Details

Approved and titled by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), and jointly edited and published by the Beijing Olympic Economy Research Association and the Beijing Ancient Jade Specimen Research Center, The Glory of China Jade is a large scale photo book exhibiting exquisite jade articles created during varied eras of the nation's long history.

Extensive and profound, the jade of China has a long history of more than 8,000 years, and as a distinct culture it melded into the broader cultural bloodline of the nation. According to the traditional Chinese concept of culture, jade symbolizes purity, goodness, beauty and morality.

Embracing all preeminent jade articles during the history of 6,000 years, from the Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty, The Glory of China Jade reflects the characteristics of jade during different historical periods. These include the Neolithic Age, Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States, Han dynasties. Featured are not only works representing myriad plants and creatures, such as flowers, birds, insects, fish, long and numerous beasts, but also bright colors, including red, orange, yellow, green, grey, blue and purple. These pieces, collected by the Beijing Ancient Jade Specimen Research Center from nongovernmental organizations and from overseas, at great expense of time, money and effort, are deemed treasures of the country.

Within this volume are displayed more than one hundred pieces of jade antiques. These include: Prehistoric Hongshan and Liangzhu jade wares; religiously significant jade articles from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties; ancient jade objects from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period - which exhibit superb jade-carving workmanship; the grand and delicate objects from the Han Dynasty; and jade articles from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which embody personalities.