Feb., 1912. 



Jade. 



127 



JSP^ 



Jo 





-•v — in 1 ' ' -•> 



VJ! 



*5g^i|[^^ 



Fig. 43. 



and in the chapter where the manufacture of chariots and of the wheel 

 and nave in particular is discussed in detail, no mention is made of 

 jade. Aside from this, 

 it is highly improbable 

 for technical reasons 

 that jade should have 

 been employed in form- 

 ing the wheel-nave to 

 allow the axis to pass 

 through, as the mate- 

 rial is too hard and not 

 flexible enough. Then, 

 these pieces occur in 

 such different lengths 

 and shapes that also 

 for this reason this 

 mode of employment 

 must be doubted. 



Fortunately, we 

 possess a number of 

 bronze wheel-naves 

 coming down from 

 the Chou period, 

 and, if the jade 

 pieces in question 

 had ever served this 

 purpose, we should 

 expect to find some 

 kind of agreement 

 in the shape of these 

 two types differing 

 only in their mate- 

 rial. This, however, 

 is not the case. No- 

 body will fail to 

 recognize in the 

 specimens of bronze 

 (Plate XVI) a wheel- 

 nave, while this in- 

 terpretation is not 

 plausible for the objects in jade. The so-called bronze wheel-hub will 

 be better designated as forming the metal mounting of the wooden hub. 



Fig. 44. 

 Alleged Jade Wheel-Naves (from Ku yU t'u p'u). 



