Introduction. 13 



to Tientsin to assist Li Hung-chang against the Japanese; his efforts, 

 however, were not rewarded with success, and he has since been living 

 in retirement; he is said to be an enlightened man and well-disposed 

 towards Europeans. 1 In his work on jades, two hundred and fifteen 

 pieces are illustrated in outline, as a rule reduced to seven-tenths of 

 their original size, described as to their coloring, identified with their 

 ancient names and explained with quotations from ancient literature, 

 among which Chou li, Li ki, Shi king, Tso chuan and the dictionary 

 Shuo win are conspicuous. The text is a facsimile reprint of Wu's 

 own expressive and energetic handwriting. The engravings in his 

 work are far above the average of similar accomplishments of the 

 Chinese and executed with care and in good proportionate measure- 

 ments. As most of these jade objects and their designs are flat, the 

 Chinese draughtsman had a much easier task with them than he 

 encounters, e. g., with bronze vessels; Chinese art is one of linear designs 

 in which it excels, while objects of bodily dimensions are always apt 

 to be misdrawn to a certain extent. I was forced to reproduce the 

 material of Wu almost in its entirety, owing to its great archaeological 

 importance. 2 



It will be noticed at a glance how widely different this material 

 is from that published in the former Chinese works. All his ancient 

 specimens have a spontaneously archaic character. It is a truly 

 archaeological collection, explained with great erudition and acumen, 

 and reflects the highest credit on the modern school of Chinese 

 archaeologists. Wu Ta-ch'eng is not bound by the fetters of the past 

 and not hampered by the accepted school-traditions. With fair and 

 open mind, he criticizes the errors of the commentators to the Chou li t 

 the Ku yii t'u p'u and many others, and his common sense leads him 

 to new and remarkable results not anticipated by any of his predecessors. 

 Because my own collection is a counterpart of his, being made from an 

 archaeological, not an artistic point of view, I could choose no better 

 guide for the interpretation of this collection than him; I have fol- 

 lowed him with keen admiration and stand to him in the relation of 

 a disciple to his master. If I have been able to write the chapters on 

 the jade symbols of sovereign power and the jade images of the cosmic 

 deities, my lasting thanks and acknowledgments are due to this 

 great scholar whose ingenious investigations have furnished the basis 

 for this research; but for his efforts it would have been impossible to 

 attack these complicated problems with any chance for success. 



1 After Giles, Chinese Biographical Dictionary, p. 889. 



2 All text-figures where no special source is indicated are derived from the book 

 of Wu. 



