Milestones of millennia: Role of jade in China history explored (5)

A Liangzhu Culture cong unearthed from the Sidun site in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.[Jiang Dong/China Daily]

Original examples of Liangzhu jade like cong continued to be made in later historical periods. Cong articles were made and used for ceremonial occasions up until the Han Dynasty. People from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) also made porcelain replicas of cong as art pieces, according to Xu Lin, a researcher at the Palace Museum. Some of these Song replicas are also on display at the exhibition.

As traces of cong gradually became obscured by history, people after the Song Dynasty mainly learned about them from historical documents, due to a lack of physical objects as reference. However, answers can now be found in Qianlong's legacy.

Of the 56 jade articles of Liangzhu Culture currently housed in the Palace Museum, 43 were collected by Qing emperors, Xu says.

"The mindset of Chinese people, their sense of aesthetics and lifestyle are largely determined by their taste for jade," Gao says. "By learning more about Liangzhu, people will also gain a better understanding of the Chinese spirit."