[GONGS PLAYING]

The Neolithic Chinese jade disks located on the back wall of this case are ritual objects known as bi. As many as forty such bi disks might be buried with the body of a person of high social status, along with jade jewelry and pottery vessels. In burials, they were often placed on a corpse’s chest, above the head, and encircling the body. This use suggests that in addition to serving as tokens of rank, bi may also have played a symbolic or magical role in purifying the soul for its journey into the afterlife.

These striking jade objects demonstrate the technical skill achieved by the Neolithic Chinese. Jade is harder than steel, so making these objects demanded an enormous amount of sawing, grinding, and polishing with quartz, sand, or other abrasives. Even more amazing are the resulting forms—completely pared down to smooth, simple, circular abstractions that look very modern.

From Neolithic to modern times, Chinese civilization has invested great significance in jade. While green jade is the most well known type in the West, pure white jade is the most prized by the Chinese. Because the stone makes a clear and sonorous sound when struck, jade has long been a symbol of purity and moral rectitude.