io8 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. X. 



{i. e. the indentations) of the edge, clayish spots are still preserved, 1 

 so that it is decidedly not an object posterior to the period of the San 

 tax (Hia, Shang and Chou dynasties). It is an ancient siin-yu-k'i 

 (Giles No. 4873). The chapter Ku ming of the Chou shu in the Shu 

 king (ed. Couvreur, p. 352) contains the two terms ta yii 'large jade' 

 and / yii 'jade of the tribes /', commenting on which Wang Su says: 



Fig. 38. 

 Jade of the Tribes / (/ yil). 



'/ yii is the finest jade of the / tribes of the east.' Cheng K'ang- 

 ch'eng says: 'Ta yii 'the large jade' is the precious stone (k'iu, 

 Giles No. 2321) of the Hua shan (the sacred mountain in Shensi); 

 / yii 'the jade of the / tribes' is identical with the stone siin-yii-kH of 

 the north-east.' The dictionary Erh ya explains it as the most beautiful 

 stone of the eastern region, and speaks of the siin-yii-k'i of the I-wu- 

 lii, to which the commentary of Kuo adds that I-wu-lii is the name 

 of a mountain which is situated in what is called at present Liao tung, 

 and that siin-yii-k'i belongs to the class of jade. The dictionary Shuo 

 wen notes under the heading siin the expression 'siin-yii-k'i of I-wu-lii.' 

 The jade of the / tribes mentioned in the Chou shu is called by some also 

 a jade vessel (or implement, k'i). 



1 See Introduction, p. 27. 



