Ancestor’s noble eyes, as human eyes were not worthy to read them.  I believe that these characters are meant to be prayers to the God of Heaven Shang Di and to the Ancestors of the departed man.

·       The calf and foot of the man’s leg also has additional characters, as does the curved right side of the statue.

On the back or reverse side of the statue, there are perhaps 25-45 additional tiny characters that were painted in black.  But the largest character is a pictograph one of a powerful Dragon.  It has been pecked into the hard jade statue and measures about 29 mm or 1.14” in length.  It is located on the left edge of the statue, just to the left of the top hole. My finger is pointing to the Dragon's horns. {See photo # 8}

 

·       The image of a Dragon was considered so precious that only the Sons of Shang Di—the Emperors and Warlords who ruled Neolithic China were allowed to use the image.  Anyone else who used or tried to use the image of a Dragon, especially a five-clawed one, would be immediately sentenced to death. 

·       A horned deer that was one of the animals sacrificed for this ritual ceremony to honor Shang Di and the Ancestors.  Under magnification, one can see the deer’s horns, articulated slender leg, and his arched lower leg and hoof. {See photo # 9}

·       The smell of cooked meat from sacrificed animals that ascends to the Heavens and carries the prayers and offerings made by the Sons and Grandsons to the Ancestors.

·       And many characters that are too small or blurred for me to read.

 

And typical of jade statues that have the large center holes that symbolized the Heavens (Tien in Chinese), there are a number of very tiny characters that are engraved on the inner sides of the holes.  Under magnification, I believe I can see the figures for Ancestors, Man, and Son, but the others are so small and covered with a lovely mineral patina of 5,000+ years of burial, that I cannot see them clearly enough to translate them.  Again, these inscriptions are likely prayers that were only meant for the Ancestors and the Supreme God in Heaven to read—and not for human eyes.

 

An expanded translation of the inscription on this jade statue to honor Shang Di and meant to document and last an eternity could be translated something like this:

 

“As the Sun Rises and in the Presence of the Supreme God of Heaven Shang Di and My Ancestors, We the Sons and Grandsons of the Emperor Offer Our Prayers and these Sacrifices of Precious Jade, a Libation of Poured Wine, and both Raw and Cooked Meat from Sacrificed Animals to Honor Shang Di and the Souls of Our Ancestors Who Eternally Live in Heaven (Tien).”

 

 

Chinese Supreme God of Heaven “Shang Di”

 

"Shang Di" is the pinyin romanization of two Chinese characters. The first – 上, Shàng – means "high", "highest", "first", "primordial"; the second – 帝, Dì – is typically considered as shorthand for Huangdi (皇帝) in modern Chinese, the title of the emperors of China first employed by Qin Shi Huang, and is usually translated just as "Emperor."

 

The word itself is derived from Three "Huang" and Five "Di", including Yellow Emperor (Huangdi 黃帝), the mythological originator of the Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese race. However, 帝 refers to the High God of Shang, thus means "deity" (manifested god).  Thus, the name Shangdi should be translated as "Highest Deity", but also has the implied meaning of "Primordial Deity" or "First Deity" in classical Chinese. The deity preceded the title and the emperors of China were named after him in their role as Tianzi, the Sons of Heaven.

 

Chinese term for "Supreme Deity" or "Highest Deity" in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Hongshan and Shang theology, and finding an equivalent in the later Tian ("Heaven" or "Great Whole") of Zhou theology.

 

In the classical texts, the highest conception of the heavens is frequently identified with Shang Di, who is described somewhat anthropomorphically. He is also associated with the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere sky—the North Star, which is also called the Pole Star or Polaris.  The conceptions of the Supreme Ruler (Shang Di) and of the Sublime Heavens (Huang-t'ien) afterward coalesce or absorb each other.

 

Shang Di was regarded as the ultimate spiritual power by the ruling elite of the Huaxia during the Shang dynasty: he was believed to control victory in battle, success or failure of harvests, weather conditions such as the floods of the Yellow River, and the fate of the kingdom. Shangdi seems to have ruled a hierarchy of other gods controlling nature, as well as the spirits of the deceased. These ideas were later mirrored or carried on by the Taoist Jade Emperor and his celestial bureaucracy.

 

Shangdi was probably more transcendental than immanent, only working through lesser gods. Shangdi was considered too distant to be worshiped directly by ordinary mortals. Instead, the Shang kings proclaimed that Shangdi had made himself accessible through the souls of their royal ancestors, both in the legendary past and in recent generations as the departed Shang kings joined him in the afterlife. The emperors could thus successfully entreat Shangdi directly.  Many of the oracle bone inscriptions record these petitions, usually praying for rain but also seeking approval from Shangdi for state action.

 

NOTE:  This is a stunning masterpiece of Chinese jade carving and worthy of the finest collections.  We prefer that this rare and extremely expensive artifact be a “pick-up only” item, and suggest that the new buyer make arrangements for pick up and/or shipping at their own liability and expense.