Chinese Black Jade Ritual Immortality Amulet "Bi" Disk to Heaven w/Translation

Description

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
Artifacts, Antiques, & Fine Collectibles
Chinese Black Jade Ritual
Celestial
“
Bi
” Disc
Ritual Celestial Portal to the Heavens (
Tian
)
English Translation Provided of 20+ Ancient Characters
Late Shang to Western Zhou
c. 1100 BC—771 BC
“Although a Great Dragon Man has Died and His Body was Placed in an Underground Tomb,
We the Sons and Grandsons Offer Sacrifices of Animals, Wine, Money, & Jade so that His Soul will Rise Up
to the Heavens, and that He will Continue to Live All the Days and Nights Forever with His Ancestors.”
~English translation of this jade Bi disk provided by
WDH, President of Ancient Civilizations
NOTE:
William D. Houghton, the President of ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
, a State of Washington Licensed Business,
assumes all responsibility for the information contained in this description and for the English translation and transcription of the ancient Chinese graphic characters.
Furthermore, I prohibit the further dissemination of this information in any written, video, or electronic format without my expressed, written approval.
Thank You!
SUMMARY
This ceremonial, Jade Amulet is a ritual disk called a “
Bi
” in Chinese and dates approximately to the Late Shang Dynasty to Western Zhou Dynasty of ancient China, 1100 BC to 771 BC.
It measures approximately 3.45” (88 mm) in diameter x .52” (13 mm) thick and weighs 5.1 oz (146gr) of highly-prized, old Nephrite Jade that has turned black from the iron in the soil.
The center hole is classified as a “bi-conical bore hole” that measures .82” (21mm) in diameter.
Condition: No chips, cracks, repairs, or restorations. Only minor surface scratches, calcification, and differential weathering.
This amulet was professional cleaned in China by the previous owner.
Please see macro photos as they are part of the description. Thank You for looking!
This jade disk has an inscription of four ancient pictographs characters incised on both the front (obverse) and back (reverse) sides of the Bi that are that is over 3,000 years old.
There are an additional 20+ pictographs of animals incised next to the larger characters mentioned above, including two that appear to fierce, Fire-Breathing Dragon who is calling out to the Heavens and the Ancestors that the prayers for the departed be heard!  AMAZING!!
DETAILS
This ceremonial Jade Disk, called a “
Bi
” in Chinese and pronounced “BEE,” is circular in shape and dates approximately to the Shang Culture of ancient China.  It has a period correct, center hole that is classified as a “bi-conical bore hole” that measures .82” (21mm) in diameter and four pictographic characters. (S
ee below for details
)
It measures approximately 3.45” (88 mm) in diameter x .52” (13 mm) thick and weighs 5.1 oz (146gr) of highly prized old Nephrite Jade.
The center hole is classified as a “bi-conical bore hole” that measures .82” (21mm) in diameter. The black nephrite jade disk shows minor differential weathering from its burial in damp soil for thousands of years.
Ancient Chinese astronomers carefully charted the Heavens for clues to the future of life and events on Earth.  This ritual, jade disk is believed to have been a precious religious and/or ceremonial object that was an offering to the Ancestors of the deceased in hopes that they would guide the soul of the deceased into eternal life in Heaven.  The precious jade disk also allowed them to communicate their prayers to the Ancestors that would affect their daily lives.
Jade artifacts like this one were usually buried in royal tombs with the deceased or presented as offerings to the Ancestors in above ground temples.
The ancient script "
Shu Ching
" says it is the instrument for observing the constellations and that this jade instrument can be rotated when viewing the Heavens.
The central hole on the collared disk was seen as a window to the Heavens, Ancestors, and Gods (“
Shên
” in Chinese). This disk served as an oracle or portal to one’s Ancestors in Heaven, in Chinese “
Tian
.”  This amazing jade disc also features four Neolithic Chinese chacaters on both
sides of the amulet.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF CHARACTERS
NOTE:
William D. Houghton, the President of ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS, a State of Washington Licensed Business, assumes all responsibility for the information contained in this description and for the English translation and transcription of the ancient Chinese graphic characters.
Any translation errors are unintentional and strictly mine.
When this jade disk was professionally cleaned in China to remove some of the excessive earthen deposits, it exposed four, ancient characters that were cut, incised, and pecked into the jade.
