
Most of Liangzhu jade
carvings are Cong, Bi and Yue in grand and precise designs. The decorations are
mostly mysterious human and beast figures, and incised carving and relief
carving techniques are combined perfectly to represent the highest standard of
jade carving at that time. Together with jade carvings of Hongshan Culture in
the north, they created a bright chapter of jade carving in the Neolithic
period. In summary, the jade carvings in Liangzhu Culture have the following
characteristics: 1. the raw materials were mostly from local places and some of
them are carved on soft jade; 2. the big jade carvings were mostly related to
religion, worshipping and wealth, the decoration jade carvings were mostly small
ones, and there was no jade carvings for production; 3. the jade carvings for
ritual purposes were well designed and carved, and they were also grinded to
make the surface smooth. Some unearthed jade carvings have a special shell, or
glass shell, to protect the surface; 4. the decorations of jade carvings were
mostly bass-relieves and incised carvings. The arcs and cuneal lines were
obviously carved with hard tools; 5. beast face lines and face lines of mixed
human and beast were very special and symmetrically designed, changing from
simple to complex and from rough to fine; 6. the jade walls are mostly plain.