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



' ' masterpiece of the Han. ' ' In Fig. 1 40, the two creatures are stretching 

 their paws out to caress each other, and the Chinese interpretation 

 lays stress on their "spiritual life's motion" (shen sheng lung) as it 



a Fig. 138. 6 



Jade Girdle-Pendant, Upper and Lower Faces, Couple of Hydras (from Ku yii t'u p'u). 



a Fig. 139. b 



Jade Girdle-Pendant, Upper and Lower Faces, Playing Hydras (from Ku yii t'u p'u). 



was possible only for the clever craftsmen (Hang kung) of the Han time 

 to accomplish. The piece in Fig. 141 is the most remarkable of all for 

 its asymmetrical arrangement, — the dragons, soaring in the clouds, 



