CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

FIG. i. Reconstruction of
the axe and fittings.
Drawing by D. Chaffee.
wooden handle was originally inlaid. 4 The fine
material, extraordinary workmanship, and, above all,
the imposing form of these jade axes command
power and respect. Indeed they probably served
exclusively as symbols of political and military authority,
for few, if any, show signs of wear.
The axe served this symbolic function throughout
the Bronze Age and during the early centuries
of imperial China. Several bronze axes resembling
the jade form have been found in royal tombs of
the Shang period. 5 Two axes of impressive size
and decoration (see cat. 52) were found in the tomb
of Fu Hao (d. c. 1200 BCE) — an eminent female
general and the consort of King Wu Ding — who
led the Shang armies in several military campaigns. 6
Ancient documents also record that the king held
the axe as he directed his armies in battle and
delegated his military authority to his general by
presenting him with the axe. 7 As this practice subsequently
diminished in later periods, the axe became
a ceremonial weapon in the regalia and was
illustrated on the royal banners. It remained an
emblem of the sovereignty until as late as the sixteenth
century, when its image was embroidered
on the emperor's dragon robe, an allusion to its
functions in remote antiquity. 8 zs
Axes carved of jade appeared during the Liangzhu
period and had by then become larger and
flatter than their stone predecessors. The many jade
axes found at Liangzhu sites vary considerably in
size and proportion, but all have a thin, flat blade,
one or two perforations near the butt, and a curved
cutting edge beveled on both sides. Found exclusively
in large and richly furnished tombs — generally
one to a tomb — the axes were placed next
to the left hand of the tomb's occupant, with the
cutting edge pointing outward. The handles, made
of wood or other organic material, have rarely survived,
but those that have show evidence of lavish
decoration. An ivory handle found at Fuquanshan,
Shanghai, entirely covered with complex engravings,
is among the most exquisite works of Liangzhu
art. 3 Small bits of jade found between two ornate
end fittings in a tomb at Fanshan suggest that the
1 Excavated in 1986 (M 20:144); reported: Zhejiang 19883,
16. The two jade haft fittings were excavated from M 20
along with the axe. See Zhejiang 19883,16.
2 Fu 1985, 820 - 829.
3 Shanghsi 1984, 3, fig. 18; for 3 detsiled photographic
reproduction, see Shanghai 1992, pi. 92.
4 Zhejiang 19883,14 -15, fig. 25.
5 Fu 1985, 820-829.
6 Zhongguo 19803, color pis. 13:1, 2.
7 Lin 1965, 311-312.
8 For an illustration, see Fong 1996, pi. 162.
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