The Six Ritual / Ceremonial Jade Objects

The main “Six Ritual Jades” originating in pre-history were:

1. The Bi (a flat round shaped disk with a hole in its centre)
2. The Cong ( a square shaped tube),
3. The Huang (a flat, half-ring pendant),
4. The Hu
5. The flat, blade like Gui and
6. The Zhang.

The original names, value and functions of these objects have invited much speculation. The “Chou-li” or “Zhou Li”(chinese ancient book of rituals), itself probably first compiled in the Han dynasty, ascribes the circular bi as representing the heavens, the cong as representing the earth, the gui the east, the zhang the south, the hu the west and the huang the north. Although over two millennia old these names and symbolism were given to these objects by much later writers, who interpreted the objects in a way that reflected their own understanding of the cosmos.

As the time goes, the original use of the “six ritual jades” became lost, with such jades becoming status symbols, their actual utility and the religious significance is forgotten. The objects were produced to represent the status of the holder due to it’s making in those times require extensive labour in creating the object and need of acquiring the authority to possess it. For example:

The “Zhou Li” states that a King (wang) was entitled to Gui of the Zhen type,
Dukes (gong) to the Huang,
Marquis to Gi of the Xin type,
Earls (bo) to Gui of the Gong type,
Viscounts (zi) to a Bi of the Gu type and
Barons (nan) to a Bi of the Pu type.