Both sides of the jade disk have four, ancient Chinese pictographic characters that each measure about 40mm tall and perhaps 20+ more smaller characters.  The four characters are not in columns or rows, but rather are shown opposite each other around the center hole—the portal for the prayers to enter Heaven. Here is my best expanded, English translation of these four characters:
·
The character on the right of the center hole on the front
side that looks like a plant growing from the ground “is “
Chih
” or “
Che
”, and it does in fact mean “a small plant growing from the ground” or the “idea of development, progress, growth, or continuity.”
In this case, it represents the Soul of a deceased man that remains alive after death on Earth, who will transform into an immortal existence when he/she reaches Heaven. {See photo # 6.}
·
The character on the right of the center hole on the front side is the Chinese character “
Jen
” also spelled “
Ren
” that means “Man.”
Again, this refers to the man who has died and buried in a tomb below the surface.
(See photo # 3.}
·
On t
he back side of the disc, the character on the right of the center hole that looks like a crescent moon, is in fact an ancient character “
Yue
” for “Moon” and also means “Nights.”
{See photo # 9.}
·
The final large character on the left side of the center hole on the back is the ancient character “
Ri
” for “Sun.”
The two parallel lines inside the Sun pictograph are unusual, as only one line is normally inside the character.
The two lines might be the character “
Er
” that means “Two.”
But in ancient Chinese, this character symbolizes “
All of Them
” or in this case, that the Soul of the departed will live eternally all the days in
Tian
with his Ancestors
.
{See photo # 8.}
There are perhaps 20+ other much smaller pictographs that have been precisely incised both side of the Bi and even on the inner edges of the center hole—
see photos 11 & 12.
Although many are undecipherable to me, here are a few that I can see clearly enough to translate:
·
The first pictograph is that of a large Dragon that is located on top of the character “
Ren
” for Man. {
See photo # 4. I’ve added a Red Circle around this Dragon; he is facing left in photo # 5.}
This Dragon clearly suggests that this Bi was made to honor a member of an imperial family, as no ordinary person would have dare to incise a jade amulet with the image of a Dragon, as the emperor/king was thought to be the “Dragon Son.”
Only craftsmen at the imperial jade workshops would have dared to do so for their emperor—any other person would have been immediately put to death!
·
There are several pictographs of the Sons and Grandsons sacrificing animals for the Ancestors in Heaven so that they would accept the soul of departed into Heaven.
The sons are pictured holding flint axes and knives.
·
The Grandsons that are able to stand upright are figured beneath their Father holding up their hands in prayer.
·
The grandsons too young to stand upright are pictured standing beneath the legs of their Father, and appear as frog-like figures.
The image of a frog also represents the “continuity of generations.”
·
The symbol for an underground tomb.
·
The symbol of the right hand offering the smell of the sacrificed meat as it ascends towards the Ancestors.
·
The offering of ritual wine as it is poured only a bundle of dry grass that is then burned when the ceremony at the Temple is over so that the prayers can ascend with the smoke to the Ancestors in Heaven.
·
Several pictographs of the Ancestors diving from Heaven to accept the offerings.
·
Offerings of strings of money (cowrie shells) to the Ancestors and for use by the departed in Heaven.
·
An offering of a banner with a libation of wine to thank the Ancestors for their visit to the Temple.
Taken in context of a ritual Temple jade, a rough, expanded translation of all these characters on this
Bi
could be as follows:
“Although a Great Dragon Man has Died and His Body was Placed in an Underground Tomb,
We the Sons and Grandsons Offer Sacrifices of Animals, Wine, Money, & Jade so that His Soul will Rise Up
to the Heavens, and that He will Continue to Live All the Days and Nights Forever with His Ancestors.”
These Ancestor offerings are a clear and powerful reference to the spirit world of the departed souls and of the Ancestors.  Experts suggest that the Ancestors were looking with benevolence at the offering of this lovely jade disc and other sacrifices that were presented as offerings to honor them, so that they may help the soul of the departed into the next world.
NOTE:
You are among the first persons in the world to read the translation of these ancient Chinese pictographs and characters, as this is the first translation that has ever been done in any language in over 3,000 years since this amulet disc documented the sacrificial offerings made to the Ancestors in Heaven (Tian)!
NOTE:  This object is unconditionally guaranteed authentic. It has been legally imported to the United States., and is legal to sell and own under U.S. Statute Title 19, Chapter 14, Code 2611, Convention on Cultural Property.
ANCIENT CHINESE JADE
Jade offerings were highly prized by these early civilizations in China, and were thought to have positive energy to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck and fortune to all who wore a piece on their person—in life and in death.
