Huang (jade)

A huang (璜) is a Chinese arc-shaped jade artifact that was used as a pendant.[1][2]

Huang arcs were used in a jade pei ornament set (組玉佩),[3] which would be worn from the belt.[4] The pendant set would emit a faint pleasant sound as the wearer walked, in line with the customs of Confucian etiquette.[4] The number of huang arcs in a set of jade pendants is not always the same.[2] It is suggested that the amount in a set may have indicated the social status of the person.[2]

At the ends of a huang, there were often abstract heads of animals carved into the jade. During the Eastern Zhou period, block-shaped tiger-like ends were often used in the huang, but these would develop into more-abstract notches.[1]

  • Huang with interlocked dragon design, Western Zhou period, housed in the Shanghai Museum
  • Huang, Western Zhou period, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago
  • Huang with two dragon heads, Warring States period, housed in the Shanghai Museum
  • Huang and two other pendants from green jade, Western Han period, housed in the Guimet Museum
  • A jade pei ornament set combines jade artifacts in a variety of ways. This one, from the Tang dynasty, includes a pair of symmetrical huang arcs.

See also

References
  1. Rawson, Jessica (2002). Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing. Art Media Resources. pp. 266-267.
  2. Yu, Ming (2011). Chinese Jade (Updated ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 57–59. ISBN 978-0-521-18684-1.
  3. "Art in Quest of Heaven and Truth-Chinese Jades through the Ages: The Virtue of Jade". National Palace Museum. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  4. Rastelli, S., editor (2008). China At the Court of the Emperors: Unknown Masterpieces from Han Tradition to Tang Elegance (25–907). Florence: Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi. p. 301. Cited in "Jade pei pendant". Ben Janssens Oriental Art. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
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