Feb., 1912. 



Jade. 



i35 



Five of these are of white, four of dark-green, and only three of yel- 

 low color. Some are ornamented with "teeth" as the emblems used in 

 the worship of Earth, others bear geometrical band -ornaments in relief; 

 others again are ring-shaped and have four undercut rectangles in the 



Fig. 56. 

 Yellow Jade Tubes, huang ts'ung. 



style of medallions on the outward side. The Chou li (Biot, Vol. II, 

 PP- 5 2 7> 5 2 8) mentions two kinds of tsu ts'ung, one five inches long for 

 the empress, and another seven inches long for the emperor, both used 

 as weight -stones. A silk cord was drawn through the perforation and 

 attached to the scale-yard. When, e.g., silk cocoons were offered to the 

 empress, she availed herself of this object in weighing the silk. 1 It is 



1 It is noteworthy that the empress weighs silk by means of a weight-stone rep- 

 resenting the image of Earth. Silk is a gift of Earth, and the rearing of silkworms 

 and spinning of silk is ascribed by tradition to a woman's initiative. In the modern 

 imperial worship, silk is offered in the sacrifice to Earth and buried in the ground, 

 a usage restricted to the spirit of Earth (Edkins, Religion in China, p. 31). 