Jade was also believed to be a portal or messenger that could carry prayers to Heaven and send messages to those on Earth from departed ancestors and Gods in Heaven.
In ancient China, jade “
Yù
” was so revered that the character for jade “
玉
” is almost identical to the one for king or emperor “
王
” with just that tiny dot added on the lower right side of the character.
The dot represents a jewel and that is why jade was only meant for the upper-class and royal families.
Ancient Chinese jade offerings were always made of green nephrite and not the more modern jadeite.
In ancient times, jade was particularly difficult to work without metal tools, and had to be polished by means of abrasive powders, grinding and milling, a process that involved intense effort as well as a real expertise and a great deal of time to craft only with primitive hand tools.
As many of you know, Nephrite jade, also known as “soft jade” or “ancient Jade” in China, was used from China’s early Neolithic cultures in 8,000 BC to 1800 AD for carving all types of ritual and utilitarian items.
Nephrite, which is somewhat “softer” than the jadeite used by Neolithic Japanese and European cultures, was easier to cut, carve, polish, and drill than jadeite.
So, the ancient Chinese found that Nephrite Jade could be worked by using quartz or garnet sand, polished with bamboo or jade dust, and even drilled with bone drills that used a slurry made of jade dust and water as the abrasive.
Jade (called the “
Stone of Heaven
” by the Chinese) is priceless.
Testifying to how much the Chinese are fond of jade is this time-honored proverb: “
Gold may have a price, but jade is priceless.
” The value of gold can be determined by measuring its weight. Not jade. The value of a piece of jade is “assessed” by taking numerous factors into account. For example, the luster, purity and color, the sound it produces when struck, and when the jade piece was discovered or when and where a jade artifact was produced can affect a piece’s value.
ANCIENT CHINESE JADE DISKS “
BI
”
Courtesy of the British Museum, Rawson 1995.
This jade
Bi
disc is one of the major forms of ancient jade. Traditionally discs with central holes have been given a variety of names, depending on the proportion of the width of the ring to the diameter of the hole. The term
'Bi'
has been applied to wide discs with proportionately small central holes. If the hole is considerably larger in proportion to the stone or jade area, then the ring is generally known as
'yuan'
or
'huan'
.
Where large number of
Bi
discs are found, the excavator note that they tend to be rather coarse and were piled up in small stacks, while discs of good-quality were placed in prominent positions, often on the chest of the departed. Nevertheless, few discs seem to have been made of the exceptionally fine jade employed for the finest pendants and ornaments with incised designs or pictographic characters like this amazing example.
REFERENCES:
·
The Ancestral Landscape
, David N. Knightley, 2000
·
Chinese Characters,
Dr. L. Wieger, S.J.
·
The Great Bronze Age of China
:
An Exhibition from the People’s Republic of China
, edited by Wen Fong, 1980
·
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
·
Ancient Chinese Warfare
, Ralph D. Sawyer, Mei-chün Sawyer
·
Archaeology
, Archaeological Institute of America, Feb/March 2015
·
Shanghai Museum, China
·
Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, China
·
National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
·
Chinese Archaic Jades in the British Museum,
British Museum, Jenyns 1951
·
British Museum
·
Smithsonian Museum, Sackler & Freer Gallery, WDC
·
Human Sacrifice in History and Today
, Davies, Nigel
RESEARCH
I have carefully examined this ancient jade amulet and I GUARANTEE it to be original and authentic! I’ve looked under 10x magnification under both natural and Black Light and I can find no signs of any modern tool work or repairs. The hand tool marks left in the jade by the master stone artist who carved, shaped, and engrave this work of art appear to be consistent with those marks of other ancient jades I have examined.
Each object I sell is professionally researched, translated (if I can...(smile), and compared with similar objects in the collections of the finest museums in the world. I have been dealing in fine antiquities for over 45 years and although certainly not an expert in every field, I have been honored to appraise, buy, collect, and enjoy and recently sell some of the finest ancient art in the world. When in doubt, I have worked with dozens of subject matter experts to determine the condition and authenticity of numerous antiquities and antiques. This careful examination helps to insure you are buying quality items and helps to protect your investment. There are many modern reproductions or "fakes" on the market today, so be sure and buy only from experts in the field.
Please examine the macro photos taken indoors carefully, as they are part of the description.
The stand and AA battery are not part of the auction, just included to give you a better perspective.
And please ask any questions before you buy.
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